HEPI research suggests more universities are encouraging part-time work and that more students are undertaking paid employment to cope with the increased cost of living. Alongside this, research has documented the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on student belongingness, as decisions made from financial necessity can impact students’ connection and…
A major Australian higher education policy review, known as the Australian Universities Accord, submits its final report this month. The Australian Labor Party announced the Accord idea from opposition in 2021, with the current review commencing after its 2022 election victory over the Liberal Party. As the name suggests, an Accord goal was greater…
The modern PhD in the UK is usually dated to the years immediately after the First World War. It is a relative latecomer then, and the complex articulation of a three-cycle process (undergraduate, masters, doctorate) through the Bologna Process is even more recent, and dates to the end of the…
Regulators Committee expressed surprise at the university regulator’s assessment that our finances are “in good shape”. To the contrary, the Committee were unequivocal that “the current model for funding higher education is unsustainable”. In a recent piece on this site, Dr Mark Corver presented an alternative model for funding higher…
As reported by The Times, the boss of one of the world’s most influential investment firms has called for “consistency” in the government’s business strategy, pointing out that Britain has had six chancellors and four prime ministers since 2019. On stage with Rishi Sunak at the government’s global investment summit…
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, higher education institutions (HEI) increasingly recognise the importance of preparing students to thrive in a technology-driven world. As higher education practitioners, it is crucial to draw a comparison between our expectations of an ideal digitally capable student and the reality of students’ digital capabilities. …
Whilst the (gold) dust may have settled following the announcement of TEF 2023 ratings in late September what might last week’s November release of TEF panel summary statements, alongside provider and student submissions, tell us about the rationale behind the awards? In a previous HEPI blog, Emily reflected on the…
In 2023, QS launched the pilot edition of its Sustainability Ranking. University of California Berkeley took the top spot, in a Top 10 comprised of institutions from Canada, Australia, the UK, the US, Japan and New Zealand. After gathering sector feedback, reviewing the impact of the metrics and the robustness…
This year’s UCAS deadline is fast approaching. One area of particular interest will be student applications to healthcare and nursing, where the government is keen to see increases to meet targets set in the NHS Workforce Plan. These students will go on to support an ageing population, and will operate…
If you have only learned about the proposed changes to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) from Professor Sir Nigel Thrift’s recent HEPI Policy Note, then you are likely to be alarmed. According to Thrift, the proposal to reduce the weighting on research outputs in REF 2028 from 60% to 50%*…