Guidance or directive?

Easy finance A new statement from HEFCE advises universities how to make financial information more visible to students. But is it advice, guidance, assistance or in fact a clear directive? New guidance aims to help universities and colleges in England present information about income and expenditure on their web-sites in a way that is transparent …

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 …

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 …

Agent power and international student recruitment

Are agents too powerful? A recent Times Higher Education story on the use of agents by UK universities in international student recruitment noted: UK universities recruited more than 50,000 international students through commission payments to overseas agents last year, spending close to £60 million on the practice in 2010-11. Using data obtained under the Freedom …

Is this the future for UK university sport?

Some US universities spend a LOT on sport A recent Bloomberg report on US universities expenditure on sport highlights the huge amounts spent by Rutgers, which tops the list of spending: Like most of Rutgers University’s almost 30,000 undergraduates, Matt Cordeiro has never put on shoulder pads and played football on a Saturday before a …

The Imperfect University: More and more regulation

More Regulatory Woes A recent speech by the Universities Minister focused on his apparent desire to reduce regulation for institutions: “We are in a government that understands the value of autonomy,” Mr Willetts said. Mr Willetts talked about the possibility of reducing data collection requirements as well as the likelihood of universities escaping some EU …

Firsts and fees, plagiarism and pay hikes (and the rest)

No dumbing down here - is this the most comprehensive HE piece ever? Daily Mail online has a terrific piece which manages to conflate a host of different higher education issues within a single kick ass column. On the back of recent HESA data which shows an increase in the number of students achieving first …

Freshers’ week: just a drunken scam?

An interesting view on freshers' week Libby Purves, writing in The Times, argues that freshers' week is not quite what it seems and has to stop. The new fees regime, she suggests, may put an end to this "ghastly scam". These festivals are now in progress or revving up at most British universities; a weird, …

Students as consumers? Or not?

University isn't just a business – and the student isn't always right In his review of higher education funding, Lord Browne made the student as consumer the centrepiece of his rationale for change. The Government's White Paper last June also claimed it was putting students "at the heart of the system". The Guardian Higher Education …

“For-Profits Eye the British Market”

New opportunities for private providers The Chronicle of Higher Education has a good piece on the interest for-profit providers are taking in the UK market. Robert Lytle of the Parthenon Group, management consultants with an interest in education, seems a bit sceptical: "It's a very expensive market to operate in, and the profitability is not …

British students flocking to the US Ivy League. Or not?

An untrained brain drain? In a recent post I commented on the press reports on the modest flow of English students to universities in continental Europe and the reverse flow of other EU students to the UK. The media seems extremely keen to report any international movement by students from the UK as evidence of …

White Paper inspiration from the US?

A somewhat different approach to cost savings in the new fees regime Not sure if this was a source of inspiration for the White Paper. It looks like something of a blue print for efficient management at the bargain basement end of the new private providers (but perhaps not for the New College of the …

New university ‘to rival Oxbridge’

Exciting news - it's fantasy uni time The Telegraph and Sunday Times both carry this most interesting of stories about the establishment of the 'New College of the Humanities'. The Guardian also has the story but includes reactions from those expressing some consternation at the proposition as well as the key piece of information that …

“Doubling foreign enrolments is ‘unbelievable’ aim”

So, are international student numbers set to double? According to Times Higher Education: English universities are relying on "unbelievable" plans to increase international student numbers by up to 100 per cent in four years as government policy leads to fears of volatility in home student numbers. Durham University plans for a 97 per cent increase …

Regulation, Regulation, Regulation

More Regulatory Woes In University Governance: Questions for a New Era, Professor Malcolm Gillies looks at a whole set of issues around university governance. A previous post noted his suggestion about a greater involvement of alumni but he suggests that they will become more important than the state, at least in governance terms, because of …