What to take away from Edward Peck’s speech at the Universities UK conference

Though Universities UK were successful in attracting two ministers and a secretary of state to the 2025 iteration of their annual event, many vice chancellors would have (rightly) expected little in terms of policy announcements from them.

Instead, Edward Peck – the new chair of the Office for Students – delivering a speech on day one would have been the one to look forward to.

Unlike previous chairs, Peck is not a politician – he is very much from the sector rather than imposed on it. And he was very quick to remind listeners of this.

I trust I do not have to prove to any of you my profound respect and admiration for a higher education sector of which I have had the privilege of being a part for thirty years, and for our academic and professional service colleagues who make it the envy of the world.

By positioning himself as of the sector he was aiming to make it easier to position himself as a critical friend rather than just a critic (remember, leadership is very much performance for Peck), and in doing so legitimise narratives that have often been perceived as antagonistic interests making themselves heard.

My experience over many years is that some providers and their representative bodies on occasions seek to discredit the messenger rather than focus on what might be important within the message.

Surprisingly, he highlighted the growth still required from a regulator and a regulatory relationship now old enough to attend secondary school.

But please bear in mind that we at the OfS are still learning how best to regulate, just as you are still learning how best to be regulated.

In this mood, he asked providers to be more realistic in their predictions of future student numbers, and to ensure that arrangements with academic partner institutions are adequate.

The most telling comments, for me, came in relation to the forthcoming OfS strategy – shortly to be signed off by the board and expected to be published in November. Going one above the norm, we got a four word slogan: “ambitious, collaborative, vigilant and vocal”

As well as the comments on a beefed up TEF (likely to be a much larger part of the quality assurance regime) having a wider impact on the way providers are regulated (including, possibly, the fee cap that applies) that appeared in The Times, we saw a commitment to working in partnership with AdvanceHE on service improvement (something that hasn’t happened since HEFCE used to fund the predecessor bodies) and the establishment of a “provider board”.

That last one might not sound like a big deal but it truly is – as an analogue to the old student panel it would be the first time that OfS has brought voices on provider (and, by extension, sector) interests directly into governance and policy making. The early years of the regulator were characterised by a fear of “provider capture” (note Behan’s comments on “mistaking distance for independence” as the start of this shift).

The other thing that may startle seasoned OfS-watchers is the commitment to be “vocal”: to advocate for higher education as “a force for good for individuals, for communities, and for the country”. Again, making the public case for the sector has never figured high in OfS priorities – it has left this largely to others, while acting more like an arm of government than one might hope. Through this new positive message-making we will see closer working with UKRI (and Research England) and – at last! – with regulators and funding bodies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

And for those wondering if a new chair and a new chapter in the storied history of English higher education regulation may also mean a new chief executive Peck’s use of “Susan and I” at the start of the speech suggests that the two senior staff are working together and that Lapworth will see out the remainder of her term.