The expansion of higher education in the UK has been driven by a political desire to increase economic growth and to promote social mobility at the same time by drawing more graduates from a larger pool…
UCL has moved ahead of Cambridge in some analysis of the REF 2014 results.
Tim Ireland/PA Archive
The dominance of a “golden triangle” of universities in the latest research assessment exercise has renewed concerns that other universities may get less government research funding in future. The results…
Cambridge is among the top performers in the REF 2014.
Chris Radburn/PA Wire
With Christmas not far off, universities will be hoping for some early presents in the form of good results in the UK’s long-awaited assessment of the quality of university research. Although the funding…
For the first time, the “impact” of academic research on the wider world has been included in a large-scale assessment of the quality of university research, which has just been published. One-fifth of…
Lining up for the REF results.
Joe Giddens/PA Archive
Think of a researcher measuring the trajectory of a laser beam in a university physics lab or a history professor digging through a church’s long-lost archives and their work can often feel far removed…
Big opportunities lie ahead for young South Africans.
Nic Bothma/EPA
Historical prestige is not the only reason why British universities do well at attracting international students – but it helps. Victorian antecedents hint at continuity and esteem. Strong teaching, good…
As higher education has gradually become more commercialised, universities are getting used to employing professional marketers to help develop and manage their reputations and brands. But while the sector…
Universities are acutely aware of their role in preventing terrorism. Now the government has proposed a statutory duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill that will require universities, schools…
As students take to the streets calling for free higher education, a spotlight is being shone again on the sustainability of England’s higher education system. While much of the debate centres around financial…
More than just a pipe dream?
Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
It is now as close to a consensus as makes no difference that the current regime for funding higher education in England through high fees paid by students – or repaid by some graduates – is bust. Lord…
Love your subject and you’ll do better at it.
Student via Stokkete/Shutterstock
Science and engineering subjects are often presented as better career choices for students than the arts or humanities. Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, recently said that STEM subjects – sciences…
First class teaching.
Schoolroom via Monkey Business Image/Shutterstock
The coalition is ploughing ahead with its plan to give schools more control of training new teachers. A recent announcement of government-funded places on teacher training courses for the next academic…
In third place, Oxford University is the top UK institution in the World University Rankings 2014-15.
Andrew Matthews/PA Archive
From the “best beaches” to the “best slice of pizza” to the best hospital to have cardiac surgery in, we are inundated with a seemingly never-ending series of reports ranking everything that can be ranked…
Imagine being a young Muslim in the UK today. You are committed to your religious belief – which tells you that lending money at interest is forbidden in Islam – but you want to further your education…
There are blue skies at the end of Clearing.
Man and laptop via Dean Drobot/Shutterstock
You’ve got your A Level results and things are not how you imagined they would be. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought you would. Or maybe you didn’t think you wanted to go to university but now…
Etonians are waiting in line for their place at Oxbridge.
David Parker/PA Archive
The UK’s most prestigious universities are repeatedly accused of discriminating against disadvantaged students in favour of those who are deemed to have a social advantage, and particularly those from…
Although the independent higher education sector is small in England, it is growing – and gaining some negative publicity along the way. Without primary legislation to more effectively regulate the newly…
A rarity. Nancy Rothwell, vice-chancellor of Manchester University, honoured by the Queen.
Chris Jackson/PA
Women now form 56.5% of the student body, make up 53.8% of the whole workforce and occupy 45% of academic jobs in higher education in the United Kingdom. But their representation declines dramatically…
One more coffee, then we’ll get our £1m idea.
jisc_infonet
Creative ideas and how we turn them into successful business ventures and social enterprises are vital to the UK’s global competitiveness. But how do we best support this? Of course there are many different…
Akshat Rathi, The Conversation e Gemma Ware, The Conversation
New analysis of the ethnic diversity of both university students and the academics in charge of their education has revealed wide disparities in ethnic representation compared to UK population averages…