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# CDBU

Council for the Defence of British Universities

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://cdbu.org.uk/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Reflecting on the passing of Professor Jason Arday](https://cdbu.org.uk/reflecting-on-the-passing-of-professor-jason-arday/) - The outpouring of grief accompanying the death of Professor Jason Arday testifies to the magnitude of his contribution both as a scholar and as a human being. Yet it is also grief propelled by a profound collective guilt of inaction. Why did so many of us fail to intervene? Why didn’t we co-ordinate a counterattack,
- [Write to your MP about the state of HE: template](https://cdbu.org.uk/mpletter/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) has endorsed the British Academy's call for a comprehensive review of higher education and encourages all members to lobby their MPs to call upon the new Prime Minister and his government to institute such a review as a matter of urgency. We have produced this template
- [Open Letter to the Prime Minister](https://cdbu.org.uk/open-letter-to-the-prime-minister/) - 20 July 2026 Dear Prime Minister On behalf of the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU), I request a meeting with you to discuss Higher Education. The sector needs a review of management, purpose and funding. British universities were envied until recently in other countries for our teaching, research, and openness to the
- [Annual General Meeting 2026](https://cdbu.org.uk/annual-general-meeting-2026/) - The Annual General Meeting for 2026 of the Council for the Defence of British Universities will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday 22 July at 3pm. The meeting is open to members and non-members but only members have voting rights. Non-members are encouraged to fill out the membership application form on the website.
- [The Call for Applications for Research Funding is Open!](https://cdbu.org.uk/funding-applications-now-open/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities invites applications to our second call for project funding. Projects can encompass any aspect of higher education in the UK, including policy and institutional change (e.g. mergers), curricula developments, finance, staff and student welfare and wellbeing or the effects of restructuring programmes currently ravaging our sector. Comparisons
- [GenAI – an enabler, a disrupter: how should universities respond? ](https://cdbu.org.uk/genai-an-enabler-a-disrupter-how-should-universities-respond/) - Words by Professor Leo McCann and Professor Simon Sweeney, University of York The sudden availability and widespread usage of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) have had a significant impact on university life, provoking much discussion and reflection. Many academics are turning to scholarly work on AI in their attempts to make
- [ Our employers say they care about precarious staff. Here are five low cost things they could do right now to help us – and them](https://cdbu.org.uk/our-employers-say-they-care-about-precarious-staff-here-are-five-low-cost-things-they-could-do-right-now-to-help-us-and-them/)
- [Join the CDBU Executive Committee!](https://cdbu.org.uk/join-the-cdbu-executive-committee/) - You can read our aims here You can read more about who we are here You can read about our various campaigns and interests here
- [Happy New Year from the CDBU](https://cdbu.org.uk/happy-new-year-from-the-cdbu/) - We would like to wish all our members and subscribers a very Happy New Year! One highlight of last year was the launch of our Code of Ethical University Governance, written by Professor Steven Jones, a member of our Executive Committee. Professor Jones launched the Code at a successful event at the House of
- [CDBU Code of Ethical University Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-code-of-ethical-university-governance/) - Summary The CDBU Code of Ethical University Governance is underpinned by the principle that governing bodies have a substantive part to play in affirming higher education as a prized public asset. The Code encourages governors to see themselves as ambassadors for their sector, promoting the university to everyone in society and providing reassurance that income
- [CDBU/HEPI symposium: register now](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-hepi-symposium-register-now/)
- [On student fees...](https://cdbu.org.uk/on-student-fees/) - The ill-conceived attempt to marketise universities has been a major contributor to the current difficulties in our universities. Whatever your view of the ideology it is difficult to argue that it has been a success and the problems were foreseeable (see for example ‘English Universities in Crisis’, Frank, Gowar, Naef, Bristol University Press, 2019). Without
- [The future of ‘subjects’ and ‘disciplines’ in higher education](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-future-of-subjects-and-disciplines-in-higher-education/) - Words by G.R Evans, Emeritus Professor of Medieval Theology, University of Cambridge and author of discussions of university governance and Histories of Oxford and Cambridge. How is knowledge best divided for the purpose of systematically acquiring more of it bit by bit? Should such a discrete ‘body of knowledge’ be recognised as a ‘subject’ or
- [University futures, eight ecosystems and their impairments – towards a manifesto](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-futures-eight-ecosystems-and-their-impairments-towards-a-manifesto/) - Words by Professor Ronald Barnett Across the world, universities have been captured by two forces – the economy and the state – and so much so that we now naturally think of higher education in these terms, as parts of the economy and as subject to political policies and interests. This is an astonishing state
- [A Time of Opportunity for Universities?](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-time-of-opportunity-for-universities/) - Since the Labour party were elected in early July to form the UK Government, I have been eagerly awaiting announcements of plans to try and fix the crisis facing British universities. Having spent the last five years researching a PhD thesis at the University of Essex which examined the relationship between political narratives of social
- [What went wrong with funding HE in the UK? A case of what might have been](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-went-wrong-with-funding-he-in-the-uk-a-case-of-what-might-have-been/) - The government belief that the university system would benefit from the competition resulting from the introduction of a market economy was a matter of ideology rather than serious analysis. It was made worse by the failure to implement the recommendations of the Browne Report of the committee chaired by someone who knew more about how
- [Cambridge and fair access: medieval answers to a contemporary problem](https://cdbu.org.uk/cambridge-and-fair-access/) - This post argues that Cambridge colleges need to remember their origins and act with greater shared purpose in ongoing disputes over the format of admissions interviews, or they risk undermining the institution’s goals for fair access. It reflects on more general themes around university structure and governance with respect to centralisation and homogenisation, and the
- [Towards New Purposes for Universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/towards-new-purposes-for-universities/) - Words by Christopher Cunningham. Note from the author: Ideas discussed in this blog post represent a digest from my forthcoming book, which has the working title: The Neoliberal Meritocracy of Higher Education in England: Questioning a University’s Purpose through a Study of Widening Participation. Abstract In analysing the relationship between social mobility and widening
- [Healthy governance? In this day and age?!](https://cdbu.org.uk/healthy-governance-in-this-day-and-age/) - Although specific to Oxford, this blog highlights the sort of changes that are being made in university governance across the UK that reduce the role of academics. Readers aware of other examples are warmly invited to contact us and contribute to the CDBU blog. According to Statute III of the University of Oxford, Convocation consists
- [CDBU News: Spring 2024](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-news-spring-2024/) - Please click here to read the CDBU Newsletter for Spring 2024
- [A case for the defence](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-case-for-the-defence/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) was established at Oxford in 2012 by Sir Keith Thomas. He worked tirelessly to recruit famous names from culture and science, law and the media, as well as academe, and set up an organisational infrastructure in double quick time. Government was instituting radical plans for HE
- [SATISFIED CUSTOMERS? Interrogating the "student experience" in the neoliberal university](https://cdbu.org.uk/satisfied-customers-interrogating-the-student-experience-in-the-neoliberal-university/) - We are pleased to publish the results of one of our funded research projects. ‘Satisfied Customers?: Interrogating “the student experience” in the neoliberal university’, by Professor Leo McCann (University of York) explores UK students’ perspectives on the marketized university. The research found that UK university students are largely enthusiastic about the content and quality of their degrees,
- [Press Release: Student Experience Report - Coming Next Week!](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-release-student-experience-report-coming-next-week/) - PRESS RELEASE: 08.02.24 In April 2022, The Council for the Defence of British Universities invited applications to undertake research into any aspect of higher education in the UK, including governance, policy, curricula developments, and staff and student welfare and wellbeing. Funding was awarded to three projects. We are pleased to announce that we will publish
- [Antisemitism and Criticism of Israel](https://cdbu.org.uk/antisemitism-and-criticism-of-israel/) - Words by David Feldman. The war in Gaza reverberates globally. One consequence is renewed controversy over when criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights becomes antisemitic. This debate has been crystallized by two definitions of antisemitism: the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. Both definitions agree
- [UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE: Views From the Inside](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-governance-views-from-the-inside/) - We are pleased to publish the results of one of our funded research projects. “University Governance: Views from the Inside”, by Professor Steven Jones (PI) and Dr Diane Harris, explores the inner workings of university governance through a series of interviews with current and former members of university governing bodies in England from 41 different
- [CDBU Position Paper on Academic Freedom: Updated](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-position-paper-on-academic-freedom-updated/) - 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 nature and importance of academic freedom as a public good and highlights the challenges it currently
- [CDBU publishes position paper on Academic Freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-publishes-position-paper-on-academic-freedom/) - PRESS RELEASE: JULY 6, 2021 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 nature and importance of academic freedom as a public good
- [CDBU Position Paper on Academic Freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-position-paper-on-academic-freedom/) - 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 nature and importance of academic freedom as a public good and highlights the challenges it currently
- [Press Release: Statement on Academic Freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-release-statement-on-academic-freedom/) - “The Council for the Defence of British Universities notes that recent events have renewed concerns about the status of academic freedom in the UK. Academic freedom is essential in the creation of a critical body of citizens, and to the building of a vigorous, plural, democratic society. CDBU has written to the Secretary of State
- [When and Why Do We Read? The Time and Value of Reading in the Twenty-First-Century University: Project Report](https://cdbu.org.uk/when-and-why-do-we-read-the-time-and-value-of-reading-in-the-twenty-first-century-university-project-report/) - We are pleased to publish the initial results of one of our funded research projects, “When and why do we read? The Time and Value of Reading in the Twenty-First Century”, by Dr Ben Davies, University of Portsmouth, (PI) and Professor Christina Lupton, University of Copenhagen. You can read the report here.
- [Press Release: University Governance Report Coming Next Week!](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-release-university-governance-report-published-next-week/) - PRESS RELEASE: 16.01.24 In April 2022, The Council for the Defence of British Universities invited applications to undertake research into any aspect of higher education in the UK, including governance, policy, curricula developments, and staff and student welfare and wellbeing. Funding was awarded to three projects. We are pleased to announce that we will publish
- [Antisemitism, Culture Wars and the Trumpian assault on Higher Education (2): Free Speech Protection in the US and the UK](https://cdbu.org.uk/antisemitism-culture-wars-and-the-trumpian-assault-on-higher-education-2/)
- [Making the Rules](https://cdbu.org.uk/governance-blog-series-1-making-the-rules-2/) - Words by G.R Evans, Emeritus Professor of Medieval Theology, University of Cambridge and author of discussions of university governance and Histories of Oxford and Cambridge. Unvisited information? Staff and students may not ask themselves how their university or other provider of their higher education is run until they encounter a difficulty. In many years
- [Towards collective academic governance at Edinburgh: Interview with Michael Barany](https://cdbu.org.uk/towards-collective-academic-governance-at-edinburgh-interview-with-michael-barany-2/) - Interview conducted by Sean McMahon Academic staff do the work that defines a university: teaching, scholarship and research. But too often in British universities the voices of academics are marginalised by undemocratic forms of governance. Top-down, unaccountable, corporate-style management has increasingly replaced collegial decision-making, stifling the autonomy of academics and impeding rather than facilitating academic
- [READ: Our Chair's letter to the Senior Vice Principal of Aberdeen University](https://cdbu.org.uk/read-our-chairs-letter-to-the-senior-vice-principal-of-aberdeen-university/) - Professor Karl Leydecker Senior Vice Principal Aberdeen University 26 November 2023 Dear Karl It has been a few years since we saw each other last when I left the University of Kent in the summer of 2007 to become professor of German in Swansea shortly after you arrived to head up the School of
- [Free speech and the Prevent duty in higher education](https://cdbu.org.uk/free-speech-and-the-prevent-duty-in-higher-education/) - The Office for Students (OfS) is currently caught up in the crossfire of a government-inspired ‘culture-war’ on universities. This has included passage of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act in May 2023 to address an alleged ‘no platforming’ of right-wing and gender-critical speakers. The OfS has now published its proposals for an independent complaints
- [Antisemitism, Culture Wars and the Trumpian assault on Higher Education (1): the US House Education and Workforce Committee Hearing of 5th December 2023](https://cdbu.org.uk/antisemitism-culturewars-ushewc/) - Words by Susan Bruce with Kelli Rudolph. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, generally so illuminating on the multiple topics they discuss in their podcast The Rest is Politics, were less informative than they usually are in their 13 December discussion of the US House Education and Workforce committee hearing of 5/12/2023 wherein the Presidents of
- [Academic Freedom Blog Series #1 - On the nature of academic freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-freedom-blog-series-1/) - 'On the Nature of Academic Freedom' Kindly contributed by Professor Dr. Peter-André Alt, President of the German Rectors' Conference. Adapted from a speech given at the CDBU AGM. In early May, the German Rectors’ Conference published two statements. And although both are only brief statements, the symbolic significance of these two interventions cannot be
- [REPORT: “Whose Universities?” A Symposium on Academic Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/report-whose-universities-a-symposium-on-academic-governance/) - On Tuesday 11 July 2023, the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) hosted a symposium on the subject of academic governance at SOAS, University of London in collaboration with Influencing Corridors of Power (ICOP). The aim of the day was as follows: to examine and critique the state of the governance of UK
- [Disabled students left behind amid coronavirus chaos](https://cdbu.org.uk/disabled-students-left-behind-amid-coronavirus-chaos/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities would like to express their support for disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill PhD students who are currently appealing for specific reasonable adjustments due to the disruption of COVID-19. We believe that the need for these adjustments sheds light on serious inequalities in academia, and the urgent need
- [An alternative vision for the future of Roehampton](https://cdbu.org.uk/vision-for-roehampton/) - This report was contributed to CDBU by Vision for Roehampton, a grassroots campaign organized by members of the UCU Roehampton branch. It is the third in our series titled 'Manifestos for Change', in which we are seeking forward-thinking responses to the present Covid-19 crisis, and the crisis of marketisation more generally. If you have created
- [Introducing the Right2Learn Campaign](https://cdbu.org.uk/introducing-the-right2learn-campaign/) - 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 examined in great detail the inequity of access to education
- [REVIEW: Retreat or Resolution? Tackling the Crisis of Mass Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/review-retreat-or-resolution-tackling-the-crisis-of-mass-higher-education/) - Review by Patrick Ainley, former professor of training and education at the University of Greenwich and regular contributor to the Post-16 Educator. The argument in this book is that mass higher education, for all its multiple and irreversible achievements, is experiencing a general crisis’ (150). It is well timed. 58 UK universities struck for three days
- [The Interdependence of Academic Freedom and Protest](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-interdependence-of-academic-freedom-and-protest/) - 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
- [Getting off the back foot – and taking the offensive](https://cdbu.org.uk/getting-off-the-back-foot-and-taking-the-offensive/) - 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
- [Thinking about Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/thinking-about-higher-education/) - Words by Ronald Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, University College London. Can we really think about higher education? To what extent are there spaces in universities for collective thinking about higher education? And to the extent that there are such spaces, do they not contain prompts and guard-rails that subtly steer thought
- [Ends, means, and meaning: the importance of human relationships in academia](https://cdbu.org.uk/ends-means-and-meaning-the-importance-of-human-relationships-in-academia/) - Words by Dr Alexis Artaud de La Ferrière, Lecturer in Sociology at Royal Holloway. In what is called the Humanity Formula of his Categorical Imperative, Immanuel Kant states that we should never act in such a way that we treat humanity as a means only; but instead that we should always treat humanity as an
