News Archives

Most students oppose the plans in England to reduce access to student loans for those on certain courses – but they do want to see courses more focused on employment
8 December 2022
The Higher Education Policy Institute polled 1,105 students via the National Union of Students (NUS) for their views on careers services and employment. The results are being published in How can you help me?: Students’ perspectives on careers services and employment (HEPI Policy Note 40), produced in conjunction with Handshake. A large…
Higher education in Scotland: Funding shortfalls, off-quota students and research blockages
7 December 2022 by Nick Hillman
This speech was delivered by Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, at Heriot-Watt University earlier today. Introduction It is a huge pleasure to be back here at Heriot-Watt. The organisation I lead, the Higher Education Policy Institute or HEPI, is a specialist think tank that seeks to build bridges between policymakers and…
New HEPI Policy Note compares students’ expectations with reality when it comes to digital learning resources
2 December 2022
In a new HEPI Policy Note, The Future of Digital Learning Resources: Students’ Expectations versus Reality (HEPI Policy Note 41) by Dr Laura Brassington, HEPI and Kortext present the findings of polling carried out by UCAS on student experiences of digitally enhanced learning. Digital learning is not a new phenomenon, but its adoption…
UCAS personal statements create inequality and should be replaced by short-response questions
24 November 2022
The UCAS personal statement is a 4,000 character / 47-line essay that applicants submit when applying for UK undergraduate programmes. There is growing recognition that the UCAS personal statement needs reform, including from UCAS itself and from the former Minister for Higher Education, Michelle Donelan. However, we have a limited understanding of…
To encourage a sense of belonging among students, avoid excessive focus on identity differences and increase engagement with local communities
17 November 2022 by Dr Richard Vytniorgu
A new Policy Note published by the Higher Education Policy Institute, Student belonging and the wider context (Policy Note 39, attached) by Dr Richard Vytniorgu, uses structured interviews with students to explore the sense of belonging among students. The Policy Note shows students’ sense of belonging in their higher education institution is…
New HEPI report identifies opportunities for enhancing university governance in England
10 November 2022 by Dr Alison Wheaton
In a new paper, Opportunities to improve university governance in England (HEPI Report 155), Dr Alison Wheaton considers how university governing body members in England perceive their roles and what this means for the higher education sector. The report, which is based on Dr Wheaton’s recent PhD, finds a shift towards more…
New HEPI report addresses the ‘research leadership vacuum’ in UK higher education
3 November 2022
In a new report, Research Leadership Matters: Agility, Alignment, Ambition (HEPI Report 154), Matthew Flinders, Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, asks what research leadership is and why it matters. Professor Flinders identifies, at worst, a research leadership vacuum and, at best, a leadership lag and far-reaching concern about lost leaders.…
UK undergraduate admissions – the outlook
2 November 2022 by Nick Hillman
This speech was delivered this morning by Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, to the GSA / HMC University Admissions Conference. Recovering from COVID Thank you for inviting me to speak at this annual conference on university admissions once more. I first did so back in November 2014, exactly eight years ago.…
New study finds ‘quiet’ no-platforming to be a bigger problem than actual no-platforming
13 October 2022 by Josh Freeman
A new report by the Higher Education Policy Institute shines a light for the first time on university debating unions and the speakers they invite onto campus. The new research by Josh Freeman, published as No Platform: Speaker Events at University Debating Unions (HEPI Report 153), is based on statistical analysis of…
From Horizon Europe to Plan B: How the UK can turn adversity into opportunity
29 September 2022 by Marco Cavallaro
The European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, will soon start its third year but UK participation remains uncertain. This uncertainty, arising originally from the outcome of the Brexit referendum and now prolonged by the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, has led to less participation in EU-funded…