Researchers found increasing dispersion in the returns to graduate education, linked to a rising number of graduates who were in jobs for which they were overqualified.
Source: Francis Green and Yu Zhu, Overqualification, Job Dissatisfaction and Increasing Dispersion in the Returns to Graduate Education, Manpower Human Resources Lab DP5, Centre for Economic Performance/London School of Economics (020 7955 7673)
Links: Paper | Abstract | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Dec
Proposals by the Scottish Government to scrap graduate endowment fees were rejected by the Scottish Parliament's education committee.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill, SP Paper 37, Scottish Parliament Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | SP press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Dec
A report said that a new system proposed for assessing the quality of university research would fail to produce detailed information, and would only be useful for allocating funding.
Source: Bahram Bekhradnia, Evaluating and Funding Research Through the Proposed 'Research Excellence Framework', Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Dec
A survey found that almost two-thirds of students from private schools who applied to the most prestigious universities were admitted – estimated to be more than five times the national average.
Source: Press release 26 November 2007, Independent Schools Council (020 7766 7070)
Links: ISC press release | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined the impact of teaching young people aged 14-16 in further education colleges. Teaching this age group was becoming accepted practice in colleges, and was seen as having benefits for the young people themselves, the colleges, and the wider community. Older learners in the colleges were largely unaffected by the presence of younger students, as most rarely came across them; and if they did, their reaction was generally positive.
Source: Tami McCrone, Pauline Wade and Sarah Golden, The Impact of 14-16 Year Olds on Further Education Colleges, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Date: 2007-Nov
A think-tank report said that some people in England had been put off applying to university because the student funding system was among the most complex in the world.
Source: Reality Check: Student finance regimes, Million+ (formerly Coalition of Modern Universities) (020 7717 1655)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report highlighted the gap in funding between the further education and higher education systems.
Source: Mark Corney and Mick Fletcher, Adult Skills and Higher Education: Separation or Union?, CfBT Education Trust (0118 902 1000)
Links: CfBT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Nov
Researchers examined reforms to the system of higher education finance in England, first announced in 2004 and revised in 2007. It used lifetime earnings simulated by the authors to consider the probable distributional consequences of the reforms for graduates. It also considered the costs of the reforms for taxpayers, and how the reforms were likely to shift the balance of funding for higher education between the public and private sectors. Individuals from the lowest part of the parental income distribution would typically find a substantial net reduction over their lifetime in the cost of their higher education, due to the new grants and bursaries. On the other hand, individuals from the middle to high parts of the parental income distribution would typically end up seeing the costs of their higher education increase.
Source: Lorraine Dearden, Emla Fitzsimons, Alissa Goodman and Greg Kaplan, Higher Education Funding Reforms in England: The Distributional Effects and the Shifting Balance of Costs, Working Paper W18/07, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Date: 2007-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the future sustainability of the higher education sector in the light of global trends. It was important that higher education institutions did all they could to ensure that international students had a high-quality experience while studying in the United Kingdom.
Source: Government Responses to (1) the Committee's Fifth Report, 14-19 Diplomas, and (2) Eighth Report, The Future Sustainability of the Higher Education Sector: International aspects; and Government and Ofsted Responses to the Committee's Sixth Report, The Work of Ofsted, Fifth Special Report (Session 2006-07), HC 1033, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined the factors behind the very low rates of participation in higher education in four selected parliamentary constituencies. It said that universities and colleges needed to continue to develop a strong understanding of the wider communities in which they operated, in order to develop more focused and relevant interventions which would reach young people from lower social class backgrounds.
Source: Lynn Reed, Peter Gates and Kathryn Last, Young Participation in Higher Education in the Parliamentary Constituencies of Birmingham Hodge Hill, Bristol South, Nottingham North and Sheffield Brightside, Higher Education Funding Council for England (0117 931 7317)
Links: Report | HEFCE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Oct
The Further Education and Training Act 2007 was given Royal assent. The Act was designed to: streamline and restructure the Learning and Skills Council; establish an effective intervention regime where provision was unsatisfactory; establish effective learner and employer consultation; and place a new duty on the LSC to create greater opportunities for learners and employers to exercise choice in type, place, and form of learning.
Source: Further Education and Training Act 2007, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act
Date: 2007-Oct
The Scottish Government published a Bill to scrap the graduate endowment fee (a one-off payment on successful completion of a higher education course of three years or more, introduced for Scottish-domiciled students and European Union students entering a Scottish university from 2001-02).
