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 both marked and reflected the historical moment. The joint commission between the National...Read More

As the government prepares to gradually ease Covid-19 restrictions, with the hope of returning ‘to normal life’ by late June, university staff and students have been left wondering when, or if, they will be expected to resume face-to-face teaching and return to campuses. New on the CDBU blog! Gurminder K Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and...Read More

The “free-speech debate” has intensified after the government announced it would introduce a ‘Free Speech Champion’ for higher education who will have the powers to fine universities or student unions that restrict free speech. The announcement has been met with criticism, with some suggesting it infringes on university autonomy and stokes so-called ‘culture wars’ on...Read More

Plans for mass testing and staggered departure dates over a one week period have been laid out by the government in order to allow students to return home for Christmas. The plans have been met with criticism from some universities who say mass testing might be incompatible with the independent testing facilities already in place,...Read More

UCU have called for a judicial review of the government’s decision to ignore calls from its own Sage committee to move all non-essential teaching online and instead reopen campuses for face-to-face teaching. Sage advised the government that coronavirus outbreaks spurred by the reopening of campuses would be “very likely”. UCU have since recorded 27,000 positive...Read More

Words by Martin Allen, author of Education, Economy and Society. Winter is closing in on the ‘Covid Generation’ – those young people most affected by the pandemic. Youth unemployment, though creeping up significantly, has not yet reached the levels feared in the early stages of the lockdown.  Nevertheless, with furlough support winding down, it is...Read More

As Covid cases across the UK rise exponentially, universities have quickly become virus hotspots. Students forced into quarantine have reported feeling “abandoned” by their universities, raising concerns about the mental health crisis that might be triggered by the “draconian” rules being enforced on campuses. Call for contributors!CDBU would like to expand their pool of blog...Read More

This week, universities continued to come to grips with the prospect of shifting online, raising questions about quality and accessibility. CDBU also expressed their support for disabled students who feel left behind amid Covid-19 chaos, and we have issued a call for ‘Manifestos for Change’ from institutions across the UK. NEW on the CDBU blog:...Read More

The government’s rejection of the multi-billion pound bailout needed to save universities has raised serious concerns for the future of higher education. Voluntary severance schemes have been introduced, graduate prospects look bleak, and the shift to online learning could see the poorest students left behind. Government refuses multi-billion pound bailout for universities – The Guardian,...Read More

As Covid-19 continues to inflict damage across the higher education sector and with the plea for a financial bailout falling on deaf ears, students and staff have come out in full force to highlight “inhumane” management practices and responses to the pandemic. NEW on the CDBU blog! ‘Don’t frighten the students’: the crisis of academic...Read More