In the first in a new series of HEPI Occasional Reports published today (18 March), leading 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. The report has been produced in partnership with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education which, to mark its fifth anniversary, is staging a debate tonight (18 March) on the future framework of higher education in the UK. Speakers at the debate include Professor Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, Professor Patricia Broadfoot, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gloucester, Professor Sir David Watson, of the Institute of Education and Lynne Sedgemore CBE, Executive Director, 157 Group of Further Education Colleges.

In his essay Professor Brown sets out his view that while market mechanisms can play a useful role in higher education, these should not be allowed to dominate, particularly because of the impossibility of providing adequate information about quality to potential students and other stakeholders. Professor Sir Peter Scott argues in contrast that students are perfectly capable of taking rational decisions, and that information about quality is not the only - or even the main - factor that should determine choice. He argues that the problem with the present arrangements is not that market mechanisms dominate, but rather that the market - and how the market operates - is distorted.

Commenting on the first report in this new series, HEPI's Director Bahram Bekhradnia said: "At this time when confidence in the market has been shaken by the turmoil in the financial markets, we thought it timely and important to review the operation of the market as a mechanism for regulating higher education. Roger Brown and Peter Scott, distinguished and knowledgeable experts on the subject, provide both a rigorous analysis and a challenging review of the rhetoric surrounding this most fundamental issue facing higher education today."

Ewart Wooldridge, CBE, Chief Executive, Leadership Foundation, added: "The Leadership Foundation welcomes the two pieces presented in this paper and encourages its higher education members, stakeholders and other interested parties to join the debate. What both HEPI and the Leadership Foundation contribute as organisations is an appropriate space for such a debate to take place. We hope it makes a useful and provocative contribution to the wider debate on the future framework of higher education in this country."