Reports
Male and female participation and progression in Higher Education: further analysis
Date: 04 Jul 2010Author: John Thompson and Bahram BekhradniaThis report supplements the research published by HEPI in June 2009 on “Male and female participation and progression in Higher Education”. It is in two parts. The first part provides further information on the employment outcomes of graduates, using more up-to-date data than was available when the original report was published. The second part reports on some further work done following comments and responses to the original report.
Comparability of degree standards?
Date: 03 Jun 2010Author: Roger BrownThis report discusses the issues involved in comparability of degree standards. It is in two parts. Part 1 begins by outlining the means by which individual universities and colleges and the academic community collectively protect the standards of UK degrees. It then describes the historical attachment to comparability and the pressures which have led to questions being raised about it. Part 2 considers whether genuine comparability is still feasible, and what options may be open to UK higher education if it were found to be impracticable.
Funding selectivity, concentration and excellence - how good is the UK's research?
Date: 25 Mar 2010Author: Jonathan Adams and Karen GurneyThis report assesses the strength of the UK's research base, and at a high level examines how that strength is distributed between institutions. It concludes that a very small number of institutions and individuals within them produce the truly exceptional research that puts the UK among the world's leaders in research, and that below those peaks of excellence performance is more evenly spread between institutions. Whereas the present policy of selectively funding excellent research wherever it is found has had the effect of concentrating research funds in a relatively small number of institutions, there is no general case for explicitly funding research according to historical institutional characteristics.
Postgraduate education in the UK
Date: 21 Jan 2010Author: Ginevra HouseIn 2004 HEPI produced a report reviewing the extent and nature of postgraduate education. The present report updates the 2004 study and looks in more depth at a number of issues:
- Nature of postgraduate education
- Students - current numbers, profile and trends
- Institutional differences and regional disparities
- Costs and benefits of postgraduate education
- Quality assurance and public information
- Future demand
This is a joint publication with the British Library and is also available on their website.
Oxford and Cambridge - how different are they?
Date: 19 Nov 2009Author: Juliet Chester and Bahram BekhradniaThis study looks at Oxford and Cambridge universities and considers the extent to which they are distinctive compared to the rest of the UK higher education sector. It looks at the nature of their undergraduate student bodies, the outcomes of their teaching, the extent and quality of the research done in those universities and finally at the resources at their disposal. It concludes that from all of these perspectives - certainly when all are considered together - these two universities really are different from others in the sector, including the small number of peer institutions with which they are sometimes compared.
Proposals for the Research Excellence Framework – a critique
Date: 15 Oct 2009Author: Bahram BekhradniaThe UK higher education funding bodies have published their proposals for the design and conduct of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which will replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) as the method by which research will be assessed for the purpose of the allocation of their research funds. This paper is HEPI's response to the proposals.
Vouchers as a mechanism for funding higher education
Date: 24 Sep 2009Author: Bahram Bekhradnia and William MassyThere has been continuing interest in the use of vouchers as a mechanism for funding higher education institutions. In this report, HEPI analyses the pros and cons of vouchers, and looks at the implementation of voucher systems elsewhere in the world.
Male and female participation and progression in Higher Education
Date: 05 Jun 2009Author: John Thompson and Bahram BekhradniaThis report analyses the differences in the participation of men and women in higher education, and in their success when there. It shows that on virtually all measures women outperform men, and it discussses some of the possible causes for this and the implications.
An annex to this report was published on 4 July 2010.
The Academic Experience of Students in English Universities (2009 report)
Date: 07 May 2009Author: Bahram BekhradniaThis report follows HEPI's two previous surveys of the academic experience of students in English universities, in 2006 and 2007, updating the results against the baseline established by the earlier surveys.
The Role of the Market in Higher Education
Date: 18 Mar 2009Author: Professor Roger Brown and Professor Sir Peter ScottLeading HE experts Professor Roger Brown and Professor Sir Peter Scott, Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University, present two contrasting views on the role of the market in higher education. This report has been produced in partnership with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, as part of their fifth birthday celebrations.
