An official capability review said that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills had made a 'strong start' in its first 18 months of existence.
Source: Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills: Baseline Assessment, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2008-Dec
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation (following an independent report) on proposals to replace tuition fee payments for all university students in Wales with means-tested grants.
Source: Proposals to Refocus Higher Education Student Finance, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document | Review report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
The results of the 2008 research assessment exercise showed that 17 per cent of all research submitted by higher education institutions in the United Kingdom was 'world leading' – meriting the highest possible grade – while 37 per cent was judged to be 'internationally excellent'.
Source: Research Assessment Exercise 2008: The outcome, Higher Education Funding Council for England (0117 931 7317)
Links: Report | HEFCE press release | UUK press release | GuildHE press release | UCU press release | NUS press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | THES report (1) | THES report (2) | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report examined the impact of devolution on diverging higher education policies. It called for better dialogue between ministers responsible for higher education from the four governments and for a more equitable formula for funding higher education across the United Kingdom.
Source: Alan Trench, Devolution and Higher Education: Impact and future trends, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | UCU press release | Leicester University press release
Date: 2008-Dec
A report presented a selection of statistics relating to the higher education sector in terms of gender, race, disability, and age.
Source: Helen Connor, Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2008, Equality Challenge Unit (020 7438 1010)
Links: Report | UCU press release
Date: 2008-Dec
Researchers reviewed implementation of the 2004 Schwartz report on admissions to higher education. A number of the principles in the report had been successfully adopted by the higher education sector, particularly in relation to the areas of transparency, staff training, and continuing professional development. 98 per cent of respondents agreed that it was important that universities and colleges had students from a wide range of backgrounds.
Source: Colin McCaig et al., Fair Admissions To Higher Education: A review of the implementation of the Schwartz Report principles three years on, Centre for Education and Inclusion Research/Sheffield Hallam University (01242 544891) and Institute for Access Studies/Staffordshire University
Links: Report | Summary | UUK press release | NUS press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report examined progress over the previous decade in widening participation rates in further education.
Source: Geoff Stanton et al., Unfinished Business in Widening Participation: The end of the beginning, Learning and Skills Network (020 7297 9000)
Links: Report | Bedfordshire University press release
Date: 2008-Dec
A think-tank report said that the Liberal Democrat Party should end its opposition to tuition fees. Since most taxpayers were non-graduates with relatively low lifetime earnings, the fees involved a significant redistribution of resources from poor to rich. The gap between the higher-education participation rates of rich and poor students was neither created nor worsened by the introduction of tuition fees. The real reason why students from low-income families were not going to university in greater numbers was that too few were achieving the exam results they needed to apply.
Source: Julian Astle, Time's Up: Why the Lib Dems should end their opposition to tuition fees, CentreForum (020 7340 1160)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Dec
A think-tank report examined how higher education institutions and local authorities could work together to mutual benefit.
Source: Laura Williams, Natalie Turner and Alexandra Jones, Embedding Universities in Knowledge Cities, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report examined demand for higher education to 2029. Student demand for higher education might increase significantly over the period, despite earlier forecasts of falling levels of participation. Participation rates among young people were likely to increase, male academic performance might improve, and demographic changes would result in more people aged 18-20 from 2020 onwards.
Source: Bahram Bekhradnia and Nick Bailey, Demand for Higher Education to 2029, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | UUK press release | THES report
Date: 2008-Dec
The Scottish Government began consultation on a number of options for improving student support in higher education. It said that it had earmarked £30 million in 2010-11 to begin the transition from loans to grants: but the consultation also considered other options, such as increasing the overall level of support for students.
Source: Supporting a Smarter Scotland: A consultation on supporting learners in higher education, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Consultation document | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report called for much closer co-operation between universities and employers on skills and training provision.
Source: Stepping Higher: Workforce development through employer-higher education partnership, Confederation of British Industry (020 7395 8247)
Links: Report | CBI press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2008-Nov
A study of the economic impact of further education colleges in England found that the contribution of past and present learners who had studied at the colleges over the previous 15 years was approximately £28 billion in added income to the national economy in 2006-07. For every £1 invested by government in colleges, the taxpayer saw a return on investment of £1.70.