Source: Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | SG press release | Consultation responses | SP press release | BBC report | Scotsman report
Date: 2007-Oct
An article examined how education and training policy percolated down through many levels in the learning and skills sector in England, and how these levels interacted, or failed to interact. It criticized the new government model of public service reform for failing to harness the knowledge, goodwill, and energy of staff working in the sector, and for ignoring the central importance of the relationship between tutor and students.
Source: Frank Coffield et al., 'How policy impacts on practice and how practice does not impact on policy', British Educational Research Journal, Volume 33 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Oct
A report said that Britain's higher education system was expanding less rapidly than that of many of its economic competitors.
Source: Education at a Glance 2007, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Report | OECD press release | DCSF press release | UCU press release | NUT press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Sep
A survey examined aspects of the amount of teaching and private study undertaken by students in English universities, and their levels of satisfaction. The amount of work required of students, and standard of degrees awarded, differed widely between courses and universities.
Source: Tom Sastry and Bahram Bekhradnia, The Academic Experience of Students in English Universities, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | UCU press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Sep
An article examined the evolution of the quality regime for teaching and learning in higher education in England, and the lessons that could be drawn from it.
Source: Ourania Filippakou and Ted Tapper, 'Quality assurance in higher education: thinking beyond the English experience', Higher Education Policy, Volume 20 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that the increased internationalization of higher education potentially brought great benefits, both economic and otherwise, for the United Kingdom and its universities Too few British undergraduates studied abroad, compared with those from other countries. Universities needed to send more students overseas and provide intensive language courses.
Source: The Future Sustainability of the Higher Education Sector: International aspects, Eighth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 285, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | UCU press release | UUK press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs commended the government for its sustained focus on skills, but raised a number of concerns about the direction of existing policy. Skills were only part of a very complex equation, and simply boosting training would not necessarily lead to increased prosperity?particularly in economic terms. What was needed was more coherent support for employers to develop their businesses as a whole, addressing skills needs alongside other issues such as capital investment, innovation, and workforce planning.
Source: Post-16 Skills, Ninth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 333, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | TUC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report said that the United Kingdom was in danger of losing valuable international students as a result of universities pricing themselves out of the market. The UK's market share of such students had dropped to around 11 per cent in 2004, from 16 per cent in 1998.
Source: Phil Vickers and Bahram Bekhradnia, The Economic Costs and Benefits of International Students, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report highlighted the success of United Kingdom universities in recruiting and retaining international academic staff in the face of growing global competition. Overall there were more incoming academics than academic emigrants.
Source: Talent Wars: The international market for academic staff, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | UCU press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced that it would increase the number of university students entitled to non-repayable maintenance grants from 2008-09. Full-time students from families with incomes of up to £25,000 would be entitled to the maximum grant, compared to the 2006-07 threshold of £17,500. In addition, students from families with incomes of up to £60,000 would also be entitled to a partial grant: one-third of students from 2008-09 onwards would therefore receive a full grant (worth £2,825 a year), and a further third of students would receive a partial grant.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 5 July 2007, columns 1108-1124, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DIUS press release | OFFA press release | HEFCE press release | NUS press release | UUK press release | Guardian report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2007-Jul
An audit report said that 4 out of 5 students starting a full-time course in England were expected to complete their course – a figure which compared favourably with most other developed countries.
Source: Staying the Course: The retention of students in higher education, HC 616 (Session 2006-07), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | HEFCE press release | UCU press release | NUS press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jul
A survey found that two-thirds of people who worked directly or indirectly with further education believed that it had a major impact on the national economy and on improving local communities; and 3 out of 5 believed that the sector had made good progress in recent years. But one-third of employers, including some who had actually used the FE system for training staff, said they had little understanding of it.
Source: Ipsos MORI, The Status and Reputation of the Further Education System, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Links: Report | LSC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced an increase of up to 60 per cent in the maximum funding for disabled students entering higher education in 2008. The highest allowance for non-medical helpers would increase from £12,420 in 2007-08 to £20,000 the following year for full-time students, and would rise from £9,315 to £15,000 for part-time students.
Source: Press release 4 July 2007, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: DIUS press release | NUS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
The Further Education and Training Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to: streamline and restructure the Learning and Skills Council; establish an effective intervention regime where provision was unsatisfactory; establish effective learner and employer consultation; and place a new duty on the LSC to create greater opportunities for learners and employers to exercise choice in type, place, and form of learning.
Source: Further Education and Training Bill [HL], Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 12 July 2007, columns 1629-1710, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory Notes | Hansard
Date: 2007-Jul
The proportion of students in higher education from state schools rose to 87.4 per cent in 2005-06, compared to 86.7 per cent in 2004-05 and 86.8 per cent in 2003-04.