- [Concerns over alleged political interference in appointment of new ESRC chair](https://cdbu.org.uk/concerns-over-alleged-political-interference-in-appointment-of-new-esrc-chair/) - PRESS RELEASE: FEBRUARY 9, 2022 The Council for the Defence of British Universities is deeply concerned by reports of undue political involvement in the appointment of a new Economic and Social Research Council Executive Chair, as reported in The Financial Times and other outlets this week. It is currently understood that a candidate was recommended
- [REVIEW: What Universities Owe Democracy](https://cdbu.org.uk/review-what-universities-owe-democracy/) - Review by Professor Julian Preece Ronald J. Daniels, the lead author of this original and much-needed book, has been President of Johns Hopkins since 2007. He was previously head of the Law School at Toronto, then Provost at Pennsylvania. Universities have not only been the centre of his professional life, however. As the child of
- [ANNOUNCING: CALL FOR FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT](https://cdbu.org.uk/announcing-call-for-funded-research-project/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities invites applications to undertake research into any aspect of higher education in the UK, including governance, policy, curricula developments, and staff and student welfare and wellbeing. Comparisons between Britain and other countries are especially welcome. Successful bids for up to £7,500 will explain the rationale and methodology of
- [ANNOUNCING: THE CDBU ESSAY PRIZE](https://cdbu.org.uk/announcing-the-cdbu-essay-prize/) - On the tenth anniversary of its formation The Council for the Defence of British Universities invites submissions of essays on key challenges facing Higher Education in the UK today and possible solutions to them. Authors may take a creative, research-based or autobiographical approach, drawing on international experience where appropriate. Up to three prizes of £1000 each
- [Legislating against a phantom: Making sense of the Higher Education (Free Speech) Bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/legislating-against-a-phantom-making-sense-of-the-higher-education-free-speech-bill/) - Words by Leo McCann, Professor of Management at the University of York ‘Mister Professor, you’re well educated, I know / But some things you quote to our youngsters has troubled me so.’ The opening lines of Mister Professor, a 1970 country song written by Leroy van Dyke. Featuring on Harlan Howard’s album To
- [In Pursuit of Prevent](https://cdbu.org.uk/in-pursuit-of-prevent/) - Introducing a blog by John Holmwood A lot of attention within the Higher Education sector is currently directed at the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill going through Parliament. Concocted during Gavin Williamson’s period as Secretary of State for Education, it was widely lobbied for by right-wing think tanks, such as Policy Exchange. Their report
- [CDBU ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT COMPETITION](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-announces-winners-of-funded-research-project-competition/) - PRESS RELEASE: 31.08.2022 The Council for the Defence of British Universities is pleased to announce the winners of our funded research project competition. Due to the amount and quality of the applications, CDBU has decided to fund three projects, listed below: When and Why Do We Read? The Time and Value of Reading in the
- [CDBU ANNOUNCES WINNER OF ITS INAUGURAL ESSAY PRIZE](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-announces-winner-of-its-inaugural-essay-prize/) - PRESS RELEASE: 31.08.2022 The Council for the Defence of British Universities is pleased to announce the winner of the CDBU Essay Prize: ‘Contracting Cheating: the Place of the Essay in the Age of the Essay Mill’, submitted by Dr Rowan Cerys Tomlinson, Senior Lecturer in Renaissance Studies at the University of Bristol. It has been
- [Contracting cheating: the place of the essay in the age of the essay mill](https://cdbu.org.uk/contracting-cheating-the-place-of-the-essay-in-the-age-of-the-essay-mill/) - WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL CDBU ESSAY PRIZE! It took just five minutes to commission an essay. No matter that I had chosen two obscure authors and a topic abstruse enough to fox a specialist. And no matter that since April 2022, under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act, it has been illegal in England to ‘provide,
- [Is the university sector at risk of becoming a split self?](https://cdbu.org.uk/is-the-university-sector-at-risk-of-becoming-a-split-self/) - Words by Lydia Dye-Stonebridge, joint runner up in the CDBU Essay Prize Competition 2022. I once worked for a large corporate, and they saw it fit to test my personality. The assessment plotted me against the Randian axes of dominance and compliance, influence and steadiness. My line of best fit demonstrated that while in work,
- [The Role of Universities in Building the Society and Economy of the Future: Policy Workshop Report](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-role-of-universities-in-building-the-society-and-economy-of-the-future-policy-workshop-report/) - In September this year, The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) and Professor Paul Baines (University of Leicester) co-organised a cross-party policy workshop to discuss and debate the role of universities in building the society and economy of the future. After two years of global political, social and financial instability due to the consequences
- [<strong>Universal Basic Research Income: A Different Approach to Funding Research</strong>](https://cdbu.org.uk/universal-basic-research-income-a-different-approach-to-funding-research/) - Words by Matthew Smith, joint runner up in the CDBU Essay Prize Competition 2022. I am a historian, but I’ve been spending the last few months playing the lottery. Not a lottery that can put money in my bank account, but a lottery that can put money in my research account. That’s right, the funding
- [Management and Governance Survey Results](https://cdbu.org.uk/management-and-governance-survey-results/) - Last year, the Council for the Defence of British Universities circulated a survey amongst its members regarding the management and governance arrangements at their higher education institutions. After two call outs, the survey amassed 81 responses. This blog details the results of the survey and features some notable responses to the open answer sections. Following
- [Humanities Under Threat – University of Brighton](https://cdbu.org.uk/humanities-under-threat-university-of-brighton/) - Humanities provision is being cut across the country, particularly in post-92 institutions. This has now hit Brighton: in early May, our senior management announced plans to cut 110 jobs from a pool of over 400 potential redundancies. The pool has been made up of staff from across the university's Schools, but the School of Humanities and Social Science
- [Press Release: CDBU statement on "low value" or "rip off" university degrees](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-release-cdbu-statement-on-low-value-or-rip-off-university-degrees-2/) - PRESS RELEASE: 19.07.23 "Government proposals to cap the student numbers on what they define as 'low value degrees' show once again the limits of market-driven thinking when applied to education. The value of a university degree can manifest itself in many ways after graduation and over a longer term than metrics deployed by the Office
- [Why Art?](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-art/) - Words by Dr Jon Hall, senior lecturer at the Open University and CDBU's Company Secretary. “Accessing our creativity is a fantastic way to top up our resilience.”Chief Operating Officer, North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust Resilience means being able to bounce back after a blow, after a tragedy, after a crisis. With reserves sufficient
- [The New Model University](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-new-model-university/) - 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
- [‘Skills for Jobs’ – what the FE Bill means for HE](https://cdbu.org.uk/skills-for-jobs-what-the-fe-bill-means-for-he/) - 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
- [Freedom and its opposite in universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/freedom-and-its-opposite-in-universities/) - Words by Savitri Hensman, Writer and Activist. Foreword by Dr Rowan Williams, CDBU Chair of Trustees: “Any proposed changes in the law need to be scrutinised carefully to make sure that they address a clear and substantial gap in existing provision; they should never be cosmetic exercises aimed at the electorate, nor should they be
- [The most severe cuts to UK research funding in a generation – with far-reaching consequences.](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-most-severe-cuts-to-uk-research-funding-in-a-generation-with-far-reaching-consequences/) - Words by Elena Isayev, Professor of Ancient History and Place at the University of Exeter. Anita Entale, a Rwandan-born scientist, was developing cheap methods to clean contaminated water supplies, supported by a Royal Society grant. She is one of the numerous researchers whose projects have been devastated by UK Government cuts to Official Development Assistance
- [Academic freedom is in crisis; free speech is not](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-freedom-is-in-crisis-free-speech-is-not/) - 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 ‘gender critical’ ideas. This is an issue that was examined by a 2018 parliamentary committee on
- [Universities must leverage finances for climate justice](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-must-leverage-finances-for-climate-justice/) - Words by J Clarke, Co-Director of Climate Campaigns at People & Planet, the UK’s largest student network campaigning on social and climate justice issues. The fossil fuel divestment movement has been incredibly successful on an international scale, making a robust link in the popular consciousness between investing practices and the unfolding climate crisis. The global
- [Decolonising the Curriculum or ‘Operation Legacy’?](https://cdbu.org.uk/decolonising-the-curriculum-or-operation-legacy/) - Words by Gurminder K Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies at the University of Sussex. The government minister responsible for universities, Michelle Donelan, has commented that the ‘so-called decolonisation of the curriculum is censoring history.’ She compares such initiatives with Soviet-style censorship suggesting that they are about ‘removing elements of history … and pretending
- [Why universities should refuse to accept the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-universities-should-refuse-to-accept-the-ihra-definition-of-anti-semitism/) - Words by Andrew M Colman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Leicester. The UK Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, wrote to universities in October 2020 directing them to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism by Christmas, and warning that any universities refusing to comply could face cuts in funding. Only
- [News round-up: UCU threatens industrial action if staff are forced to return to unsafe campuses](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-ucu-threatens-industrial-action-if-staff-are-forced-to-return-to-unsafe-campuses/) - University and College Union will ballot its members to strike once again if they are forced to resume in-person teaching and return to unsafe campuses. Meanwhile, the government has published its highly anticipated response to the Augar review, and rent strikes rage on across the UK. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!Would you like to write for the
- [News round-up: New year, same problems](https://cdbu.org.uk/new-year-same-problems/) - As the world welcomes a new year, the issues that the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on higher education remain. Students across the UK have begun rent strikes, university staff face the prospect of returning to unsafe campuses, and debates about the value of online learning rage on. Calls for students to get rent rebates at
- [News round-up: Thousands of university staff made redundant since the start of the pandemic](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-thousands-of-university-staff-made-redundant-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic/) - An FOI request made by Times Higher Education has revealed that thousands of university staff have been made redundant since the coronavirus pandemic hit. Meanwhile, students across the country have planned the biggest rent strike in decades with over 20 strikes underway or being organised for the new year. New on the CDBU blog:Academic Freedom
- [Academic Freedom in India: Open letter for the immediate release of jailed academics](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-freedom-in-india-open-letter-for-the-immediate-release-of-jailed-academics/) - To members and friends of CDBU, Please consider signing this open letter condemning the repression of academic freedom in India and demand the immediate release of jailed academics, scholar-activists, students and artistes. Dr Rowan Williams, our Chair of Trustees, has provided the following message calling on the academic community to act now to defend academic
- [News round-up: New reports shine a harsh light on racism and sexual harassment at UK universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-new-reports-shine-a-harsh-light-on-racism-and-sexual-harassment-at-uk-universities/) - 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
- [Elect Our VCs Campaign: #WeAreTheUniversity](https://cdbu.org.uk/elect-our-vcs-campaign-wearetheuniversity/) - To members and friends of CDBU, Please consider supporting this campaign which demands elected VCs at our universities and a return to true self-governance. OPEN LETTER: ELECT OUR VCs Historically, universities have elected leaders to represent their communities at the levels of Heads, Deans and Vice-Chancellor. Across Europe, Latin America and beyond universities still value
- [Covid and In-Person Teaching: A Scientific Approach](https://cdbu.org.uk/covid-and-in-person-teaching-a-scientific-approach/) - Words by Professor John Drury, member of Independent Sage and Social Psychologist at the University of Sussex. How should teaching be carried out in universities during a pandemic? Back in September this year, SAGE, the scientific advisory group which advises the UK government on Covid, recommended that university teaching be moved online. Earlier that month,
- [Students offered one week window to return home for Christmas](https://cdbu.org.uk/students-offered-one-week-window-to-return-home-for-christmas/) - 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,
- [News round-up: UCU deems government's decision to reopen campuses for face-to-face teaching "unlawful"](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-ucu-deems-governments-decision-to-reopen-campuses-for-face-to-face-teaching-unlawful/) - 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
- [Winter closes on the 'Covid Generation'](https://cdbu.org.uk/winter-closes-on-the-covid-generation/) - 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
- [News round-up: Students report feeling "abandoned" as the government debates their Christmas fate](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-students-report-feeling-abandoned-as-the-government-debates-their-christmas-fate/) - 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
- [News round-up: Students banned from socialising after spikes in Covid-19 cases](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-students-banned-from-socialising-after-spikes-in-covid-19-cases/) - As students returned to campuses and moved into residential halls across the UK, clusters of coronavirus cases began to emerge. Some universities have responded by halting in-person teaching, while others have gone as far as banning students from socialising completely. CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS!CDBU would like to expand their pool of blog writers. We are looking
- [News round-up: Tensions grow over the return of staff and students to university campuses](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-tensions-grow-over-face-to-face-teaching/) - Once again, the return of staff and students to university campuses has dominated Higher Education news. UCU insist that the risks of spreading Covid-19 is still far too high, especially without proper Track and Trace and testing protocols in place. Meanwhile, the DfE discussed new legislation to "protect free speech and academic freedom" at universities,
- [News round-up: Universities prepare for the reopening of campuses](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-prepare-for-the-reopening-of-campuses/) - As the government scrambles to save face after the A-levels fiasco, universities are preparing to reopen their campuses to staff and students. UCU have called on the government to halt in-person teaching completely, warning that the mass movement of over a million students across the UK could cause a "major public health crisis". New on
- [Might selective English universities now wean themselves off A-levels?](https://cdbu.org.uk/might-selective-english-universities-now-wean-themselves-off-a-levels/) - Words by Steven Jones, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Manchester. One reason that the government took so long to U-turn over this summer’s A-level debacle is that the qualification itself holds a much loftier status in society, particularly among the ruling classes, than it deserves. The ‘mutant’ algorithm was considered necessary because
- [News round-up: A-levels fiasco causes chaos for universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-levels-fiasco-causes-chaos-for-universities/) - After thousands of A-level and BTEC students were downgraded on results day, Gavin Williams and Ofqual - in a highly predictable U-turn - scrapped the algorithm and allowed students to use Centre Assessed Grades (teachers' predictions) instead, allowing many to secure their university places. While this is excellent news for students, universities have been left
- [Universities need to end their silence](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-need-to-end-their-silence/) - Statement from the Council for the Defence of British Universities on A-level results. English universities have been remarkably silent about the fiasco over Ofqual’s determination of A-level grades. Universities UK issued an extraordinarily misjudged statement on Thursday, stating that: "Students receiving their results today can be incredibly proud of their work and achievements in circumstances no-one could have
- [News round-up: Academic freedom, student safety, and widening inequality for Scottish students](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-academic-freedom-student-safety-and-widening-inequality-for-scottish-students/) - This week, Policy Exhange published a new report which claims that academic freedom is being stifled at UK universities, the SQA has been heavily criticised for lowering exam grades for 125,000 students - many of whom feel they have been unfairly targeted because they come from deprived areas, and universities are weighing up the risks
- [We need to talk about academic freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/we-need-to-talk-about-academic-freedom/) - 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
- [From Regulation to Regime: Are we seeing a government takeover of universities?](https://cdbu.org.uk/from-regulation-to-regime-are-we-seeing-a-government-takeover-of-universities/) - Words by Liz Morrish, independent scholar. One thing governments have learned over the last 30 years is not to let a disaster go to waste. In the guise of offering a survival strategy for universities in the pandemic, the Department for Education has issued a document: Establishment of a Higher Education Restructuring Regime in Response
