OfS key performance measures, and what they signal for student voice evidence

By Student Voice AI

Updated Mar 09, 2026

On 26 February 2026, the Office for Students (OfS) published its first set of new key performance measures. The OfS key performance measures matter because they show what the regulator now wants to track most explicitly under its 2025 to 2030 strategy, including future Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) activity, quality assessment work, and student awareness of the regulator itself. At Student Voice AI, we think that matters for Student Experience teams, PVCs, and quality professionals because it sharpens the case for keeping student voice evidence organised, traceable, and easy to act on.

What has changed in the OfS key performance measures

The announcement sets out 11 new key performance measures aligned to the OfS strategy. Some are already live, and some are still to follow. The OfS says future measures will cover the number and timeliness of TEF assessments, the number and timeliness of investigations involving a quality assessment, and the proportion of accountable officers reporting that OfS regulation has led to quality improvements in the last 12 months. That is important because it moves the emphasis beyond broad sector outcomes and towards whether regulation is producing visible, timely change.

The first published student-facing measure is KPM 5, an interim measure on student awareness of the OfS. It draws on the student pulse survey, which the OfS runs six times a year in England and reports termly. The accompanying KPM page says around 28 per cent of students were aware of the OfS in autumn 2025, with awareness higher among postgraduates (39 per cent) than undergraduates (21 per cent). The same page says the OfS plans to replace this interim measure with a trust-and-confidence measure once awareness is higher.

"We will deliver our work in collaboration with students and the institutions we regulate."

There is also a clear timeline signal. The OfS says it published the first five KPMs on 26 February 2026, and that all bar one of the remaining measures will be published in spring 2026. The exception is KPM 1, on the number and timeliness of TEF assessments, which the OfS says will follow the first round of quality assessments under the reformed quality system. The scope here is the English regulated sector, because the OfS is setting out how it will judge its own work with the providers it regulates.

What this means for institutions

The first implication is practical. This announcement does not create a new provider reporting requirement on its own, but it does show which kinds of evidence the regulator considers meaningful. If the OfS wants to track whether regulation leads to quality improvement, institutions should be able to show a clean evidence trail from student feedback to action: what students raised, how the issue was assessed, what changed, and whether the change improved the experience.

The second implication is that student voice evidence needs to be usable in both quality and communication settings. KPM 5 is about student awareness of the regulator, not satisfaction with teaching or services, but it still signals something broader: student understanding, trust, and visibility matter. Universities should expect continued attention to how clearly they communicate rights, standards, routes for raising concerns, and actions taken in response to feedback. For a related national signal, see our summary of the latest OfS student pulse survey release.

Third, teams preparing for TEF, quality review, or committee scrutiny should avoid relying on headline scores alone. The direction of travel is towards timeliness, traceability, and demonstrable improvement. That means bringing together NSS results, pulse surveys, module evaluations, complaints, and representative feedback in a way that can withstand challenge. Our summaries of the TEF data dashboard correction and the delay to the OfS student outcomes and experience measures dashboard update show why version control and evidence governance already matter.

How student feedback analysis connects

This is where open-text analysis becomes operationally useful. A score can tell you that a metric moved, but it cannot show whether students were reacting to assessment delays, unclear communication, resource gaps, or poor follow-through. If institutions are expected to evidence quality improvement more clearly, they need a consistent way to analyse what students are saying across surveys and committees, not just once a year.

At Student Voice AI, we see the strongest governance conversations when comment analysis is tied to an action log. That makes it easier to show not only that an issue appeared in student voice data, but also whether later comments suggest it improved. If you are tightening your method, our NSS open-text analysis methodology for UK HE is a useful starting point.

FAQ

Q: What should institutions do now in response to the OfS key performance measures?

A: Review where student voice evidence sits in your quality governance. Make sure survey results, open-text themes, complaints, and student representative issues can be traced through to actions and follow-up. If that trail is fragmented, fix the governance before the next high-stakes reporting cycle.

Q: When do these measures apply, and who is affected?

A: The first five OfS key performance measures were published on 26 February 2026 under the OfS strategy for 2025 to 2030. The OfS says most of the remaining measures will follow in spring 2026, with the TEF timeliness measure to follow the first round of quality assessments in the reformed system. The announcement is most relevant to providers in the English regulated sector.

Q: Does this mean student voice will carry more weight in TEF or quality regulation?

A: The announcement does not directly change provider requirements, but it does show that the OfS wants to monitor whether regulation leads to quality improvement and whether students are aware of the regulator. That points to a continuing need for structured, well-governed student voice evidence that can explain what changed and why.

References

[Office for Students]: "Measuring what matters: our new key performance measures" Published: 2026-02-26

[Office for Students]: "KPM 5: The proportion of students who are aware of the OfS (interim measure)" Published: 2026-02-26

[Office for Students]: "Student pulse survey" Published: 2026-02-26

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