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Office for Fair Access


The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent public body in the United Kingdom that supports the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education in his or her work that is intended to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education in England. It approves and monitors 'access agreements'. All English universities and colleges that want to charge higher fees must have an 'access agreement' approved by the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.

The first Director, appointed in 2004, was Sir Martin Harris. He was followed by Les Ebdon, whose appointment was confirmed in February 2012.

The Higher Education Act 2004 introduced the concept of variable tuition fees for the first time. Whilst some parts of the United Kingdom, most notably Scotland, did not implement top-up fees, most universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom are in England and are thus under the new regime.

That regime allowed HEIs to charge tuition fees of any amount from £0 to £3,000. (These caps were raised in 2010.) At the time this policy was being debated there was considerable concern that the amount of debt new graduates would be faced with could dissuade some potential students from entering higher education altogether. Thus, as part of the debate, the Government of the United Kingdom decided to institute a regulator to ensure that HEIs took steps to ensure that such dissuasion did not occur. The Act established the post of Director of Fair Access to Higher Education and the supporting body OFFA, and gave the Director the power to prevent a HEI charging fees above £1,200 if it could not satisfy the regulator that it would make adequate provision for widening access and encouraging participation.

For the academic year starting September 2012, the amount that institutions could charge increased to £9000, subject to approval by the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.

It is headquartered in Stoke Gifford in South Gloucestershire in the offices of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).


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