- [TEF in the time of pandemic](https://cdbu.org.uk/tef-in-the-time-of-pandemic/) - This blog post was kindly contributed by Professor Dorothy Bishop. It was originally featured on her personal blog, which you can find here. An article in the Times Higher today considers the fate of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). I am a long-term critic of the TEF, on the grounds that it lacks an adequate rationale, has little statistical
- [News round-up: Government "restructuring regime" threatens university autonomy](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-government-restructuring-regime-threatens-university-autonomy-2/) - 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
- [University of Leeds Manifesto for the Covid-19 Crisis](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-of-leeds-manifesto-for-the-covid-19-crisis/) - This paper was kindly contributed by staff at the University of Leeds. It is the fifth in our series titled ‘Manifestos for Change’, in which we are seeking forward-thinking responses to the present Covid-19 crisis, and the crisis of marketisation more generally. If you have created a similar proposal for your institution, and would like it
- [CDBU announces new Chair of Trustees and responds to government “Restructuring Regime”](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-announces-new-chair-of-trustees-and-responds-to-government-restructuring-regime/) - PRESS RELEASE: July 21, 2020 The Council for the Defence of British Universities is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Rowan Williams (Lord Williams of Oystermouth) as our new Chair of Trustees. We offer a warm welcome to Lord Williams, who we know will be an invaluable addition to the organisation. Lord Williams offered
- [Covid-19 and the market model of higher education: Something has to give, and it won’t be the pandemic](https://cdbu.org.uk/covid-19-and-the-market-model-of-higher-education-something-has-to-give-and-it-wont-be-the-pandemic/) - Words by Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford. There are striking differences between countries and cultures in the manner in which the pandemic experience has been regulated. These differences are associated with variations in the outcomes of the pandemic, and have also had practical consequences for higher education. Remarkably, the
- [News round-up: Universities receive record number of applications during lockdown, but many are pushing ahead with cuts](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-receive-record-number-of-applications-during-lockdown-but-many-are-pushing-ahead-with-cuts/) - Ucas recently announced that UK universities had received a record number of applications over the lockdown period, despite growing concerns about the impacts of coronavirus on the higher education sector. Many universities are pushing ahead with devastating cuts, and comments from the Universities Minister have sparked a debate about the value of humanities subjects. Latest
- [The Covid-19 Crisis and the Future of Tertiary Education: a Green Paper from the University of Greenwich](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-covid-19-crisis-and-the-future-of-tertiary-education-a-green-paper-from-the-university-of-greenwich/) - This paper was kindly contributed by Dr Jane Lethbridge and Professor Patrick Ainley from the University of Greenwich. It is the fourth in our series titled ‘Manifestos for Change’, in which we are seeking forward-thinking responses to the present Covid-19 crisis, and the crisis of marketisation more generally. If you have created a similar proposal
- [News round-up: Philosophy and Literature programmes suffer from Covid cuts](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-philosophy-and-literature-programmes-suffer-from-covid-cuts/) - This week, LSE launched their 'SHAPE' campaign which strives to promote the humanities and social sciences, students and staff joined forces to condemn the closure of the Philosophy programme at the University of the West of England and devastating cuts to the Literature department at the University of Portsmouth, and the government announced that EU
- [What is a university without philosophy?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-is-a-university-without-philosophy/) - Words by James Ladyman, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. The University of the West of England plans to close its philosophy degree programmes. It is typical of the way universities are run that the affected academic staff were not involved in any way in this decision, and that they had no idea
- [Employers think beyond the conventional skills discourse - so why can't the government?](https://cdbu.org.uk/employers-think-beyond-the-conventional-skills-discourse-so-why-cant-the-government/) - This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Audrey Songhurst, former Director of the Research and Enterprise Development Centre at Canterbury Christ Church University - where she was awarded her doctorate in Education in 2018. It is not surprising that higher education is looked upon to play a role in driving economic growth by ensuring graduates
- [News round-up: Universities reckon with "chronic absence" of BAME academics](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-reckon-with-chronic-absence-of-bame-academics/) - As the Black Lives Matter movement sparks global debate, universities reckon with their severe lack of BAME academics and brace themselves for a potential wave of deferrals in the coming academic year. NEW ON THE CDBU BLOG: 'More than ever, university governors need academics as partners' 'Rather than double down on existing modes of HE
- [More than ever, university governors need academics as partners](https://cdbu.org.uk/more-than-ever-university-governors-need-academics-as-partners/) - This blog was kindly contributed by Steven Jones, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Manchester. Last month, WonkHE ran a short series of blogs on ‘governance in a time of pandemic’. Developed in partnership with one of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms, the blogs drew on business terminology (‘customers’, ‘executive teams’, etc.) and
- [News round-up: Online learning raises questions and issues of accessibility become a growing concern](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-roundup-online-learning-raises-questions-and-issues-of-accessibility-become-a-growing-concern/) - 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:
- [Responding to the Covid-19 crisis: a 5-point plan for the University of Nottingham.](https://cdbu.org.uk/responding-to-the-covid-19-crisis-a-5-point-plan-for-the-university-of-nottingham/) - Below we publish a response to the financial implications of the Covid-19 crisis at the University of Nottingham by members of the professoriate. It was submitted to the Vice-Chancellor and members of the University Executive Board on Tuesday. CDBU would like to invite institutions from across the UK to contribute similar accounts. Responding to the
- [Developing a way forward for a post Covid-19 future: A manifesto for change from the University of Manchester](https://cdbu.org.uk/developing-a-way-forward-for-a-post-covid-19-future-a-manifesto-for-change-from-the-university-of-manchester/) - This Manifesto for Change from the University of Manchester was kindly contributed to the CDBU blog. We would like to invite universities from across the UK to contribute similar accounts. To download the full manifesto as a pdf, click here. A manifesto for change from the Campaign for Better Governance at the University of Manchester
- [News round-up: Universities fear the worst after government refuses multi-billion bailout](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-fear-the-worst-after-government-refuses-multi-billion-bailout/) - 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,
- [Cooling the crisis out](https://cdbu.org.uk/cooling-the-crisis/) - "If we wish to change the model, to have higher education serve the public, students and academics, and not as a Ponzi scheme floated on a bubble of student fees, we need to act now", argues John Holmwood. The financial crisis facing the higher education sector is immediate and developing fast. There is no doubt
- [A major rethinking of policy for the HE sector is required, not a package of sticking plasters, says CDBU.](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-major-rethinking-of-policy-for-the-he-sector-is-required-not-a-package-of-sticking-plasters-says-cdbu/) - Press release: 4 May, 2020 The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) welcomes the announcement on 4 May of a government support package for universities and students. However, CDBU is concerned that what has been announced is only a short-term measure which does little to address the unfolding crisis in the university sector. It
- [News round-up: University staff and students bear the brunt of Covid-19](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-university-staff-and-students-bear-the-brunt-of-covid-19/) - 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
- [‘Don’t frighten the students’: the crisis of academic freedom in the managed university](https://cdbu.org.uk/dont-frighten-the-students-the-crisis-of-academic-freedom-in-the-managed-university/) - Liz Morrish had an unblemished record of 30 years in academia without so much as a late library book to her name. That all changed when she publicly voiced her opinions on the terrible toll managerialism was having on academics’ mental health – and she found herself charged with gross misconduct.
- [News round-up: Universities plead for financial bailout as they brace for huge losses from Covid-19](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-plead-for-financial-bailout-as-they-brace-for-huge-losses-from-covid-19/) - The repercussions of Covid-19 are being felt across the higher education sector as Universities UK warn that without support some institutions risk collapse, students go on rent strike, and the REF and TEF are postponed indefinitely Universities UK: state bailout required to save institutions – Times Higher Education, Jack Grove, 10/04/2020 Some UK universities could
- [News round-up: Grim times for universities as overseas students stay away and staff on fixed-term contracts lose their jobs](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-grim-times-for-universities-as-overseas-students-stay-away-and-staff-on-fixed-term-contracts-lose-their-jobs/) - The coronavirus epidemic has seen lecturers and researchers lose their jobs while students face uncertainty over exams 119 universities in deficit after lecturers go on strike The Times, 03/04/2020, Rosemary Bennett More than 100 universities, including some of the richest, have plunged into deficit after they had to find thousands of pounds to cover the
- [The Covid-19 crisis has shown how valuable universities are – but they are hugely in debt](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-covid-19-crisis-has-shown-how-valuable-universities-are-but-they-are-hugely-in-debt/) - Despite the enormous contribution universities are making to addressing the coronavirus crisis, years of enforced competition have placed them under intense financial pressure. Now is the time for the sector to recover its core purpose, argues Professor James Ladyman of the University of Bristol The teaching and research of our universities continues in the current
- [It’s time to abolish the REF – here’s how to do it](https://cdbu.org.uk/its-time-to-abolish-the-ref-heres-how-to-do-it/) - The REF is partly responsible for universities’ present ills, but if we get rid of it, we need to find an alternative model for allocating research funding. Norman Gowar, former principal of Royal Holloway, University of London, suggests a way forward As always it was a great pleasure to read Dorothy Bishop’s proposals for abolishing
- [News round-up: Warnings of admissions chaos as coronavirus hits](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-warnings-of-admissions-chaos-as-coronavirus-hits/) - Inevitably, this week’s round-up is dominated by one story – the coronavirus’s impact on teaching, exams and admissions Exam cancellations to spark ‘almighty scramble’ in UK admissions Times Higher Education, 20/03/2020, Anna McKie The cancellation of exams caused by the closure of all schools amid the coronavirus outbreak could hurt the poorest students most, lead
- [News round-up: UCU offers an olive branch to end strike – but will universities have to close because of coronavirus?](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-ucu-offers-an-olive-branch-to-end-strike-but-will-universities-have-to-close-because-of-coronavirus/) - An end to the academics’ strike may be in sight, but as the death toll from coronavirus rises, Western universities are being urged to close campuses UCU offers ‘significant concessions’ in pay and pensions disputes Times Higher Education, 05/03/2020, Anna McKie The University and College Union has said that it has made “significant concessions” to some
- [Shared governance – can universities move on from a top-down management system?](https://cdbu.org.uk/shared-governance-can-universities-move-on-from-a-top-down-management-system/) - Professor David Midgley concludes his discussion of The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath Like other analysts of the current situation, Shattock and Horvath bring out very clearly the deleterious effects of marketisation and the senses in which these have been exacerbated by the removal of the student numbers
- [News round-up: Strikes, admissions reform - and anger as the ‘over-zealous’ Prevent programme seizes student essays](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-strikes-admissions-reform-and-anger-as-the-over-zealous-prevent-programme-seizes-student-essays/) - This week has seen another round of strikes by academics, while UK universities come under pressure to reform the admissions process UK ‘could only join Horizon Europe with transition extension Times Higher Education, 21/02/2020, John Morgan The UK will only be able to join the European Union’s next research programme if its government seeks
- [The spirit of subservience: how the change in governance has affected academics’ autonomy](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-spirit-of-subservience-how-the-change-in-governance-has-affected-academics-autonomy/) - Professor David Midgley continues his look at The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath The impact of the developments described in section I has been far from uniform. In addition to the differences in governance structure between pre-1992 and post-1992 universities that were entrenched by the 1992 legislation, significant
- [The governance of British universities: how we got from there to here](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-governance-of-british-universities-how-we-got-from-there-to-here/) - In the first of three blogposts, Professor David Midgley offers some reflections on The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath, and what it tells us about the recent history of the university The question of how the state of health of a university’s core academic activities relates to the
- [News round-up: Universities must make clear that intimidation of academics is unacceptable, Gavin Williamson warns](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-must-make-clear-that-intimidation-of-academics-is-unacceptable-gavin-williamson-warns/) - Strong words from the education secretary on free speech, and new figures show that two in five 18-year-olds now apply to university Gavin Williamson gives universities final warning on free speech The Times, 07/02/2020, Rosemary Bennett The education secretary has given universities a final warning to guard free speech or face legislation. In an article for The
- [News round-up: Oxford University professor accompanied to lectures by security guards](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-oxford-university-professor-accompanied-to-lectures-by-security-guards/) - Attacks on free speech at our oldest university ­– and a revelation that there are no black academics in the most senior managerial ranks in UK higher education Oxford University professor given security guards for lectures after threats from transgender activists Daily Telegraph, 24/01/2020, Camilla Turner and Ewan Somerville An Oxford University professor has
- [A ‘crucible of critique’: a review of The Future of Academic Freedom by Henry Reichman](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-crucible-of-critique-a-review-of-the-future-of-academic-freedom-by-henry-reichman/) - Professor David Midgley takes a look at a timely new publication that puts the current debates on academic freedom into a historical context In September 2017 it was widely reported that the Attorney General of the USA, Jeff Sessions, had told an audience of students in Washington that the American university, “once the center
- [What’s worse than being a casual worker in academia? Being an outsourced casual worker in academia](https://cdbu.org.uk/whats-worse-than-being-a-casual-worker-in-academia-being-an-outsourced-casual-worker-in-academia/) - University of Nottingham: not so idyllic for casual workers. Image: Simmy Thomas Robert Stenson is a PhD student and casual academic at the University of Nottingham. He explains how the university’s decision to outsource its casual staff to a third party has made conditions even more insecure and exploitative In June 2019, the
- [News round-up: The threat to the future of Erasmus+ – and why academia is a damaging environment for mental health](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-the-threat-to-the-future-of-erasmus-and-why-academia-is-a-damaging-environment-for-mental-health/) - The government’s Brexit withdrawal bill saw defeat for an amendment requiring the government to continue the UK’s participation in the Erasmus + exchange scheme Fears for future of private university after recruitment ‘pause’ Times Higher Education, 10/01/2020, John Morgan A private university in London whose students are eligible for public loan funding has “paused”
- [News round-up: Eventually everyone will have a first-class degree](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-eventually-everyone-will-have-a-first-class-degree/) - If grade inflation continues at the current rate, by 2030 all students at some universities will graduate with first-class degrees. Plus: regulation is costing universities more than £500k a year First-class degrees for all students by 2030 The Times, 27/12/2019, Rosemary Bennett All students will graduate from some universities with a first-class degree in
- [News round-up:  What now for universities? Brexit, changes to university funding and (maybe) an increase in R&D spend](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-what-now-for-universities-brexit-changes-to-university-funding-and-maybe-an-increase-in-rd-spend/) - 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
- [News round-up: Academics go on strike over pay and conditions](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-academics-go-on-strike-over-pay-and-conditions/) - The strikes at half of the UK’s universities dominate this week’s news round-up – while new figures show that institutions are competing fiercely for a shrinking band of 18-year olds UCU says some universities are using ‘highly questionable tactics’ as strikes are set to enter their second week Times Higher Education, 29/11/2019, Anna
- [Higher education and the election: the main party manifestos compared](https://cdbu.org.uk/higher-education-and-the-election-the-main-party-manifestos-compared/) - 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
- [News round-up: One institution tackles grade inflation – and a headteacher says that ‘any fool’ can get into university](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-one-institution-tackles-grade-inflation-and-a-headteacher-says-that-any-fool-can-get-into-university/) - Nottingham Trent University is cutting the number of firsts, while one of their academics has faced a backlash for encouraging students to register to vote Universities ‘central’ to solutions on UK regional inequality Times Higher Education, 15/11/2019, John Morgan Universities could play a central role in addressing the UK’s dire levels of regional inequality,
