195 pieces
Newest first, since January 2011 · page 9 of 10
· Comment
HE Bill to be dropped?
Last night, The Telegraph reported that the expected Higher Education Bill is being dropped, or at least delayed until later in the Parliament. This news must be greeted with caution and scepticism until we know the fact
· Analysis
Business as usual – a look at the Innovation & Research Strategy
Last week I predicted that today’s Innovation & Research Strategy would in no way be a radical document that questioned the underlying principles of research or research funding. Despite some optimistic thinking in some
· Analysis
UCAS Figures: Don’t panic….yet! – Updated 6/1/12
Today, UCAS released its November figures which offer a snapshot at where application levels are in this current cycle. They are down from last year which has caused many to claim that higher fees are putting off potenti
· Analysis
Time for research (Updated)
Next week, we are expecting the government to launch their long-awaited Innovation & Research strategy. Still suffering whiplash from the HE White Paper, there are those in the sector feeling nervous about what might be
· Analysis
We need to talk about credit
In 2007, The Burgess Review declared the current honours system ‘not fit for purpose’. Designed long ago when a tiny number of institutions were awarding a tiny number of degrees, its use in 2011 looks at best to be a ve
· Comment
Fear the future campus wars
There’s a long tradition of student politics and activism at university. Sometimes it has been in response to wider political concerns such as wars or cuts. But other times it has been specifically targeted at university
· Comment
HEPI’s analysis of the White Paper hits the nail on the head
The long-awaited analysis of the HE White Paper was published today. Its long gestation allowed authors John Thompson and Bahram Bekhradnia the time to cast their net very widely and speak to many colleagues across the s
· Analysis
Interesting questions raised by OU’s 5k fees
Yesterday, The Open University announced plans to charge £5000 fees. A THE story claims that it puts OU in ‘pole position’ to snap up the 20,000 places that are being made contestably available for institutions charging
· Analysis
The research funding debate: why size doesn’t matter
Research was notable by its absence in the HE white paper, leaving a large hole in the government’s plans for the sector. Recognition of its importance to higher education and its inter-relationship with issues related t
· Analysis
Bridging the ‘Social Aspirational Gap’ – is Social Enterprise in HE the answer?
What do I mean by the ‘Social Aspirational Gap’? Well, I’ve borrowed the phrase from Matthew Taylor’s excellent keynote address to the QAA Annual Conference last week. It is essentially the gap between where society is n
· Analysis
HE White Paper – Government must give Colleges more freedom
Whilst the graffiti sprayed on Westminster walls during student protests in December has long since been removed, (although one stubborn proclamation of “this is NOT a riot” remains) debate has somehow remained feverish
· Analysis
HE White Paper – initial thoughts
The Government has today finally published their long-delayed, much anticipated higher education White Paper. It’s remarkably long-gestation has ensured that there has been maximum scrutiny by No.10. A couple of weeks ag
· Analysis
Taking it to the limit
The HE White Paper is currently sitting on the desks of the No.10 policy wonks. Their beefed up unit charged with ensuring that everything this Government does is consistent with The Plan. So much ink has been spilt in p
· Comment
We must not confuse pageantry with politics
This afternoon, members of the Oxford Congregation gathered to debate a ‘no confidence’ motion in David Willetts. As a piece of theatre, it’s hard to fault. David Willetts has made some big errors of judgement in his tim
· Analysis
Public Accounts Committee calls for more regulation
Today the Public Accounts Committee has released their report ‘Regulating Financial Sustainability in Higher Education’. It calls for greater regulation of HE after the new funding regime begins and raps BIS on the knuck
· Comment
On the New College of the Humanities
It was reported in the Sunday papers that A.C. Grayling is setting up a new university in the mould of the American liberal arts colleges – and charging £18,000 per year in fees. He’s attracted some of the UK’s best-know
· Stacks
The great HEFCE pronunciation debate (updated)
I was idly musing this morning on Twitter about the correct pronunciation of ‘HEFCE’, having heard many people incorrectly pronounce it ‘hef-cee’. This caused a bit of a stir and even prompted THE to ring the HEFCE press
· Analysis
What did we learn from the BIS Business Plan?
The answer is; not a great deal, but some useful morsels of information can be found with a bit of digging. One of the transparency initiatives of this Government has been to make Departmental business plans publicly acc
· Comment
Off-quota places – another unforced HE policy error?
This morning David Willetts took the airwaves to float the idea of ‘off-quota’ places at university. Not a new idea by any means, but an interesting indication of the direction of travel for the HE White Paper which most
· Comment
The PR campaign must fight counter-intuitive fees assumptions
Today the Government launch their much-anticipated PR campaign to explain the new tuition fee changes. A partnership with Channel 4 is in place to target a key demographic through E4 and other mediums close to ‘youth’. T