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HEPI Guest Post

  • Teaching about the British Empire: Cutting through the noise

    7 February 2024 by Dr Alice Pettigrew

    Researchers from University College London and the University of Oxford have recently launched an ambitious new project aiming to provide an empirical portrait of current teaching and learning around the interconnected themes of the British Empire, migration and belonging in England’s secondary schools.  On the 13th June 2020, a letter was…

  • Desperately Seeking Educational Gain, the Dark Matter of Learning and Teaching

    6 February 2024 by Helena Lim

    Since its inception in 2017, the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) has become an integral part of assessing and recognising the quality of undergraduate teaching and learning in the English higher education system. Institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can participate on a voluntary basis. Managed by the Office for…

  • Living and Learning (and Working) in London: one year on

    5 February 2024 by Emily Dixon

    When I wrote London Higher’s Living and Learning in London report a year ago, we were the first organisation to use HEPI/AdvanceHE’s Student Academic Experience Survey data to investigate how student experience differs in a particular UK region. We looked at London students’ answers to the survey questions, and we…

  • Why degree apprenticeships deserve your attention

    5 February 2024 by Ellie Russell

    Degree apprenticeships. They’re Skills Minister Robert Halfon’s “two favourite words in the English language” and we’re at the beginning of a whole week dedicated to raising awareness and celebrating the many benefits of apprenticeships at all levels (yes this year’s National Apprenticeships Week does clash with World Nutella Day, but…

  • Online learning as a response to global shifts in higher education

    2 February 2024 by Nicola McCullough and Joel Roberts

    UK higher education has had a strong international reputation for many years. However, increasing competition for international students and recent reputational challenges may hinder UK institutions’ ability to support global higher education growth, and the growing need for upskilling and reskilling. Whilst there are challenges, UK higher education remains in…

  • UCAS Deadline Day 2024: Getting the ‘best fit’ for student choice

    31 January 2024 by Sarra Jenkins

    I was delivering training to teaching staff this week about the perils and pitfalls of predicted grades. When I gave a statistic about the number of our students that were placed at first or insurance choice university despite missing grades, a colleague thoughtfully asked, ‘but are they happy and succeeding…

  • Students and the Renters (Reform) Bill: the government has listened but it needs to listen some more, part I

    29 January 2024 by Martin Blakey

    HEPI has previously published two blogs outlining how this Bill might affect student accommodation (here and here).  This two-part blog analyses recent developments and suggests that the current proposals will actually reduce rather than enhance housing rights for students. Background Whilst fixed-term tenancy arrangements will remain the norm for purpose-built…

  • The Value of Higher Education in Developed Economies

    25 January 2024 by Vivienne Stern

    Just over a month ago, our Prime Minister, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, made a statement in his speech to the Conservative party conference. He said that: “The false dream of 50 per cent of children going to university […] was one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years.”…