- [Academics in UK universities – pressure vessels in a sea of metrics](https://cdbu.org.uk/academics-in-uk-universities-pressure-vessels-in-a-sea-of-metrics/) - A huge rise in mental health referrals amongst academics is the result of increasingly stressful working conditions, argues researcher and independent scholar Liz Morrish It is often said that lecturers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions. My report for the Higher Education Policy Institute, Pressure Vessels: the epidemic of poor mental health among higher
- [News round-up: More strikes are on the way as UCU members vote for industrial action](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-more-strikes-are-on-the-way-as-ucu-members-vote-for-industrial-action/) - University staff are to strike over pensions, pay and working conditions – and an imminent general election casts uncertainty over higher education policy December election puts UK policy progress on hold Times Higher Education, 01/11/2019, Simon Baker News that a general election will be held in December may have finally given some people optimism
- [University technical colleges - another expensive failure?](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-technical-colleges-another-expensive-failure/) - Martin Allen takes a look at the woes facing the programme to introduce technical schools sponsored by universities What’s happened to University Technology Colleges – the 14-19 schools created by one time Secretary of State Kenneth (now Lord) Baker? Citing ‘academic snobbery’ for the failure to establish proper technical education in this country, which
- [News round-up: Female academics rise through the ranks more slowly](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-female-academics-rise-through-the-ranks-more-slowly/) - Female academics are less likely to reach senior positions than male ones, and since the referendum, there’s been a big rise in EU academics leaving the UK Gender not children 'holds women academics back' BBC, 17/10/2019, Hannah Richardson Women academics do not rise through the ranks as fast as men with the same credentials
- [Augar was a damp squib –  here’s a better way to manage student finance](https://cdbu.org.uk/augar-was-a-damp-squib-heres-a-better-way-to-manage-student-finance/) - Norman Gowar was unimpressed by the Augar Review’s recommendations on student finance. He lays out an alternative proposal that would work for students, universities and taxpayers It is sad that the government’s attempts to marketise universities received scant attention by the Augar Report, but I do welcome the recognition that there has been a
- [News round-up: Labour could cap number of private school students going to university](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-labour-could-cap-number-of-private-school-students-going-to-university/) - 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
- [News round-up: Education secretary backs a review of university admissions](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-education-secretary-backs-a-review-of-university-admissions/) - A mixed bag this week: Gavin Williamson supports the OfS review into university admissions, a record number of disadvantaged pupils are winning university places and universities are likely to face delays to funding when the UK leaves the EU Ethicist warns universities against using AI in admissions Times Higher Education, 20/09/2019, David Matthews Using
- [News round-up: Jo Johnson resigns – and another strike could be on the way](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-jo-johnson-resigns-and-another-strike-could-be-on-the-way/) - Once again, the country finds itself without a universities minister, while plans to allow EU nationals to stay for only three years in the event of no deal could hit student recruitment Ucas accused of abusing its position with debt firm advert The Guardian, 06/09/2019, Richard Adams The consumer finance expert Martin Lewis has
- [News round-up: University applications from 18-year olds have reached a record high, despite the demographic dip](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-university-applications-from-18-year-olds-have-reached-a-record-high-despite-the-demographic-dip/) - As more 18-year olds are applying to university and more gain places through clearing, Labour wants to move to a system of applying to university after A-level results Knowledge exchange framework review before funding link Times Higher Education, 23/08/2019, Chris Havergal The forthcoming knowledge exchange framework is likely to determine the distribution of institutional
- [News round-up: House of Lords warns of the impact of tuition fee cuts](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-house-of-lords-warns-of-the-impact-of-tuition-fee-cuts/) - 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
- [Who regulates the regulator? The Office for Students misses its deadline](https://cdbu.org.uk/who-regulates-the-regulator-the-office-for-students-misses-its-deadline/) - The Higher Education Funding Council for England did an excellent job of maintaining a register of providers. So why is the Office for Students struggling, asks Professor G.R.Evans The Office for Students (OfS), fully in operation from 1 August after its first-year transition period, is behind with its registrations of providers. Given the imminence
- [News round-up: A review of the admissions system is under way – could this mean the introduction of post-A-level applications?](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-review-of-the-admissions-system-is-under-way-could-this-mean-the-introduction-of-post-a-level-applications/) - 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
- [News round-up: Two in five school leavers in England apply for university places this year](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-two-in-five-school-leavers-in-england-apply-for-university-places-this-year/) - In England, record numbers of school leavers apply to university – and a record proportion of students are awarded first-class degrees England university applications hit record numbers BBC, 11/07/2019, Anon Record numbers of 18-year-olds in England have applied for a place at university, figures from Ucas reveal. The admissions service statistics show 236,350 school
- [News round-up: Casual academics are doing huge amounts of unpaid work](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-casual-academics-are-doing-huge-amounts-of-unpaid-work/) - Academic staff on casual contracts do twice the amount of work they are paid for, and a member of the House of Lords hopes to outlaw essay mills Scientists quit Nobel-winning project over authorship dispute Times Higher Education, 05/07/2019, David Matthews A dispute over paper authorship has led to scientists quitting the celebrated project
- [Review: A New Vision for Further and Higher Education, edited by Sol Gamsu and Richard Hall](https://cdbu.org.uk/review-a-new-vision-for-further-and-higher-education-edited-by-sol-gamsu-and-richard-hall/) - Patrick Ainley, formerly professor of training and education at the University of Greenwich, welcomes an essay collection aiming to rethink the purpose of tertiary level learning but thinks that it does not go far enough The Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) is a think tank connected to the trades unions combining ‘grassroots
- [UKRI and OfS: happy marriage or uneasy alliance?](https://cdbu.org.uk/ukri-and-ofs-happy-marriage-or-uneasy-alliance/) - The roles of the previous higher education regulator, Hefce, have been split between two new bodies: UKRI and OfS. The two organisations were meant to collaborate – but how’s it working out in practice? Professor GR Evans investigates Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017 abolished the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce)
- [News round-up: Reading halves the workforce at its Malaysia campus, and a benefactor showers money on lucky Oxford](https://cdbu.org.uk/reading-halves-the-workforce-at-its-malaysia-campus-and-a-benefactor-showers-money-on-lucky-oxford/) - The University of Reading is the latest to find that overseas campuses aren’t as lucrative as hoped, while Oxford has been blessed with a gift of £150m to create a new centre for the humanities Reading halves Malaysia campus workforce after £27 million loss Times Higher Education, 21/06/2019, Ellie Bothwell The University of Reading has drastically
- [News round-up: New report doesn’t augur well for average-earning graduates](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-new-report-doesnt-augur-well-for-average-earning-graduates/) - 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
- [The Augar report: everything you need to know](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-augar-report-everything-you-need-to-know/) - 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
- [News round-up: University staff are experiencing an epidemic of poor mental health](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-university-staff-are-experiencing-an-epidemic-of-poor-mental-health/) - Staff referrals to counselling services rose by 300% in six years to 2015. Elsewhere in our round-up, the Russell Group launches a new website to advise on A-level choices, and a tribunal has decided that Oxbridge can force older professors to retire External examiners ‘need more support on standards’ Times Higher Education, 24/05/2019, Simon
- [News round-up: Universities’ financial woes deepen – and vice-chancellors fight back against government interference](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-financial-woes-deepen-and-vice-chancellors-fight-back-against-government-interference/) - The number of English universities in financial deficit is on the up, while an increase in fees for EU students could result in universities becoming even worse off Number of English universities in financial deficit increases BBC, 09/05/2019, David Rhodes The number of universities and colleges in England with a financial deficit has jumped
- [A robust analysis of the crisis in universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-robust-analysis-of-the-crisis-in-universities/) - Professor David Midgley reviews English Universities in Crisis: Markets without Competition, by Jefferson Frank, Norman Gowar and Michael Naef The policy objectives against which this book measures the effectiveness of the current system for funding and regulating universities in England are those of the Browne Review: to improve participation rates in higher education among
- [News round-up: Women with master’s degrees earn less than men without them](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-women-with-masters-degrees-earn-less-than-men-without-them/) - A master’s degree boosts earning potential, but male graduates still earn more than female ones. And there’s cross-party backing for plans to reintroduce the two-year post-study work visa Women with master's degrees paid less than men without them in England The Guardian, 26/04/2019, Richard Adams Women in England with postgraduate degrees still earn less than
- [The Augar Review: half a solution to half of the problem](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-augar-review-half-a-solution-to-half-of-the-problem/) - The Augar Review is expected to recommend a cut in tuition fees. But instead of focusing on who pays for higher education, we should start by asking what higher education is for, argues Eric Lybeck, Leverhulme early career fellow at the Manchester Institute of Education University leaders are waiting with bated breath for the conclusions
- [Denying loans to students with poor grades would only disadvantage the less well-off, argues David Willetts](https://cdbu.org.uk/denying-loans-to-students-with-poor-grades-would-only-disadvantage-the-less-well-off-argues-david-willetts/) - In this week’s news round-up, the former universities minister attacks funding proposals that would lead to a two-tier system, while universities are becoming increasingly reliant on non-disclosure agreements Research must solve social problems, says top EU policymaker Times Higher Education, 12/04/2019, David Matthews One of the European Union’s top policymakers has warned universities that
- [A fair deal for students: thoughts on the upcoming Augar Review](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-fair-deal-for-students-thoughts-on-the-upcoming-augar-review/) - The government’s attempt to marketise universities has gone woefully wrong, argues Professor Norman Gowar, former principal of Royal Holloway, University of London. It’s time for a radical rethink of student funding The long-awaited Augar Review was commissioned in the light of the government’s realisation that its policies had gone woefully wrong. It was precipitated by
- [News round-up: Nearly a quarter of English universities are in deficit](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-nearly-a-quarter-of-english-universities-are-in-deficit/) - In this week’s news round-up, the number of English universities with operating deficits has risen to 32 – but the economy sees a net benefit from overseas students who stay Open University gave away £13 million in severance payments last year despite claiming they are broke, HESA figures reveal Daily Telegraph, 22/03/2019, Camilla Turner The
- [News round-up: A delay to the review of university finance – Brexit gets the blame](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-delay-to-the-review-of-university-finance-brexit-gets-the-blame/) - The long-awaited review of university tuition fees might not now be published until May – and vice-chancellors make some robust criticisms of the potential cost of subject-level TEF £7,500 tuition fees plan faces Brexit delay BBC, 01/03/2019, Sean Coughlan The review of university tuition fees in England has been caught in a Brexit gridlock
- [‘A small cadre talking amongst themselves’: the problem with university governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-small-cadre-talking-amongst-themselves-the-problem-with-university-governance/) - Without proper information and an understanding of wider concerns, governing bodies will continue to make poor decisions, argues Professor Norman Gowar, former principal of Royal Holloway, University of London News that some universities are in financial difficulties should come as no surprise. It was entirely predictable. Most followed the same policy of chasing
- [The problem with TEF – a look at the technical failings](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-problem-with-tef-a-look-at-the-technical-failings/) - Professor DV Bishop outlines the multiple flaws in the TEF methodology In a previous post I questioned the rationale and validity of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF). Here I document the technical and statistical problems with TEF. How are statistics used in TEF? Two types of data are combined in
- [News round-up: A financial crisis hits Reading – but it’s not the only university with money troubles](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-financial-crisis-hits-reading-but-its-not-the-only-university-with-money-troubles/) - Struggling universities are cutting staff – and a survey reveals just how unpopular TEF is More job cuts on cards unless tuition fee cap lifted, v-c warns Times Higher Education, 15/02/2019, Jack Grove A sector leader has warned that more leading UK universities will be forced to make significant job cuts if undergraduate tuition
- [TEF: an ill-conceived solution to a wrongly-posed problem](https://cdbu.org.uk/tef-an-ill-conceived-solution-to-a-wrongly-posed-problem/) - The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework represents a lamentable failure to engage in critical thinking, argues Professor DV Bishop If you criticise the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), you run the risk of being dismissed as an idle, port-quaffing don, who dislikes teaching, is out-of-touch with students and resistant to any
- [Teaching Excellence Framework consultation](https://cdbu.org.uk/teaching-excellence-framework-consultation/) - This is your opportunity to provide input into the CDBU's response to a "Call for Views”. The closing date for responses is 13 February. You can find out more about the consultation by looking at the background notes at the end of his document. Please put your response in an email addressed to: cdbumembership@gmail.com Alternatively
- [The Teaching Excellence Framework: misguided, bureaucratic and damaging](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-teaching-excellence-framework-misguided-bureaucratic-and-damaging/) - The marketisation of higher education combined with the government’s efforts to regulate it has led to the worst of both worlds, argues Professor Norman Gowar, former principal of Royal Holloway, University of London Since I am long retired I cannot take part in the government’s survey on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) but here’s
- [News round-up: The rich are far more likely to attend a top university than the poor](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-rich-are-far-more-likely-to-attend-a-top-university-than-the-poor/) - The gap between rich and poor starts to widen again – and responsibility for the rise in unconditional offers lies with just 20 universities Gap between rich and poor students at top universities widens for first time in decade Independent, 31/01/2019, Eleanor Busby The gap between rich and poor students going to Britain's best universities
- [News round-up: Restrictions on student loans could result in some universities losing a third of their intake](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-restrictions-on-student-loans-could-result-in-some-universities-losing-a-third-of-their-intake/) - There is controversy over leaked plans to end loans to students with three Ds or less, and one university is shutting students out of campus libraries for failing to pay rent Oxford places ban on donations and research grants from Huawei The Guardian, 18/01/2018, Rob Davies The University of Oxford has placed an indefinite
- [News round-up: A university credit crunch is looming](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-university-credit-crunch-is-looming/) - A drop in EU student numbers, a huge increase in borrowing by universities and another overseas campus closes. The financial omens for the sector are not looking good Universities raise alarm over no-deal Brexit and EU student enrolment The Guardian, 04/01/2019, Sally Weale University leaders have said that a no-deal Brexit would constitute “one of the biggest
- [News round-up: Another £12bn added to the deficit as ONS changes the way student loans are recorded](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-another-12bn-added-to-the-deficit-as-ons-changes-the-way-student-loans-are-recorded/) - Student loans will now be reclassified as public spending – and the Office for Students issues universities with a warning about grade inflation Philosophers urge Hull to think again over course cuts Times Higher Education, 21/12/2018, Matthew Reisz Leading academics have urged the University of Hull to commit to continuing to teach philosophy, as
- [Out with the old, in with the new: Chris Skidmore replaces Sam Gyimah as universities minister](https://cdbu.org.uk/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-chris-skidmore-replaces-sam-gyimah-as-universities-minister/) - This week, a new universities minister takes the helm – and despite a gradual rise in students from disadvantaged backgrounds attending university, the top public schools still dominate Oxbridge entry Eton and Westminster among eight schools dominating Oxbridge The Guardian, 07/12/2018, Sally Weale Eight top schools in the UK get as many pupils into
- [What are metrics good for?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-are-metrics-good-for/) - Last week, the CDBU's Professor Dorothy Bishop gave a terrific lecture looking at what metrics can offer in evaluating universities - and where they fail. If you were unlucky to miss it, here's your chance to listen to the lecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyIFJe3Q_k&feature=youtu.be You can view the accompanying slides here.
