The HEPI Blog aims to make brief, incisive contributions to the higher education policy landscape. It is circulated to our subscribers and published online. We welcome guest submissions, which should follow our Instructions for Blog Authors. Submissions should be sent to our Blog Editor, Josh Freeman, at [email protected].
Regulation in England In England, the main regulator of higher education institutions became the Office for Students in 2018. From 2012 onwards, the majority of teaching income for home students had shifted from grant funding from the old Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and towards higher tuition fee…
Whatever your opinion of the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF), it has driven important changes in how we define and assess research excellence. The inclusion in the REF of societal impact, its emphasis on quality over quantity, and plans to evaluate the quality and sustainability of the research environment all…
In recent years, there has been a push to encourage higher education routes other than the traditional model of studying for an honours degree full-time and away from home. Alternative forms of study bring higher education into the reach of more people and can work for employers short of higher-level…
The higher education sector, like the country, faces a fork in the road ahead. Perhaps it is nothing but the heady sensation of summer coming down the track, but it feels like change is in the air. Something has to give. Pressure on the financial model of universities has been…
Students are doubly affected by the cost-of-living crisis, as costs have gone up while the key component of their income, student maintenance support, has fallen in real terms. Most students say their financial situation has worsened over the past year and one-third say financial challenges put them at risk of…
Higher education has operated across borders right back to medieval times, when a university was a travelling community of scholars. Today, there is considerable interchange of students, staff and ideas between countries. One way in which higher education crosses borders is through the international students who come from overseas to…
The experiences of trans students at university differ significantly from their cisgendered university peers. Studies continue to show that they experience more instances of physical or emotional threat, do not feel that universities make reasonable adjustments for their recognition and inclusion, and have a concerning lack of faith in university…
The ‘fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending’? At the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party reiterated the commitments already made by the Conservative Government to spend more on research and development (R&D). Their manifesto promised ‘the fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending, including in basic science research to…
Universities enrich people’s lives through the creation and sharing of knowledge in education and research, broadening our horizons, and bringing material benefits to our local and global economies. But there is another huge and often overlooked benefit they bring to society. In every town and city with a university or…
UK universities are funded through three main income streams: The maximum annual tuition fee for English undergraduate students was raised to £9,000 in 2012 and has only increased once since, rising to £9,250 in 2017. The fee situation for undergraduates is similar in Wales, where fees are rising to £9,250…