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].
When, next week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) rule on the way student loans appear in the national accounts, many people will perform a rue smile. The Government will be embarrassed because getting student loans off the books was arguably the primary cause of the high fees we have.…
This guest blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Charlie Ball, Head of Higher Education Intelligence at Prospects. There can be few remaining individuals with an interest in student funding and who have studied the current system and its early consequences who would claim it is the best and…
A guest blog kindly contributed by: Rebecca Mameli, Head of HE Research and Qualifications, Pearson. Pearson is the UK’s largest awarding body and a leader in the design, development and quality assurance of career focused higher education. Ian Pretty, Chief Executive, Collab Group. Collab Group is a membership organisation which…
This guest blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Mary Curnock Cook. Follow Mary on Twitter – @MaryCurnockCook. There’s much for higher education watchers to take note of in Damian Hinds’ speech on 6 December. It starts to map out a more coherent view of technical education pathways to support…
A guest blog kindly contributed by Janet Metcalfe, Head, Vitae The 2008 Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers sets out clear standards that research staff can expect from the institution that employs them, as well as their responsibilities as researchers The sector consultation launched by the Concordat Strategy Group…
A guest blog from Dr Greg Walker, who is Chief Executive of MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities and has worked in different parts of the tertiary education sector. The Secretary of State for Education’s speech on vocational education rightly highlights the importance of technical skills at a higher level.…
Imagine the following scenario. First, a Prime Minister lacking a clear parliamentary majority feels obliged by electoral forces to bring a particular policy to Parliament for MPs to vote on. This policy is a notable u-turn from her previous position. The new policy is also an uneasy compromise. It does…
The 17th day of December is a fairly momentous day in history. According to a website called infoplease, France first recognised America then, the first heavier-than-air plane was flown by the Wright brothers and NAFTA was signed. A different website records it as the day of the first ever heart, lung…
On Thursday evening, Sam Gyimah gave an entertaining speech at the Times Higher awards. It showed a shrewd grasp of the main issues facing the sector. He also told us he was due to leave for Brussels at 5am the next day for meetings. Perhaps it was the prospect of…
Yesterday the long anticipated (at least by those of us with an interest in HE data) Office for Students (OfS) data strategy was published. This provides greater clarity on the OfS understanding of their future role as they approach the halfway point through their transition year. Much within the data strategy…