This HEPI blog was authored by Lucy Haire, Director of Partnerships at HEPI. As the panic about artificial intelligence’s (AI) capability to bring down democratic governments, usurp all information-related jobs and ultimately cause human extinction calms down, most large organisations have devised at least their initial response to the deployment of generative AI. Some, including major law firms, have banned their use as a research tool; others are building walled-garden versions which draw on ‘approved’ data and do not feed into publicly-available AI platforms, protecting their commercial i ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Susan Mueller, Director at Stand Alone. Stand Alone has announced its closure and its higher education work is coming to an end. Will the sector continue to advocate for estranged students and drive policy change? In 2015, Stand Alone, a small charity founded in 2013 to offer support to adults estranged from family, embarked on the ambitious project to change higher education for students whose relationship with their parents and wider family network had broken down, i.e. were estranged. Why? Raising awareness by writing about many different facets of es ..read more

On University Mental Health Day, we are delighted to publish this blog from Dr. Rachel Spacey, Policy and Engagement Officer, and Sam Gamblin, Charity Manager, at the University Mental Health Advisers Network (UMHAN – LinkedIn). To learn more, see the hashtags #UniMentalHealthDay and #IChoseToDisclose. On Thursday March 14th, 2024, it’s University Mental Health Day (UMHD), the annual student mental health awareness day. It’s hard to believe that this will be its sixteenth year, having started back in 2008 to raise the visibility of student mental health on campus and help break down stigma ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Professor Tom Lawson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Northumbria University. This blog is an adapted version of remarks delivered at the HEPI and Advance HE event ‘Has the higher education sector got it right on freedom of speech?’ held in the House of Commons on 27th February. As we know, since October 7th 2023 and the horrific Hamas attack on Israel, we have seen an upsurge in incidences of antisemitism on campuses. Our Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe – both because of an uptick in what might properly be called hate crime, but also ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Chris Husbands and Janice Kay, founder partners of Higher Futures, which provides strategic leadership support to universities navigating change. Chris was formerly vice-chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University and Janice was formerly Provost at University of Exeter. The HEPI/Kortext report on students’ use of generative AI is a wake-up call: students are making extensive use of generative AI in increasingly sophisticated and discriminating ways. For academics and university leaders who are not specialists, it’s hard to appreciate the sophistication of ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Neil Raven, independent educational consultant. This is a personal perspective on one of the most enduring challenges facing those of us working to widen university participation (WP). My involvement in this subject dates back to 2007. That year, as Aimhigher East Midlands’ projects manager, I oversaw the launch of an initiative aimed at identifying and seeking to address the barriers to HE progression faced of young white men from working class backgrounds. The project combined a commitment to conduct research with compiling a repository of good practic ..read more

HEPI Director Nick Hillman sums up the discussions heard during the last fortnight’s HEPI / London Economics / Nuffield Foundation events across the UK. It’s a wrap! Over the past two weeks, HEPI has hosted events in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff in conjunction with the Nuffield Foundation and London Economics. The theme in each place was higher education fees and funding, with a backdrop of:the forthcoming Westminster election and other political goings on – like: the current election of a new Labour Leader (and thus First Minister) in Wales; a brand new Executive finding the ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Professor Amanda J. Broderick, Vice-Chancellor & President at the University of East London. The impact of the earliest years of life BusinessLDN – the independent voice of business in London – has recently published a report with KPMG and the Central District Alliance analysing the business impact of the lack of affordable, quality childcare. The challenges facing an outdated early education and childcare system in the UK, together with the consequences of the pandemic period, have reached a critical point, with recruitment and retention issues hind ..read more

This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Dr. Ed Bridges, Head of Policy & Public Affairs at the Academy of Social Sciences. UK universities have increasingly had to speak the language of ‘impact’, which has become another addition to the sector’s lexicon of buzzwords. For researchers, the REF exercise is about much more than just impact: it has become an important frame for discussion. A recent report commissioned by the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences unpacks this idea of impact for the disciplines we represent, and its findings are timely and telling. Within the social ..read more

This blog was kindly authored for HEPI by Dr Helena Lim, Head of Opportunities at evasys. The 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) outcomes were announced on 28 September 2023, figure 1. At that time, just over 20 per cent of provider ratings were still ‘pending’ as they were being finalised by the TEF panel.  The OfS website advised that these ratings will be updated when the assessments are concluded. There has been a decrease in the number of institutions awarded Gold: 22% compared to 35% in 2017. So, what early takeaways can we glean from the 2023 process? The TEF has ..read more