For those of us who first entered higher education in the 1990s, David Baddiel will always be one half of Newman and Baddiel, the first comedians to sell out Wembley Arena and the men behind the wonderful History Today sketches, which punctured those obscure academic debates that are pumped up way beyond…
1. The main feeling for many university staff today will be relief but the process is not over yet. The seven years of work and waiting since the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) results may have finished and, in very many instances, institutions and departments – and beneath it all, therefore,…
Next week includes one of the most important days in the UK higher education calendar for many years as we will see the results of REF2021, which stands for the Research Excellence Framework. It is a detailed measure of the strength of UK research, overseen by Research England for all…
In a new paper published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk), Holding Talent Back? What is next for the future of Level 3?, 11 different authors consider the Westminster Government’s controversial reforms to Level 3 qualifications, including BTECs. While the Government has confirmed that many Applied General qualifications can…
In this collection, different experts from a range of backgrounds consider the current plan to defund many BTECs and other popular Level 3 Applied General qualifications. Together, the chapters argue this could close off a useful and proven route for students from a wide range of backgrounds, including for those…
I popped to Westminster yesterday for my first in-person event at Policy Exchange since the launch of the Augar report back in 2019, back in pre-COVID days. This time, it was for a relaunch of the Westminster Government’s legislation on free speech and academic freedom in England. It took the…
Back in 2015, when the referendum on UK membership of the EU was approaching, I attended an event on it at the University of Westminster. While there, I heard a former (pro-EU) Tory MP argue that, while high-falutin’ arguments were all well and good, there was only one surefire way…
This morning, the Campaign for Learning is publishing a new collection of pieces in Post-16 Education and Skills Levelling up Everyone, Everywhere. The contribution by Nick Hillman, HEPI Director, which is titled ‘A “Higher Education Institution” in Every Community’, is reprinted here. When his brief was education policy, Michael Gove…
HEPI has today published a new report on illegal drug use among students. Nick Hillman, HEPI’s Director: Four years ago, back in 2018, HEPI collaborated with YouthSight and the University of Buckingham on a small but representative poll of students on their drug use. We found: The results were very…
In this HEPI Debate Paper, Arda Ozcubukcu and Professor Graham Towl explore how higher education institutions might approach illicit drug use within their student populations, suggesting that a zero-tolerance approach may cause more harm than it prevents as those who need help do not come forward for fear of punishment.…