…c and global challenges and help drive and sustain business growth. “We welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to significant increases in R&D spending across the whole of the UK in particular across universities outside of the golden triangle. This investment will only support nationwide “levelling up” if it is accompanied by new thinking about how to support the specific needs of regions and places, embracing a diversity of approaches and rewarding…
University Alliance welcomes Beth Button as the new Head of Communications and Public Affairs. Beth has over 6 years’ experience working in the Higher Education sector, from NUS Wales, Universities Wales and most recently at UUK where she headed up the hugely successful ‘Made at Uni’ campaign. UA CEO Vanessa Wilson welcomed her appointment saying, ‘As University Alliance renews its vision, strategy and mission we are extremely pleased to have Bet…
…kled. It identified five steps for universities to improve BAME student outcomes: Providing strong leadership: University leaders and senior managers need to demonstrate a commitment to removing the BAME attainment gap and lead by example. UUK and NUS have created a checklist for university leaders to draw upon when considering how to address their institution’s attainment gap. Having conversations about race and changing cultures: Universities an…
…to our areas and our work in shaping the workforce of tomorrow. At a time of huge economic, political and social change, universities remain vital civic anchors for their communities. I hope that universities of all types and sizes will take on board the recommendations of this group”….
…lling and lifelong learning projects that Alliance universities excel at. “Whilst tempting to confuse correlation and causation with a data set like this, it is always important to interrogate any findings and take into account the various contributing factors. This will ensure that useful data and tools such as this are truly useful guides for students and others when thinking about our universities. We should also remember that whilst economic o…
…ng social justice – but it’s not going to happen on its own without major reforms”. “The levy is complex, confusing and misunderstood by far too many employers, who don’t know how to access or use it. This is compounded by the bottleneck in apprenticeships being signed off, so the levy surplus is building up in Treasury coffers. The knock-on effect risks providers like universities or colleges backing out of providing programmes, because they can’…
…number of part-time students, and proposals to allow institutions to hold TEF awards for up to five years after 2020 will increase stability in the system. “We will be looking for more clarity on how new ‘supplementary metrics’ will be handled in practice. Additional metrics have the potential to add value to the TEF but the emphasis of assessment should continue to be placed on widely agreed, understood and fairly comparable performance indicator…
…ssional education – our close links to industry mean we can design innovative courses closely aligned to the future needs of the economy: over 40 per cent of degrees at Alliance institutions are accredited by professional bodies. “Alliance universities have also been at the forefront of the development of Degree Apprenticeship programmes, combining study with extensive on-the-job training and giving students the opportunity to earn while they lear…
Commenting on The Comprehensive University, a report authored by Prof Tim Blackman and published by HEPI, University Alliance Chief Executive Maddalaine Ansell said: “Universities are making progress on widening participation and many can be proud of their efforts. But overall, the sector is not supporting social mobility to an extent that will have profound societal impact. Any step change needs bold thinking – radical ideas may initially look u…
…dents do, but it was, he said, “significant”. He said: “Many voluntary and community organisations rely on the efforts of students in a wide range of volunteering roles that provide vital services across the city.” The value isn’t just to the city, though, volunteering is also of huge value to the students and graduates. Many say that through volunteering they have grown in confidence, learned new skills, applied what they’d learned in theory to t…