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

Updated Sep 07, 2026

OfS announced its new set of 11 key performance measures on 26 February 2026, aligned with its 2025–2030 strategy. The measures assess the regulator’s own work, including quality activity, collaboration, financial oversight and communication. The first five measures were published that day. OfS announcement.

What the measures describe

The quality-related measures include the number and timeliness of TEF assessments and investigations involving quality assessment, and accountable officers’ views on whether regulation produced quality improvements.

Student awareness of OfS is KPM 5, an interim measure while the regulator works towards assessing student trust and confidence. The announcement explains that its student pulse data are not used for regulatory activity or decisions.

OfS said most outstanding measures would follow in spring 2026, with the TEF assessment measure following the first round under a reformed quality system. That was the timetable in the February announcement, rather than confirmation here that every planned release occurred. Measure descriptions and next steps.

Interpret student awareness separately

The autumn 2025 pulse report gives awareness of OfS as 28% overall, 39% among postgraduates and 21% among undergraduates, using the combined term sample. Awareness of a regulator is a different construct from satisfaction with teaching or confidence that an institution listens. Pulse report, page 13.

Our practical suggestion is to keep these distinctions visible in committee reporting. Identify whether a measure describes an institution, the regulator or respondents’ perceptions before drawing a conclusion from it.

The announcement does not create a new provider reporting rule by itself. Teams reviewing local student feedback can still benefit from documenting the question, evidence, decision and follow-up, but that is our suggested practice rather than an obligation introduced by these KPMs. The comment governance checklist can support that discussion.

Review note, 7 September 2026: checked the complete announcement and pulse figures, distinguished the regulator’s performance measures from provider requirements, and removed unsupported predictions about the weight of student voice in future assessments.