Regulation in England In England, the main regulator of higher education institutions became the Office for Students in 2018. From 2012 onwards, the majority of teaching income for home students had shifted from grant funding from the old Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and towards higher tuition fee…
The ‘fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending’? At the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party reiterated the commitments already made by the Conservative Government to spend more on research and development (R&D). Their manifesto promised ‘the fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending, including in basic science research to…
Former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Chris Husbands responds to the financial and policy challenges facing the English higher education by sketching out four different plausible futures: Scenario 1: The evolution of the present Scenario 2: Delivering the 2010 vision Scenario 3: A place-based tertiary system Scenario 4: A differentiated system All…
There is a common view that students are a particularly influential group of voters. There are lots of them and they tend to be concentrated in certain parliamentary constituencies – plus it is known that people with higher levels of education tend to be more likely to vote than those…
We have – finally – today achieved something I have long wanted HEPI to do: we have taken a blank sheet of paper and worked out how much money students need to live on. By ‘need to live’ we don’t mean just avoiding poverty; nor do we mean living in…
HEPI Director, Nick Hillman, takes a look at the lessons in Paul Johnson’s book ‘Follow the Money: How Much Does Britain Cost?’ This is one of the best books I’ve read. That’s really saying something, given it is a book on fiscal policy – or government tax and spend. It…
It’s a wrap! Over the past two weeks, HEPI has hosted events in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff in conjunction with the Nuffield Foundation and London Economics. The theme in each place was higher education fees and funding, with a backdrop of:the forthcoming Westminster election and other political goings on –…
In 2023, the British Academy commissioned 11 members of its Early Career Researcher Network to write about their experiences of life and work in UK higher education. The essay collection shines a light on the voices, perspectives and journeys of early career researchers, poignantly showcasing the realities and challenges faced…
Franchised provision of higher education has been under the spotlight in recent times. Without shying away from the challenges faced by those delivering successful franchise arrangements, this paper shows how important franchising can be in extending access to higher education. The authors explain what protections need to be in place…