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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.

  • Filling in the biggest skills gap: Increasing learning at Levels 4 and 5

    23 August 2018 by Dave Phoenix

    Level 4 and 5 qualifications – including Foundation Degrees, Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (NHDs) – are an excellent route for those not interested (or not yet ready) to embark on a full degree, for mature learners who want to take only a limited amount of time…

  • Cracking the code: A practical guide for university free speech policies

    19 July 2018 by Diana Beech

    The question of whether UK higher education institutions are effectively promoting free speech on campus is a political hot potato. Recent attempts to ‘no platform’ speakers by students and academics have caused Government and policymakers to question whether the right balance is being struck by higher education institutions, which have a…

  • Change is coming: how universities can navigate through turbulent political times

    8 June 2018 by Diana Beech

    In this new Policy Note, Dr Diana Beech, HEPI Director of Policy and Advocacy, summarises our 2017/18 work stream with PwC and examines the main strategic challenges facing universities in the current political climate. It identifies a pressing need for universities and colleges to come together to: learn from each…

  • 2018 Student Academic Experience Survey

    7 June 2018 by Jonathan Neves (Advance HE) and Nick Hillman (HEPI)

    The HEPI / Advance HE 2018 Student Academic Experience Survey records the views of over 14,000 students. As in earlier years, it includes a wealth of information on issues such as value for money perceptions, contact time and workload and student wellbeing. It also includes the results of a range of…

  • How different is Oxbridge?

    24 May 2018 by Charlotte Freitag and Nick Hillman

    We have conducted a new analysis to compare the student experience at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge to the student experience at other Russell Group universities and to students at all UK universities. The results show that, compared to other Russell Group students as well as students…

  • Reaching the parts of society universities have missed: A manifesto for the new Director of Fair Access and Participation

    10 May 2018 by Paul Clarke and Dr Diana Beech (Editors)

    The new regulatory regime for higher education in England incorporates a new approach to access and participation. A new Director of Fair Access and Participation (Chris Millward) will encourage universities to make further and faster progress than ever before. HEPI and Brightside jointly asked 35 leading thinkers for their views…

  • Post-18 Review: 10 Points-of-Note on fixing the broken parts of our education and training system based on recent HEPI output

    30 April 2018 by Nick Hillman

    HEPI’s response to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding covers the following 10 areas: Part-time learners Differential fees Maintenance grants Mixed funding model Uses of tuition fees Misunderstanding among applicants Outreach versus spending on bursaries Accounting treatment of student loans Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications Student number controls…

  • Benchmarking widening participation: how should we measure and report progress?

    5 April 2018 by Professor Iain Martin

    In this new Policy Note, Professor Iain Martin, Vice Chancellor at Anglia Ruskin University, looks at each university’s success in widening participation and ensuring access to people from all backgrounds. Professor Martin proposes a new measure of equity in participation, which demonstrates graphically the most equal – and most unequal…

  • Demand for Higher Education to 2030

    15 March 2018 by Bahram Bekhradnia and Diana Beech

    To look forward to the end of the next decade, this report considers demographic challenges, the strength of the supply chain and emerging policy disrupters. Its findings are based on data specifically commissioned by HEPI from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS),…