New research areas become a priority, old research is stopped, universities change their structures, start collaborations, and end certain activities.
Central control of higher education stops universities from competing for the best students, professors and donors.
He is fighting hard to stop universities getting their way and lifting the £3,225-a-year cap on fees (due to rise to £3,290 this year).
Some of the changes were meant to stop universities playing games to win a higher position in league tables, including "poaching" staff from other institutions and not submitting staff who could bring a department's average score down.
It has no remit over universities' admissions policies, but has the power to stop universities from charging top-up fees beyond the current £1,200 a year and issue £500,000 penalties where universities are making no real efforts - through bursaries and outreach work - to meet their benchmarks, which they set in negotiation with Offa.
"The Russell Group will always lead the way in terms of research income and outputs, but that doesn't stop universities further down the rankings seeking a distinctive positioning around their research and using clever ways to develop their profile in particular subjects or sectors," says Shaw. "Universities can make the mistake of trying to become known for everything.
This is not the first time the government has introduced legislation to require universities to ban "extremist" speakers, although paradoxically the first political intervention back in the 1980s was to stop universities, and student unions, banning rightwing speakers, extremists of another ilk.
This did not stop universities from passing speech codes, but the 2003 letter may have been in part responsible for the slight decrease in campus speech codes in the past several years.
But it has not stopped the university from applying for a patent on a decay-based neutrino detector technology, just in case.
