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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Nick Hillman

  • Alternative providers … or challenger institutions?

    10 July 2015

    Today’s Productivity paper from HM Treasury provides yet more evidence, if any were needed, that the Conservative-majority Government is doing things differently to the Conservative-led Coalition. The 2010 to 2015 Government made one early decision that transformed the finances of some alternative higher education providers (known as APs) when allowing their…

  • What do home students think of studying with international students?

    25 June 2015 by Nick Hillman

    The results of a survey commissioned by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) shows students believe they benefit in many ways from studying alongside people from other countries – however, benefits are clearer to international students.

  • Come and join the HEPI team (Oxford based)

    9 June 2015

    As regular readers of this website know, HEPI is the UK’s only specialist think tank on higher education. We have a lively programme of events and publications, which are masterminded from our office in north Oxford. We have a small central team and are now looking to recruit a new…

  • Three-quarters of students want more information about where their tuition fees go

    4 June 2015

    On Thursday, 4th June, the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy launch the results of the 2015 Student Academic Experience Survey (Full report and Summary report) Nick Hillman, Director, HEPI, said: ‘The survey reveals more about what students at UK universities are up to than any other source. They are…

  • 2015 HEPI-HEA Student Academic Experience Survey

    4 June 2015 by Alex Buckley, Ioannis Soilemetzidis and Nick Hillman

    The Higher Education Policy Institute / Higher Education Academy 2015 Student Academic Experience Survey includes questions on class size, attendance, the qualifications of lecturers, contact hours and total workload, written assignments, student wellbeing, information and policy options. It was published at an exclusive Policy Briefing day for organisations that support…

  • Should doctors and engineers pay higher fees than arts students?

    29 May 2015 by Nicholas Robinson

    This is the third in a series of pieces by HEPI visiting researcher Nicholas Robinson comparing the UK and Australian higher education systems. The first two on maintenance support and part-time students can be found here and here. The dust has finally settled on the debate over the tuition fee…

  • Part-time students deserve more than part-time policy

    26 May 2015 by Nicholas Robinson

    This piece by Nicholas Robinson, a researcher at HEPI who grew up and went to university in Australia, is the second in a series comparing the UK and Australian higher education systems. The first covered student maintenance and was published in Times Higher Education on May 7 2015. The number…