1. The main feeling for many university staff today will be relief but the process is not over yet. The seven years of work and waiting since the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) results may have finished and, in very many instances, institutions and departments – and beneath it all, therefore,…
In a new paper published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk), Holding Talent Back? What is next for the future of Level 3?, 11 different authors consider the Westminster Government’s controversial reforms to Level 3 qualifications, including BTECs. While the Government has confirmed that many Applied General qualifications can…
The Higher Education Policy Institute is publishing a new report, Understanding China: The Study of China in UK schools and universities by Michael Natzler (HEPI Report 148), sponsored by the University of St Andrews. The report reviews the current state of teaching and research on China in UK schools and universities. It…
The blog below, written by Professor David Phoenix, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University (LSBU), includes the results of the 2022 Social Mobility Index. We should do more to celebrate those universities which make a contribution to real social mobility – that means getting on, not just getting in. This…
A new Policy Note published by the Higher Education Policy Institute and written by the Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (www.qaa.ac.uk) explores what quality means in UK higher education today. The publication marks the start of a year of activities to mark the 25th birthday of…
A new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, Illicit drug use in universities: zero tolerance or harm reduction? (HEPI Debate Paper 29), suggests a zero-tolerance approach to illicit drug use may cause more harm than it prevents, as those who need help do not come forward for fear of punishment. Drawing…
A new HEPI report, What’s next for national security and research? by Dr Alexis Brown (HEPI Report 147), reviews what measures are in place to protect UK research from foreign interference, including the new National Security and Investment Act (2021) that came into force on 4 January 2022. It argues…
This blog was contributed by Jenny Shaw, Higher External Education Engagement Director at Unite Students. So much of student life is shaped by the experience of being in student accommodation. Living in a student community, making new friends, meeting people from different backgrounds, managing day-to-day life independently are all learning…
The Higher Education Policy Institute’s latest report, First-in-Family Students by Harriet Coombs (HEPI Report 146), finds most university students in the UK – just over two-thirds – can be classified ‘first-in-family’. It questions how useful the category is as an indicator for widening participation activities. The paper argues too much weight has…
In a new Debate Paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute, Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation, says universities and the Government should adopt the famous political idea of One Nation to reshape universities in England. Writing in a personal capacity, Brabner says criticism of recent higher education expansion…