HEPI is today (5th January 2017) publishing a new report, Alternative providers of higher education: issues for policymakers (HEPI Report 90) by John Fielden and Robin Middlehurst. The paper discusses the present state of higher education providers that do not receive direct public funding, summarises the strong opinions for and against them…
Today (15 December 2016), HEPI publishes International university rankings: For good or ill? by Bahram Bekhradnia. Rankings of global universities, such as the THE World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities claim to identify the ‘best’ universities in the world and then list…
Rankings of universities have become increasingly influential in recent years. This report demonstrates the dangers that this represents. It shows that international rankings are almost entirely based on research-related criteria, and if universities are to move up the rankings the only way of doing so is to focus on their…
This guest blog on the Second Reading of the Higher Education and Research Bill in the House of Lords has been kindly provided by G.R.Evans. The Lords really spoke their minds on the Higher Education and Research Bill in their Second Reading debate on 6 December. Peers packed in 69…
This guest blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Professor John Vinney, the Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University. The lack of attention given to teaching by universities, in contrast to research, is one of the reasons for the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). While most people working in the sector…
(Parliamentary copyright reproduced with permission) Dear Members of the House of Lords, The Higher Education and Research Bill has its Second Reading in the Lords on Tuesday, 6th December 2016. It is an opportunity to discuss the overarching themes in the proposed legislation and any potential improvements. There is an…
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) makes forecasts for future student numbers because of the knock-on consequences for public expenditure. I have pointed out the apparent pessimism in their forecasts more than once before – see here and here – and have also visited them to discuss their figures. We…
This guest blog has been kindly provided by Rod Bristow, President, Core Markets for Pearson. A College to Career Pathway for Students in Britain and the World This week, we are publishing the annual data for nearly three-quarters of a million BTEC qualifications taken in the past academic year. The…
Source: http://ukcomics.wikia.com/wiki/The_Numskulls The recent WonkHE Power List 2016 was a bit of fun with a serious purpose. Asking who wields influence over any policy area is a really good question – even though, as with all the other higher education league tables, we can argue over the results. (I declare an…
In New Zealand, the third arrest of a student loan defaulter has recently taken place and a new data matching arrangement to identify defaulters resident in Australia has begun. The UK could learn from these successful initiatives. Like the UK, New Zealand faces severe challenges in recouping student debt, particularly when…