BU Research Blog

Monday

UUK report

In the first year of the new charging regime (2012-13), UUK report Patterns and trends in UK higher education confirms that the number of first year undergraduates enrolled in UK institutions fell by 16.7% compared with the previous year. The number of first year postgraduates also dropped, by 3.8%. Impact of higher fees on HE laid out in UUK report (Times Higher Education).

Tuesday

Overseas influence of UK universities

William Hague gave a speech at Greenwich University in which he described the international impact of the UK’s universities and their role in promoting democratic values in a time of growing authoritarianism.  He also highlighted the importance of universities as places for exchanges of ideas and cultures and the long-term influence of attracting overseas students. Hague says UK universities deliver overseas influence (BBC News Online).

Private Colleges

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee held a hearing on controls over public-backed funding at private colleges, following a report by the National Audit Office. Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary at BIS, who appeared at the hearing faced particular criticism. Going on to call the private provider situation a “complete scandal”, Ms Hodge said HEFCE had warned BIS about the potential for problems in 2010. Hodge tears into government over private colleges (Times Higher Education).

Wednesday

Nick Clegg

The Deputy Prime Minister has said he has learned his lesson over the tuition fee U-turn and has made an impassioned plea to young voters alienated by the Liberal Democrats’ broken tuition fee pledge. In a question and answer session with young people organised by the Bite the Ballot voter engagement drive, he argued that the coalition had introduced a fairer fees system. Nick Clegg ‘has learned lesson’ from breaking tuition fees pledge (The Daily Telegraph).

Postgraduate study

New HEFCE research based on the Intentions After Graduation Survey (IAGS) 2013 shows that over half of graduates who plan to go onto postgraduate study end up not doing so because of finance issues.  Intentions after Graduation Survey (HEFCE).

Thursday

REF2014 Results

The REF results revealed that 30% of the research submitted was classed as world-leading (4*), 46% was internationally excellent (3*), 20% was nationally recognised (2*) and 3% was nationally recognised (1*). Mark Leach, founder of Wonkhe said that the results clearly demonstrate a substantial grade inflation which while positive, may undermine the sector’s credibility and bargaining power with an austerity Treasury that simply will not buy it. Despite this, he argues that the REF shows how a mature society can find reasonable ways to fund and support the creation of new knowledge and the individuals that power it – fairly and with accountability to the taxpayers. The REF: fascinating, flawed and essential (Wonkhe).

Friday

UCAS Report

In its End of Cycle report for 2014, UCAS says the number of students who secured places in UK universities broke through the 500,000 barrier for the first time in 2014, rising 3.4 per cent to 512,000. However, when it came to actual results, the proportion of English 18-year-old students entering higher tariff universities having achieved the equivalent of ABB or better at A level fell to 82 per cent in 2014, after a high point of 89 per cent in 2011. Ucas report suggests fall in entrance grades at selective universities (Times Higher Education).

REF Results-London

London universities are breaking up the traditional dominance of Oxford and Cambridge, according to official figures on research excellence. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said that unless there was an increase in overall budgets, funding would increasingly be concentrated in fewer places, such as the so-called “golden triangle” of London, Oxford and Cambridge. London overtaking Oxbridge domination (BBC News).