Medr publishes finalised regulatory system for tertiary education in Wales

On 1 April 2026 Medr published its new, cross-tertiary education regulatory system, which will come into effect from 1 August 2026, including:

• The full regulatory framework, including conditions of registration

• Statement of intervention powers – which sets out the range of Medr’s intervention functions specified by the Act and how they will operate]

• The Quality Framework for tertiary education – which sets out the approach to quality assurance and is directly linked to the Quality condition of registration and funding

• The Learner Engagement Code – which defines expectations for how providers involve learners in shaping and evaluating their educational experience

• A frequently asked questions document setting out responses to common queries raisedA glossary of key terms.

In the regulatory framework Medr sets out the conditions of registration that will apply for registered higher education providers; the conditions of funding that will apply to those tertiary providers who cannot register, but to whom Medr gives public money; Medr’s approach to monitoring compliance with the conditions of registration or funding and the Reportable Events process.

Although a number of alterations have been made as a result of the consultation exercise the fundamentals of the regulatory system remain unchanged.

In this briefing we will concentrate on the finalised conditions of registration.

Registration

There will be two categories of registration for providers of higher education in Wales – namely universities and further education providers that run higher education courses:

• Higher Education Providers (Core) - Providers registered in this category will be eligible for automatic designation for Welsh Government student fee and maintenance support for higher education courses at the higher fee level, provided under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. Providers in this category will also be eligible for Medr higher education grant funding

• Higher Education Providers (Alternative) – Providers registered in this category will be eligible for automatic designation for Welsh Government student fee and maintenance support for higher education courses at the lower fee level, provided under the 1998 Act but will not be eligible for the higher education grant funding.

In order to be admitted to the register providers need to comply with the initial conditions of registration of which there are seven. To remain on the register they need to comply with the ongoing conditions of registration of which there are 17 (which include the initial conditions of registration – which are also ongoing conditions – and 10 further ongoing conditions). 

The register will be launched in August 2026, with all but two of the conditions applying from that date. The remaining two conditions (both of which are ongoing conditions) will apply from August 2027.

Registration will be by way of an online portal which is in the process of being developed and more details will be provided in due course.

The Conditions of Registration

Initial and ongoing conditions

The seven initial and ongoing conditions are the same as those proposed in the consultation.

Financial sustainability

Providers must satisfy Medr as to their financially sustainability, which means that Medr judges that the plans and projections of the provider show that it has sufficient financial resources to continue as a going concern and implement strategies for the long term which are based on reasonable assumptions.   

This includes the provider:

• having credible plans to ensure that the provider will remain financially viable in the short term of one to two years, with no reason to suppose it is at material risk of insolvency within this period, and to remain financially sustainable over the medium term of three to five years

• requesting a review of governance by Medr in advance of entering a new financial commitment where Medr has already issued the provider with a financial commitments threshold

• notifying Medr where adverse performance indicates increased pressure on financial sustainability and

• notifying Medr well before any difficulties in meeting liabilities.

Governance and management

A provider must have effective governance and management arrangements, including financial management, and demonstrate that its particular management and governance arrangements are appropriate for its size, its complexity and the risk environment in which it operates. 

This includes compliance by the governing body with good governance, having an effective senior executive team, effective engagement with stakeholders (including staff and learners), establishing appropriate systems and controls in relation to financial management, managing its estate in a sustainable way, complying with Medr’s Accounts Direction and having appropriate policies and procedures in relation to internal controls and risk management.

Quality and continuous improvement

Providers must demonstrate that their provision (including that delivered on their behalf) is of good quality, and that they engage with continuous improvement.

Compliance with this requires providers:

• taking account of the Quality Framework published by Medr

• achieving satisfactory external quality assessment outcomes

• having acceptable performance data 

• not being considered by Medr to demonstrate a risk to the quality of education.

Staff and learner welfare

This involves having in place effective arrangements to support and promote learner and staff welfare and includes:

taking into account policies, procedures and services that promote and support staff and learner wellbeing and safety. “Wellbeing” in this context means emotional well-being and mental health, and “safety” means freedom from harms including harassment, misconduct, violence (including sexual violence) and hate crime

• conducting a staff and learner welfare self-evaluation which is approved by the governing body and reviewed annually – there will be no need to submit this to Medr, but Medr can ask for it if concerns and risks are raised or identified

• submitting to Medr a two-year welfare action plan approved by the governing body (in the consultation Medr proposed this be submitted annually but this has been changed following feedback that this created an unnecessarily administrative burden) and

• submitting an annual assurance and compliance return.

Validation arrangements

Providers must ensure, where there are validation arrangements in place, that these are effective in enabling the provider to satisfy itself as to the quality of the education leading to the award of a qualification under the arrangements. To comply with this condition the provider must meet the expectations set out in relation to oversight and responsibility, formal agreements, monitoring and review and notification requirements.

Information provided to prospective students

Providers must ensure that Medr is satisfied as to the information provided to prospective students about a provider, its courses, and its terms and conditions of contracts with students. 

his involves: 

• adhering to relevant legislation 

• providing clear information, which ensures all marketing materials, course information, and contractual terms are accurate, clear, and not misleading

• ensuring student contracts and terms and conditions are fair and compliant with consumer protection law 

• ensuring the information is accessible to the diverse range of prospective students in Wales and 

• providing timely updates.

Charitable status

This condition applies to the core category of registration only. The provider must be a charity to be registered and maintain that charitable status to remain on the register.
Ongoing conditions

There are 10 conditions which are only ongoing requirements. Although in the consultation there were 9 conditions, in reality there is nothing new as one of those is now split into two separate conditions. 

Welsh language

Providers must take all reasonable steps to: 

• promote and encourage greater use of the Welsh language across the provider, so that people – including staff and learners – can use the language naturally in their daily lives and 

• increase demand for, and participation in, tertiary education delivered through the medium of Welsh and Welsh as a subject.

