Alex Bols is Deputy Chief Executive at GuildHE and on the board of governors at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, having previously been on the boards of two other HEIs. He has worked at NUS, UUK and the 1994 Group.
13 pieces
Newest first, since June 2014
· Comment
A manifesto for teacher education
The teacher training outlook in England is showing no signs of improvement. Jackie Dunne and Alex Bols make the case for universities’ role in putting things right
With Jackie Dunne
· Comment
OfS needs to work on building trust over its plans for regulation of quality
OfS’ proposals on quality outcomes are mostly rational on paper – but the regulator needs to win the confidence of the sector, argues Alex Bols
· Comment
Should OfS worry about student welfare?
Andy Phippen, Andy Youell, Camille Kandiko Howson, Nick Hillman and Alex Bols feed in on the future of OfS
With Andy Phippen, Andy Youell, Camille Kandiko Howson and Nick Hillman
· Comment
Children and schools need good teachers more than ever
Peter Neil and Alex Bols argue that government proposals on teacher training bring risks not worth taking as children and schools come out of the pandemic.
With Peter Neil
· Analysis
Is collective student engagement still a thing?
Is collective student engagement still a thing? Guild HE’s deputy CEO Alex Bols reveals the headlines from a survey into the issues.
· Comment
OfS is one year older – but how much wiser?
Alex Bols of GuildHE extends birthday wishes to OfS and reflects on the emerging regulatory system from the perspective of small and specialist providers.
· Comment
Engaging students as partners: two steps forward, one step back
The trend in HE policy has been to give greater weight to genuine student engagement – but the quality code and OfS regulatory framework feel like a retreat from this. Xenia Levantis and Alex Bols have the detail.
With Xenia Levantis
· SUs · Members
Enhancing Student Representation
In recent years much of the national discussion has been about various exciting student engagement schemes – such as Students as Change Agents, Student Fellows Scheme and a whole host of other schemes. Here Guild HE’s Al
· Analysis
What do smaller institutions think about the student visa system?
If more than 10% of institutional visa requests are refused, the institution is automatically removed from the Tier 4 register. Smaller institutions have particular concerns about this – Alex Bols, Chris Taylor and Joe J
With Chris Taylor and Joe Johnson
· Analysis
Managing risk in a new student visa system
We are still awaiting the Home Office’s consultation on reforming the student visa system. Alex Bols implores the Home Office to consider the impact of tighter visa refusal rate regulations on small providers.
· Comment
Postgraduates: to TEF, or not to TEF, that is the question
Ahead of Guild HE conference next week, Deputy Chief Executive Alex Bols is unconvinced that a TEF for taught postgraduate courses would add much value to students’ decision making and experiences.
· Comment
Enhancing student representation systems
Marking the launch of a new report from GuildHE on student engagement, Alex Bols looks at the different behaviours in play that inform the effectiveness of student representation systems.
· Analysis
The 1994 Education Act and students’ unions
It is now twenty years since the 1994 Education Act, an important moment for students’ unions and the higher education sector at large. Much has changed since, both inside the student movement and outside where perceptio