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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].

  • Reflecting on the value of higher education

    10 March 2021 by Rachel Hewitt

    Today marks one year since the last HEPI in-person event. On 10 March 2020, while we were getting used to using hand sanitiser more regularly but not quite at the point of cancelling events, we held a small Expert Policy Seminar on ‘Measuring the value of higher education’, where we…

  • David Phoenix responds to Peter Scott on the Social Mobility Index

    9 March 2021 by David Phoenix

    In this blog David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor at London South Bank University and author of the recent HEPI report which outlines what a Social Mobility Index for the UK, responds to a blog by Peter Scott, Commissioner for Fair Access, Scotland, and Professor of Higher Education Studies at the UCL Institute…

  • Can we trust this year’s exam results?

    6 March 2021 by Dennis Sherwood

    Thanks to Dennis Sherwood for contributing this blog. Dennis has been writing about A levels on the HEPI from long before 2020. You can find Dennis on Twitter @noookophile. On 18 March 2020, Boris Johnson announced the cancellation of the summer 2020 school exams. A few days later, on 21…

  • Peter Scott: Designing an English higher education Social Mobility Index

    5 March 2021 by Peter Scott

    In this blog Peter Scott, Commissioner for Fair Access, Scotland, and Professor of Higher Education Studies at the UCL Institute of Education responds to HEPI’s recently published Debate Paper, Designing an English Social Mobility Index written by Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London Southbank University. Most league tables measure characteristics…

  • The growing challenges facing USS by Alistair Jarvis

    4 March 2021 by Alistair Jarvis

    This guest blog has been kindly contributed by Alistair Jarvis, Chief Executive of Universities UK – which represents the 340 USS employers. Figures released this week by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) in its latest actuarial valuation – a formal ‘health-check’ of the scheme’s finances – make for concerning reading.  USS…

  • Vaccines, R&D and the Budget

    3 March 2021 by Beth Button

    This blog was kindly contributed by Beth Button, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at the University Alliance.  With the latest news that every adult in England will be offered a vaccine by the end of July, it is worth reflecting on the immense local and national collective endeavour required…

  • Major policy issues facing higher education: a plea for nuance

    2 March 2021 by Nick Hillman

    This is an extract from a speech delivered yesterday by Nick Hillman, HEPI’s Director, to an event in the Mills & Reeve Higher Education Week. Students as consumers Five years ago, our host, Gary Attle, told in a HEPI paper how students had gradually come to be treated more like consumers.…

  • Challenges that BAME student representatives encounter when trying to challenge racism

    1 March 2021 by Ann Hanna

    This blog was kindly contributed by Ann Hanna, a Philosophy, Politics and Economics graduate currently working with humanitarian organisations that aim to reduce inequalities worldwide. COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have reminded us of the vast inequalities that exist as a result of race and ethnicity, including…