- [News round-up: Tuition fees don’t all go on tuition – shock](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-tuition-fees-dont-all-go-on-tuition-shock/) - A new study finds that the larger part of tuition fees is spent on support, admin and buildings rather than tuition – and the two-year degree makes one of its periodic reappearances Scrap REF and allocate QR funding by headcount, says professor Times Higher Education, 23/11/2018, Anna McKie Quality-related research funding should be distributed
- [What will the great Brexit brain drain mean for the UK’s universities?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-will-the-great-brexit-brain-drain-mean-for-the-uks-universities/) - Guest post: The uncertainty over the status of EU nationals following Brexit could lead to many EU academics leaving the UK. The result will be a less culturally rich landscape in our universities, argues Ashlie Rowan, a political correspondent at the Immigration Advice Service Most of the government’s commentary on Brexit and education has
- [Saving adult education: how staff and students came to the rescue of a lifelong learning college](https://cdbu.org.uk/saving-adult-education-how-staff-and-students-came-to-the-rescue-of-a-lifelong-learning-college/) - When the Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Leicester was threatened with closure, a campaign was launched to re-open it as a community-owned college. Founder member Dr Miriam Gill looks forward to a brighter future for adult education in the city '”If you’re going to save your department, you’re going to
- [Universities are not like banks: why Sir Michael Barber is wrong](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-are-not-like-banks-why-sir-michael-barber-is-wrong/) - Sir Michael Barber, head of the Office for Students, has said that the regulator will not come to the aid of failing universities. It’s a policy that could have disastrous consequences for students, argues Professor DVM Bishop In a much-publicised speech on November 6, Sir Michael Barber, head of the Office for Students (Ofs),
- [News round-up: The university regulator won’t ‘bail out’ failing universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-the-university-regulator-wont-bail-out-failing-universities/) - As it emerges that some universities are near bankruptcy, there has been a heated debate about whether the government should – or would – allow them to fail Stormzy: Oxford University turned down my scholarship offer The Guardian, 08/11/2018, Sarah Marsh and Dan Hancox Stormzy has accused Oxford University of rejecting his offer to
- [News round-up: A no-deal Brexit would be bad news for British researchers](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-no-deal-brexit-would-be-bad-news-for-british-researchers/) - More discouraging news on Brexit, and UK universities' ties to Saudi Arabia have come under scrutiny Universities’ Saudi ties under scrutiny after Khashoggi killing Times Higher Education, 26/10/2018, Ellie Bothwell Western universities are under increasing pressure to reject funding from Saudi Arabia and terminate their partnerships with the country in the wake of the
- [Book review: Who Are Universities For? Re-making higher education by Tom Sperlinger, Josie McLellan and Richard Pettigrew](https://cdbu.org.uk/book-review-who-are-universities-for-re-making-higher-education-by-tom-sperlinger-josie-mclellan-and-richard-pettigrew/) - Patrick Ainley welcomes a book that rethinks the purpose of a university ­– and offers some radical suggestions of his own Everyone knows who universities are for. As another book in the Bristol University/ Policy Press shorts series concludes: ‘The English education industry functions as a giant sorting machine, rewarding through largely written examinations what
- [News round-up: Imperial takes a bold step to protect it from the worst effects of Brexit](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-imperial-takes-a-bold-step-to-protect-it-from-the-worst-effects-of-brexit/) - Brexit dominates the headlines this week, as Imperial announces a partnership with a German university and a scientist warns of the ‘catastrophic’ effect leaving the EU could have on cancer research University ‘dual nationality’ plan for Brexit BBC, 10/10/2018, Sean Coughlan A top UK university is planning a ‘unique’ post-Brexit arrangement with a German
- [How should we fund universities?](https://cdbu.org.uk/how-should-we-fund-universities/) - Discussions about student funding don't have to revolve around tuition fees, argue Josie McLellan, Richard Pettigrew and Tom Sperlinger. Instead we should start by asking fundamental questions about the purpose of a university education Debates about higher education in the UK are often dominated by questions about student funding. There is a risk that
- [News round-up: Headteachers call for an end to unconditional offers](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-headteachers-call-for-an-end-to-unconditional-offers/) - Private school heads argue that unconditional offers lead to worse A-level results, while vice-chancellors say that essay mills should be made illegal Top schools call for an end to universities' use of unconditional offers The Guardian, 28/08/2018, Richard Adams Elite private schools have called for universities to cut back on the use of unconditional
- [News round-up: Critics attack recommendation to keep international students in the net migration statistics](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-critics-attack-recommendation-to-keep-international-students-in-the-net-migration-statistics/) - The Migration Advisory Committee publishes its report on the impact of overseas students in the UK, while an expert says that we should do away with degree classifications Universities should end grading system to end pressure on students, Kings College expert suggests Daily Telegraph, 14/09/2019, Henry Bodkin Universities should consider changing the system of
- [News round-up: Fierce competition for students means some universities risk bankruptcy](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-fierce-competition-for-students-means-some-universities-risk-bankruptcy/) - The UK spends less on R&D than Iceland, the new Welsh funding regime is less generous than it seems and the removal of the cap on student numbers has led to some universities losing out in the fight for students UK flounders behind Iceland, Luxembourg and Denmark for University R&D spend FE News, 30/08/2018,
- [News round-up: Lower-tariff universities suffer most as numbers of students accepted for university falls again](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-lower-tariff-universities-suffer-most-as-numbers-of-students-accepted-for-university-falls-again/) - Universities dish out cash ‘bribes’ to students with unconditional offers to hit their grades i newspaper, 17/08/2018, Richard Vaughan Universities have been accused of dishing out cash “bribes” to students with unconditional offers of places to stop them slacking off before taking A-levels. Institutions are promising the financial incentives, worth up to £3,00, to students
- [University places are up for grabs in Clearing – but students are not the winners](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-places-are-up-for-grabs-in-clearing-but-students-are-not-the-winners/) - The fall in applications has led to fierce competition between universities, a drop in income and an uncertain future for both students and staff, argues Professor GR Evans The A-level results are out. Applicants are getting to grips with fending for themselves in Clearing (no, they will not let your mother telephone for you). But
- [News round-up: ‘Universities battle over a shrinking pool of applicants’: the number of students applying to university drops again](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-battle-over-a-shrinking-pool-of-applicants-the-number-of-students-applying-to-university-drops-again/) - A rise in unconditional offers and arguments over student loans have dominated the higher education new in the past month Call to rethink China branch campuses over academic freedom risks Times Higher Education, 02/08/2018, Ellie Bothwell Western universities have been told to rethink their collaborations in China in the wake of the latest attacks
- [English higher education in pursuit of income: the consequences](https://cdbu.org.uk/english-higher-education-in-pursuit-of-income-the-consequences/) - Guest post by Prof G.R.Evans In the last few years there have been radical changes in the way English higher education is funded and regulated. That has had negative consequences not only for students but also at the receiving end of funding, where higher education providers have to survive financially and need to be able
- [Will Unistats sink the TEF? We live in hope](https://cdbu.org.uk/will-unistats-sink-the-tef-we-live-in-hope/) - Now that all the data used to inform TEF ratings is publicly available, argues Professor D V M Bishop, TEF itself becomes redundant I have been vocal in my criticism of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF): its rationale is disingenuous, it is based on measures that manage to be simultaneously invalid and unreliable, and
- [News round-up: Half of all academics suffer from stress-related mental health problems – but there is good news for EU students](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-half-of-all-academics-suffer-from-stress-related-mental-health-problems-but-there-is-good-news-for-eu-students/) - More evidence that an academic career is highly stressful, while the UKRI counts the cost as it fails to register as a charity Half of UK academics ‘suffer stress-linked mental health problems’ Times Higher Education, 06/07/2018, Jack Grove About half of all UK university staff have suffered depression, anxiety or other types of mental
- [The new REF: biased, unaccountable and unchallengeable](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-new-ref-biased-unaccountable-and-unchallengeable/) - Changes to the 2021 Research Evaluation Framework will increase the stress on academics and strengthen the hand of the managerial elite, argues Josh Robinson, lecturer in English literature at Cardiff University Two of the changes implemented for the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the wake of the recommendations of the Stern Review have reversed a
- [News round-up: Ditch predicted grades for university admissions](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-ditch-predicted-grades-for-university-admissions/) - A think tank attacks grade inflation, while a new study calls for an end to the UK admissions system based on predicted A-level grades Too many firsts risk universities’ credibility, says think tank BBC, 21/06/2018 Universities risk losing their credibility due to "rocketing" grade inflation, a think tank has said. According to Reform, the
- [‘Poor value’ doesn’t mean poor quality](https://cdbu.org.uk/poor-value-doesnt-mean-poor-quality/) - Media coverage of a recent student survey suggested higher education was poor value for money. But, asks Professor David Midgley, what does ‘value for money’ actually mean to students? The announcement of the 2018 Student Academic Experience Survey (SAES) by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) on 7 June was pretty up-beat (“In a marked
- [News round-up: Are coroners obscuring the number of student suicides?](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-are-coroners-obscuring-the-number-of-student-suicides/) - The mental health of both academics and students comes under scrutiny, and a survey shows that most students don’t feel they are receiving value for money when it comes to teaching Cardiff plans review after suicide of ‘overworked’ lecturer Times Higher Education, 08/06/2018, Rachael Pells Cardiff University has said that it will review the
- [When is a loan not a loan? When it’s a student loan…](https://cdbu.org.uk/when-is-a-loan-not-a-loan-when-its-a-student-loan/) - The use of terms like ‘loan’ and ‘debt’ to describe student finance are completely misleading, argues Professor Dorothy Bishop In February 2018, the House of Commons Treasury Committee published a remarkable report entitled ‘Student Loans’. A response by government, added on 11 May, reveals little engagement with criticisms raised by the committee, though it does
- [News round-up: Oxford’s progress on diversity has been 'glacial', and geography is the chosen subject of the privileged](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-oxfords-progress-on-diversity-has-been-glacial-and-geography-is-the-chosen-subject-of-the-privileged/) - Discussions about how to improve access for less advantaged students show no sign of abating - and subject-level TEF comes under attack from the Russell Group 'Relax A-level grades for some medical students' BBC, 24/05/2018, Katherine Sellgreen Academic entry requirements for medical degrees should be relaxed for students applying from the worst UK secondary schools,
- [The Bologna Process – the difference between theory and practice](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-bologna-process-the-difference-between-theory-and-practice/) - Professor Judith Marquand has just published Democrats, Authoritarians and the Bologna Process: Universities in Germany, Russia, England and Wales. Here she explains what the Bologna Process has meant in different countries When I told the principal of an Oxford college that I was writing a book about the Bologna Process, she asked, “What is that?”
- [Roll up, roll up for the HERB 2.0 show](https://cdbu.org.uk/roll-up-roll-up-for-the-herb-2-0-show/) - The themes playing out in the higher education debates in the houses of parliament seem strangely familiar, writes Professor David Midgley HERB 2.0 (the Higher Education Research Bill) has been playing in both houses of parliament recently. Like HERB 1.0, which enjoyed a twelve-month run between May 2016 and April 2017, HERB 2.0 has tended
- [News round-up:  MPs describe the interest rates on student loans as “absurd”](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-mps-describe-the-interest-rates-on-student-loans-as-absurd/) - Student loans and the problem of how to widen access have been in the news again – while the post-1992 universities are about to take a big financial hit DfE ‘failed’ to monitor UK Student Loans Company Times Higher Education, 11/05/2018, Ellie Bothwell The UK government failed to effectively oversee the Student Loans Company
- [News round-up: Universities are hoarding £44bn in reserves – but the cost of a student loan will rise](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-are-hoarding-44bn-in-reserves-but-the-cost-of-a-student-loan-will-rise/) - Universities now hold three times as much in reserves as they did in 2011-12, just before higher tuition fees were introduced Universities sit on £44bn after tuition fee increase The Times, 27/04/2018, Rosemary Bennett Universities are ‘hoarding’ £44 billion of reserves, more than the entire annual schools budget, according to a report on their
- [A conflict of interest: the statutory instruments shaping the Office for Students](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-conflict-of-interest-the-statutory-instruments-shaping-the-office-for-students/) - On Monday, the Labour Party tried unsuccessfully to block the legislation that would enable the new Office for Students to regulate universities. Professor GR Evans takes a look at the arguments During the debates on the Higher Education and Research Bill, members of the House of Lords repeatedly expressed concerns about the way statutory instruments
- [News round-up: The pensions strike is over, and the OU vice-chancellor resigns](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-the-pensions-strike-is-over-and-the-ou-vice-chancellor-resigns/) - Academic staff have voted to accept an offer to reopen negotiations with employers, and the position of the OU’s vice-chancellor finally becomes untenable Student nurses face financial hardship over loan error, says nursing body The Guardian, 16/04/2018, Patrick Greenfield Hundreds of student nurses whose loans and grants have been cut off or reduced because
- [News round-up: A new higher education regulator is launched and pension strikes continue](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-new-higher-education-regulator-is-launched-and-pension-strikes-continue/) - The pensions dispute rumbles on, the OfS admits to making a mistake over the Toby Young appointment, and the OU vice-chancellor faces a vote of no confidence Universities give out unconditional offers like candy, say head teachers The Times, 31/03/2018, Rosemary Bennett Universities have been told to stop dishing out unconditional offers “like candy”
- [What is teaching intensity – and how do you measure it?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-is-teaching-intensity-and-how-do-you-measure-it/) - The government believes that university courses can be rated according to the level of teaching intensity they provide. Professor GR Evans detects a lack of joined-up thinking “Prospective students deserve to know which courses deliver great teaching and great outcomes – and which ones are lagging behind,” said the minister for higher education launching a
- [Who needs external examiners? We do](https://cdbu.org.uk/who-needs-external-examiners-we-do/) - UCU has asked external examiners to resign in support of the strike over pensions. But what exactly does an external examiner do? Professor GR Evans reflects on the value of an undersung role On 15 March the University and College Union (UCU) asked external examiners to “resign” in support of the strike over proposed USS pension
- [TEF: so what is a 'subject'?](https://cdbu.org.uk/tef-so-what-is-a-subject/) - Opinion piece by Professor G. R. Evans The subject-based Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) promises to give prospective university students clear, easy-to-understand information so that they can see at a glance where ‘excellent teaching and student outcomes can be found’, at a level of detail which will enable them to choose not only
- [Subject level TEF: are the metrics statistically adequate?](https://cdbu.org.uk/subject-level-tef-are-the-metrics-statistically-adequate/) - Opinion piece by D. V. M. Bishop The Teaching Excellence and Outcomes Framework (TEF) was introduced at an institutional level in 2016. It uses metrics from the National Student Survey, together with information on drop-out rates, and on student outcomes. These are benchmarked against demographic information and combined to give an ‘initial hypothesis’ about the
- [News round-up: demand for higher education is set to grow](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-demand-for-higher-education-is-set-to-grow/) - Demand for university places is going to grow by 300,000, but the rise in tuition fees means fewer people are choosing to study part-time More than 40,000 fewer part-time students go to university due to tuition fees hike, study suggests The Independent online, 15/03/2018, Eleanor Busby More than 40,000 fewer part-time students are going to university
- [Resolving the pensions dispute: who has the power to agree?](https://cdbu.org.uk/resolving-the-pensions-dispute-who-has-the-power-to-agree/) - It seemed that the pensions dispute had been resolved – and then union members voted to reject it. So who decides when an agreement has been reached, asks Professor GR Evans The press was quick off the mark to announce a resolution to the pensions dispute when talks with ACAS involving Universities UK and the
- [Universities UK – who does it represent and what does it do?](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-uk-who-does-it-represent-and-what-does-it-do/) - Professor GR Evans looks at the history of an organisation that has rarely been out of the news in recent weeks – and asks what powers it really has Universities UK has been in the news recently during the upset caused by the proposals to make major changes to the USS pension scheme. It
- [Insecure academics – just how much do universities rely on casual teaching staff?](https://cdbu.org.uk/insecure-academics-just-how-much-do-universities-rely-on-casual-teaching-staff/) - A Freedom of Information request from the University and College Union reveals a reluctance by universities to share information about their use of teaching staff on hourly contracts Casual staff have always played an important role in university teaching. Many graduate students and postdocs supplement their income by delivering lectures and tutorials, gaining valuable experience
- [News round-up: academics go on strike over pensions](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-academics-go-on-strike-over-pensions/) - The universities minister says that students should be compensated for missed teaching time as a result of the pensions strike, and a report says that there should have been greater scrutiny in the appointment of Toby Young to the board of the Office for Students EU ‘should forge wider research community after Brexit’ Times Higher
- [The Office for Students has a new regulatory framework – but what does it all mean?](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-office-for-students-has-a-new-regulatory-framework-but-what-does-it-all-mean/) - The newly-published regulatory framework runs to 167 pages – but still leaves many questions unanswered, writes Professor GR Evans At last the Office for Students (Ofs) has published its Regulatory Framework. It will be laid before Parliament but essentially this is subordinate legislation of the Henry VIII kind. There will be no automatic debate or
- [Who shall regulate the regulators?](https://cdbu.org.uk/who-shall-regulate-the-regulators/) - The appointment process for the new Office for Students has been heavily criticised in a new report, writes Professor David Midgley – and it hasn’t even launched yet When the membership of the Board of the Office for Students (Ofs) was announced on 1 January 2018, a furious public controversy ensued over the appointment of
- [Yes, tuition fees in England are among the highest in the world](https://cdbu.org.uk/yes-tuition-fees-in-england-are-among-the-highest-in-the-world/) - It turns out the CDBU were right about tuition fees Prime minister Theresa May has admitted that tuition fees in England are among the highest in the world. It’s good to see an acknowledgement from government of something that we first drew attention to three years ago. The general election of 2015 was the first
- [CDBU says review of university funding must be “radical”](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-says-review-of-university-funding-must-be-radical/) - Press release: 18 February, 2018 The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) welcomes the government announcement of a review into university funding. We hope the review will be far-ranging and go back to first principles rather than just tinker with the current model. Poorer students have been damaged by the decision to abolish
- [News round-up: universities face an uncertain financial future](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-universities-face-an-uncertain-financial-future/) - Vice-chancellors have been sharing their concerns that some universities may face insolvency, while Robert Halfon MP says too many students are studying academic degrees Opportunity and risk: universities prepare for an uncertain future The Guardian, 07/02/2018, Harriet Swain Research with vice-chancellors by the Guardian shows some hope amongst the gloom about Brexit, funding changes
- [We must fight the attack on pensions: the future of British universities is at stake](https://cdbu.org.uk/we-must-fight-the-attack-on-pensions-the-future-of-british-universities-is-at-stake/) - Academic pensions may seem like a niche interest. But, argues Dr Rowan Cerys Tomlinson, proposals to change the current pension scheme represent an assault on the entire sector I became an academic for many reasons: because of my intellectual curiosity, because I wanted to contribute to society by teaching, because academia offered the heady mixture
- [News round-up: Some universities are at risk of collapsing, and Justine Greening calls for the return of student grants](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-some-universities-are-at-risk-of-collapsing-and-justine-greening-calls-for-the-return-of-student-grants/) - The big news this week is that there’s a real danger that falling student numbers may see some English universities forced to close down. Elsewhere there’s concern about pensions, student finance and bullying Fears of university closures after removal of safety net The Guardian, 30/01/2018, Anna Fazackerley Some English universities may be in danger
- [Britain has one of the best higher education systems in the world. So what did Jo Johnson do to cheerlead us?](https://cdbu.org.uk/britain-has-one-of-the-best-higher-education-systems-in-the-world-so-what-did-jo-johnson-do-to-cheerlead-us/) - Professor Jo Wolff goes hunting for positive remarks from Jo Johnson about universities – and offers some advice to successor Sam Gyimah ‘Farewell unis and science’, tweeted Jo Johnson, channelling Private Eye’s E.J. Thribb. Academics were astonished by such an honest statement of government policy. Relief flooded in when it was realised that it was
- [No, academics are not obsessed with research – we care deeply about our students](https://cdbu.org.uk/no-academics-are-not-obsessed-with-research-we-care-deeply-about-our-students/) - Mary Curnock Cook, the former chief executive of UCAS, delivered an annual lecture to the CDBU on January 23. Professor Dorothy Bishop, who was there, responds to accusations that academics prioritise research over teaching Ms Curnock Cook is a brave woman: she noted at the outset that CDBU was opposed to managerialism and consumerism, so
- [News round-up: a drop in student applications and a possible cut to tuition fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-round-up-a-drop-in-student-applications-and-a-possible-cut-to-tuition-fees/) - It's been a busy week in higher education. We've rounded up some of the most interesting stories, from a possible cut to tuition fees to the revelation that a diploma mill in Pakistan has been selling degrees to British nationals Universities expect sharp drop in student applications i, 16/01/2018, Richard Vaughan University leaders are braced for
- [Book review: A university education by David Willetts](https://cdbu.org.uk/book-review-a-university-education-by-david-willetts/) - Professor GR Evans finds much that is self-justifying and sometimes misleading in a new book by former universities and science minister David Willetts David Willetts defends himself more than once about the purpose of this book. He dismisses the possibility that it is ‘just a heavily disguised ministerial memoir’ and claims on another page that
- [Jo Johnson: an end of term report](https://cdbu.org.uk/jo-johnson-an-end-of-term-report/) - [et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text] Professor DVM Bishop bids a not-so-fond farewell to universities minister Jo Johnson. So Jo Johnson is gone, brought down by poor judgement demonstrated by, first, the appointment of Toby Young to the Board of the Office for Students, and second by his obstinacy in defending that decision to the bitter end. The
- [The OfS's remit is still unclear - but it must work with universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-ofss-remit-is-still-unclear-but-it-must-work-with-universities/) - How will the new Office for Students operate? Professor GR Evans finds some worrying clues in job advertisements for the new regulator. Alistair Jarvis, new CEO of Universities UK, presented a robust challenge to the Office for Students (OfS) in an article in Times Higher Education in late December. He pointed out that its ‘relationship
- [A difficult birth for the Office of Students](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-difficult-birth-for-the-office-of-students/) - The launch of the new higher education regulator at the beginning of January was dominated by a single story – the controversy over the appointment of Toby Young to its board. In this opinion piece, Professor GR Evans and Professor DVM Bishop look at the challenges facing the OfS and ask whether the board members
- [New government proposals could lead to an influx of Trump University-style providers, the CDBU warns](https://cdbu.org.uk/new-government-proposals-could-lead-to-an-influx-of-trump-university-style-providers-the-cdbu-warns/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) has warned of the dangers posed to higher education by opening the sector to private providers without adequate scrutiny. There is a real risk, it says, that the loosening of controls proposed by government could result in an influx of Trump University-style providers in the UK.
