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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].

  • Choosing to disclose…but then what?

    19 March 2024 by Anna Matthews

    When students choose to talk about themselves and the struggles they may be facing—whether mental health, neurodiversity, disability or wellbeing—it is done with trust. They trust that information will be safely shared and that their needs will be understood and the right support offered. Indeed, the recent ruling of the…

  • Generative AI in universities: what are educators thinking?

    18 March 2024 by Lucy Haire

    As the panic about artificial intelligence’s (AI) capability to bring down democratic governments, usurp all information-related jobs and ultimately cause human extinction calms down, most large organisations have devised at least their initial response to the deployment of generative AI. Some, including major law firms, have banned their use as…

  • Freedom of Speech and Antisemitism on Campus

    13 March 2024 by Tom Lawson

    As we know, since October 7th 2023 and the horrific Hamas attack on Israel, we have seen an upsurge in incidences of antisemitism on campuses. Our Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe – both because of an uptick in what might properly be called hate crime, but also because of…

  • Making strategic sense of generative AI

    12 March 2024

    The HEPI/Kortext report on students’ use of generative AI is a wake-up call: students are making extensive use of generative AI in increasingly sophisticated and discriminating ways. For academics and university leaders who are not specialists, it’s hard to appreciate the sophistication of the large language models [LLMs] which underpin…

  • Our problem, not theirs: young white, working class males and higher education

    11 March 2024 by Neil Raven

    This is a personal perspective on one of the most enduring challenges facing those of us working to widen university participation (WP). My involvement in this subject dates back to 2007. That year, as Aimhigher East Midlands’ projects manager, I oversaw the launch of an initiative aimed at identifying and…

  • Levelling the playing field from birth to graduation: why universities have a crucial role to play in ensuring every child has a chance to flourish and thrive

    8 March 2024 by Amanda Broderick

    The impact of the earliest years of life BusinessLDN – the independent voice of business in London – has recently published a report with KPMG and the Central District Alliance analysing the business impact of the lack of affordable, quality childcare. The challenges facing an outdated early education and childcare…