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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Month: November 2019

  • Trust in university finances requires both sides to put the work in

    29 November 2019 by Matt Sisson

    This blog was kindly contributed by Matt Sisson, Head of Membership at the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG). Universities are complex and unique organisations, with an impact that stretches beyond teaching and research on contained campuses. They have become key anchors in their local communities and regional hubs of…

  • Student accommodation: A postgraduate reflects

    28 November 2019 by Bethan Cornell

    This guest blog was kindly contributed by Bethan Cornell, a PhD student in Physics at King’s College London. She lives in her own place, with her partner. A note about terminology: HESA provide data specifically for postgraduate research, excluding postgraduate taught master’s students. Postgraduate research students are often missed out…

  • Creativity Counts

    27 November 2019 by Will Woods

    This guest blog was kindly contributed by Will Woods, Principal and CEO of the Open College of the Arts, part of the University of the Creative Arts group. What does a student look like in 2019? It is a question I would like to have asked Theresa May when she…

  • So what exactly are the manifestos promising on higher education?

    25 November 2019 by Nick Hillman

    Few people bother to read entire election manifestos. Indeed, even some candidates standing for election do not read their own party’s manifesto from cover to cover. But even though manifestos are a very far-from-perfect guide as to what will happen in the years ahead, they are important because they are…

  • 365 days of higher education policy

    22 November 2019 by Rachel Hewitt

    This week marks a year since I first joined HEPI as Director of Policy and Advocacy and it seems I couldn’t have picked a more interesting year to do so. In that year, I’ve seen three higher education ministers (Gymiah, Skidmore, Johnson and then Skidmore again), two Brexit deadlines passed…

  • Calling academics who want to write about higher education

    21 November 2019

    I am sometimes asked why HEPI doesn’t publish more policy papers by academics, given that all our output relates to higher education which, by definition, academics know about. It is a good question and one for which I probably do not have the perfect reply. (I am taking ‘academics’ here…

  • HEPI Election Briefing: How and why this election matters for students, staff and higher education institutions

    20 November 2019

    The Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk) has issued an Election Briefing document, which discusses and summarises five higher education issues that are linked to the 2019 general election. They are: Student voters; Undergraduate fees and funding; Participation and access; Research and development; and Internationalisation. The Policy Note takes a look at some…

  • 2019 Election Briefing

    20 November 2019 by Nick Hillman and Rachel Hewitt

    As the country prepares for its third general election in five years, this HEPI Policy Note provides a guide to some of the most important outstanding questions in higher education policy. It is aimed at general readers and specialists alike. HEPI is non-partisan and works with people across the political…