A “radical” new cross-department task force should be established to examine the level of regulation UK universities are subjected to, according to a former vice-chancellor.

Nigel Thrift, a former vice-chancellor at the University of Warwick, believes the sector needs a  to the one recently established to oversee British nuclear power, which the government believes is suffering from an overly complex regulatory system.

Thrift, who has repeatedly warned against the damage from over-regulation of universities, said the outlook for the sector is “not particularly favourable” – and that recent policy developments have not helped.

“The one thing the sector does not need is more regulation. There are people who genuinely seem to believe that more regulation equals better regulation.

����Vlog

“There’s simply a vast literature that shows that basically more regulation often simply gums things up and is not the way to go.”

Despite warnings that the expansion of the Office for Students’ (OfS) responsibilities has “diluted its clarity of focus”, the regulator has been handed more powers by the current government.

����Vlog

Though he does not object to the idea of a regulator, Thrift, now an emeritus professor at the University of Bristol, said the OfS should be limited to a handful of key priorities only.

“Many universities are extremely successful entities. They’re doing very well, and if they are doing well, I think most of the time just leave them to get on with it. You wouldn’t try and do this to companies, so why do it to universities?”

On top of its core regulatory duties, the OfS has been tasked with tackling sexual harassment, protecting free speech, and looking after student mental health in recent years.

“Some of these problems, frankly, are best described as hard problems, and…I don’t think rules and regulations will solve some of these things,” said Thrift. “That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be tackled, but I think universities would probably be better if they were given a steer and left to get on with it.”

����Vlog

Thrift, who is chair of the UK’s independent government advisory Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, said the “radical” model of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce (NRT) could be replicated to “break the higher education logjam”.

“It is really creating waves and will lead to big change. Something like this spanning DfE, DSIT and any other relevant ministries could be very effective.”

Like the NRT, a higher education task force should not have “poachers turning gamekeepers” but should involve broader regulation experts, according to Thrift.

He warned that increasing regulation was also adding to the growing burden of bureaucracy placed on academics, with the time of those in research universities being eaten up.

����Vlog

“There’s a problem over how much more academics can take. They’re doing so many things now at work, and their responsibilities have been expanded to a degree which I think doesn’t really make much sense.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com