by Becca Bashford | Apr 6, 2021 | Academic freedom, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Free speech, Government, Guest blog, In the News, Marketisation, Opinion, Uncategorized
Words by Liz Morrish, independent scholar. In August 2020, the UK think tank The Policy Exchange produced a report on Academic Freedom in the UK, alleging a chilling effect for staff and students expressing conservative opinions, particularly pro-Brexit or...
by Becca Bashford | Apr 3, 2021 | Academic freedom, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Free speech, Government, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, Racism, Uncategorized
Waves of redundancies announced at the University of Leicester, Kent, and Chester have sparked outrage across the higher education community. Students and fellow staff have responded by creating petitions, open letters, or have demanded that highest paid staff take...
by Becca Bashford | Mar 17, 2021 | Covid-19, Further education, Government, Guest blog, Marketisation, Opinion, Uncategorized
Words by Right2Learn The Right2Learn campaign was founded in December 2020 with a simple mission: to campaign for a legal right to learn throughout life. This mission drew on the work of the Lifelong Learning Commission set up by the Labour Party in 2018 which...
by Becca Bashford | Mar 5, 2021 | Academic freedom, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Erasmus, Erasmus+, Free speech, Further education, Government, In the News, Marketisation, National Union of Students, News round-up, Opinion, Pensions, Uncategorized, University governance
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...
by Becca Bashford | Feb 19, 2021 | Academic freedom, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Free speech, Government, In the News, Marketisation, National Union of Students, News round-up, Opinion, Racism, Scotland, Uncategorized, University governance
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...
by Becca Bashford | Feb 5, 2021 | Admissions, Casual staff, CDBU Updates, Covid-19, Employability, Further education, Government, Humanities, In the News, Marketisation, News round-up, Opinion, Uncategorized, University governance
The government has announced a £50 million hardship fund for students who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. However, some feel more could be done to help students, with a group of vice-chancellors calling on the government to go further and waive student...