by Neil Harrison and Simon Benham-Clarke The face of higher education is changing, albeit slowly. Despite decades of initiatives to seed diversity, the academy – in the UK at least – continues to be dominated by voices from groups that have historically enjoyed educational privilege. Over the last ten years, there has been increasing interest in understanding and supporting the participation of ‘care-experienced’ learners in higher education – that is, students who spent time in the care of the state during childhood, usually due to neglect or trauma within their birth family.  It includ ..read more

by William Locke Higher education research has grown in recent decades. For example, the number of journal articles published on higher education has increased five-fold in the last twenty years (Seeber, 2023). More is known about higher education than ever before, but there does not seem to be a corresponding growth in higher education policymaking being influenced by this expanding evidence base (Schendel and Knobel, 2024). Indeed, higher education seems to be more or less in crisis – and even under attack – in democratic as well as authoritarian systems, and in rich as well as middle- and l ..read more

by Lilian Schofield and Joanne J. Zhang Introduction When the discourse on ChatGPT started gaining momentum in higher education in 2022, the ‘emotions’ behind the response of educators, such as feelings of exclusion, isolation, and fear of technological change, were not initially at the forefront. Even educators’ feelings of apprehension about the introduction and usage of AI in education, which is an emotional response, were not given much attention. This feeling was highlighted by Ng et al (2023), who stated that many AI tools are new to educators, and many educators may feel overwhelmed by ..read more

by Kyuseok Kim The UK’s Strategic Moves Transnational Education (TNE) has been a significant strategy for UK universities seeking to expand their global footprint. TNE involves delivering educational programmes across borders, allowing institutions to reach international students without requiring them to relocate. According to The Cross-Border Education Research Team, which is arguably the most reliable source for tracking the worldwide development of transnational higher education, the UK has 46 branch campuses in 19 countries globally as of 2023. The geographic distribution of such educatio ..read more

by Rachel Handforth and Rebekah Smith-McGloin Recent news headlines highlight the range of social and economic challenges faced by cities and counties across the UK (BBC, 2024; Financial Times, 2024; Guardian, 2024), reflecting wider predictions of ongoing economic challenges for the UK as a whole (OECD, 2024). Recent local election results seem to indicate public desire for change in their communities – and whilst we await the national democratic process later this year – the devolution process to combined local authorities indicates a positive shift towards increased funding, resources and ..read more

by Pascal Angerhausen and Shweta Mishra The inclusion of students with disability in higher education Individual assessment accommodation is a widely used instrument for inclusion of students with disabilities. It aims at reducing barriers and promoting equal participation, by taking into account the individual needs of a person. However, our research in the project SuccessInclusive (ErfolgInklusiv) has shown that it can also create barriers and lead to new forms of exclusion. It shifts the responsibility to the individual and creates an additional bureaucratic burden for students and univers ..read more

by Maryna Lakhno Sustainability reporting in higher education In the increasingly digital world of higher education, the significance of sustainability reporting has grown, driven by demands for greater transparency and accountability. This evolution reflects a dual expectation: that universities not only commit to sustainable practices but also openly communicate these efforts to their communities. While many believe that sustainability reports could spearhead substantial changes and lead to the solidification of sustainability within institutional operations, there is a growing scepticism ab ..read more

Canbury Press 2024, 208pp. ISBN 9781914487217 (paperback), 9781914487224 (ebook) Review by Rob Cuthbert If you do research in higher education, this book might make you angry – but probably not for the reasons the author hopes. The blurb says: ”For more than a decade, the deteriorating state of the higher education sector in the UK has been known to insiders, but not to the public. Now … an academic who must remain anonymous … presents a no-holds-barred account of life on campus.” I had high hopes. The Secret Barrister was a runaway success, earning the respect of professionals and public alik ..read more

by Tej Nathwani and Ghislaine Dell with a foreword and afterword by SRHE Network Convenors Tracy Scurry and Daria Luchinskaya Foreword As many of us working with graduate employment statistics will know, it’s difficult to find up-to-date large-scale data of graduates’ experiences of work. In the SRHE event Exploring graduate outcomes: Do we need to look beyond earnings and occupation?, Tej Nathwani (HESA) introduced a new graduate outcomes measure capturing subjective aspects of job quality, while Ghislaine Dell (Head of Careers at Bath University and member of the AGCAS Research and Kno ..read more

by Roz Collings It was University Mental Health day on Thursday 14th March 2024. This is a national UK project organised by Student Minds and University Mental Health Advisory Network, aiming to start a conversation to ensure university wide mental health is a priority.  I continue to be an advocate for whole institution wellbeing, enhancing focus on academics in policies and practice, as well as increasing impactful research regarding academic mental health so it was pleasing to see university staff being given a spotlight.. The mental health of students has long been a topic of interest ..read more