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].
***At 9am tomorrow, Wednesday 5 June, we are hosting a webinar on the Australian Universities Accord. You can register here.*** Higher Education is at a critical juncture. As demand for university education increases, the financial support systems meant to sustain this growth are crumbling. For the past decade, real-terms funding…
The London Plan (“the Plan”) adopted in March 2021 recognised the importance of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) to the capital and placed conditions on its future development, positioning universities and affordability at the heart of a new planning process. Three years on, has it delivered its core objective of…
***Next Wednesday 5th June we are hosting a webinar on the Australian Universities Accord – you can register here.*** Earlier in May 2024, HEPI, with support from learning technology service Studiosity, hosted a roundtable dinner to discuss how important the human touch is in the age of AI learning. This blog considers some…
***Next Wednesday 5th June we are hosting a webinar on the Australian Universities Accord – you can register here.*** With confirmation that the UK government won’t change or axe the Graduate route visa, the release of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) Review, the UK’s net migration figures being announced, and…
Scarcely a month goes by without businesses, political figures or employer representative bodies demanding significant changes and reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy. But are these demands justified, what impact could drastic reform have on the higher education sector and are the original core principles and benefits of the levy being…
My book couldn’t have come out at a timelier moment – even if I say so myself and even if my own job is vulnerable as a result. It’s no exaggeration to say that UK HE is in breakdown, with each day bringing news of yet another university slashing jobs,…
The REF: can’t live with it, can’t live without it. That seems like a functional summary of the varied attitudes toward the Research Excellence Framework (REF) that exist within and across institutions. And in the 2023-24 academic year, there has been much ado and additional mixed responses around the new…
In a recent global report on green skills by LinkedIn, it was revealed that possessing one or more ‘green skills’ can increase the chance of getting hired by 29%. The number of jobs requiring at least one green skill has grown, but this demand is fundamentally outpacing the increase in…
University funding is not working. Funding for students’ courses has been falling consistently for the past decade. By 2026, it will be at its lowest level for over 25 years. At the same time, demand for going to university is increasing. This is good. We need more university graduates. But…
Forty years ago, a student at university in the UK paid no tuition fees, could receive a full maintenance grant and rarely felt in need of a paid job while studying. By contrast, many of today’s students are under increasing financial strain. The 2023 HEPI/Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey…