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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].

  • Understanding Online Distance Learning in the UK

    17 December 2020 by Aimee Kleinman & Tim Landucci

    This blog was kindly contributed by Aimee Kleinman and Tim Landucci, Education Marketing Consultants at SMRS. SMRS is a marketing agency that works with universities on strategic marketing and consultancy. Previously Aimee worked in strategic marketing roles at UCL, King’s College London and Middlesex universities. Tim previously worked in similar…

  • The UK’s first Professor of Social Mobility, Lee Elliot Major, considers the policy consequences of the new higher education admissions data

    16 December 2020 by Lee Elliot Major

    Lee Elliot Major is Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter and former CEO of the Sutton Trust. Like all statistics, university admissions data are wonderfully manipulative things. Today’s UCAS figures might lead you to conclude that universities’ social mobility efforts require just a little nudge to vanquish inequality…

  • Re-MEM-ber, UCAS End of Cycle reporting isn’t just for Christmas…

    16 December 2020 by Clare Marchant

    This blog was kindly contributed by Clare Marchant, Chief Executive, UCAS. The onset of the festive season each year signals the start of UCAS’ End of Cycle reporting as we aim to provide the sector with relevant and accessible analysis that looks back at the undergraduate recruitment year, while also…

  • Uni Connect consultation: routes to success

    15 December 2020 by Jenny Ann Allen & Kirsty Johnson

    This blog was kindly contributed by Jenny Ann Allen, Access and Participation Funding Manager, and Kirsty Johnson, Access and Participation Manager, at the Office for Students (OfS). A new Office for Students consultation proposes a more targeted approach to higher education collaborative outreach with a greater focus on further education…

  • Higher education in 2020 and 2021

    15 December 2020 by Nick Hillman

    This is the text of a speech by Nick Hillman to Amazon Web Services’s (AWS) Higher Education Transformation Week. Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak at this important event. For those of you who don’t know, the Higher Education Policy Institute or HEPI is the UK’s only think tank that…

  • Making the most of Higher Technical Education – reforming for the future

    14 December 2020 by Gary Gates

    This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Gary Gates, Senior Vice President (Global Business) at Pearson. ‘the economic case for studying [Higher Technical] qualifications is inarguable.‘ Gavin Williamson, September 2020 Higher Technical Education (HTE) at Levels 4 and 5 (equivalent to the first two years of an UK honours degree)…

  • It’s time to stop assuming students are spreading COVID

    11 December 2020 by Graham Galbraith

    This blog was kindly contributed by Professor Graham Galbraith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth. Most universities have been testing students as part of Government-led pre-Christmas mass testing. Many of us have seen a very low number of positive results. Last week, for instance, only 0.2% of the several thousand…

  • TEN YEARS ON: The politics behind the 2010 tuition fee reforms

    9 December 2020 by Aaron Porter

    This blog was kindly contributed by Aaron Porter, President of the National Union of Students (NUS) in 2010/11. Aaron now has a portfolio of advisory and non-executive roles in the higher education sector. You can find Aaron on Twitter @AaronPorter Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the vote in the…

  • Context amid crisis: Why human perspectives matter more than ever

    7 December 2020 by Frances Corner

    This blog was kindly contributed by Professor Frances Corner OBE, Warden of Goldsmiths, University of London. You can find Frances on Twitter @FCorner Later this week, HEPI will be publishing our first ever report on climate change. Sign up at the bottom of the page to receive the report the…