The English regulator鈥檚 quality assessment process needs a聽rethink, according to聽the vice-chancellor of a聽university that was recently subjected to an聽investigation that yielded 鈥渘o聽concerns鈥�.

The University of East London (UEL) has been revealed as聽the third provider to聽have received a聽鈥渂辞辞迟蝉-辞苍-迟丑别-驳谤辞耻苍诲鈥� inspection from the Office for Students (OfS), and it聽is the second case in聽which no聽areas of聽concern were found, after the regulator scrutinised the quality of聽its business and management courses.

OfS investigators, who looked into UEL , did聽not identify any concerns relating to three conditions of聽interest 鈥� B1:聽academic experience; B2:聽resources, support and student engagement; and B4:聽assessment and awards.

Responding to the findings through a , Amanda Broderick, vice-chancellor and president of UEL, said she was pleased that her institution had yielded positive results.

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But, she added: 鈥淚聽want to add my voice to these calls for a rethink of our regulator鈥檚 approach towards quality assessment, and to reflect on where there is room for improvement in this important process and the role it plays in the national and international reputation of higher education.鈥�

The OfS investigation into UEL 鈥� conducted by three academic experts and a staff member 鈥� was launched as part of聽the regulator鈥檚 鈥渁pproach to general monitoring鈥�.

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One of the 鈥減eculiarities鈥� of the process was that UEL was not informed of what the OfS鈥� concerns were, according to Professor Broderick.

And she said there had never been any clarification about the exact criteria, data or threshold for the assessment, nor how the OfS decided on the shortlist of universities that were to be assessed.

In the regulator鈥檚 previous two investigations, it聽found 鈥渁reas of concern鈥� at the University of Bolton, and none at London South Bank University.

Professor Broderick noted that each of the institutions targeted had a high percentage of students from widening participation backgrounds, and social mobility or inclusion as an explicit institutional mission.

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鈥淔ar from suggesting that this is the result of explicit discrimination, I聽believe it is worth considering if the current definitions, interpretations, and measurements of quality, can have an unintended implicit bias towards certain students, regions and institutions,鈥� she added.

鈥淓ither way, it is critical that we challenge any suggestion that socially inclusive HEIs are low-quality, and actively correct any false assumptions about the students who attend our institutions, the challenges they may face and the full value of successful outcomes.鈥�

During its investigation into UEL, the OfS considered in detail its curriculum design and pedagogic approach, the educational experiences of students on the tourism management courses, UEL鈥檚 academic support, and its staffing strategy.

Professor Broderick said the 鈥渄anger鈥� of the OfS鈥� approach to quality assessment lay in forgetting that the invaluable diversity of students, regions and institutions had a critical role to play in driving social mobility and unlocking growth, productivity and competitiveness.

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com