Skills not swimming

Alternatives to physical education tests A previous post reported on the reduction in the number of swimming tests or other physical education assessments which formed part of graduation requirements at US universities. Now Inside Higher Ed has a report on another university, Notre Dame, "a sports juggernaut", which is making the shift too: The university …

Dealer deals

A fair deal for students? PA Consulting have produced an interesting report on 'The Student Deal': The Student Deal: designing genuinely student-centred higher education incorporates our latest thinking on current issues and challenges in higher education. Reflecting the changing dynamics of the higher education system, The Student Deal challenges the limitations of the current thinking …

The 2014 Grant letter: another epistolary triumph

And the wait was finally over The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has written to HEFCE with the Department's annual message on funding and helpful bag of instructions. As excitement in the sector reached near fever pitch, the contents were being live-tweeted by @TimesHigherEd while everyone else waited to get hold of …

Go West. Or East. Plans for more student mobility

Government wants more students to travel. There is to be a Government initiative to persuade more students to travel. The aim is that more UK students will be encouraged to broaden their horizons by travelling overseas for part of their degree courses. The new UK Outward Student Mobility Strategy aims to boost the number of …

Badges, badges, badges

Earn your first badge now! I've posted before about this nonsense but then I heard the exciting news about how you can bypass all that messy unpleasant formal education stuff and get straight on and get some real recognition for your achievements via this super Open Badges concept: Want to get started? Earn a Mozilla …

Higher education funding letters: another bundle of joy

On government HE funding letters The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has written to HEFCE with the Department's annual message on funding and helpful bag of instructions. The letter sets out Government funding and priorities for HEFCE and for higher education for the second year of the new financial arrangements for higher …

These charming men. And women.

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. A couple of years ago I noted a report on the teaching of "life skills" to students preparing to leave home for university and having to look after themselves for the first time. Now there is a report on how universities are stepping in to …

Widening participation in the USA

Preparing for study: a new approach to WP in the US The Chronicle carries a story on a new report about student readiness for higher education in the US. The proposition contained in a new report from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities is that institutions have to be more involved in earlier …

No more swimming to graduation

You can now graduate without being able to swim Inside Higher Ed carries the shock news that the University of Chicago has decided to drop its swimming, fitness tests and PE requirements for graduation: The University of Chicago this month became the latest institution to drop a swimming proficiency test required for graduation. But Chicago …

Students flogging it

Should universities be concerned? Good report in the Chronicle about students hawking goods on campuses and the fact that university staff don't seem to have a response or, in some cases, even an awareness of the issue.   When classmates market products on campus, it's hard not to notice. Students handing out logo-emblazoned T-shirts, complimentary …

Online Badges v Degrees

Is the gig up for universities? You decide The Chronicle carries some entertaining hokum about degrees being overtaken by online badges: Employers might prefer a world of badges to the current system. After all, traditional college diplomas look elegant when hung on the wall, but they contain very little detail about what the recipient learned. …

Nottingham Advantage

Impact Campaign: Nottingham Advantage Another update on the Impact Campaign which has launched this week at the University of Nottingham. This theme, Nottingham Advantage, is one which I think is particularly important. On this site you can see a nice video, fronted by Vicky Mann who heads up the Nottingham Advantage Award, all about how …

Launch of the Impact Campaign at the University of Nottingham

The Impact Campaign launches today at the University     A rather different focus here on the blog for the next few days. The University of Nottingham is launching a significant and important campaign today: About the campaign: By helping us to raise £150 million over the next five years you will be supporting a …

US Universities Producing the Most Interns

Internship League Table US News and World Report carries a piece on a mildly interesting league table of the US universities which produce the most interns. The table below highlights the 10 national universities with the highest percentage of 2009 graduates who worked as interns at some point during their studies. University of Pennsylvania           2,831 …

Are Undergraduates Actually Learning Anything?

Are Undergraduates Actually Learning Anything? Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses By Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa The Chronicle carries an extract from what sounds like an extremely interesting new book. The paper reports that, drawing on survey responses, transcript data, and results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (a standardized test taken by students …