NEW ON THE CDBU BLOG IN PURSUIT OF PREVENT – Words by John Holmwood, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham John Holmwood considers how the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill intersects with the government’s counter-extremism policy, in the light of recent leaks about the recommendations to be expected from the Shawcross...Read More

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

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 and mathematics, medicine and healthcare. The cuts have been described as ‘the biggest attack on the arts in living...Read More

Top universities including Durham, York and Manchester have employed specialist investigators to deal with a rapid rise in reported sexual assault cases, with some paying investigators up to £10,000 per case. This follows the publication of a new anonymous testimonial site, Everyone’s Invited, which has amassed nearly 50,000 testimonies of sexual assault, harassment and misogyny...Read More

Words by Professor David Midgley.  The writing was on the wall in January. It was then that the government published its response to Dame Shirley Pearce’s review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework, commonly known as the TEF.  Dame Shirley’s carefully argued and judiciously worded report had pointed out that the best way...Read More

Reports that the Office for Students and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson plan to slash funding for arts subjects by 50% have caused uproar this week. The OfS have sought to clarify the situation, claiming that the proposed cuts only apply “…to a smaller subsidy provided by the OfS, not major funding streams”. Nevertheless, the move...Read More

Sexual abuse at English and Welsh universities has been described as a “public scandal” after a report revealed that universities are systematically failing to address instances of assault and harassment, while another report commissioned by Universities UK has claimed that British universities “perpetuate institutional racism”. Meanwhile, extra time and funding for PhD students has been...Read More

Words by Eric Lybeck, Presidential Academic Fellow at the Manchester Institute of Education. Yesterday, Policy Exchange published a report on academic freedom in British universities drawing on a flawed survey with inconclusive results. This did not stop major newspapers from declaring the report evidence of the “epidemic of left-wing bias” in academia. Equally, it is...Read More

The government recently published their ‘Restructuring Regime’ for universities facing financial collapse, causing many to question whether university autonomy is a thing of the past. The petitions committee announced that there will be no automatic tuition fee refunds for students, and a new student loan repayment system has been heavily criticised for ‘misleading’ graduates. Latest...Read More

The election result could have major implications for the higher education sector, including the possibility of recruitment challenges in the wake of Brexit   UK universities face up to Brexit after Tory election win Times Higher Education, 13/12/2019, John Morgan The certainty that Brexit will happen, a potential reshaping of the research funding system to...Read More