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].
I was delivering training to teaching staff this week about the perils and pitfalls of predicted grades. When I gave a statistic about the number of our students that were placed at first or insurance choice university despite missing grades, a colleague thoughtfully asked, ‘but are they happy and succeeding…
***We are hosting General Election Briefings with London Economics and the Nuffield Foundation in the four UK capitals across February and March – you can sign up here.*** Here are a few downsides to joint tenancies for students, and why I consider they should not be compulsory. Sounds complicated? It…
HEPI has previously published two blogs outlining how this Bill might affect student accommodation (here and here). This two-part blog analyses recent developments and suggests that the current proposals will actually reduce rather than enhance housing rights for students. Background Whilst fixed-term tenancy arrangements will remain the norm for purpose-built…
Yesterday’s announcement from Robert Halfon, Minister for Higher Education, confirmed the expected news that student maintenance loans will be increased by just 2.5%. This announcement also confirms the Russell Group’s recent projected analysis, which shows that students entitled to the maximum loan will now be almost £2000 worse off than…
Opportunities for lifelong learning are an essential part of a happy, productive and educated society. In fact, the Lancet Public Health journal has published a report stating that an adult’s risk of mortality drops by two per cent for every year they spend in full-time education. Therefore, a new policy…
Just over a month ago, our Prime Minister, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, made a statement in his speech to the Conservative party conference. He said that: “The false dream of 50 per cent of children going to university […] was one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years.”…
UK universities are set to lose more than £17bn in real income over the next four years as persistent inflation erodes the value of tuition fees, according to newly released research. Higher education software provider TechnologyOne modelled the total amount universities will lose to inflation each year up until 2026-27,…
In a previous HEPI blog, it was reported in that “it appears that just five providers … received ‘outstanding’ ratings across all three features of educational gain: SO4 – a provider’s own articulation of the gains it intends its students to achieve, SO5 – its approach to supporting these educational…
Period poverty is a term that refers to the inability of individuals to access menstrual products, due to financial constraints, limited availability or stigma preventing them from seeking the essential products they need. This issue affects millions of people worldwide, including 36% of UK students. A lack of accessible menstrual…
The Skills Gap (the mismatch or gap between the skills required in current vacancies and skills possessed by people looking for work) and the Skills Shortage have become part of the everyday narrative in UK politics driven by employment data and unfilled vacancy data that show large numbers of unfilled…