Source: EMSI, The Economic Contribution of England's Further Education Colleges, Association of Colleges (020 7827 4600)
Links: Summary | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
The government published a series of studies commissioned as part of its plans to develop a long-term framework for higher education.
Source: Drummond Bone, Internationalisation of HE: A ten-year view, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Council for Science and Technology, How Academia and Government Can Work Together, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | HEFCE, Understanding Institutional Performance, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Christine King, Part-time Study in Higher Education, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Paul Ramsden, Teaching and the Student Experience, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Nigel Thrift, Research Careers in the UK: A review, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Universities UK, Demographic Change and Its Impact on the Higher Education Sector in England, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Paul Wellings, Intellectual Property and Research Benefits, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills | Ron Cooke, On-line Innovation in Higher Education, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: DIUS press release | Bone Report | CST Report | HEFCE Report | King Report | Ramsden Report | Thrift Report | UUK Report | Wellings Report | Cooke Report | UCU press release | UUK press release | HEA press release | GuildHE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
A paper examined research evidence on the policies, pedagogies, and practices of widening participation in higher education.
Source: Miriam David et al., Widening Participation in Higher Education, Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Paper
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the extent and source of variation in the graduate earnings premium. There were substantial variations in earnings according to: gender, the degree subject studied, the region of employment, and the occupation and industry of employment. Compared to an otherwise identical female graduate, male graduates earned, on average, 3.8 per cent more.
Source: Alan Ramsey, Graduate Earnings: An Econometric Analysis of Returns, Inequality and Deprivation across the UK, Department for Employment and Learning/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9025 7777)
Links: Report | Summary | NIE press release
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the extent and effectiveness of links between schools and universities from the schools' perspective. Co-ordination among universities and between universities and schools needed to be improved. More work should be conducted with teachers around progression and widening participation. There should be more focus on work with parents and the broader community.
Source: Sarah Tough with Amanda Sasia and Geoff Whitty, Productive Partnerships? An examination of schools' links with higher education, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Nov
A think-tank report said that the government's efforts to tackle skills shortages had resulted in an 'unwieldy maze' of bodies that had a poor record of success. Higher and further education institutions were strait-jacketed – punished if they recruited too few or too many students, and given little incentive to innovate or manage costs. The report called for a reallocation of the £9.6 billion spent on further and higher education, through an 'individual education account' worth £13,000 for every young person aged 18. One result would be that the best education and training opportunities would no longer be monopolized by people from advantaged backgrounds.
Source: Andrew Haldenby, Helen Rainbow, Laurie Thraves and Elizabeth Truss, The Mobile Economy, Reform (020 7799 6699)
Links: Report | UCU press release | NUS press release | BBC report | THES report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report from an independent advisory group made a series of recommendations about school/college links with businesses and higher education institutions; and about how early years providers, schools, and colleges could work together to help raise standards. Every pupil should visit a university during primary school or early secondary school, and schools in England would be rated on the proportion of their pupils who attended top universities. All schools should make better links with local businesses, and there should be a national framework setting out the areas where business links could make most difference.
Source: National Council for Educational Excellence: Recommendations, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DCSF press release | GuildHE press release | SSAT press release | Leicester University press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government accepted the recommendations of an independent report on improving regulation and reducing bureaucracy in England's higher education sector.
Source: Steve Bundred, The Better Regulation of Higher Education and the Work of HERRG in 2007/08, Higher Education Regulation Review Group/Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555) | Press release 24 October 2008, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Links: Report | DIUS press release
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that widespread poor education and careers advice was preventing large numbers of academically able pupils from non-privileged homes going on to higher education, and diverting them into a 'cul de sac of opportunity'.
Source: Increasing Higher Education Participation Amongst Disadvantaged Young People and Schools in Poor Communities, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
A new book examined the experiences of black male students in the United Kingdom and the United States of America who had gained access to higher education. It sought to identify the extent to which they had been exposed to the factors known to correlate with the underachievement of black male youths; and the factors that had led to their educational success and influenced their access to and choice of universities. It gave a detailed account of the barriers they found in their path and how they overcame them.
Source: Cheron Byfield, Black Boys Can Make It: How they overcome the obstacles to university in the UK and USA, Trentham Books (01782 745567)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Oct
A study found significant differences between students with 'level 3' vocational and academic qualifications, in terms of both outcomes and the nature of their higher education experience. These differences were not easily explicable: but they raised 'serious questions' about whether a vocational qualification was as good a preparation for higher education as an academic qualification.