- [Student contracts: the story so far](https://cdbu.org.uk/student-contracts-the-story-so-far/) - A consultation on the regulatory approach of the Office for Students asks about the approach it should take to student contracts. Gill Evans, emeritus professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at the University of Cambridge, looks at how the situation stands at present The Office for Students (OfS) consultation ending in December 2017 included
- [Value for money – are students right to complain?](https://cdbu.org.uk/value-for-money-are-students-right-to-complain/) - Stories about vice-chancellors’ large salaries have led people to ask whether universities provide value for money. We should begin by tackling the question of how we meet infrastructure costs, argues Gill Evans, emeritus professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at the University of Cambridge “Value for money,” said Jo Johnson in a speech in July 2017, is “an increasingly pressing
- [We must stand up for universities’ right to teach the truth](https://cdbu.org.uk/we-must-stand-up-for-universities-right-to-teach-the-truth/) - Attempts to promote 'alternative facts' should be resisted, argues Professor James Ladyman It should surprise nobody that when Chris Heaton-Harris MP wrote to universities asking for details of academic staff discussing European affairs, he was immediately supported by tabloid reports about anti-Brexit bias. This is a familiar tactic imported from the US and we should expect
- [TEF and the reputation of UK Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tef-and-the-reputation-of-uk-higher-education/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop The publication of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) results this week was greeted with predictable glee by sections of the media. The Times was delighted to report that "The LSE, Southampton and Liverpool, all members of the elite Russell Group, were handed the lowest bronze award in the first Teaching
- [A Motion of Regret: a constitutional avenue to ensure that fee rises are decoupled from TEF?](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-motion-of-regret-a-constitutional-avenue-to-ensure-that-fee-rises-are-decoupled-from-tef/) - Opinion piece by G. R. Evans On April 4 the Higher Education and Research Bill left the Lords for the Commons after its Third Reading and on the same day the Technical and Further Education Bill also went back to the Commons with some Lords’ amendments. The following day the Lords debated a Motion of
- [Government's letter to the Lords re TEF: A reply](https://cdbu.org.uk/governments-letter-to-the-lords-re-tef-a-reply/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop The Higher Education and Research Bill (HERB) has had a rocky passage through parliament. As explained here, a Bill goes through several stages before it becomes law, with debate in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as Committee work that involves detailed line-by-line scrutiny
- [Update on Amendments to the Higher Education and Research Bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/update-on-amendments-to-the-higher-education-and-research-bill/) - David Midgley has kindly provided this useful summary of recent developments: The text of the Bill as amended by the Lords in report stage is now available at https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2016-2017/0112/17112.pdf. The most significant changes with regard to the regime proposed for higher education are these: Lord Kerslake's amendment of 6 March to the effect that the
- [A 'cohesive and self-critical academic community': an ideal under threat](https://cdbu.org.uk/a-cohesive-and-self-critical-academic-community-an-ideal-under-threat/) - Opinion piece G.R.Evans An article in Times Higher Education on 2 March collected suggestions from a ‘panel of university administration experts’ on the best way to frame a job advertisement. Wondering where suitably qualified and ‘excellent’ teachers are going to be found to staff an ever-expanding English higher education system as the TEF evolves, I
- [New DAPs anyone? Is the proposed multiplication of types of degree-awarding powers a good idea?](https://cdbu.org.uk/new-daps-anyone-is-the-proposed-multiplication-of-types-of-degree-awarding-powers-a-good-idea/) - Preamble: The Higher Education and Research Bill will reach undergo line-by-line examination in the House of Lords on 6th March, when it reaches the Report Stage. This post is the third in a series of opinion pieces by G. R. Evans, reflecting on the Amendments tabled prior to this stage. Opinion piece by G. R.
- [Rival sanctions? The Office for Students and the Competition and Markets Authority](https://cdbu.org.uk/rival-sanctions-the-office-for-students-and-the-competition-and-markets-authority/) - Preamble: The Higher Education and Research Bill will reach undergo line-by-line examination in the House of Lords on 6th March, when it reaches the Report Stage. This post is the second in a series of opinion pieces by G. R. Evans, reflecting on the Amendments tabled prior to this stage. Opinion piece by G. R.
- [The Haldane principle: remembering Fisher and getting that definition right](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-haldane-principle-remembering-fisher-and-getting-that-definition-right/) - Opinion piece by G. R. Evans It is very welcome news that the Government has decided to include a definition of the Haldane Principle on the face of the Bill. Jo Johnson made a special point of this in his speech to Universities UK on 24 February. An accompanying document was published jointly by both
- [Why the NSS is garbage](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-the-nss-is-garbage/) - A note by Lord Lipsey The National Students Survey results matter. First, they are used by students to evaluate institutions by comparison with rival institutions. Secondly, they are one of the metrics to be used in the TEF, in awarding gold, silver or bronze markings to institutions which apply to take part. These ratings will
- [CDBU Annual Lecture 2017 now available](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-annual-lecture-2017-now-available/) - We are pleased to report that Martin Wolf's lecture: Uses and Abuses of Economics in the Debate on Universities is now available for download here: Wolf_CDBU_lecture_26Jan2017. For a synopsis, see previous post.
- [The mysterious letters in the library](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-mysterious-letters-in-the-library/) - Opinion Piece by G. R. Evans The Higher Education and Research Bill has now had seven sessions before the Lords in Committee, ending on 30 January. As Lord Willetts acknowledged, it has become ‘famous’ for the sheer number of ‘letters’ promised to various Peers at the Committee stage, by those tasked with undertaking the role
- [Uses and Abuses of Economics in the Debate on Universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/uses-and-abuses-of-economics-in-the-debate-on-universities/) - Report on CDBU Annual Lecture 2017 by Dorothy Bishop Last night, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, delivered a splendid lecture with the title “Uses and Abuses of Economics in the Debate on Universities”. It is not possible to do this justice in a brief report, but I aim here to give
- [The definition of a university: how many new providers fit the bill?](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-definition-of-a-university-how-many-new-providers-fit-the-bill/) - Rapid reaction to the House of Lords debate on the Higher Education and Research Bill by G.R. Evans The headline-grabbing result of the first session of the House of Lords in Committee on 9 January was a vote which defeated the Government. By a majority of 248-221 the Lords approved Amendment 1, which was to
- [Universities as cartels?](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-as-cartels/) - Opinion piece by James Ladyman It is said that trust in institutions is in short supply these days. Sadly the government doesn’t trust universities. According to the Minister, the Higher Education and Research Bill is necessary to “break open a closed shop that for too long has set the rules of the game in its
- [House of Lords debate on the Higher Education and Research Bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/house-of-lords-debate-on-the-higher-education-and-research-bill/) - Rapid reaction to the First Amendment by G.R.Evans It’s certainly a story when the House of Lords is packed, as it was on 9 January to discuss the first of well over 500 amendments to a Bill. Several speakers noted that they were adding themselves to the long list who spoke in the Second Reading
- [Perils of ignoring consultation on the Higher Education and Research Bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/perils-of-ignoring-consultation-on-the-higher-education-and-research-bill/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop Earlier this week, Lord Patten, former Conservative chairman, published a searing attack on the government’s Higher Education and Research Bill in the Observer, stating: “It seems ham-fisted to turn the academic world upside down when universities face so much turbulence and uncertainty after the Brexit vote and the rhetoric surrounding
- [‘Comply or explain’ – or just ‘comply’: a regulatory shift to monitor?](https://cdbu.org.uk/comply-or-explain/) - Guest blog by G.R.Evans Rudd forced to rethink work visa plans for foreign students (The Times, 23 November), ‘Vice-chancellors warn there could be a legal challenge if metrics designed to assess teaching quality were used for immigration purposes.’ The article had attracted 76 online comments by the next morning. The Home Secretary had had the
- [Universities ‘R’ Us](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-r-us/) - Guest blog by G. R. Evans If you are a higher education provider, HEFCE’s Blog brings you ‘three ways to reach out with good advice’ on offer from the Higher Education Outreach Network (HEON). The four providers in the Network have designed ‘Quick Guides’ to make the key information accessible to would-be students at school
- [Lobbying on behalf of alternative providers: what is going on?](https://cdbu.org.uk/lobbying-on-behalf-of-alternative-providers/) - Guest blogpost by G. R. Evans Who ‘represents’ providers of UK higher education? Alex Proudfoot, the CEO of an organization called Independent Higher Education, was invited as a witness to the Committee evaluating the Higher Education and Research Bill. His views were taken seriously and were quoted in prepared statements by the Minister
- [An integrated tertiary education system?](https://cdbu.org.uk/an-integrated-tertiary-education-system/) - No. 7 in a series of guest posts by G. R. Evans ‘The world of education is not just boxed up into different sections; it is linear’, protested Neil Carmichael in the Second Reading debate. Several speakers drew attention to the move of the ‘teaching’ role of higher education providers into the Department for Education
- [The Bill covers only England: are there risks to the reputation of UKHE?](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-bill-covers-only-england-are-there-risks-to-the-reputation-of-ukhe/) - No. 6 in a series of guest posts by G. R. Evans The Higher Education and Research Bill applies only to England. Several speakers in the parliamentary debates so far have expressed concerns about the consequences of the proposed changes for the reputation of UKHE as a whole, as well as for the practical difficulties
- [Placing teaching and research in different Departments of State: the funding implications](https://cdbu.org.uk/placing-teaching-and-research-in-different-departments-of-state-the-funding-implications/) - No. 5 in a series of guest posts by G. R. Evans One of the most significant regulatory changes introduced by the Bill is the decisive separation of research done by a research-active higher education provider in England from its ‘educational’ or teaching work. This has now been reinforced by the decision to move teaching
- [Consequences for institutional autonomy and academic freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/consequences-for-institutional-autonomy-and-academic-freedom/) - No 4 in a series of Guest posts by G. R. Evans The problem-areas flagged up here are technical but they are also of fundamental importance to academics because they affect academic freedom and the institutional autonomy of providers of higher education. These are topics which have repeatedly engaged Members of Parliament and peers in
- [Speedy entrances and sharp exits: letting in more alternative providers](https://cdbu.org.uk/speedy-entrances-and-sharp-exits-letting-in-more-alternative-providers/) - No. 3 in a series of Guest posts by G. R. Evans One of the most controversial suggestions in the White Paper of May 16 is a change to the long-standing policy that on the rare occasion higher education providers get into difficulties the funding council will support them to put right what has gone
- [TEF and tuition-fee rises are not in the Higher Education and Research Bill. Why?](https://cdbu.org.uk/tef-and-tuition-fee-rises-are-not-in-the-higher-education-and-research-bill-why/) - No. 2 in a series of guest posts by G.R. Evans The Secretary of State, introducing the Higher Education and Research Bill at the Second Reading, urged that ‘the teaching excellence framework is such an important part of the Bill’. But the Bill does not mention it. The new legislation will not directly affect the
- [The Higher Education and Research Bill: The need to stop and think](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-higher-education-and-research-bill-the-need-to-stop-and-think/) - Guest post by G.R. Evans The Higher Education and Research Bill is now on its way to the Committee stage. The Public Bills Committee has requested submissions, which should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk. The Bill is not a speedy read. In an earlier blogpost I sketched its proposed changes to the English higher education system. This
- [Reclaiming the University of Aberdeen](https://cdbu.org.uk/reclaiming-the-university-of-aberdeen/) - Guest Post by Professor Timothy Ingold, University of Aberdeen We, staff and students of the University of Aberdeen, are angry. We are angry about the way our academic community and our commitment to education and scholarship have been eaten away by a corrosive regime of management that works by bullying and intimidation. We have watched
- [The Higher Education and Research Bill: What's Changing?](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-higher-education-and-research-bill/) - Guest post by Gill Evans, Professor Emeritus of Medieval Theology and Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge History demonstrates a longstanding need for vigilance about the creeping powers of Secretaries of State and the enthusiasm of Governments for greater state control. Since early in the twentieth century two important protections had maintained a balance.
