Catalogue description Records created or inherited by the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Until 1919 a number of separate government grants were made to individual universities and colleges in the United Kingdom, a general grant to colleges in England and Scotland giving education of a university standard having been introduced in 1889. This general grant was administered by the Treasury on the advice of various committees on grants to university colleges in Great Britain which were appointed from time to time. The Board of Education also made grants for technological and medical work at university institutions in England and Wales, and in 1911 took charge of the general grant when the President of the Board appointed a Standing Advisory Committee on University Grants to assist him in the allocation of the grant.

Following a deputation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the President of the Board of Education on 23 November 1918 it was decided to increase government aid to university education and to amalgamate the various grants to universities and colleges in the United Kingdom. The Advisory Committee was replaced in July 1919 by a standing committee of the Treasury designated the University Grants Committee.

The University Grants Committee existed until 1988 when it was replaced by the Universities Funding Council under the Education Reform Act 1988.

The Universities Funding Council then continued until 1993 when it was abolished under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The Council's functions in England were taken over by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and those in Wales by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. The Council for England also took over the functions of the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.

At a meeting in December 1995 the main Council decided to change its name to the Board. This did not have any affect on the title of the organisation itself. The HEFCE closed on 1st of April 2018 and its records were transferred to the Office for Students (OfS), along with some functionality.

The OfS is a non-departmental public body accountable to Parliament and sponsored by the Department for Education. It was established by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and came into existence on 1 January 2018. It inherited parts of its role from two previous bodies – HEFCE and the Office for Fair Access. Its purpose is to regulate higher education in England and is responsible for the Teaching Excellence Framework and registering higher education providers.