On the website of nearly every university, you will find an explanation that the institution is a charity. But what does this mean, apart from generous tax advantages? And why are universities not generally talked about as charities, in the same way as, say, Oxfam or Macmillan Cancer Support? One…
This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Nyika Suttie, Culture and Inclusion Training Officer at the University of Bath. Much has been made of the Free Speech Act gaining Royal Assent. Meanwhile, institutions such as King’s College London (KCL) and organisations such as HEPI and WonkHE have been asking the…
I welcome the recent paper by Edward Venning Size is Everything: What Small, Specialist and Practice Based Providers tell us about the Higher Education Sector (HEPI Report 160). It helpfully reignites a debate about what the shape and nature of the UK’s higher education sector looks like, and – perhaps somewhat worryingly – suggests what it…
A Utility Equation is a mathematical construct, a formula doubtless known to Rishi Sunak and all who followed the discipline to Level 3 at 18. The construct is grounded in microeconomics, an abstract value you gain from a preference, the satisfaction you gain from a selection. But the author can find…
I was recently back in China. My last trip to Wuhan in January 2020, where Dundee has a joint programme in Architecture, was against the backdrop of the pandemic taking hold. Three years on there was much to repair for a generation of transnational education (TNE) students whose education had been…
This HEPI blog is the second of a two-part series, kindly authored by Dr Paul Greatrix, Registrar at the University of Nottingham. This article represents the personal view of the author. You can read Part 1 of this series here. The first part of this blog explored the background to…
This HEPI blog is the first of a two-part series, kindly authored by Dr Paul Greatrix, Registrar at the University of Nottingham. This article represents the personal view of the author. A New Framework The higher education regulatory burden is already too great and yet is still growing. At a…
At this uncertain time, students face many barriers to continuing their education journey. The cost-of-living crisis and the challenges around housing uncertainty, including renting from private landlords, mean we at the University of York are increasingly concerned about the difficulties faced by our most vulnerable groups. We have a vast…
This blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Peter Ainsworth, the author of Setting Universities Free: How to deliver a sustainable student funding system (2022) Picture the 1930s economic slump, absent Keynes’s challenge to prevailing thought. Classical economists were stuck with the mindset that laissez-faire would ultimately produce a…
Tackling the climate emergency has been recognised as one of the most important issues of the day and is the key concern of young people. Many universities have been at the forefront of climate research and addressing climate change over many decades and I am proud of the role that…