Phillipson confirms Peck pick for Office for Students

Outgoing Nottingham Trent University vice chancellor Edward Peck has been confirmed as the next chair of the Office for Students (OfS). 

Peck was announced as the government’s preferred candidate for the post last month and was subject to a pre-appointment hearing with the education select committee last week. 

Confirming the appointment today, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said Peck will “play a key part in building the financial stability of higher education providers, driving the delivery of high-quality education and outcomes for students, and ultimately helping deliver on the government’s plan for change”.

Peck will take over from David Behan, who was made interim chair of the higher education regulator in July after leading an independent review of the quango. 

A start date has not yet been confirmed for the £59,000 a year, two-day-a-week job.

Peck has led Nottingham Trent University since 2014 but announced last month he will step down in the summer.

He holds a number of other roles in higher education. He is currently acting chair of UCAS, chair of the higher education mental health implementation taskforce and is the Department for Education’s higher education student support champion. 

Peck will step down from those roles when he begins his term as chair.

He told the education committee last week he will ask for “urgent briefings” about the state of university finances and whether action plans to improve are making a difference.

In December, the OfS took the unprecedented step of closing its register to new higher education providers so its staff can prioritise “severe pressures” facing universities. It also froze applications for new degree awarding powers and the use of the university title. 

Closing the register means new providers can’t get approval to deliver higher education courses needed in local areas. OfS hopes to lift these restrictions by August.