Background
How and why OFFA was established
OFFA was set up under the Higher Education Act 2004 to make sure that:
- the introduction of higher tuition fees in 2006-07 did not deter people from entering higher education for financial reasons
- universities and colleges were explicitly committed to increasing participation in higher education among under-represented groups.
In October 2004, the then Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke wrote a guidance letter to the Director of Fair Access, Sir Martin Harris, outlining how he expected OFFA to work within the higher education sector to safeguard fair access. Read the guidance letter in full. In July 2009 we received an additional guidance letter on minimum bursary requirements from David Lammy, then Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property. Read the additional guidance letter. In February 2011 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published new guidance to us.
Want to know more?
Find out more about the education reforms that led to OFFA’s creation on the BIS website.