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Lots of things are claimed for the Robbins Report that don’t hold up to scrutiny. It was responsible for the ‘plateglass’ universities of the 1960s. Nope – all of the famous ‘English 7’ plateglass universities were lined up before the Report was issued, and one (Sussex) was already open for business.…
The report of the Industry and Regulators Committee of the House of Lords into the Office for Students, which was published on September 13th, hits the political sweet spot. The period of deep uncertainty and consequent political instability which has lasted since 2015 and then the Brexit referendum has given…
Sixteen months ago today, on 30 May 2019, the long-awaited Augar report came out. Written by Philip Augar and a team of experts, it included 53 recommendations covering FE, HE and student funding. At the time, HEPI responded positively to the package of proposals, which were serious, coherent and wide-ranging. They were not perfect,…
When John Denham delivered his speech on higher education to the RSA in January 2014, we described it as ‘the most interesting set of ideas on higher education from any Labour politician since the last election.’ That accolade must now be shifted to the new pamphlet, Robbins Rebooted, by Liam…
‘Robbins Rebooted’ is a good title for Liam Byrne’s first really important speech on higher education. It is consciously based on a pamphlet written last year by David Willetts (to which I contributed, to declare an interest). The Robbins report has gradually come to play the role the Beveridge report…
The higher education sector must urgently reform its workforce model to meet evolving demands and ensure financial sustainability.
Entering into higher education policy by accident Like almost everyone else working in higher education policy, I fell into the area by accident. In the second half of 2007, I was invited to go and work as the Chief of Staff for the Shadow Cabinet member David Willetts. I had…
The Plateglass Universities, a phrase sanctified by its inclusion in Wikipedia, were founded in a time of optimism- the swinging sixties-of which they were themselves an emblem. Decades on, the durability of the Magnificent Seven, is shown by their tenancy, in the latest British University rankings by the Times Educational…
The Higher Education and Research Act of 2017 (HERA) asserts that both the Secretary of State and the Office for Students ‘must have regard to the need to protect the institutional autonomy of English higher education providers’. HERA s. 8 defines this autonomy in terms which have been accepted since they…
This week is the last week of term at many universities. So we will be marking the start of the Christmas period with three detailed pieces on the state of higher education at the end of 2023. These will feature on our News page (and are in addition to the…