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, Rose Stephenson, at [email protected].
***There is still time to register for our webinar with UCAS Chief Executive Jo Saxton, taking place at 10am today, Tuesday 13th August – sign up here*** This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Samantha Ahern, Senior Digital Research Trainer at UCL. Samantha co-leads the Education activity for UCL’s Centre…
There is no universally accepted definition of trauma; however, the word ‘trauma’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘wound’. It is an emotional wound we cannot see, which has far-reaching impacts on both individuals, university communities and wider society. It is estimated that over half of students studying at UK…
In May 2024, a leading UK law firm, Mills and Reeve, ran a webinar for commercial providers of higher education addressing the potential consequence of a university becoming insolvent. This, alongside the leaked list complied by Sue Gray, Chief of Staff to the new Prime Minister, which includes universities going…
London cements its reputation as the best student city in the world While the top five best student cities have been relatively stable since 2021, London has been untouched at the top. London leads the UK in many QS Best Student Cities ranking aspects In most of the lenses we…
The UCAS process in the UK has many benefits compared to its global counterparts. Its relative simplicity is likely welcomed by anyone who has ever attempted a US university application! The downside of the relative ease of process-driven system is that it belies the realities of a transition from sixth…
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) allows students to take out student loans to fund modules within a full qualification, opening up new opportunities for people who want to learn new skills or upskill for a new career but do not want to commit to a full qualification. Whilst we are…
When I think about higher education the only thing that comes to mind is university. I know little to nothing about any other options and neither do any of my peers. The only time an adult has ever come to me directly about other options for higher education was one…
There is a growing concern for the mental health of university students globally. A national study of about 70,000 students across 17 universities in South Africa found that 21% of students reported signs of clinical trauma while 37.1% of students reported anxiety symptoms. Mental health challenges impact the lives of…
A 25-year journey It is decades since I last read quite so many words by Sam Freedman. But over 25 years ago, I had the privilege of being his GCSE History teacher. In recent years, Sam has made his name as a political commentator and he has now written his…
Cancelled A levels I was part of the cohort whose A level examinations were cancelled during the 2020 Covid lockdowns. Teacher-assessed or algorithm-determined grades were handed out in place of real marks – leading to chaotic scenes as students failed to meet university offers or universities became so oversubscribed some…