There is a lot of nonsense talked about the voting power of students. HEPI has been tracking students’ political views and their potential electoral power closely since before the last-but-one general election. Here are some of the things we have learnt. There are some seats where students are thought to…
In a joint Policy Nrote, Student loans for those on long sentences, the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the Open University argue for an end to the rule preventing prisoners from accessing student loans until they are within six years of release. The proposal suggests letting longer-serving prisoners apply…
This report recommends that the Student Support Regulations for England and Wales should be amended to extend student loan eligibility to include people in prison who have more than six years to run on their sentence.
It used to be thought the modern age would herald meals in the form of small pills, supersonic travel and fewer working hours. It hasn’t turned out like that. Instead, we rather like slow food. We tend to prefer cheap to super-fast travel. More income has often proved more desirable…
In response to Universities UK’s new publication A Guide to Presenting Institutional Financial Information to Students, Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk), said: This is a great and overdue initiative. We have been calling for many years for students to receive more information about where their fees…
On the last day of the Conservative Party Conference, Nick Hillman assesses David Cameron’s account of higher education policymaking under the Coalition. A few days ago, I tweeted out some of the (few) things David Cameron has to say about tuition fees in his memoirs. It may seem like his…
At the Labour Party Conference yesterday, John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: I can tell you today that the next Labour government will reduce the average full time working week to 32 hours within a decade. A shorter working week with no loss of pay. Predictions of…
It has been a real pleasure working on The New Realists project with Unite Students. It follows on from our joint Reality Check report of 2017. We and many other organisations survey students a lot. But this new report is different because it surveys applicants as well as students and…
A new in-depth study of the UK student population shows students are realistic about the challenges they face and resourceful in how they navigate them to achieve the lives they want. The findings include: 68% of students say they will face more challenges than their parents; loneliness and mental health…
HEPI was honoured to host the UK launch of the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2019 in central London yesterday. It is a data-rich report that takes time to digest properly. So, as a digestive aid, we are listing 15 of the many stand-out facts. (NB In general, though not…