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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].

  • Aiming global, affecting local: London’s universities and the green agenda

    8 November 2021 by Diana Beech and Amanda Broderick

    This blog has been kindly contributed by Dr Diana Beech, Chief Executive Officer of London Higher and London Higher Chair (@dianajbeech) and Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of East London (@ProfBroderick). With a membership of over 40 universities and higher education colleges, London Higher is the…

  • How to make higher education admissions fairer, quicker and better

    5 November 2021 by Rob Cuthbert

    This blog was contributed by Rob Cuthbert, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Management at the University of the West of England and Managing Partner of the Practical Academics consultancy. He wrote the 2020 HEPI blog ‘A-levels 2020: What students and parents need to know’ (which has had more hits than…

  • The problem of positioning international students as cash cows

    4 November 2021

    This blog was contributed by Jenna Mittelmeier and Sylvie Lomer of the University of Manchester International students are often seen as ‘cash cows’ for the UK higher education sector, providing a steady stream of income to universities and the country. The UK Government’s briefing on the financial impact of COVID-19,…

  • Aim Lower: Social Mobility and Higher Education in the Levelling Up Era

    3 November 2021 by Chris Jones

    This blog was contributed by Dr Chris Jones,  Lecturer in History and Widening Participation (WP) Academic Officer at the University of East Anglia. The appointment of Katharine Birbalsingh as chair of the Social Mobility Commission has caused some concern that the culture wars are far from over. A recent paper…

  • Is a new higher education white paper for England imminent?

    2 November 2021 by Nick Hillman

    It was disappointing that higher education was almost entirely absent from the Chancellor’s Budget Statement to the House of Commons last week – I say ‘almost’ because UK universities did get one passing mention (the same as the English Civil War while cider got 10). Plus, as part of the…

  • Will dropping entry tariff in league tables offer a route to levelling up?

    1 November 2021 by Nishan Canagarajah

    This blog was contributed by Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leicester (@NCanagarajah) I have been encouraged to see the focus on education and skills coming out of this year’s Conservative Party conference. The promise to invest in individuals’ skills to create a high pay, high…

  • The great reset: student financial wellbeing

    29 October 2021 by Vivi Friedgut

    This blog was contributed by Vivi Friedgut, Founder and CEO of Blackbullion is a financial wellbeing platform on a mission to simplify the world of finance and access to funding for young people. Vivi is on Twitter @ViviFriedgut. There’s no denying that the last academic year was another long one,…

  • The race to net zero: universities need to walk the walk on reducing emissions

    28 October 2021 by Ellie Bothwell

    This guest blog was contributed by Ellie Bothwell, Rankings Editor at Times Higher Education (@elliebothwell) With COP26 rapidly approaching and the warning klaxon on the climate emergency getting ever louder, a new report from Times Higher Education examines how well higher education institutions across the globe are performing when it…

  • Outreach to schools is more necessary than ever

    27 October 2021 by Nick Barker

    This blog was kindly contributed by Nick Barker, Schools Outreach Fellow, Social Inclusion Group, The University of Warwick. If this was a film and I wanted to set the scene for you, we could start by looking down on me, sat in front of my laptop. The camera would then…

  • Universities and plagiarism: who copied who?

    26 October 2021 by Daniel Sokol

    This blog was kindly contributed by Daniel Sokol is a barrister and founder of Alpha Academic Appeals, where he leads a team of 15 barristers who act for students accused of misconduct. He was formerly a university lecturer. Daniel is on Twitter @DanielSokol9. John and Amy were best friends. They…