The Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF) articulated 5 Principles of Good Regulation - proportionality, accountability, consistency, transparency and targeting. These have formed the basis of recent work relating to regulation on higher education.
In 2004 the Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG) estimated that the cost of policy-making and regulatory bodies in higher education in the UK was about £64m. The cost of these bodies to the sector, through data returns, inspection and administration, was estimated by PA Consulting to be £210m though many felt that the cost was much higher.
The main forms of regulation of higher education institutions are in relation to:
Universities and colleges also have “public duties” where they are designated as public authorities, in areas such as freedom of information, the promotion of equality and procurement.
One of the issues which gave rise to sectoral concerns about regulation was the volume and nature of requests for data, made by various stakeholder and funding bodies. In some cases such requests were not well coordinated or timed.