Sir Martin Harris has resumed his duties as Director of Fair Access to Higher Education with effect from 3 September 2011.
He takes back the role from Sir Graeme Davies, Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of London, who was appointed as interim director while Sir Martin received treatment for cancer.
Sir Martin is scheduled to complete his term as director at the end of this year. In the recent higher education White Paper, the Government announced its intention to recruit a new director this year. The position of Director of Fair Access to Higher Education is a statutory appointee (under section 31 of and Schedule 5 to the Higher Education Act 2004).
Notes to editors
- The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent, non-departmental public body established under the Higher Education Act 2004 to help promote and safeguard fair access to higher education. The main way we do this is by approving and monitoring ‘access agreements’. All English universities and colleges offering full-time (and in future, part-time, subject to Parliamentary approval) undergraduate higher education courses must have an access agreement with us in order to charge higher fees. Access agreements set out the access measures (e.g. outreach or financial support) that universities and colleges will put in place.
- For more about OFFA, please see our website www.offa.org.uk, particularly the Quick Facts and FAQ in the Press section.
For further information, contact Zita Adamson, Communications Manager at OFFA, on 0117 931 7272 or 0117 931 7171.