Speakers
Workshop
This session from Uniac presents cross‑sector findings from internal audits of compliance with the Office for Students’ Condition E6 on harassment and sexual misconduct, undertaken across Uniac member and client institutions.
Using a consistent assurance framework aligned to OfS regulatory expectations, the audits assessed whether providers have in place effective strategies, governance arrangements, policies, reporting mechanisms, training, and support to make a “significant and credible difference” to student protection. The findings highlight common areas of regulatory exposure, including potential weaknesses in the design and operation of the single comprehensive source of information, gaps between policy intent and operational delivery, unclear accountability, and limited evidence to demonstrate effectiveness.
The session also explores how institutions are assuring governing bodies of compliance, including the use of data, reporting on prevalence and outcomes, and evaluation of training and support arrangements. Aimed at Student Services’ professionals with responsibility for delivery and oversight, the session provides practical insight into where universities may fall short against E6 requirements and what the regulator is likely to expect as evidence of credible, ongoing compliance.
Clare McCauley is an Associate Director at Uniac, specialising in internal audit, governance and higher education regulation. She has over 25 years’ experience working in senior leadership roles across a wide range of higher education providers, including Russell Group, post‑1992, specialist and small institutions.
At Uniac, Clare leads and delivers assurance and advisory work in academic and corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Her work includes extensive experience of auditing compliance with Office for Students conditions of registration, particularly Condition E6 on harassment and sexual misconduct. Clare’s work focuses on supporting institutions to evidence effective practice in meeting regulatory requirements, drawing on a pragmatic, sector‑informed approach to interpreting and applying regulatory expectations for both governance and operational audiences.
She holds a Master’s degree in Linguistics and volunteers for an international charity that supports victims of sexual violence.