Office for Students (OFS)

The University has now responded to the following consultations on the Office for Students, and these responses can be found below:

• Office for Students - Regulatory Framework for Higher Education 

• Office for Students – Simplifying Access to the Market 

• Office for Students – Registration Fees for HE Providers 

• QAA Application to be the Designated Quality Body 

• HESA Application to be the Designated Data Body 

The University of Nottingham has a flexible admissions policy to support applicants who are from backgrounds that are underrepresented in HE. We strive to make our student population more representative of the overall population in terms of socioeconomic background. We select students based on their potential to succeed on our courses and we recognise that some educational and personal circumstances affect achievement. In these instances, we may make a flexible offer to recognise the challenges that some students may have faced.

There is an overall difference in the percentage of acceptances by gender. Further analysis shows that a significantly greater proportion of female applicants apply to highly selective courses such as Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Science and Pharmacy where the proportion of applicants receiving an offer is lower than the average.

The ethnicity of an applicant is not available or visible to staff when a decision is made on an application.  There is also a tendency for BAME students to apply for more competitive subjects such as Medicine which can affect the overall likelihood of success.

• Office for Students – Transparency Information for 2018 entry

In addition, Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University, and Alan Holey, President of the University of Nottingham Students’ Union, have taken the opportunity to write to Nicola Dandridge, the recently announced Chief Executive of the Office for Students.  You can now read this letter.