In addition, where appropriate, providers must take all reasonable steps to promote and encourage the carrying out of research and innovation activities which support the Welsh language.

Compliance with this condition involves providers publishing and maintaining a Welsh Language Strategy setting out how they will achieve the above. This strategy must be evaluated at least every five years (and where appropriate amended). Progress of delivery against the strategy must be reported through the provider’s governance structures, along with the outcomes of any impact assessments conducted. Medr has said it will publish tailored briefings to accompany the condition.

Learner protection plan

When given notice to do so, the governing body must have in place a learner protection plan approved by Medr, on or before a date specified by Medr, and must implement that plan. The framework contains statutory guidance on the preparation and revision of learner protection plans which sets out the expected process for the submission, approval, and revision of learner protection plans, the requirements for the contents of learner protection plans and worked examples of possible scenarios.

Learner protection plan

The governing body must comply with the requirements of the learner engagement code which has been published by Medr (or any subsequent revisions) and provide evidence to demonstrate compliance with the code and its impact.

Equality of opportunity-  this will be a condition from August 2027.

Providers must deliver measurable outcomes to further the following aims:

• increase participation in tertiary education by people from under-represented groups 

• the retention of learners who are members of under-represented groups to the end of courses 

• the reduction of any gaps in attainment between different groups of learners, where the differences arise from social, cultural, economic or organisational factors and

• the provision of support for learners from under-represented groups finishing their courses, to continue in education, find employment or start a business.

Providers must use their self-evaluation processes to comply with this condition and Medr expects them to be clear and ambitious in setting measurable outcomes.

Complaints procedures

Providers must have in place a procedure for investigating complaints made by learners and former learners about an act or omission of the provider and take reasonable steps to make the procedure known to learners.

Regard to advice and guidance

The governing body must have regard to advice or guidance given by Medr in the exercise of its functions. This applies to advice or guidance issued by Medr to the provider specifically or more broadly to the sector. Providers must ensure there is appropriate consideration of Medr-issued advice or guidance, with appropriate oversight at the governing body level and must maintain proportionate records that demonstrate that guidance has been considered through the provider’s normal governance processes.

It is recognised that providers may adopt alternative approaches where that is appropriate to their context and although they need to be able to explain the rationale for their approach if requested, there is no expectation of routine justification or reporting.  

Information, assistance and access

The governing body must provide Medr, or a person authorised by it, with such information, assistance and access to the provider’s facilities, systems and equipment as Medr may reasonably require to undertake its statutory functions. This includes providing the information requested in a format prescribed by Medr, within the requested timescales and through an assurance process that provides it with appropriate confidence in the accuracy of the information.

Medr says that it will at all times act reasonably in its requests for information and will have regard to the costs of providing this information, and, where appropriate, to its confidentiality. In addition, in response to comments made in the consultation, it has added that it will only request information, assistance or access that is necessary and proportionate to the matter under consideration and will, wherever practicable, rely on evidence the provider already holds or has supplied to other statutory bodies or national collection.

Fee limits - this applies to the core category of registration only and will be a condition from August 2027. 

Providers must have a fee limit statement approved by Medr and ensure that regulated course fees do not exceed the applicable fee limit. The fee limit statement must set out the maximum fees chargeable for each qualifying course, either specifying a fee limit, or providing for the determination of a fee limit, and must specify the date on which it begins to have effect. Any variation of a fee limit statement must specify the date on which the variation begins to have effect. 

In addition, the statement must have been developed in consultation with the students’ union or other representative bodies, so that it reflects the input of students on the proposed fee structures and their potential impact on access and inclusion. Consultation with student bodies should be proportionate to the provider’s governance structure and may include surveys, focus groups, or “formal representation”.

Notification of changes which affect the accuracy of information

The governing body must notify Medr of any change, of which it becomes aware, which affects the accuracy of the information contained in the provider’s entry in the register. This must be provided within 28 calendar days of the change occurring, or the provider becoming aware of it.

Status as a tertiary education provider in Wales

The governing body must notify Medr of any change, of which it becomes aware, which affects (or may affect) the provider’s status as a tertiary education provider whose activities are wholly or mainly carried on in Wales. In the consultation this was part of the condition on accuracy of information and Medr has decided that these should now be two separate conditions to reflect the statutory definition of a tertiary education provider in Wales and the mandatory notification duties.

Some respondents to the consultation raised concerns about the clarity of the term “wholly or mainly carried on in Wales” and requested guidance on what would be taken into account in deciding this.

Medr have responded that factors supporting an assessment that a provider’s activities are “wholly or mainly” carried on in Wales are: 

• it is legally established in Wales and 

• it has its principal place of business in Wales and 

• its UK-based tertiary education is mainly carried out in Wales, including tertiary education provided on its behalf (such as through franchise or sub-contractual provision).

These indicators would be taken into account alongside other evidence relating to teaching, assessment, learner support, quality assurance, academic governance, and the oversight of any activity delivered on the provider’s behalf.

Conditions of Funding

As mentioned, the conditions of registration only apply to registered higher education providers.

The conditions of funding apply to those tertiary providers who cannot register but to whom Medr gives public money – so in other words providers of higher education courses specified by Welsh Ministers in regulations, further education, apprenticeships and adult community learning (via local authorities).

Most, but not all, of these conditions are the same as for registration. With 4 of the above initial and ongoing conditions applying both to registration and funding – namely financial sustainability, governance and management, quality and staff and learner welfare. The following 7 ongoing conditions also apply to funding as well as registration - Welsh language, learner protection plan, learner engagement code, equality of opportunity, complaints procedures, regard to advice and guidance and information, assistance and access.