Words by Peter Scott, CDBU Trustee, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Studies at the UCL Institute of Education and former Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University.  Universities are not popular – with politicians. They are very popular with the hundreds of thousands of applicants and their families, who now see ‘going to uni’ not just as an...Read More

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 incomes, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. NUS Vice President for Higher...Read More

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 government’s most recent cabinet reshuffle. WRITE FOR US!CDBU is currently accepting submissions for our blog. We...Read More

Words by Patrick Ainley, former professor of training and education at the University of Greenwich and regular contributor to the Post-16 Educator. The ‘Skills for Jobs’ Bill proposed in the Queen’s speech last week and introduced to Parliament today ‘is not a serious attempt to create a vocational education system linked to the transformative, socially-just...Read More

Professor GR Evans takes a look at what the three major political parties have planned for higher education   For those of us interested in higher education, one of the most eagerly-awaited aspects of the manifestos was how they would deal with the recommendations of the Augar Review into higher education funding. The review had...Read More

As figures show that half of young people now go to university, Labour has announced plans to limit the number of students universities can accept from private schools   UUK president aims to show degree value ‘not all about money’ Times Higher Education, 03/10/2019, John Morgan The new president of Universities UK has said that...Read More

Augar’s recommendation of cuts to tuition fees could be devastating unless government makes up the shortfall, says a House of Lords committee – and the OfS could begin fining universities if they carry on making unconditional offers   Tuition fees cut could be devastating for universities, say peers The Guardian, 08/09/2019, Sally Weale Proposals to...Read More

University admissions, drop-out rates and grade inflation are all in the news – and a vice-chancellor is sacked for gross misconduct   Swansea University sack vice chancellor and dean of management school for gross misconduct Wales Online, 26/7/2019, Sion Barry Swansea University has sacked its vice chancellor Richard B Davies and the dean of its...Read More

This week there’s only one news story that counts: the publication of the Augar report and its impact on graduate and university finances   Skidmore warns against over-reliance on graduate earnings data Times Higher Education, 07/06/2019, Chris Havergal England’s universities minister has warned against relying too heavily on graduate employment data to judge the value...Read More

You might not have had the time to wade through last week’s 200-page Augar Review on higher education. Fortunately, David Midgley, emeritus professor of German literature and intellectual history at the University of Cambridge, has written an essential  guide to the main points   It was clear what made the headlines when the Augar report...Read More