Professor Sasha Roseneil
The Office for Students (OfS) has set out a range of commitments for improvement after the judicial review which saw its fine against the University of Sussex quashed earlier this year.
This news has been covered by, amongst others, The Guardian, The Times (login required) and WonkHE.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil has also written an article for Times Higher Education (login required, you can register with your staff email address).
Sasha said: “I warmly welcome the Office for Students’ lessons learned report and the constructive, forward-looking approach it sets out, but I regret that it falls short of a full and frank critical self-review in a number of respects.
“Importantly, it reveals deep cultural problems within the OfS in relation to freedom of expression and internal challenge, and it is heartening to see the new leadership setting different expectations for the organisation, expectations that are more appropriate for a public institution, trusted to regulate one of the most important sectors in a democratic society. I recognise and appreciate the new leadership’s commitment to learning and change and their acknowledgement of some of the OfS’s mistakes in the Sussex case.
“However, the report does not fully reflect the breadth or the seriousness of the High Court’s findings or all the lessons that could be learned from the case. It is also disappointing that the review missed the opportunity to engage with the University of Sussex when their lack of engagement throughout the investigation was roundly criticised by the High Court.”
Some of the key issues that the OfS report does not address:
- how the decision to investigate Sussex was made, and the nature of the bias and predetermination that drove the investigation and the decision against Sussex
- that the OfS repeatedly misdirected itself and failed to understand the legal meanings of freedom of speech and academic freedom, and the scope of its own powers
- how the OfS will ensure that it will secure more reliable legal advice in future
- how it will hold its advisers on matters of law, freedom of speech, and academic freedom to account following the OfS’ multiple failures to correctly interpret the law
- the cost and proportionality of the four-and-a-half-year process with respect to the students and taxpayers who ultimately fund the OfS, and to the University of Sussex.