ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the economics of higher education (HE) and how a given economic model drives the governance and management of higher education institutions (HEI), treating them as businesses – as well as exploring the concept of the student-consumer and his/her legal relationship with the provider HEI. It considers the impact on HEI/ HE providers (HEP) governance and management of the necessity to ensure compliance with the ‘conditions’ set by the Office for Students (OfS) for its registration of a HE provider, especially given the strong sanctions that the OfS can impose upon its HEPs under Higher Education and Research Act 2017(HERA17). The political response from the Conservative government has been the passing of the HERA17 that establishes the OfS as the new regulator of HE providers. The OfS ‘bold, student-focussed, risk-based approach’ to regulation is set out; and the various obligations upon it under HERA are unpacked, as well as its HERA powers/sanctions being explained.
