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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Publications

In recent years, HEPI has produced over 20 reports a year. They are all available free of charge here on our website and all our longer reports are also available in hard copy from the HEPI office.

The version on the website should be regarded as the version of record.

  • Why Entrepreneurial Leadership Now?

    19 June 2025

    This edited collection of pieces on entrepreneurial leadership brings together reflections from senior leaders at a diverse range of UK higher education institutions who are battling turbulent times. The essays reflect optimism in the transformative power of universities and their ability to support society and the economy. Together, the authors…

  • Student Academic Experience Survey 2025

    12 June 2025 by Jonathan Neves, Josh Freeman and Rose Stephenson

    This year’s results indicate that the student experience has evolved away from the ‘traditional’ model of many students living close to campus, spending a lot of time on campus and only undertaking paid employment during the holidays. Cost-of-living challenges permeate the current experience. Accordingly, paid work is now often expected…

  • Universities are boxed in: Is there a way out?

    5 June 2025

    UK higher education institutions are increasingly boxed in on six sides: In this pacey and timely paper, Professors Diana Beech and André Spicer take a look at the situation and propose some different ways out suitable for the full range of higher education providers. Without the sort of imaginative thinking…

  • Who leads our universities? Inside the recruitment of vice-chancellors

    22 May 2025 by Tessa Harrison and Josh Freeman

    This Policy Note sets out the state of higher education leadership today. We review the backgrounds, careers and performance of university vice-chancellors. Drawing on a new dataset of 153 vice-chancellors from across the UK and at different types of institutions, we explore their tenure, their previous roles and institutions, as…

  • Increasing Employer Support for the Tertiary Skills System in England

    24 April 2025

    Providing skills and expertise applicable to the workplace has always been a central component of universities’ provision. However, repeated government initiatives to involve employers more actively in the skills system over the past 60 years have shown few lasting successes. In this paper, Professor David Phoenix reflects on past initiatives…

  • The Benefits of Hindsight: Reconsidering higher education choices

    2 April 2025

    New research reveals undergraduates and graduates overwhelmingly believe in the importance of getting a degree, but a high proportion say – with the benefit of hindsight – they would have made a different decision about what or where to study.

  • When Skills England calls, will anybody answer the phone?

    31 March 2025 by Tom Richmond

    The creation of Skills England marks the UK government’s latest attempt to reform the post-16 skills system, aiming to better align education, training, and industrial priorities to drive economic growth. However, the new agency faces significant challenges, including limited autonomy, complex cross-departmental coordination, tensions between national and local priorities, and…

  • The Swing to Science: Retrospects and Prospects

    6 March 2025

    In recent years, there has been a swing to science and away from the arts and humanities in the subjects students study at school and university. Why? A careful look at the data suggests policy and even schools may not be quite as influential on these choices as we think.