Source: Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK: 2005/06, Higher Education Statistics Agency (01242 255577)
Links: Report | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jul
A think-tank said that the government's newly announced reforms to student loans and grants would increase financial support for students in higher education from families with incomes above £17,500, but not for those from families with incomes below that level. People who did not participate in higher education would not benefit from the reforms, but would have to help finance them through the taxes they paid. If the government wanted to increase the number of students from poorer backgrounds who participated in higher education, it would probably be better to spend money trying to further improve school results rather than increasing subsidies for those who did make it to university.
Source: Press release 23 July 2007, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: IFS press release | NUS press release | BBC report | FT report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report examined the influences and uncertainties surrounding future demand for higher education. The falling numbers of young people might not hit university recruitment as much as feared - because the decline was biggest among social groups least likely to go to university.
Source: Bahram Bekhradnia, Demand for Higher Education to 2020 and Beyond, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jun
The Scottish Executive announced plans to scrap the graduate endowment fee with immediate effect, saving new graduates over £2,000. It said that the policy had failed graduates and their families by burdening them with excessive debt; failed the most vulnerable young people by creating financial barriers to accessing higher education; and failed the Scottish taxpayer by not raising the levels of income initially projected.
Source: Press release 13 June 2007, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: SE press release | NUS press release | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report said that applications to university had not dropped as a result of the introduction of tuition fees. The number of applicants had continued to rise steadily after a 'modest blip' in 2005 and 2006.
Source: Variable Tuition Fees in England: Assessing their impact on students and higher education institutions - A second report, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | NUS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jun
The new Prime Minster (Gordon Brown MP) announced that the Department for Education and Skills would be disbanded. Its responsibilities for schools would be transferred to a new Department for Children, Schools and Families. Its responsibilities for further and higher education would be transferred to a new Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, which would also deal with science policy. Funding for training and education at ages 16-19 would in future be distributed by local education authorities.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 28 June 2007, columns 36-40WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Downing Street press release | DCSF press release | DIUS press release | NASUWT press release | ASCL press release | NUS press release | ATL press release | PCS press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | FT report
Date: 2007-Jun
Researchers found that young people in Scotland were more likely to go on to college and university than in England or Wales.
Source: Press release 19 June 2007, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jun
The Further Education and Training Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to: streamline and restructure the Learning and Skills Council; establish an effective intervention regime where provision was unsatisfactory; establish effective learner and employer consultation; and place a new duty on the LSC to create greater opportunities for learners and employers to exercise choice in type, place, and form of learning.
Source: Further Education and Training Bill [HL], Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 21 May 2007, columns 994-1078, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory Notes | Hansard
Date: 2007-May
An article reported research which found that new (post-1992) universities in England were more academically effective than those in the research-led 'Russell' group.
Source: Jeff Pursglove and Mike Simpson, 'Benchmarking the performance of English universities', Benchmarking, Volume 14 Issue 1
Links: Abstract | Guardian report
Date: 2007-May
The proportion of further education students in England who achieved the qualifications on courses for which they had enrolled rose to 77 per cent in 2005-06, reaching the government's target of 76 per cent two years early.
Source: Further Education and Work Based Learning - Learner Outcomes in England: 2005/06, Statistical First Release 13/2007, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Apr
A new book examined why South Asian women were entering university in larger numbers, and the impact of this on their lives.
Source: Paul Bagguley and Yasmin Hussain, The Role of Higher Education in Providing Opportunities for South Asian Women, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Report | Findings | Summary | JRF press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A report presented the findings of a second survey of a sample of adults aged 19 or over who had completed a course of 30 guided learning hours or more in a further education college in 2003-04. 24 per cent of learners had increased their highest level of qualification since starting their course by the time of the wave two interview, and 13 per cent had increased their level of qualification since their FE course through subsequent learning.
Source: Nick Coleman, Rachel Phillips and Hannah Carpenter, FE Learners Longitudinal Survey Wave Two: Findings from quantitative research, Research Report 840, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Mar
The university admissions body announced that students applying in 2008 would be asked whether their parents held a degree, what occupation their parents held, and whether they had been in council care - as part of an effort to increase the number of students from lower-income backgrounds getting into university.
Source: Press release 15 March 2007, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (01242 544610)
Links: UCAS press release (1) | UCAS press release (2) | Guardian report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2007-Mar
A think-tank report said that interest-free student loans should be made available to the 400,000 adults who were studying A-level or equivalent courses at further education colleges. The existing student loans system was inflexible, and failed to target those students who needed the most financial help.
Source: Simone Delorenzi, Learning for Life: A new framework for adult skills, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Summary | IPPR press release | NUS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined the engagement of employers with higher education institutions. Employers were put off by relatively high transactions costs, and a channel was needed that would allow employers with limited resources to engage more fully.