- [CDBU Response to REF Review](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-response-to-ref/) - In December, Jo Johnson, the Universities and Science Minister, launched a review of university research funding. The goals of the review appear well-aligned with those of CDBU: ‘to cut red tape so that universities can focus more on delivering the world-leading research for which the UK is renowned’. The review is chaired by the President
- [What is the Purpose of the Teaching Excellence Framework?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-is-the-purpose-of-tef/) - Opinion Piece by Joshua Forstenzer (Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow for the Public Benefit of Higher Education, University of Sheffield) The higher education Green Paper is a radical document. From its proposed rework of the higher education sector’s governance and regulation structure, to its plans designed to introduce greater competition between newly formed private providers (giving them greater access to
- [CDBU's Response to the Green Paper](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-response-to-green-paper/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) today submitted its response to the Green Paper "Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice". We undertook this exercise in good faith and with good will since the focus of the Green Paper is on issues close to the heart of our founding
- [More Misrepresentation in the Green Paper Damages its Credibility](https://cdbu.org.uk/more-misrepresentation-in-the-green-paper/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop In my previous post, I queried the justification for the proposed new Teaching Excellence Framework. According to the Green Paper, research-intensive universities undervalue teaching, and students and employers are dissatisfied with the quality of teaching in UK Higher Education. I argued that evidence for these claims was lacking. I have
- [The shaky foundations of the TEF: neither logically nor practically defensible](https://cdbu.org.uk/shaky-foundations-of-the-tef/) - *Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop I spent Sunday reading the Green Paper "Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice", a consultation document that outlines radical plans to change how universities are evaluated and funded. The CDBU is preparing a response, but here's the problem. BIS is not seeking views on whether the
- [Reflections on the Green Paper (2): Opening the Market to New Providers](https://cdbu.org.uk/reflections-on-the-green-paper-2/) - Opinion piece by Roger Brown Background The focus of the Green Paper is not just on students and teaching: it also envisages a situation where there will be more competition among providers of higher education, and new entrants into the system: We hope providers receiving a lower TEF assessment will choose to raise their teaching
- [Reflections on the Green Paper: The Teaching Excellence Framework](https://cdbu.org.uk/reflections-on-the-green-paper-tef/) - Opinion Piece by Roger Brown Introduction In Everything for Sale? with Helen Carasso (Routledge, 2013) the writer argued that the main changes in higher education policy over the past thirty or so years could be explained in terms of the progressive marketisation of the system by governments of all political persuasions, a process that began
- [The Bill on the Governance of Scottish Universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-bill-on-the-governance-of-scottish-universities/) - The Bill before the Scottish Parliament on the governance of Scottish Universities has implications not only for Scotland but anybody interested in the relationship of governments to the universities in their territories. Here are some weblinks to this debate: http://www.scottishuniversitygovernance.ac.uk http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00462633.pdf http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/11445663/Scottish-universities-warn-against-SNP-political-control.html http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/uploads/HE%20consultation%20-%20US%20response.pdf http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/10/scottish-universities-sturgeon-glasgow-st-andrews-edinburgh-strathclyde CDBU has received several communications from members on the topic in
- [University teachers: an endangered species?](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-teachers-an-endangered-species/) - Opinion Piece by Marina Warner Current policies are imposing business practices on education, and the consequences are blighting the profession, and will continue to inflict ever deeper blight on the people engaged in it – at all levels. The relinquishing of financial support by the state is not accompanied by diminution of authority: indeed the huge
- [Universities as factories](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-as-factories/) - by Dorothy Bishop and Rowan Tomlinson In a lecture delivered at the University of West London on 7th July, Professor Roger Brown drew some important lessons for Higher Education from an analysis of economic inequality. First, he established that economic inequality was greater in the US and UK than in many other OECD countries, and was
- [Why are UK universities still relying on journal impact factors?](https://cdbu.org.uk/universities-journal-impact-factors/) - By the CDBU Steering Committee If you work in the sciences, you will be all too aware of the journal impact factor (JIF). The requirement for 'publications in high impact journals' has become a staple of job advertisements, and the achievement of this goal is emblazoned across research group websites as evidence of gloriousness. The
- [CDBU launches infographic on student fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/infographic-on-student-fees/) - As noted in an earlier blogpost, CDBU has a strong interest in student fees. We are concerned that Fees in England are nearly four times higher than in Ireland and seven times higher than the next most expensive country in the EU, the Netherlands. English students now graduate with over three times more student debt
- [Restructuring Politics at the University of Surrey: An Unexpected and Questionable Decision](https://cdbu.org.uk/restructuring-politics-at-the-university-of-surrey/) - By the CDBU Steering Committee Last Thursday evening, academic staff at the Department of Politics at the University of Surrey received a communication from the department of Human Resources informing them of a proposal for 'restructuring' the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences. This was totally unexpected. The proposal in the document would lead to
- [Abolishing fees for STEM subjects? Part II](https://cdbu.org.uk/abolishing-fees-stem-2/) - In the second of our two short videos responding to UKIP's and Plaid Cymru's STEM policy, Howard Hotson notes how abolishing fees for STEM subjects is logically problematic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLVmvMW1jLM
- [Abolishing fees for STEM subjects](https://cdbu.org.uk/fees-for-stem-subjects/) - Last October, the Council for Defence of British Universities (CDBU) asked UK political parties for their manifestos on financing of Higher Education. We are still waiting for a reply from Labour and Conservatives. See http://cdbu.org.uk/party-policies-on-fees/ We are grateful to UKIP, Plaid Cymru and the Green party for their prompt responses. However, we are concerned that
- [A whole lotta cheatin' going on?  REF stats revisited](https://cdbu.org.uk/ref-stats-revisited/) - Opinion Piece by Derek Sayer* Editorial Note: In our previous blogpost, we noted that while there was agreement that REF2014 was problematic, there was less agreement about alternatives. To make progress, we need more debate. We hope that this piece by Derek Sayer will stimulate this, and we welcome comments. Please note that comments are
- [UK political parties on fees: A deafening silence](https://cdbu.org.uk/uk-political-parties-on-fees/) - A core concern of CDBU is the funding of higher education in the UK. We are not a party political organisation, but we take an intense interest in policies relevant to our aims. With an impending election, we think it is important that the public be well-informed about the intentions of different political parties. Accordingly,
- [Reflections on the REF and the need for change](https://cdbu.org.uk/reflections-on-the-ref-and-the-need-for-change/) - Discussion piece by the CDBU Steering Group Results from the research excellence framework (REF) were publicly announced on 18th December, followed by a spate of triumphalist messages from University PR departments. Deeper analysis followed, both in the pages of the Times Higher Education, and in the media and on blogs. CDBU has from the outset
- [Part-time students in decline](https://cdbu.org.uk/part-time-students-in-decline/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop My mother came to England after the war, having met my father when working as a translator for the British Forces in allied-occupied Germany. She’d come from an academic family in Gottingen, and it’s hard to imagine her state of mind in finding herself in Ilford with a husband, a small
- [Why evaluating scientists by grant income is stupid](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-evaluating-scientists-by-grant-income-is-stupid/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop* As Fergus Millar noted in a letter to the Times last year, 'in the modern British university, it is not that funding is sought in order to carry out research, but that research projects are formulated in order to get funding.' This topsy-turvy logic has become evident in some universities, with
- [Banning extremists and ‘radical reform’](https://cdbu.org.uk/banning-extremists-and-radical-reform/) - Opinion piece by Howard Hotson The new counter-terrorism bill emerging from the Home Office late in 2014 includes a significant piece of ad hoc university legislation: the requirement that universities ban ‘extremists’ from speaking on campus. This proposed legislation seems at first sight completely unconnected to the ‘radical reform’ of higher education funding which issued
- [Australian universities at risk](https://cdbu.org.uk/australian-universities-at-risk/) - Although CDBU's focus is on British Universities, we take a keen interest in developments in other countries. Australia is of particular interest, because the loans system used in Australian higher education was used to help justify the marketisation of English universities. But now, the English example is provoking calls for even more radical change in
- [Problems with Peer Review for the REF](https://cdbu.org.uk/problems-with-peer-review-for-the-ref/) - Opinion Piece by Derek Sayer* At the behest of universities minister David Willetts, HEFCE established an Independent review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment in April 2014 chaired by James Wilsden. This followed consultations in 2008-9 that played a decisive role in persuading the government to back down on previous plans to replace
- [Staff satisfaction is as important as student satisfaction](https://cdbu.org.uk/staff-satisfaction-is-as-important/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop, 13 November 2014 Universities have become obsessed with competition: it is no longer enough to do well; you have to demonstrate you are better than the rest. And to do that, you need some kind of metric. Organisations have grown up to meet this need, and to produce league tables
- [The man who sighed too much](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-man-who-sighed-too-much/) - Opinion piece by Howard Hotson, October 29th 2014 Professor Thomas Docherty ‘Professor suspended from top university for giving off “negative vibes”.’ Thus read the headline in The Telegraph on Friday 24 October. ‘Professor at top university was suspended for nine months after he was accused of sighing and being sarcastic during job interviews’: this was
- [Tuition fees must be high on the agenda before the election](https://cdbu.org.uk/tuition-fees-must-be-high-on-the-agenda-before-the-election/) - Opinion piece by Dorothy Bishop, 22nd October 2014 Suppose that the government were to announce that post-16 years education were no longer free. If you wanted to stay on to do A-levels, your parents would have to pay a fee, which could vary with the popularity of the school. One can just imagine the arguments
- [News on current funding debate -- March 2014](https://cdbu.org.uk/news-on-current-funding-debate-march-2014/) - Parliamentary Questions regarding University fees and student loans PQ No. : 2013/3264: THURSDAY 20 MARCH 2014 Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate he has made of the RAB charge on student loans. (192816) Rt Hon David Willetts: This Department has been reviewing our modelling of
- [Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn](https://cdbu.org.uk/germanys-great-tuition-fees-u-turn/) - Steering Group member, Howard Hotson, had a piece in the Times Higher on 13 February on what we can learn from Germany on tuition fees. During the past eight years, university tuition fees were introduced into most west German federal states. Yet in a few months, every single state will have abolished them. These
- [Competition and Choice in Undergraduate Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/competition-and-choice-in-undergraduate-education/) - By Roger Brown Roger Brown is a leading expert on higher education policy in the UK, and an active member of CDBU. His work commands attention because he habitually writes as a scholar rather than a polemicist, and eschews ideology in favour of a determination to let evidence guide his conclusions. The paper below, which
- [Robbins Report on higher education – Fifty years on](https://cdbu.org.uk/robbins-report-on-higher-education-fifty-years-on/) - By Peter Scott, trustee of CDBU and Professor of Higher Education Studies at the Institute of Education Fifty years ago this autumn the Robbins report on higher education in the United Kingdom was published. It was, and still is, the greatest report on higher education – by some way. It stands in a kind of
- [Shaping higher education fifty years after Robbins](https://cdbu.org.uk/shaping-higher-education-fifty-years-after-robbins/) - Podcasts of the conference sessions from ‘Shaping higher education fifty years after Robbins’ that took place on 22 October 2013 at LSE, are now online including the conference programme and the speakers’ powerpoint presentations, available here. A podcast and video of the final public session ‘Shaping higher education fifty years after Robbins: What views to
- [J. M. Coetzee: Universities head for extinction](https://cdbu.org.uk/j-m-coetzee-universities-head-for-extinction/) - Novelist and academic JM Coetzee's foreword to University of Cape Town fellow Professor John Higgins's new book, taken from the Mail & Guardian Thank you for letting me see your essays on academic freedom in South Africa. The general question you address - "Is a university still a university when it loses its academic autonomy?"
- [The managerial humanities: or, why the digital humanities don’t exist](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-managerial-humanities-or-why-the-digital-humanities-dont-exist/) - Daniel Allington is a lecturer in English Language and Applied Linguistics at the Open University. The piece below is taken from his blog: http://www.danielallington.net As we all know, the digital humanities are the next big thing. A couple of years ago, I gave a presentation at a digital humanities colloquium, explaining what I saw as the
- [Nobody wants their research impact to be graded 'considerable' in the REF](https://cdbu.org.uk/nobody-wants-their-research-impact-to-be-graded-considerable-in-the-ref/) - For the research excellence framework, academics now have to think hard about the effect of their work outside academia, says Jonathan Wolff, professor of philosophy at UCL. Not long left now. Just a few more weeks and someone in each university around the country will press the button and that will be that. No more tinkering,
- [University research 'being stifled by red tape' - Letters to the Editor](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-research-being-stifled-by-red-tape-letters-to-the-editor/) - Professor Sir Fergus Millar's letter to the editor of the Times. 'I am not Joking when I say that a physics lecturer called Einstein, who Just thought about the Universe, would risk being sacked because he brought in no grants.' Times, The (London, England) - Saturday, October 26, 2013 Sir, The Minister for the Universities, David
- [Is Britain closing its doors to overseas academics?](https://cdbu.org.uk/is-britain-closing-its-doors-to-overseas-academics/) - Report in the Guardian today regarding how increasing visa restrictions are compromising UK HE. "When organisers of a workshop held earlier this month at All Souls College, Oxford, invited an eminent Algerian academic to be a keynote speaker, they assumed his visa would be a mere formality. Sid-Ahmed Kerzabi has had a long and distinguished
- [East Anglia Regional Meeting](https://cdbu.org.uk/east-anglia-regional-meeting/) - Saturday 19 October 2013 11am-1pm Venue: Lightfoot Room, Divinity School, St John’s College, Cambridge (The “Divinity School” is part of St John’s College, and the entrance is off the alley opposite the Main Gate of the College.) Main speakers: Andrew McGettigan, author of The Great University Gamble Michael Bailey of Essex
- [Perform or Perish: Guilty Confessions of a YouTube Physicist](https://cdbu.org.uk/perform-or-perish/) - Philip Moriarty is a Professor of Physics and an Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Fellow in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham. This week is YouTube’s Geek Week so it seems a particularly (in)opportune moment to come clean about some niggling doubts I’ve been having of late about physics education/edutainment on the
- [University Status, Fees, and Funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/university-status-fees-and-funding/) - By Andrew McGettigan Last week, it was announced that the government had conferred the university title on BPP, formerly a ‘university college’ specialising in professional courses in law, accountancy and business. Although presented in the mainstream press as the second UK ‘for-profit’ university, BPP University is a not-for-profit subsidiary of BPP Holdings, which in turn
- [NHS SOS: What Higher Education has to learn](https://cdbu.org.uk/nhs-sos/) - Guest post by Prof Roger Brown (Liverpool Hope University) CDBU welcomes a diversity of views. Please contact us if you would like to be part of the conversation It appears from a recent series of essays on the Coalition Government’s NHS reforms (Davis and Tallis, 2013) that there are many parallels with the higher education
- [Patrick Ainley on widening participation and system reform](https://cdbu.org.uk/patrick-ainley-on-widening-participation-and-system-reform/) - In a post for the LSE British Politics & Policy Blog, CDBU member Advisory Board member, Patrick Ainley argues that widening participation to higher education has not led to fair or equal access to higher education or outcomes in the labour market as systemic inequalities have deepened between institutions and subjects. System-wide reform is therefore necessary as well
- [Review: on the creative destruction of mass higher education](https://cdbu.org.uk/review-on-the-creative-destruction-of-mass-higher-education/) - guest post by Patrick Ainley, University of Greenwich Andrew McGettigan (2013) The Great University Gamble, Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education, London: Pluto, pp.209, £16.99, 978-0-7453-3293-2 Roger Brown with Helen Carasso (2013) Everything for Sale? The marketization of UK higher education, London: Routledge and the Society for Research into Higher Education, pp.235, £26.99,
- [Intellectual freedom in academic scientific research](https://cdbu.org.uk/intellectual-freedom-in-academic-scientific-research/) - guest post by Prof Sir John Meurig Thomas (Materials Science, Cambridge) CDBU welcomes a diversity of views. Please contact us if you would like to be part of the conversation. This article is a slightly modified form of one that appears in Angewandt Chemie 2013 the original version of which can be downloaded here. “Research at the institute is
