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The UK's only independent think tank devoted to higher education.

Publications

In recent years, HEPI has produced over 20 reports a year. They are all available free of charge here on our website and all our longer reports are also available in hard copy from the HEPI office.

The version on the website should be regarded as the version of record.

  • The UK’s tax revenues from international students post-graduation

    21 March 2019 by Dr Gavan Conlon, Maike Halterbeck and Sophie Hedges

    The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways have published research commissioned from London Economics on the financial contributions of international students who stay in the UK to work. The report additionally considers whether these former students are displacing others in the labour market and evaluates the financial…

  • Students back bailouts: Students’ views on the financial health of universities

    7 March 2019 by Rachel Hewitt

    In this new Policy Note, Rachel Hewitt, HEPI Director of Policy and Advocacy, reports on the results of a new poll on of students on their views on what should happen to universities in financial difficulty. Key points: most students (83%) are confident their own institution is in a strong…

  • The USS: How did it come to this?

    7 February 2019 by Nick Hillman

    The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was founded in 1975, when it replaced an outdated set of pension arrangements for university staff. The USS was stable for nearly four decades but, in recent years, it has undergone considerable turbulence. The causes include tighter pension regulations, growing life expectancy and lower financial…

  • The Impact of Selective Secondary Education on Progression to Higher Education

    10 January 2019 by Iain Mansfield

    Most previous research on grammar schools has focused narrowly on eligibility for Free School Meals as a measure of disadvantage. But with 45% of pupils at grammar schools coming from families with below median incomes, a broader consideration of the impact of grammar schools on social mobility is necessary. The…

  • Homeward Bound: Defining, understanding and aiding ‘commuter students’

    13 December 2018 by David Maguire and David Morris

    The vast majority of students in the UK experience higher education on a residential basis: they move away from home to study. But, for a significant minority of students, higher education is experienced differently. Around one-quarter of students live at home and commute to study, and in some parts of…

  • Where do student fees really go? Following the pound

    22 November 2018 by Nick Hillman, Jim Dickinson, Alice Rubbra and Zach Klamann

    Three-quarters of students want more information about where their fees go. They have been promised this information for many years but it has been slow to arrive in accessible forms. Now the Office for Students, which has a statutory duty to ensure students receive value for money, is making it…

  • Targeted Tuition Fees: Is means-testing the answer?

    20 September 2018 by Alex Usher and Robert Burroughs

    This HEPI report focuses on international higher education financing, discussing the concept of ‘targeted free tuition’ – the idea that, while tuition fees backed by income-contingent loans can improve access, they still do not do enough to help people from the very poorest households, who are typically the most debt…

  • David versus Goliath: The past, present and future of students’ unions in the UK

    6 September 2018 by Jim Dickinson and Mike Day

    In this report, Mike Day and Jim Dickinson look at the past, present and future of student unions. Although almost every university has a students’ union, there is little research or reliable data on their form, role or successes. They are often seen and judged through a ‘student politics’ lens…