Source: Nick Bailey and Bahram Bekhradnia, The Academic Experience and Outcomes of Students with Vocational Level 3 Qualifications, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government announced that grants for students in England starting university in 2009-10 would be cut, because it had underestimated how many would be eligible for support. The upper limit to receive grants would be reduced from a family income of £60,000 to £50,020. Up to 40,000 prospective students would lose grants of up to £524 a year. Growth in student numbers would also be cut to 'no more than 10,000', compared with the 15,000 previously planned.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 29 October 2008, columns 32-33WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | OFFA press release | HEFCE press release | GuildHE press release | NUS press release | UCU press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report | BBC report | FT report | Times Higher Education report
Date: 2008-Oct
A think-tank report said that the introduction of variable tuition fees in English universities had been accompanied by significant additional expenditure by universities on means-tested bursaries, and on other financial aid for undergraduate students. However, this market was a 'highly distorted', with students from low-income homes receiving, on average, £1,000 less in bursaries if they went to an ex-polytechnic rather than a redbrick university. There was a strong case for introducing a national bursary scheme, which would provide eligible students with a guaranteed bursary from pooled institutional income – and promote greater affordability for students – but which would nevertheless allow individual universities to develop their own financial support schemes.
Source: Juliet Chester and Bahram Bekhradnia, Financial Support in English Universities: The case for a national bursary scheme, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | NUS press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that the higher education funding system in England was faulty, and had a range of unintended negative consequences. The financial support on offer was too confusing. It ensured that the richest institutions benefited most in financial terms from failing to widen participation, while those that took on more students from low-income backgrounds lost out.
Source: Broke and Broken: A critique of the higher education funding system, National Union of Students (0871 221 8221)
Links: Report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Sep
An article examined the difficulties of establishing a clear count of higher education students in terms of the categories used for widening participation, such as occupational background or ethnicity. Once prior qualifications were taken into account there was no evidence that potential students were unfairly and disproportionately denied access to higher education in terms of occupation, ethnicity, sex, or disability.
Source: Stephen Gorard, 'Who is missing from higher education?', Cambridge Journal of Education, Volume 38 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
A paper examined adults' perceptions of, and orientations to, higher education. Working adults were positively disposed towards higher education: but those from lower socio-economic backgrounds were more likely than others to think it was not for the likes of them, and that it was difficult to access.
Source: Emma Pollard, University is Not Just for Young People, Working Paper 16, Institute for Employment Studies (01273 686751)
Links: Paper
Date: 2008-Aug
A report said that demand for higher education remained steady following the introduction of variable fees in England. There continued to be real growth in the number of applications in the system. Figures for 2008 showed significant increases in home and overseas applicants. The largest increase was again among those living in England.
Source: Nigel Brown and Brian Ramsden, Variable Tuition Fees in England: Assessing their impact on students and higher education institutions – A third report, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Aug
An article examined how fear of debt and financial constraints affected prospective students' choices of where and what to study. Financial issues constrained lower social class students' choice of university far more than those from other social classes. Fear of debt was related to two key financially-driven decisions – applying to a university with low living costs, and applying to one with good term-time employment opportunities – but only for students from low-income families. Low-income students were more likely than their wealthier peers to perceive the costs of higher education as a debt rather than an investment.
Source: Claire Callender and Jonathan Jackson, 'Does the fear of debt constrain choice of university and subject of study?', Studies in Higher Education, Volume 33 Issue 4
Links: Abstract | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Aug
A report highlighted the steps being taken by the higher education sector to improve the fairness and transparency of the university admissions process.
Source: Admissions: The higher education sector's plans for change, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | Leicester University press release | UCU press release
Date: 2008-Jul
There was an underlying rise of 6.4 per cent in the number of people applying to go to universities in 2009 (as at 30 June 2008).
Source: Press release 16 July 2008, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (01242 544610)
Links: UCAS press release | NUS press release | UUK press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report examined the relationship between the creative industries and universities. 'Creative universities' had added significant value to the creative economy and to community cohesion.
