Medr published its first register of higher education providers on 1 August 2026. Registration is now a live issue for universities, colleges, and alternative providers operating in Wales or planning to enter the market.

What is Medr and why does it matter?

Medr (the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research) is Wales's regulator and funder for the tertiary education sector, established under the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022. It has a statutory duty to establish, maintain, and publish a register of higher education providers.

The register forms part of a broader cross-tertiary regulatory system, launched by Medr on 1 April 2026 and the first of its kind in the UK. The full suite of regulatory documents, including the Regulatory Framework, Quality Framework, Learner Engagement Code, and learner protection plan requirements, largely took effect from 1 August 2026. Some conditions for registered providers won't come into full effect until August 2027.

How the two registration categories work

The register has two categories – Higher Education (Core) and Higher Education (Alternative).

Providers in the Higher Education (Core) category are eligible for Medr higher education funding and can offer courses automatically designated for Welsh Government student support. They're also subject to additional requirements, including fee limits and charitable status conditions.

Providers in the Higher Education (Alternative) category are not eligible for Medr higher education grant funding but can offer courses automatically designated for student support at a lower level, and fee limit requirements do not apply.

What registration means for your institution

Registration confirms that a provider has met Medr's initial registration conditions and is committed to ongoing regulatory requirements. It isn't a broader assessment of overall performance or standing.

Medr's regulatory focus spans teaching and learning quality, financial sustainability, governance and decision-making, Welsh-medium provision, learner protection planning, learner engagement, access and equality, learner and staff welfare, information for prospective learners, and fee setting. Ongoing compliance isn't a one-off exercise.

Where Medr identifies significant and evidenced risk relating to compliance, it may impose a specific ongoing condition on a registered provider. Any conditions will be published in the provider’s register entry, so governing boards and senior leaders should take note.

Medr expects providers to take a proactive, 'no surprises' approach to compliance, and to self-report concerns promptly. Where a provider fails to bring a risk area or compliance concern to Medr's attention, it has the power to publish information highlighting that provider's non-compliance. This could draw public attention to failings across the wider sector.

Governing boards and senior leaders should be aware that failing to self-report won't avoid scrutiny - and may well attract a more public response than proactive disclosure would have done.

Medr can remove a provider from the register where it no longer meets registration conditions or where circumstances arise requiring deregistration under the 2022 Act.

Why this matters for your institution

Wales now has the UK's first cross-tertiary regulatory system, spanning higher and further education in a way that has no parallel elsewhere in the UK. The implications differ depending on your position:

• Existing Welsh higher education providers must understand which registration category applies to them, which conditions are already in force, and what ongoing compliance requires.

• New market entrants wishing to offer higher education in Wales, and to access student support designation or Medr funding, must navigate the registration process before doing so.

• Providers regulated by the Office for Students in England and also operating in Wales will need to understand the distinct Welsh requirements, given the cross-tertiary scope of the Medr framework.

• Governors and senior leaders should note that the Regulatory Framework places direct expectations on governance, financial sustainability, learner welfare, and quality. Governing bodies will need to scrutinise their compliance carefully, given the transparency and accountability that the framework demands.

What comes next from Medr

This is the first in a series of updates we'll be publishing as Medr's new regulatory regime takes effect. If you have questions about Medr's registration regime or its implications for your institution, please contact Trish D’Souza or Bradley Evans in our higher education team.