HEPI has published the third version of its analysis of the economic benefits of our universities hosting overseas students. It finds a substantially increased gross benefit, £41.9 billion, to the UK economy arising from the 2021/22 cohort. This is associated with a rise in overseas student numbers of 40% in…
For the past year, I have been privileged to lead a global provider of international education. We work with universities around the world to help increase global participation and I am deeply proud of the outstanding education taken up by students ambitious for their studies and their futures. Most of…
Consumer Rights Legislation exists to ensure that powerful traders do not take advantage of their consumers through unfair terms and actions. However, many academics are unaware that students are one such example, owing to the high fees charged, the high level commitment, and the potential consequences of onerous terms that…
Back in 1937 HG Wells, a man who knew a little of the future and the challenges it holds, warned that ‘our universities are not half-way out of the 15th century’ as he berated them for their inability to move with the times. What would he say to them now…
As a scarred veteran of the so called ‘quality wars’ – seemingly endless disputes from the mid-80s to the late-90s about the shape and control of the regulation of student education – the author has been sufficiently piqued by the House of Lords Committee’s remarkable criticisms of the Office for…
On 20 November, at the Global Food Security Summit in London, the Government launched a White Paper on international development entitled ‘International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change’. Much of what was outlined in the paper is welcome, including a commitment to scaling up…
The comparatively low rates of higher education (HE) progression amongst young men from white, working class backgrounds has received a significant amount of attention in recent years, including from HEPI. This has been accompanied by calls for a ‘response’ from the HE sector. Although how best to react remains uncertain.…
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) recently confronted a pressing challenge in the realm of education technology. Its University of London (International) programme students exhibited a reluctance to embrace the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as enthusiastically as expected. Feedback from students indicated that the existing VLE system…
A growing consensus suggests that the higher education (HE) funding system in England is not fit for purpose. It fails to meet the needs of students, graduates, universities, and business. Through both teaching and research, universities play a pivotal role in fostering the skills necessary to be competitive in the…
Policymakers want to get maximum value from the science system. Government invests in science and research, much of which, in the UK, is conducted in universities and in public sector research establishments (PSREs). A good return on this investment would be research which contributes towards a growing economy, supports technological…