by Becca Bashford | Nov 25, 2021 | Academic freedom, Academic Freedom Blog Series, Brexit, CDBU Updates, Free speech, Government, Higher Education and Research Act, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, National Union of Students, Office for Students, Opinion, Protest, Racism, UCU, Uncategorized
Words by Dr Heather McKnight, founder of the social enterprise Magnetic Ideals and Doctor of Legal Studies. In 1970, the Commission on Academic Freedom and the Law (CAFL) released research exposing changes in how universities were using the law: a discontinuity that...
by Becca Bashford | Oct 1, 2021 | Academic freedom, Augar Review, Boris Johnson, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Employability, Free speech, Government, Humanities, In the News, League tables, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, UCU, Uncategorized
Ministers are understood to be considering lowering the student loan repayment threshold to £23,000, or an average increase of £400 in repayments per year. The decision has been met with widespread criticism and concern about how this might affect those on lower...
by Becca Bashford | Sep 17, 2021 | Academic freedom, Augar Review, Boris Johnson, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, UCU, Uncategorized
UCU has voted to support a motion calling for industrial action over pensions, pay and casualisation, with potential strikes looming before Christmas. Meanwhile, the sector has shown mixed reactions to the sacking of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in the...
by Becca Bashford | Aug 6, 2021 | A-levels, Academic freedom, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Employability, Erasmus, Erasmus+, Further education, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, Racism, Uncategorized
Last week, the Department for Education confirmed that there are no plans to implement the use of vaccine passports on university campuses, after some ministers and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had discussed the benefits of a passport system. Nevertheless, the DfE...
by Becca Bashford | Jul 23, 2021 | Academic freedom, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Free speech, Further education, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Office for Students, Opinion, Press Releases, Tuition fees, Uncategorized, University funding
The universities regulator, The Office for Students, has this week confirmed drastic cuts to funding for arts and creative subjects amid government plans to redirect the money to fund other “high-cost” subjects including science, technology, engineering...
by Becca Bashford | Jul 6, 2021 | Academic freedom, CDBU Updates, In the News, Press Releases, Uncategorized
The Council for the Defence of British Universities is pleased to publish its position paper on Academic Freedom brought together by three executive committee members: Dr Kelli Rudolph, Professor Susan Bruce and Professor John Holmwood. The paper articulates the...
