Access and participation plans

Notes for providers considering increasing fees

We wrote to accountable officers on 30 October 2025 to confirm that we will not be collecting information about fees for 2026-27 through the annual fee information process this year, so there is nothing you need to submit to the OfS for approval in relation to fees for 2026-27. We’ll set out our expectations for the collection of fee information for 2027-28 and future years in due course.

We expect you to take steps to provide relevant fee information to your students following the publication of further information about changes to fee limits for 2026-27, including:

• If you’re considering raising fees within prescribed limits for new entrants, or for continuing students in line with inflation, then we strongly advise you to consider your compliance with Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance and consumer protection law, including in circumstances where your contracts with students provide for changes to fees.
• If you are making changes that increase fees for new entrants in line with prescribed limits, you should make sure that prospective students have access to information about the full cost of their course, for the duration of the course, before they commit themselves to undertaking a higher education course.
• In making any changes that would impact on fee levels for continuing students, you should note that continuing students cannot be charged more than the lower of either: the relevant prescribed fee limit or the level to which fees can be increased in line with the inflationary statement recorded in the access and participation plan that was in effect in the year of the student’s entry to their course.