However: The Curriculum and Assessment review
The interim curriculum review highlights system strengths but repeatedly signals unresolved challenges in equity, attainment, and qualification pathways.
Policy area: Access and participation
Boys will be boys: The educational underachievement of boys and young men
The problem of educational achievement by boys and young men is a long-standing and big one that has been largely ignored by policymakers. This new HEPI report considers the consequences for individuals and society and proposes:
Half a million men have missed out on higher education
In a new report, Boys will be boys: The educational underachievement of boys and young men (HEPI Report 188), Nick Hillman and Mark Brooks OBE show differences in educational achievement between men and women have meant half a million young men missing out on higher education over the past decade. This calculation…
How do care-experienced students view their time in higher education?
Care-experienced students face higher dropout rates, financial strain, and travel burdens, highlighting the need for better institutional and governmental support.
International Women’s Day: Black Women Shaping the Future of Academia
Black women in academia and industry have made groundbreaking contributions, yet persistent barriers demand urgent structural change for true equity.
To accelerate action on gender equality, we must consider both sides of the coin. #IWD2025
It’s International Women’s Day. Today on the site, Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris explores the critical role of Black women in academia and industry leadership, particularly in Engineering and STEM, highlighting their groundbreaking contributions and the systemic barriers that persist. Read that piece here. Below, HEPI’s own Rose Stephenson challenges us to…
Making an impact at scale
To tackle inequality in higher education, interventions must be designed with scalability in mind to ensure lasting, widespread impact.
Building inclusive research cultures– How can we rise above EDI cynicism?
Inclusive research enhances quality, equity, and innovation across sectors, requiring shared language, collaboration, and systemic commitment for lasting impact.
Solving the continuation challenge with engagement analytics
Universities using student engagement analytics are improving continuation rates, effectively targeting at-risk students with early interventions and support.
WEEKEND READING: Matt Goodwin’s ‘Bad Education’ isn’t good scholarship, but does that matter?
In Bad Education, Matt Goodwin makes the argument that Western universities have moved ‘sharply and radically to the left’ (p.51) over the last six decades, to the extent that diversity is now deemed more important than merit. According to Goodwin, a woke orthodoxy has gripped the sector: free speech is stifled;…