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

Blog

The HEPI Blog aims to make brief, incisive contributions to the higher education policy landscape. It is circulated to our subscribers and published online. We welcome guest submissions, which should follow our Instructions for Blog Authors. Submissions should be sent to our Blog Editor, Josh Freeman, at [email protected].

  • Clap for our student healthcare workers

    21 May 2020 by Rachel Hewitt

    Coronavirus has impacted our lives in a multitude of ways, including bringing fears for students about the labour market they are going to enter. In a recent HEPI Policy Note, published in partnership with JobTeaser, we asked students whether the pandemic had changed their feelings about entering the workforce. For the majority…

  • The wider student experience and supporting community in lockdown

    20 May 2020 by Bethan Cornell

    In this blog, Bethan Cornell, a Physics PhD Student at King’s College London who is undertaking an internship at HEPI, explores some of the best practice by universities in continuing to deliver the wider student experience under lockdown. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, institutions have rapidly moved away…

  • Does everyone need a chief scientist?

    15 May 2020 by Andy Westwood

    This blog was kindly contributed by Andy Westwood, Professor of Government Practice at the University of Manchester. Andy is writing in a personal capacity and can be found at @andywwestwood on Twitter. By now we are all familiar with Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty, Dr Jenny Harries and…

  • Postgraduates: the understated powerhouse of UK higher education?

    14 May 2020 by Diana Beech

    This guest blog responding to HEPI’s new report on postgraduates has been written in a personal capacity by Dr Diana Beech (Head of Government Affairs at the University of Warwick). Diana was Policy Adviser for higher education to various Ministers for Universities and Science (Sam Gyimah, Jo Johnson and Chris…

  • Online learning: Are we asking the right questions?

    13 May 2020 by Rachel Ambler, Gervas Huxley and Mike Peacey

    This blog was kindly contributed by Rachel Ambler, an independent researcher, Gervas Huxley, Teaching Fellow at the University of Bristol, and Mike Peacey, Senior Lecturer at the New College of the Humanities. Without warning, and almost overnight, the higher education sector has embarked on a whole-scale experiment in online learning.…

  • Light at the end of the Path(way)?

    12 May 2020 by Nick Hillman

    The official support recently made available to higher education institutions, such as the bringing forward of payments from the Student Loans Company to universities, relates almost wholly to home students. This is unsurprising: they are the students who receive support from UK taxpayers, who will foot the bill for any…

  • How the shutdown of the student economy is hitting the finances, health and educational prospects of care leavers and estranged students

    11 May 2020 by Eluned Parrott

    This blog was kindly contributed by Eluned Parrott, Director of the Unite Foundation, a charity that provides scholarships and support to care leavers and estranged students. Eluned previously blogged for HEPI on the experiences of care-leavers and estranged students during the lockdown. As the lockdown continues, it has become clear…

  • Beyond the Pandemic: the role of universities in shaping a better future

    8 May 2020 by Giles Carden and Lawrence Young

    This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Giles A.F. Carden, Chief of Staff & Director of Strategic Projects, Lancaster University and Professor Lawrence S. Young, Pro-Dean of External Affairs, Warwick Medical School. While the higher education sector considers the measures recently announced by the government to protect students and staff…