Source: Chris Atton, Alistair McCleery, Hayes Mabweazara and Simon Ward, Creative Futures: Building the creative economy through universities, Million+ (020 7717 1655)
Links: Report | Summary | Million+ press release | Bedfordshire University press release
Date: 2008-Jul
A report said that universities could close, or be forced to lower standards or significantly raise fees, unless urgent action were taken to address a fall in student numbers.
Source: Nigel Brown et al., The Future Size and Shape of the Higher Education Sector in the UK: Threats and opportunities, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UUK press release | Guardian report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report said that 60,000 pupils – who at age 11, 14, or 16 were among the top one-fifth of academic performers in English state schools – did not subsequently enter higher education by age 18. Pupils on free school meals were 19 percentage points less likely than other school pupils to enter higher education by age 19, when school qualifications were not taken into account: but pupils on free school meals were almost as likely as other school pupils to enter higher education by age 18 if they attained A-levels.
Source: Wasted Talent? Attrition rates of high-achieving pupils between school and university, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
An audit report said that some progress was being made in encouraging under-represented groups to continue into higher education: but particular sections of society remained significantly under-represented, and too little was known about the link between measures taken by institutions and any improvements in access.
Source: Widening Participation in Higher Education, HC 725 (Session 2007-08), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | HEFCE press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
Researchers examined the gender gap in higher education participation among young people in England. The 2005-06 figures showed a 7.2 percentage participation gap in favour of women – a gap which appeared to continue to widen.
Source: Stijn Broecke and Joseph Hamed, Gender Gaps in Higher Education Participation: An analysis of the relationship between prior attainment and young participation by gender, socio-economic class and ethnicity, Research Report 08-14 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that concepts of quality in higher education were narrow, based on limited stakeholder interests, and fuelled an increasingly instrumental approach to higher education with damaging results. It presented the case for redefining quality to capture higher education's transformative role for individuals and for the wider economy, environment, and society.
Source: Nicola Steuer and Nic Marks, University Challenge: Towards a well-being approach to quality in higher education, New Economics Foundation (020 7820 6300)
Date: 2008-Jun
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on cuts in funding for people taking second undergraduate degrees in England. It defended the cuts on the grounds that they directed government funding to students who represented a higher priority in terms of public policy objectives.
Source: Withdrawal of Funding for Equivalent or Lower Level Qualifications (ELQs): Government Response to the Committee's Third Report, Sixth Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 638, House of Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report | UCU press release | NUS press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The proportion of university entrants in England in 2006-07 who had been to a state school/college was 87.2 per cent (up from 86.9 per cent in previous year). In Wales the figure was 93.1 per cent (91.8 per cent); and in Scotland 86.6 per cent (85.7 per cent). In Northern Ireland almost every university entrant – 99.6 per cent – had been to a state school/college.
Source: Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK 2006/07, Higher Education Statistics Agency (01242 255577)
Links: Report | HESA press release | HEFCE press release | UCU press release | NUS press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that although there were large raw gaps in higher education participation rates by socio-economic status, these differences disappeared once controls for prior attainment were included. This suggested that it was not barriers arising at the point of entry into HE (such as borrowing constraints) that were most problematic, but poor attainment in secondary schools. If results could be improved between age 11 and age 16, those from lower-income backgrounds were at least as likely to go on to university as their more advantaged peers. By contrast, most ethnic minority groups were significantly more likely to participate in HE than their white British counterparts.
Source: Haroon Chowdry, Claire Crawford, Lorraine Dearden, Alissa Goodman and Anna Vignoles, Widening Participation in Higher Education: Analysis using linked administrative data, Report R69, (Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Date: 2008-Jun
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills published its annual report for 2007-08.
Source: Departmental Report 2008, Cm 7392, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
The government began consultation on proposals designed to build stronger and more flexible links between business and universities.
Source: Higher Education at Work: High skills – High Value, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: Consultation document | DIUS press release | UCU press release | CBI press release | BBC report | FT report | Personnel Today report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Apr
Researchers examined attitudes and intentions towards higher education among working adults in England. Despite having decided not to go to university in the past, working adults had 'remarkably positive' attitudes to HE.
