OfS quality assessment leads to enhanced monitoring at De Montfort University, and why student feedback evidence matters

By Student Voice AI

Published Feb 20, 2026 · Updated Feb 20, 2026

On 21 January 2026, the Office for Students (OfS) announced additional regulatory requirements for De Montfort University (DMU) following an OfS quality assessment of subcontracted provision. We are highlighting this because the case is a clear reminder that regulation often turns on everyday, traceable evidence about the student experience, including assessment and feedback, learning resources, and whether concerns are identified and acted on early. [OfS press release]

What has changed in the OfS quality assessment decision

The OfS says it has placed DMU into enhanced monitoring, imposed a monetary penalty, and made the university subject to a new specific ongoing condition of registration (Condition BB).

Condition BB requires the university to strengthen how it manages its subcontractual arrangement(s) so that students receive a high quality academic experience, and so that the provider can demonstrate ongoing compliance with the OfS quality conditions referenced in the announcement (B1, B2 and B4). The OfS states it will publish the quality assessment report and regulatory case report in due course.

The press release also spells out why this matters for student voice practice. The OfS reports that the assessment identified concerns linked to teaching and course quality, including course resources and staff shortages, inconsistent application of assessment policies, and cases where academic feedback was not delivered within expected timelines.

"Wherever and however they study, students must have confidence they’re getting the high quality academic experience they were promised." Jean Arnold, Interim Director of Quality and Access, OfS

There are clear dates attached. The OfS requires DMU to submit a report detailing how it will implement Condition BB by 4 May 2026, implement the condition by 4 November 2026, and have the measures fully in place by 4 May 2027.

What this means for institutions

First, this is another signal that subcontracted provision is an active regulatory focus, and that quality assessment can surface issues that institutions often first see in qualitative student feedback. If your oversight relies on small samples, or you only review open-text after reporting cycles close, you increase the risk that early warning signals are missed.

Second, the issues highlighted are familiar to anyone who reads student comments at scale. Staff shortages, inconsistent assessment processes, and delayed feedback tend to appear as recurring themes across module evaluation comments, complaints narratives, and partner-run pulse surveys. Institutions need a way to bring those sources together into a single, comparable view so that action can be prioritised and evidenced.

Third, there is a practical reporting implication. When the questions shift from "Do we have a policy?" to "Can we evidence delivery?", teams need a governed trail of student voice evidence. That usually means clear ownership, dates, and follow-up notes in a shared action log, plus an ability to show whether feedback themes moved after changes were made.

How student feedback analysis connects

At Student Voice AI, we see two common gaps when institutions try to use student voice evidence in quality and risk work. The first is scale, open-text is rich but hard to analyse consistently across courses, campuses, and partners. The second is traceability, decision-makers need to understand what students actually said, how themes were derived, and what changed in response.

A defensible approach starts with governance and repeatability. Our student comment analysis governance checklist and NSS open-text analysis methodology set out practical steps for turning qualitative comments into evidence you can use confidently, including in high-scrutiny contexts.

FAQ

Q: What should institutions do now if they have subcontracted or franchised provision?

A: Start with an evidence audit. Confirm you can collect student feedback consistently across every delivery site, analyse themes in a repeatable way (including open text), and maintain an action log that links priorities to named owners and dates. Assessment and feedback is a good place to begin: monitor timeliness, clarify expectations, and check whether partner delivery is applying policies consistently.

Q: What is the timeline and scope of the OfS requirements in this case?

A: The OfS press release was published on 21 January 2026. It states that DMU must submit a report on implementing Condition BB by 4 May 2026, implement the condition by 4 November 2026, and have measures in place by 4 May 2027. The decision applies to DMU, but it also indicates the OfS intends to increase its use of quality assessments for subcontracted provision.

Q: What does this imply about how student voice evidence will be used in quality regulation?

A: It reinforces a direction of travel towards traceable, operational evidence. Student feedback is most useful when it is timely, comparable across delivery models, and linked to action. For quality teams, that raises the bar on how qualitative comments are collected, analysed, and documented as part of ongoing assurance.

References

[Office for Students]: "De Montfort University subject to additional regulatory requirements following quality assessment"
Published: 2026-01-21

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