Demand for Higher Education to 2029
Date: 11 Dec 2008Author: Nick Bailey and Bahram BekhradniaThis is the fifth report on demand for higher education that HEPI has published, updated each year in the light of the most recent information. Last year's report extended the review beyond 2020, to 2029-30. This year’s report incorporates the most recent population projections from the Office of National Statistics and the Government Actuary's Department, and it also incorporates some regional analyses. There are two main influences on demand for higher education – changes in the population from which students are drawn, and the ability and willingness of this population to participate in higher education (as well as the extent of that participation ). This report looks at each in turn, both nationally and regionally.
The academic experience and outcomes of students with vocational level 3 qualifications
Date: 02 Oct 2008Author: Nick Bailey and Bahram BekhradniaIn January 2007 HEPI produced a report “Vocational A levels and university entry: is there parity of esteem?” that considered whether students with different level 3 qualifications progressed to higher education at different rates. The report concluded that students from vocational backgrounds as a whole were not underrepresented in higher education when their prior educational achievement was taken into account. Specifically, a student with VCE A levels or GNVQs progressed to higher education at about the same rate as a student with GCE A levels who had achieved at a similar level at GCSE. This new report, which was generously sponsored by the City and Guilds of London Institute, examines the issue in further detail and is concerned in particular with the different experiences both within and on leaving higher education of those who enter with academic and with vocational qualifications.Financial support in English universities: the case for a national bursary scheme
Date: 18 Sep 2008Author: Juliet Chester and Bahram BekhradniaThe introduction of variable fees for full-time Home and EU undergraduates in English universities has been accompanied by significant additional expenditure by universities on means-tested bursaries and on other financial aid for undergraduate students. However, this market is a highly distorted one, with serious consequences. This report therefore assesses the rationale for a national bursary scheme, by considering the extent and nature of the existing problems. It concludes that there is a strong case for introducing a national bursary scheme, which would provide eligible students with a guaranteed bursary from pooled institutional income – and promote greater affordability for students – but which would nevertheless allow individual universities to develop their own financial support schemes.The Bologna process and the UK’s international student market
Date: 22 May 2008Author: James Cemmell and Bahram BekhradniaThis paper draws together several studies in order to consider the implication of the Bologna Process and the resultant reforms in other European higher education systems for the future of the UK as a destination for international students.Funding higher fees: some implications of a rise in the fee cap
Date: 03 Apr 2008Author: Juliet Chester and Bahram BekhradniaThis report considers some of the implications of any rise in the maximum fee payable by full-time UK and EU undergraduates at English institutions without a commensurate increase in commitment of public expenditure by the Westminster Government. The purpose of the report is to explore the options that would be available to the Government if it wished to raise the fee cap while maintaining public contributions at around their current level. Four possible approaches are described in detail.Evaluating and funding research through the proposed Research Excellence Framework
Date: 13 Dec 2007Author: Bahram BekhradniaIn November 2007 the Higher Education Funding Council for England published a consultation paper concerning proposals for the future assessment and funding of research. This paper is an assessment of the proposed new system, the Research Excellence Framework.
The Academic Experience of Students in English Universities (2007 report)
Date: 25 Sep 2007Author: Tom Sastry and Bahram BekhradniaIn March 2006, with a grant generously provided by the Higher Education Academy, the Higher Education Policy Institute commissioned Opinionpanel Research to undertake a survey of first and second year students in English universities retained as panellists in their database. The survey focused on various aspects of the amount of teaching and private study undertaken by students and their levels of satisfaction and other attitudinal questions. In October 2006, the report of the survey was published as The academic experience of students in English universities. The survey was repeated in March 2007 to validate the general account of the English Higher Education sector provided by its predecessor, and this is the report of its results.
The Economic Costs and Benefits of International Students
Date: 12 Jul 2007Author: Phil Vickers and Bahram BekhradniaThis report examines the economic benefit the UK receives from the presence of international students and in the case of EU students compares these benefits with the substantial subsidy they receive from the UK taxpayer.