Source: Terence Hogarth et al., Employer and University Engagement in the Use and Development of Graduate Level Skills, Research Report 835, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Mar
Provisional figures for the higher education participation rate for 2005-06 showed an increase of two percentage points since 2004-05, to 43 per cent.
Source: Participation Rates in Higher Education: Academic Years 1999/2000-2005/06 (Provisional), Statistical First Release 10/2007, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | DfES press release | NUS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report described a new measure of participation in higher education by socio-economic class, which had been developed by the Department for Education and Skills. It was designed to help measure progress in widening participation at a national level.
Source: Kathryn Kelly and Stephen Cook, Full-time Young Participation by Socio-Economic Class: A new widening participation measure in higher education, Research Report 806, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Mar
The Prime Minister announced plans to offer universities in England cash incentives to raise money through private donations. The government pledged £1 for every £2 universities raised from ex-students and philanthropists. It had earmarked £200 million to be spent over three years for the matched-funding scheme.
Source: Speech by Tony Blair MP (Prime Minister), 15 February 2006
Links: Text of speech | Briefing | NUS press release | UCU press release | CBI press release | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Feb
The number of people applying to full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges increased by 6.4 per cent: 395,307 people applied to enter higher education in 2007 compared to 371,683 in 2006.
Source: Press release 14 February 2007, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (01242 544610)
Links: UCAS press release | DfES press release | UCU press release | NUS press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Feb
A report highlighted the economic benefits associated with higher education qualification attainment. Gross additional lifetime earnings were approximately £160,000 - or 20-25 per cent - more for individuals with a higher education qualification than for those with two or more A-levels.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, The Economic Benefits of a Degree, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | NUS press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Feb
A report examined the initial impact on higher education of top-up tuition fees, introduced in September 2006. Applications to university remained 'solid' despite the higher fees. Universities had used the extra cash from fees to offer more bursaries and scholarships: but there was no evidence of a correlation between applications and the relative generosity of student support arrangements.
Source: Brian Ramsden and Nigel Brown, Variable Tuition Fees in England: Assessing their impact on students and higher education institutions, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | UCU press release | NUS press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Feb
The standards watchdog for further education launched a national improvement strategy for the further education system.
Source: Pursuing Excellence: The national improvement strategy for the further education system, Quality Improvement Agency (0870 2113 434)
Links: Strategy | QIA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Feb
The number of students applying to start university and college courses in 2007 dropped by 3 per cent. In 2006, there were 506,304 people applying to universities and colleges, compared to 522,155 applicants in 2005.
Source: Press release 18 January 2007, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (01242 544610)
Links: UCAS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jan
The education inspectorate proposed that the highest-performing further education colleges in England would have shorter inspections, while colleges that were failing or not improving would undergo more rigorous monitoring.
Source: Proportionate Inspection of Further Education Colleges: a consultation document, HMI 2705, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Consultation document | OFSTED press release | ASCL press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jan
A government booklet said that gradual progress had been made in broadening the socio-economic make-up of the student population: but progress had been too slow and might be levelling off. It set out some thoughts about how to widen participation further, and invited comments.
Source: Widening Participation in Higher Education, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Booklet
Date: 2007-Jan
A think-tank report said that young people in England who had taken vocational qualifications were not missing out on going to university: once academic ability was taken into account, those with vocational qualifications were if anything a little over-represented in higher education.
Source: Phil Vickers and Bahram Bekhradnia, Vocational A Levels and University Entry: Is there parity of esteem?, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan
An independent report said that research funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England gave universities and colleges a stable source of income, enabling them to maintain a strong research infrastructure and conduct 'cutting edge' research they could not otherwise afford to carry out.
Source: SQW Ltd, Impact of Quality Related (QR) Funding for Research in English Higher Education Institutions, Higher Education Funding Council for England (0117 931 7317)
Links: Report | HEFCE press release
Date: 2007-Jan
The education inspectorate examined provision for learners aged 16-18 with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in post-16 settings. Standards were 'uneven'. 18 of the 22 colleges visited lacked expertise in assessing students' capabilities. Learners' achievements on accredited programmes were found to be good: but the courses did not always meet students' stated needs.
Source: Current Provision and Outcomes for 16- to 18-Year-Old Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities in Colleges, HMI 2371, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan
The government began consultation on a new approach to funding for further education (at ages 14-19), designed to put purchasing power into the hands of customers ? whether employers or individual learners.
Source: Delivering World-class Skills in a Demand-led System, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260) and Learning and Skills Council
Links: Consultation document | DfES press release | ASCL press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Jan
