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].
This guest blog responding to yesterday’s media stories about independent schools and university entry has been kindly contributed by Chris Ramsey, Headmaster of Whitgift School, and spokesperson on universities for the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC). Journalists’ headlines are fair game of course, and always have been, but sometimes you wince a bit more than usual, and reading…
A guest blog kindly contributed by Dennis Sherwood, founder of Silver Bullet Machine. When the history of the world is written in 1,000 years’ time, Friday 10th May 2019 will be identified as a landmark date. For it was an event that happened on that day that enabled that history to…
This is a guest blog contributed by Professor Steven Spier, Vice-Chancellor at Kingston University. Helping people achieve their aspirations and unlock their potential are surely two of the key missions of higher education. And while it should not be necessary to add to that mission, regardless of one’s background, the…
Lucian J. Hudson writes in a personal capacity. He is Interim Director of Public Affairs and Communications at Oxford University, and a past Director of Communications at The Open University and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office At the HEPI Annual Policy Briefing Day, the starkest of conclusions was reached by…
Each year, HEPI and Advance HE publish the Student Academic Experience Survey. It was originally designed to track alterations in the student experience as student finance changes. The Survey started in 2006, in the months before £3,000 fees came in, and has continued through the various financial changes since, including the…
This is a guest blog kindly contributed by John Claughton, who was Chair of HMC Sports Committee from 2009 to 2016 and the Chief Master of King Edward’s School, Birmingham from 2006 to 2016. Professor Clough of Huddersfield University produced research for HMC that proved that taking part in competitive…
This is a guest post kindly contributed by Louis Coiffait, Head of Policy at London Metropolitan University. He writes here in a personal capacity. HEPI had no role in the placement of organisations on the graphs below. It’s a common question, but one that’s tricky to answer. Here are two…
Thank you, OfS, for publishing Contextual admissions – promoting fairness and rethinking merit. The fundamental premise is that access to higher education is being unfairly denied to disadvantaged students, as evidenced, for example, by the fact that ‘in 2018, 18-year-olds from the most advantaged areas were 2.4 times are more likely…
A guest blog kindly contributed by Dr Anna Bull, senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Portsmouth and a founding member of The 1752 Group, a UK-based research and lobby organisation working to end staff-to-student sexual misconduct in higher education. The #MeToo movement has led students who experience sexual harassment at…
The UCL Institute of Education regularly hosts fascinating ‘What if …‘ debates about topical education issues, expertly chaired by Professor Becky Francis. I have just had the pleasure of taking part in one on access to higher education alongside Anna Vignoles, Paul Jump and Claire Fox. My speech is below,…