Source: Emma Pollard, Peter Bates, Will Hunt and Anne Bellis, University Is Not Just for Young People: Working adults' perceptions of and orientation to higher education, Research Report 08-06 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: Report | IES press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A government minister said that every university in England would be required to publish its admissions policy, in order to reassure the public that admissions were decided fairly.
Source: Speech by John Denham MP (Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills), 8 April 2008
Links: Text of speech | UCU press release | NUS press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Apr
An interim report said that lifelong learning networks were working effectively with institutions to develop curricula and procedures that should, in due course, make a difference to vocational learning. (Lifelong learning networks, established from 2005 onwards, were designed to improve progression opportunities for vocational learners into and through higher education.)
Source: Brenda Little and Ruth Williams, Interim Evaluation of Lifelong Learning Networks, Higher Education Funding Council for England (0117 931 7317)
Links: Report | HEFCE press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A report analyzed league tables that provided rankings of universities for newspapers and on the web. It also looked at how universities and colleges in England responded to such rankings. Although there was clearly a demand for league tables among prospective students and others, many felt dissatisfied with the way they were compiled. Measures used in the tables were largely determined by the data available, not by clear definitions of quality; some of these measures were poor indicators of the qualities identified; and methods for calculating scores were not always transparent, and some produced non-standardized results.
Source: Counting What Is Measured Or Measuring What Counts? League tables and their impact on higher education institutions in England, Higher Education Funding Council for England (0117 931 7317)
Links: Report | HEFCE press release | NUS press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Apr
A think-tank report examined potential outcomes of the planned review of the system of university funding and student support in 2009. It was possible, but not certain, that the maximum fee universities could charge would rise – hitting students from low-income families hardest.
Source: Juliet Chester and Bahram Bekhradnia, Funding Higher Fees: Some implications of a rise in the fee cap, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Apr
A study found that students from non-privileged backgrounds who attended a university summer school did well in their university degrees – 88 per cent of those responding to a survey who attended a summer school graduated with a 2:1 or first class degree. This compared with 56 per cent of students achieving these classifications nationally, and 67 per cent in leading research universities (where most summer school students enrolled).
Source: Ten Year Review of Sutton Trust Summer Schools, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Mar
Statistics were published on the initial higher education participation rates for English-domiciled first-time participants (aged 17-30). The provisional figure for 2006-07 was 40 per cent – down from the final figure for 2005-06 of 42 per cent, and up just one point since 1999-2000.
Source: Participation Rates in Higher Education: Academic Years 1999/2000-2006/2007 (Provisional), Statistical First Release 02/2008, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: SFR | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
A survey found that over 80 per cent of young people aged 15-18 believed that the government was not doing enough to make university financially accessible for young people; and that 1 in 3 of those students who wanted to go to university said that they would not be able to afford to go.
Source: James Greenhalgh, Uni Fees: Are They Fair?, UK Youth Parliament (020 7843 6310)
Links: Report | UKYP press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that the number of undergraduates was expected to fall over the next decade, for demographic reasons. The overall decline equated to 70,000 full-time undergraduate places.
Source: Brian Ramsden and Nigel Brown, The Future Size and Shape of the Higher Education Sector in the UK: Demographic projections, Universities UK (020 7419 5435)
Links: Report | UCU press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Mar
Two linked reports examined trends in higher and further education participation in Scotland.
Source: Scottish Participation in Further and Higher Education 2001-02 to 2005-06, Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (0131 313 6500) | Learning for All: Second update report on measures of success, Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | SFC press release
Date: 2008-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs criticized a cut in funding for people taking second undergraduate degrees in England. Switching funding to those taking first degrees was premature, and was not based on hard evidence of its likely effectiveness.
Source: Withdrawal of Funding for Equivalent or Lower Level Qualifications (ELQs), Third Report (Session 2007-08), HC 187, House of Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | UCU press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Mar
An article examined the potential and problems associated with university-community partnerships, distinguishing between concepts of 'outreach' and 'engagement'. It explored a model for effective partnership between the community and tertiary education sectors.
Source: Frank Gaffikin and Mike Morrissey, 'A new synergy for universities: redefining academy as an "engaged institution"', Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, Volume 3 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
An article used data for a 1970 birth cohort to examine who made the transition to higher education, and how the benefits and risks of such participation were distributed.
