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  • Are ‘forgivable’ fees the answer?

    3 July 2023 by John Cater

    Nine years have passed since the Times Higher published a short piece on its Opinions page (‘Are “forgivable fees” the answer?’, THE, 9 October 2014).   That piece was written at a time when the Labour Party, trying to shape its manifesto for the 2015 election, was wrestling its approach to student…

  • Students’ improving academic experience overshadowed by cost-of-living crisis: HEPI / Advance HE 2023 Student Academic Experience Survey

    22 June 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    HEPI and Advance HE have jointly published the 2023 Student Academic Experience Survey. The Student Academic Experience Survey, provides the most comprehensive data on the academic experience of full-time undergraduates in UK institutions. It has become a firm feature of the higher education policy landscape, featuring regularly in ministerial speeches because…

  • How do Admissions Professionals use the UCAS personal statement? 

    15 June 2023

    A survey of 113 higher education admissions professionals from over 30 higher education providers shows the average time spent reading a UCAS personal statement is two minutes. Four-in-ten (39%) are read for one minute or less. In How do Admissions Professionals use the UCAS personal statement? (HEPI Policy Note 48), Tom Fryer…

  • Lessons from Australia for the regulation of English higher education – by Anthony McClaran

    8 June 2023 by Anthony McClaran

    The Higher Education Policy Institute has published a new paper on the regulation of English higher education by Anthony McClaran, the Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and a former Chief Executive of both the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency and Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Good Regulation:…

  • Gaps in outcomes among Free School Meal students in higher education

    1 June 2023 by Professor Antony C. Moss

    The Higher Education Policy Institute has published a new paper on educational outcomes across different universities for students formerly eligible for Free School Meals. The disconnect between quality and inequality: An analysis of the gaps in educational outcomes achieved by free school meal-eligible students in English higher education (HEPI Policy Note…

  • Renters (Reform) Bill and the impact on higher education

    24 May 2023 by Rose Stephenson

    The Renters (Reform) Bill has finally been published by the Government (on Wednesday, 17May 2023 – you can read the full text of the Bill here, and the Government’s press release here). Currently, student renting works differently to the rest of the private rented sector (PRS). Students who live away from home…

  • International students boost UK economy by £41.9 billion 

    16 May 2023 by HEPI / Kaplan International Pathways / Universities UK International / London Economics

    New data reveals that the intake of international students in the 2021/22 academic year contributed a huge £41.9 billion to the UK economy. A new report, The costs and benefits of international higher education students to the UK, published jointly by Universities UK International (UUKi), the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI)…