…overnment’s productivity plan, which the Commons BIS Committee reported on today, quite rightly highlighted the need to deliver a more highly-skilled workforce to boost productivity and household incomes. Expanding higher education was listed as a way to achieve this – not only opening the door to more students who would otherwise be unable to study, but recognising the additional productivity and wage premium that comes with a degree. This was fo…
…essions. We are the only group of universities above benchmark for both recruiting and retaining students with widening participation backgrounds, and have stressed the continued importance of Student Opportunity Funding and the need for TEF measures to be properly benchmarked and contextualised. “While the main focus of this report is teaching excellence, Ministers must ensure the large-scale changes envisaged in the way research and innovation a…
…alaine welcomed the moves on part-time and postgraduate students in the THE article. However she added, “Given the vital role of Student Opportunity Funding, ministers must ensure that the cuts announced today do not undermine the Prime Minister’s ambitious goal of doubling the proportion of disadvantaged young people entering higher education by 2020.” Read our full response here. …
…e at a cost. If this is not recognised in the forthcoming spending review, today’s commitment is just empty words,” she said. Ms Ansell also welcomed the commitment to retain the dual-support system for research. “This makes our system dynamic and promotes innovation,” she said, adding that “while we recognise the value of reducing the cost of participating in the research excellence framework, any simplification must not introduce concentration b…
…reats and opportunities of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) earlier today. Not only were there platform speeches from senior people from HEFCE, BIS, Coventry University and the University of South Wales, there was even an interview with a real live student (often notable by their absence from the list of speakers at such events), which was conducted by Maddalaine Ansell, the University Alliance’s newish Chief Executive. Sadly, the half-day…
…s of UK science and innovation, has kicked back much of the crucial decision-making until after the election next May, and in some cases, following further reviews.” Read our full statement responding to the Science and Innovation Strategy which was published today here….
…Sutton Trust, which has published reports about the “Missing 3,000” young people with high A-level grades who do not go on to “leading universities”. And the Alliance also describes the Russell Group’s hostility to the recently announced expansion in student numbers as a “backlash against widening participation”. Read the article….
…which is “often ahead” of England’s, Libby Hackett and Nick Hillman argue today. This is to launch a joint University Alliance and HEPI report, ‘HELP from Down Under? – ‘It’s not only on the cricket pitch that we can learn from Australia’’ University Alliance chief executive Libby Hackett, who has written a longer analysis to accompany Mr Hillman’s, said Fee-Help should be seen as a “proof of concept” that a cost neutral loan scheme was possible….
…ve a central role to play in realising Government ambitions. Click here to read the stories and start-up toolkit The scale of, interest in, and support for graduate enterprise is growing and entrepreneurship is in a powerful position to shape economy and culture in the UK today. Appetite among the student body continues to grow; there are now 130 NACUE Enterprise Societies in universities and colleges, up from just 12 in 2009. Students and graduat…
…eneurship is in a powerful position to shape economy and culture in the UK today. Appetite among the student body continues to grow; there are now 130 NACUE Enterprise Societies in universities and colleges, up from just 12 in 2009. Student-led enterprise uniquely catalyses entrepreneurship on campuses, complementing and enhancing the impact of the variety of enterprise education and activities available through universities. Read the student stor…
