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

Rose Stephenson

  • Free speech in HE, part 1: We need to talk about objective harassment

    15 November 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act became law on 11 May 2023. The new statutory duties on free speech for universities and colleges, and for relevant students’ unions, will come into force on 1 August 2024 and the new conditions of registration (rules that universities have to follow) on…

  • Should pastoral support training be mandatory for staff in higher education?

    18 July 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    HEPI ran a blog in June by Jessica Hayball, who is delivering mandatory pastoral support training to personal tutors and doctoral supervisors at the University of Bath. Publishing the blog prompted a question about whether this work should fall on the shoulders of academics. I previously worked as a secondary…

  • Students’ improving academic experience overshadowed by cost-of-living crisis: HEPI / Advance HE 2023 Student Academic Experience Survey

    22 June 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    HEPI and Advance HE have jointly published the 2023 Student Academic Experience Survey. The Student Academic Experience Survey, provides the most comprehensive data on the academic experience of full-time undergraduates in UK institutions. It has become a firm feature of the higher education policy landscape, featuring regularly in ministerial speeches because…

  • Student Academic Experience Survey 2023

    22 June 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The Student Academic Experience Survey, provides the most comprehensive data on the academic experience of full-time undergraduates in UK institutions. It has become a firm feature of the higher education policy landscape, featuring regularly in ministerial speeches because it reaches into places other surveys do not go.  This year’s survey, authored…

  • Renters (Reform) Bill and the impact on higher education

    24 May 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The Renters (Reform) Bill has finally been published by the Government (on Wednesday, 17May 2023 – you can read the full text of the Bill here, and the Government’s press release here). Currently, student renting works differently to the rest of the private rented sector (PRS). Students who live away from home…

  • Does the Lifelong Loan Entitlement meet its own objectives?

    11 May 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) is part of the Government’s reforms to post-18 education and training. It will offer students a loan equivalent to four years’ worth of tuition fees (currently £37,000), which can be used flexibly over their working lives. This can be used to pay for short courses,…

  • Does the Lifelong Loan Entitlement meet its own objectives?

    11 May 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The new Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE), due to start in 2025, is a major and positive improvement to how the student support system in England enables lifelong participation in higher education. It also has the prospect of commanding cross-party support, at least in broad design if not in the detail.…