News

Public Accounts Committee HE report cites fees black hole and calls for more regulation

by Mark Leach June 7, 2011

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 knuckles for getting their sums wrong over fees. It could make for uncomfortable, but probably not devastating reading in some parts of Government. And it adds weight to those who’ve been arguing for a long time that the Coalition’s fees policy doesn’t add up. This post has a look at some of the headlines from the report.

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HE White Paper – A date for your diary [updated]

by News May 20, 2011

Much discussed and long-awaited, the Government will hope that by publishing the White Paper, they will be able to regain the initiative in HE policy and put an end to the needlessly turbulent months we’ve experienced. The publication will also herald the start of a long consultation which will doubtlessly garner a significantly substantial response and will hopefully inform the development of the policy proposals as they are taken away to be drafted in to a Bill sometime in early 2012.

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Story of the HE week

by Mark Leach May 13, 2011

An experimental look back at the week in HE.

Some of the biggest and smallest news brought together for your enjoyment.

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The PR campaign must fight counter-intuitive fees assumptions

by Mark Leach May 9, 2011

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’.

Those close to David Willetts and BIS have been consistent in their calls for the Government to undertake such a communications exercise. The calls have not gone unheeded, but the tangled web of policy that Willetts, Cable and Co. managed to maneuver themselves into meant that until now, it has been hard enough to communicate their intentions to the HE sector, let alone the people that are now weighing up the pros and cons of applying to higher education.

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Imperial College surprises all with £0 tuition fees

by Mark Leach April 1, 2011

Amidst the rush of Universities announcing their fee levels over the last two weeks, Imperial College surprised many by bucking the emerging trend of elite institutions charging £9,000, and announcing instead that their tuition would be free of charge for new entrants in 2012. Imperial Rector Sir Kieth O’Nions said in a passionate address to staff that “future Imperial students deserved one of the finest educational experiences in the world…price cannot be barrier to success”.

A further statement from the College explains that this free tuition scheme for all students will be funded by the massive stockpile of reserves that have been built up over the past 100 years from endowments, commercial interests and private sector income that has sustained the “Imperial Family.”

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The state we’re in – round up of the week

by Mark Leach March 4, 2011

It’s been a big week for the world of higher education. The Government has got itself in an increasingly big mess with contradictory policies being made on-the-hoof, to the frustration of everyone with an interest in HE. David Willetts is coming under increasing pressure as the commentariat have begun to tighten the screws. This is a little round up of some of the biggest issues and the best writing about them.

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Aaron Porter decides not to re-stand for election [updated]

by Mark Leach February 21, 2011

Last week we reported on Aaron Porter’s impossibly difficult political situation and today he has announced that he won’t be seeking re-election in the forthcoming NUS elections. This will come as a shock to many who assumed that he would re-stand and most probably win. From his statement, it’s clear that he’s come to the conclusion [...]

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OFFA Letter

by Mark Leach February 10, 2011

This morning Vince Cable and David Willetts wrote to OFFA outlining their ever-so-slightly enhanced role in regulating access. I’ll do some fuller analysis later, but on the face of it, it doesn’t look like there’s much here that will greatly affect how institutions choose to price their courses. It’s hard to argue against nice access [...]

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HE supply and demand to 2020

by Mark Leach February 2, 2011

HEPI have published a timely report today on supply and demand following on from previous annual publications on the same topic. This year’s considers the extend of likely unmet demand in the future and highlights the previous educaticational profile of students entering HE. More than one third of which have no UCAS tariff points. “The [...]

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Pfizer’s exit from Kent – HE plays a critical role in the region

by Mark Leach February 1, 2011

Today’s news that Pfizer is closing its European HQ for research and development which was based in Kent will be catastrophic news for the local community. The centre is in a particularly economically deprived part of Kent which already has high levels of unemployment due to the historic decline of the docks, agriculture and the tourist pound. Until Canterbury [...]

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