Source: Leon Feinstein and Anna Vignoles, 'Individual differences in the pathways into and beyond higher education in the UK: a life-course approach', Journal of Social Issues, Volume 64 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
As at 15 January 2008 there were 430,489 people applying for a full-time undergraduate course at United Kingdom universities and colleges – a rise of 8.9 per cent compared to the previous year. The underlying rise in applicants was calculated to be 6.7 per cent.
Source: Press release 14 February 2008, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (01242 544610)
Links: UCAS press release | DIUS press release | OFFA press release | UCU press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
An article undertook a quantitative analysis of reforms to the system of higher education finance in England, first announced in 2004 and revised in 2007. It considered the likely distributional consequences of the reforms for graduates, the costs of the reforms for taxpayers, and how the reforms were likely to shift the balance of funding for HE between the public and private sectors.
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', Economic Journal, Volume 118 Issue 526
Links: Abstract | DIUS brief
Date: 2008-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs said that there had been little improvement in retention rates on higher education courses since 2001-02, despite the fact that higher education institutions had received around £800 million as part of their teaching funding to help retain students who were the most likely to withdraw early.
Source: Staying The Course: The retention of students on higher education courses, Tenth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 322, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | GuildHE press release | UCU press release | HEA study | Liberal Democrats press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
A study examined the impact of financial considerations on the decisions of students aged 16-20 about participation in higher education. It focused on intentions to live at home while studying at university, and the extent to which bursaries influenced institutional choice. Nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) of students who had decided not to pursue study in higher education reported that avoiding debt had affected their decision 'much' or 'very much'.
Source: Peter Davies, Kim Slack, Amanda Hughes, Jean Mangan and Katy Vigurs, Knowing Where to Study? Fees, bursaries and fair access, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Feb
Researchers examined what practitioners said about their experiences of implementing national post-16 education policies at the local level. Practitioners, at whatever institutional level, saw themselves as implementing policy in contextually sensitive ways for the benefit of the organization and learners. But tutors, in particular, expressed concerns about their ability to exercise pedagogic agency in local contexts congested with competing 'policy' demands, commonly expressed in marketized forms.
Source: Lawrence Nixon, Maggie Gregson, Trish Spedding and Andrew Mearns, Practitioners' Experiences of Implementing National Education Policy at the Local Level: An examination of 16-19 policy, EPPI-Centre/Social Science Research Unit/Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Date: 2008-Jan
A report examined the government's employer-engagement policy for higher education. The HE sector needed to do its business of teaching and learning 'significantly differently' if it were to achieve the step-change in the delivery of higher education to the workforce that was recommended in the Leitch Report.
Source: Marilyn Wedgwood, Higher Education for the Workforce: Barriers and facilitators to employer engagement, Research Report 08-04 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 5555)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jan
A report examined the gap in funding for adults studying in the higher and further education sectors (favouring the former), in terms of both funding for institutions and student support.
Source: Mind the Gap: Funding adults in further and higher education, National Skills Forum, c/o Policy Connect (020 7202 8576)
Links: Report | NSF press release
Date: 2008-Jan
A review examined the impact of employer engagement in course development on employers and students. There were benefits to employer engagement: but there were also barriers. Smaller organizations were less likely than larger ones to engage with higher education. However, there was a need for more rigorous studies to shed further light on the impact of employer engagement.
Source: Anna Scesa and Ruth Williams with Brenda Little, William Locke and Winnie Tang, Engagement in Course Development by Employers not Traditionally Involved in Higher Education: Student and employer perceptions of its impact, EPPI-Centre/Social Science Research Unit/Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Date: 2008-Jan
The watchdog for access to higher education said that, in the first year of the new fee regime, higher education institutions spent a quarter of their additional fee income from variable tuition fees on supporting lower-income and other disadvantaged students, and on additional outreach work.
Source: Access Agreement Monitoring: Outcomes for 2006-07, Office for Fair Access (0117 931 7171)
Links: Report | OFFA press release | HEFCE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jan
A report said that women students and students from from ethnic minorities got lower-than-expected degree classifications. Institutions in higher education needed to help close the gap by implementing systems to evaluate, review, and (where required) re-design their teaching/learning/assessment activities.
Source: Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment Project: Final report, Higher Education Academy (01904 717500)
Links: Report | HEA press release | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jan
