HEPI aims to produce around a dozen pieces of high quality research and analysis each year – all reports are available free of charge here on our website and are generally also available in hard copy from the HEPI office.
In this HEPI Occasional Paper, Sir Anthony Seldon and Dr Alan Martin explore the concept of a ‘positive university’ by looking at the approaches used by positive psychology and mindfulness. With increasing concern about the health of students and staff, this report considers the importance of a proactive approach to…
Recent debates have focused on the direct economic returns of obtaining a degree – and certain degrees in particular. Taking one county as an example, this report by the Vice-Chancellor of Norwich University of the Arts, Professor John Last, reveals the knock-on effect for the options available in schools. In…
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the social mobility charity Brightside are jointly publishing a collection of essays by senior higher education figures entitled Where next for widening participation and fair access? New insights from leading thinkers. Contributors include: Kirsty Williams AM, the Cabinet Secretary for Education in the…
In this hard-hitting paper, Tim Blackman, a serving Vice-Chancellor, calls for a much less hierarchical higher education sector. He shows how this will benefit students, the quality of learning and social mobility and, most importantly, he shows how to get there.
Since 2006, HEPI has run the Student Academic Experience Survey, generally in conjunction with the Higher Education Academy. This shows a big gap between students’ prior expectations and their time in higher education. It also shows the degree to which prior expectations are met explains students’ perceptions of value for money and…
HEPI Policy Note 1, Misunderstanding Technical and Professional Education: Six Category Mistakes, considers six areas: Parity of esteem: The new T-Levels are supposed to give technical education the same status as academic education. But they have a different purpose and structure to A-Levels. So they will succeed only if they…
The UK-wide HEPI / HEA Survey was first undertaken in 2006. This year’s results are challenging, showing students have: falling perceptions of value for money; continue to display relatively low wellbeing compared to the rest of the population; and have yet to love England’s high-fees model of funding undergraduate education. There are…
John Cater, the Vice-Chancellor of Edge Hill University, looks at the history of teacher training over the past half a century. Most of the recent reforms – such as a push for more school based teacher training – have antecedents. But policymakers have often missed the lessons from the successes…
Richard Garner is the UK’s longest-serving education correspondent and has worked at the Times Educational Supplement, the Mirror and the Independent. In this HEPI Occasional Paper, he questions whether universities are making the most of their opportunities to work with the media. Through a series of colourful anecdotes, he reveals…
The dramatic rise in the number of university students holding BTECs raises important questions about the purpose of the qualification and whether it should be treated by policymakers as part of an academic or vocational pathway. Scott Kelly discusses these issues and makes a number of recommendations for policymakers and…