- [Everything for Sale?](https://cdbu.org.uk/everything-for-sale/) - Guest post by Roger Brown (Liverpool Hope University) CDBU welcomes a diversity of views. Please contact us if you would like to be part of the conversation. Everything for Sale? The marketisation of UK higher education argues that the Coalition Government’s higher education reforms are the continuation of a process of marketisation that began with
- [Why the CDBU needs to be unrealistic](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-the-cdbu-needs-to-be-unrealistic/) - Guest post by Michael Wayne (Brunel University) CDBU welcomes a diversity of views. If you would like to contribute to the conversation contact us. The CDBU’s first meeting for the general membership was generally very heartening. It was titled ‘After The Election’ which meant that it was nicely, but perhaps also problematically poised between the urgency
- [CDBU is inclusive](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-is-inclusive/) - CDBU works to defend all British universities. We have members and supporters from every part of the sector and beyond: from professors to undergraduates; from Oxbridge to the Million+ group; from departments of Art History to Neurobiology. We’re also backed by people with no direct links to higher education who share our belief that our
- [Why universities matter](https://cdbu.org.uk/why-universities-matter/) - Tamson Pietsch spoke recently at the Guardian’s Future of Higher Education Summit about the importance of universities, and it's now gone up on their website. You can watch the talk here, or read the text below. "As a panel we were asked to speak about what the sector can do to pull together and communicate the
- [Also in Brazil: 'We need to say no'](https://cdbu.org.uk/also-in-brazil/) - Guest blog by Roberto Alamino, a Brazilian theoretical physicist who has worked in the UK since 2006. It took me some time to notice that something was changing in British higher education - maybe because the changes have accelerated in recent years, or maybe because when I moved to the UK in 2006 I had just finished
- [Whither blue skies research in UK universities?](https://cdbu.org.uk/whither-blue-skies-research-in-uk-universities/) - by Dave Fernig (University of Liverpool) The triennial review of the UK research councils has resulted in an excellent and challenging response, submitted by the Council for the Defence of British Universities (download document here). One important aspect of this document is that it highlights the shift in the tension between funding of near-term and blue skies
- [Educating for unemployment](https://cdbu.org.uk/educating-for-unemployment/) - by Prof. Patrick Ainley (University of Greenwich) Ken Roberts (pictured), Professor of Sociology at Liverpool University, described ‘The real trend in social mobility from upward to downward’ at the latest seminar in a series on precarious labour hosted by the University of Greenwich Business School on 13th February. He said that sociologists and others had
- [Founding member, Ronald Dworkin, dies age 81.](https://cdbu.org.uk/ronald-dworkin/) - CDBU mourns the loss of founding member, Ronald Dworkin, a brilliant legal philosopher who put human dignity at the centre of his moral system. Read the rest of his obituary in the Guardian, 14 Feb 2013. You can hear the views of Professor Michael Sandel of Harvard and of Professor Leslie Green of Oxford on the Today
- [German media coverage of the CDBU](https://cdbu.org.uk/german-media-coverage-of-the-cdbu/) - Continuing our coverage of overseas reactions to the foundation of the Council for the Defence of British Universities, Germany’s leading newspaper and radio news outlets have also picked up the story. Germany’s most celebrated daily newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, devoted two articles to the CDBU in November. Gina Thomas, ‘Wissensvermehrung muss auch ohne Gewinnprognose
- [Radical changes on an international scale: On the parallel ‘reforms’ of British and Czech university systems](https://cdbu.org.uk/radical-changes-on-an-international-scale-on-the-parallel-and-simultaneous-reform-of-british-and-czech-university-systems/) - On 27 November 2012 Professor Howard Hotson was invited by the Institute of Philosophy to speak at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on the ‘radical shake-up’ of the UK university system. His lecture attempted briefly to put the ongoing marketisation of English higher education in international perspective and to use it as a means of
- [Ross McKibbin Advises Opposing Marketeers on Their Own Ground](https://cdbu.org.uk/ross-mckibbin-advises-opposing-marketeers-on-their-own-ground/) - One of the leading historians of twentieth-century Britain, Dr Ross McKibbin of St John's College Oxford, has greeted the foundation of the CDBU with an insightful piece 'In Defence of British Universities' in the London Review of Books. Those who would defend universities, he argues, must be 'prepared to meet those who today make funding
- [Salford VC Martin Hall joins CDBU](https://cdbu.org.uk/salford-vc-martin-hall-joins-cdbu/) - Professor Martin Hall, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford and historical archaeologist, has written a piece in support of CDBU on his personal blog, which has also been reproduced on the higher education blog Wonkhe. Here are a few excerpts: The CDBU is right to emphasise the present danger. It was immediately apparent that the
- ["An Assault on Academic Values" writes Thomas Docherty in the Chronicle of Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/an-assault-on-academic-values-writes-thomas-docherty-in-the-chronicle-of-higher-education/) - Thomas Docherty, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Warwick and a member of the [Steering Committee](http://cdbu.org.uk/?page_id=74) for the Council for the Defence of British Universities, has just [written a piece in the US’s Chronicle of Higher Education](http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/in-britain-an-assault-on-academic-values/31146) about the current direction of UK educational policy. Following is an excerpt. > Now
- ["Join us in the big tent" writes CDBU’s Mary Margaret McCabe in the Times Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/join-us-in-the-big-tent-writes-cdbus-mary-margaret-mccabe-in-the-times-higher-education/) - Professor Mary Margaret McCabe from King's College London, a member of the [Steering Committee](http://cdbu.org.uk/?page_id=74) for the Council for the Defence of British Universities, has just [written a piece in the Times Higher Education](http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=421954&c=1) about the CDBU’s plans to expand its membership base. Following is an excerpt. > The council plans a series of rolling campaigns
- [CDBU Discussed In The House of Lords](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-discussed-in-the-house-of-lords/) - Ten days ago, the House of Lords debated the question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of recent reforms of the higher education system on university education and research in the arts, humanities and fundamental science. The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) was founded to
- [CDBU’s Howard Hotson talks about NUS student protests and the future of British universities on Newsnight](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbus-howard-hotson-talks-about-nus-student-protests-and-the-future-of-british-universities-on-newsnight/) - Last night Howard Hotson, [Professor of Early Modern Intellectual History](http://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/about/people/profile/details/howard-hotson.html) at St Anne's College, Oxford and [Chair of the Steering Committee](http://cdbu.org.uk/?page_id=74) of the CDBU, made a guest appearance on Newsnight to discuss the student protests and the future of higher education in the UK. You can watch the full debate on BBC iPlayer [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p2rdq/Newsnight_21_11_2012/). Coverage
- [CDBU in the International Herald Tribune](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-in-the-international-herald-tribune/) - The CDBU was recently featured in an article in the International Herald Tribune. The piece was subsequently reprinted in the New York Times. Here’s an excerpt: “Universities are among the U.K.’s most successful institutions,” Howard Hotson, chair of the council’s steering committee, said by telephone from Oxford, where he is a professor at St. Anne’s
- [Melvyn Bragg writes about CDBU’s launch in the Telegraph](https://cdbu.org.uk/melvyn-bragg-writes-about-cdbus-launch-in-the-telegraph/) - Writer, broadcaster and CDBU Founding Member Melvyn Bragg (pictured here on the right) recently wrote a short piece in the Telegraph about the CDBU’s launch last week. Here’s an excerpt: The meeting – which lasted precisely one and a half hours, as it was billed to do – was politely chaired, effortlessly unmelodramatic and spot on.
- [CDBU on the NUS student demonstrations: careless and radical policies are damaging universities and students](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-on-the-nus-student-demonstrations-careless-and-radical-policies-are-damaging-universities-and-students/) - On Wednesday, 21 November, university students will assemble in London to protest against the current state of UK university policy. The primary concern expressed in this demonstration is outlined by the National Union of Students as follows: Education is a good thing in and of itself – it enriches the lives of individuals and communities.
- [CDBU Founding Member Lord Rees To Debate Universities Minister David Willetts](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-founding-member-to-debate-universities-minister-david-willetts/) - One of the Founding Members of the Council for the Defense of British Universities (CDBU), the Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees, is to debate against David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, on the subject “Can British Universities Keep Ahead in a Global Future?”. The debate will take place on Wednesday, 12th December.
- [CDBU Makes News Around the World](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-makes-news-around-the-world/) - As well as plenty of coverage in the British media, the launch of the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) has made headlines in the foreign press as well. Here's a round-up of just some of the stories: Washington Monthly (USA) BBC China The Australian Bianet (Turkey) Actualitte (France)
- [The CDBU is launched at the British Academy](https://cdbu.org.uk/the-cdbu-is-launched-at-the-british-academy/) - What is to be done? This was the leading question aired at the inaugural meeting of the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) at the British Academy on the evening of Tuesday, 13 November. Such was the consensus amongst Founding Members of the need for action that few words were wasted lamenting the
- [Roundup of Coverage for CDBU Ahead of Tuesday’s Launch](https://cdbu.org.uk/roundup-of-coverage-for-cdbu-ahead-of-tuesdays-launch/) - We’re delighted to see that the new Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) has been receiving plenty of press coverage from outlets around the world, ahead of our official launch at the British Academy on Tuesday 13th. Here are some of the highlights: “Fidei defensores”, Times Higher Education, 8th November 2012 “Freedom from
- [Follow Us on Twitter and Facebook](https://cdbu.org.uk/follow-us-on-twitter-and-facebook/) - The Council for the Defence of British Universities now has social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook: You can find us on Twitter at @cdbuni and talk about us using the hashtag #cdbu You can find us on Facebook here If you support the idea of the Council, please do consider following us and telling
- [CDBU Launch Meeting at the British Academy](https://cdbu.org.uk/launching-cdbu-at-the-british-academy/) - BY Gordon Campbell (University of leicester) CDBU will be formally launched at an Inaugural Meeting at the British Academy next Tuesday, 13 November. Drawing up the list of those invited to attend this initial meeting has not been easy: the space available to us is small, but the number of academics concerned about the state of
- [Sir Keith Thomas and Lord Martin Rees Introduce CDBU in Today's Times Higher Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/sir-keith-thomas-and-lord-martin-rees-introduce-cdbu-in-todays-the/) - BY Philip Moriarty (University of Nottingham) Today’s Times Higher Education leads with a cover story on the formation, motivations, and objectives of the CDBU. Two articles by Sir Keith Thomas and Lord Martin Rees – founding members of the CDBU, and past presidents respectively of the British Academy and Royal Society – lay out, in a stirring call

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- [Homepage - Main](https://cdbu.org.uk/)
- [Who we are](https://cdbu.org.uk/who-we-are/)
- [Ballot Statements: CDBU Executive Committee Election](https://cdbu.org.uk/ballot-statements-cdbu-executive-committee-election/)
- [Professor Richard Watermeyer, University of Bristol](https://cdbu.org.uk/professor-richard-watermeyer-university-of-bristol/) - I present myself as a sociologist and professor of higher education at the University of Bristol where I direct the Centre for Higher Education Transformations (CHET). As a policy-focused and explicitly ‘engaged’ researcher, my expertise and passion strongly complement the aims and values of CDBU and its efforts in the custodianship of the university as
- [Paul Saunders, Emeritus Professor, Kings College London](https://cdbu.org.uk/paul-saunders-emeritus-professor-kings-college-london/) - There are demands from many directions that universities should be more relevant (which means different things to different people), more inclusive, less inclusive, that all but a dozen or so should abandon serious research, and so on. These are hardly new, but the pressure will increase as funding 142 universities becomes even more problematic: the
- [Professor Martin A. Mills, University of Aberdeen](https://cdbu.org.uk/professor-martin-a-mills-university-of-aberdeen/) - I am Professor Martin A. Mills, Chair of Anthropology at Aberdeen University. A twice-elected university governor, regular writer for the Times Higher Education magazine, and founding member of Aberdeen’s Reclaim Our Universities movement, I am also a specialist in knowledge economies. I believe that universities stand at a historic fork in the road. For many, the view that universities
- [Professor Leo McCann, University of York](https://cdbu.org.uk/professor-leo-mccann-university-of-york/) - I’m applying to join the CDBU Executive Committee to help shape, build and amplify the Council’s public messaging. As a Professor of Management with research and teaching interests focused on professional occupations, I am well placed to comment on the multifaceted crises facing the sector. Many other public professions face similar tribulations. I have substantial
- [Nicky Dalbir, PhD, University of Essex.](https://cdbu.org.uk/nicky-dalbir-phd-university-of-essex/) - I am a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Essex, with previous academic appointments in the United States. My disciplinary home is in Criminology and Criminal Justice, but my professional interests extend across higher education governance, institutional autonomy, and the conditions that sustain high-quality teaching and learning. My academic
- [Dr David Yates, University of Sheffield](https://cdbu.org.uk/dr-david-yates-university-of-sheffield/) - My days studying as a university student at (then) the University of Wales, Aberystwyth were some of the best of my life. I made lifelong friendships, dedicated time to a subject of scholarship, achieved excellence in sport, and became part of a vibrant local community. Unfortunately, I feel that this experience is faces severe threats
- [Academic Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-governance/)
- [CDBU Code of Ethical University Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-code-2025/)
- [Campaigns](https://cdbu.org.uk/campaigns/)
- [The Unsustainability of University Funding Models](https://cdbu.org.uk/campaigns/universityfunding/)
- [Position Paper on REF Audit Scores](https://cdbu.org.uk/campaigns/position-paper-on-ref-audit-scores/) - In the run-up to REF 2022 several instances came to light where institutions were alleged to have used internal and/ or external REF audit scores for purposes other than those for which scores had been gathered, and to which reviewers and reviewees had consented in good faith and at the outset of the review. These
- [Contact](https://cdbu.org.uk/contact/)
- [Academic Freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-freedom/)
- [Philippe Reekie](https://cdbu.org.uk/philippe-reekie/) - Philippe Reekie is a Communication and Outreach Specialist at the Center for Astrophysics (Harvard & Smithsonian). As a young adult in London, I found myself knee-deep in conspiracy theories, anti-science nonsense, and fake news. Moon landing? Nah, that was a Hollywood setup. Mayan prediction for the end of the world? Absolutely! Egyptian pyramids? Aliens obviously.
- [CDBU Funded Research](https://cdbu.org.uk/funded-research/)
- [Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/governance/) - Text coming soon.
- [Academic Freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/academic-freedom-2/) - Text coming soon.
- [Become a Member](https://cdbu.org.uk/become-a-member/)
- [Join](https://cdbu.org.uk/donate/)
- [Chris Cunningham](https://cdbu.org.uk/chris-cunningham/) - Dr Christopher Cunningham recently completed his PhD in Sociology at the University of Essex. His research uses policy and discourse analysis to explore the relationship between widening participation within English universities and political narratives of social mobility. Growing up, university was not something I was conscious of. My parents had some friends who had a
- [Stories Gallery](https://cdbu.org.uk/stories/)
- [Sarah Turvey](https://cdbu.org.uk/sarah-turvey/) - Sarah Turvey OBE is the co-founder and director of Prison Reading Groups. Prison Reading Groups (PRG) was set up in 1999 to help start, fund and support reading groups in prisons. In 2023 PRG ran 84 reading groups in over 60 prisons nationwide and supplied over 5000 books. My path to university in the early 1970s
- [Victoria Gray](https://cdbu.org.uk/victoria-gray/) - Victoria Gray founded, and is the Executive Director of, Give a Book (Reg charity 1149664). Give a Book promotes books and the pleasure of reading in the hardest places, mainly working in prisons and with disadvantaged children and communities around the UK. I’d had a checkered school career and left school at 15. Time, and other
- [Newsletters](https://cdbu.org.uk/newsletters/) - SPRING NEWSLETTER 2024
- [Terms of Reference](https://cdbu.org.uk/terms-of-reference/) - At a meeting on the 29 January 2024, the CDBU Executive Committee passed new Terms of Reference, which can be read here. During the same meeting the committee agreed to follow Roberts Rules of Order to facilitate group decision-making, which can be found here.
- [CDBU Reviews](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbu-reviews/)
- [Our Aims](https://cdbu.org.uk/values-and-aims/)
- [Promotional material](https://cdbu.org.uk/promotional-material/) - Please feel free to add the CDBU logo to your email signature with a link to how to become a member. Example of an email signature with CDBU banner:
- [Volunteer](https://cdbu.org.uk/volunteer/)
- [Participate](https://cdbu.org.uk/participate/)
- [Arts and Humanities Cuts](https://cdbu.org.uk/arts-and-humanities-cuts/)
- [Michael Frayn](https://cdbu.org.uk/michael-frayn/)
- [What did university mean to you?](https://cdbu.org.uk/what-did-university-mean-to-you/)
- [Record the Rot](https://cdbu.org.uk/record-the-rot/)
- [Rot Log](https://cdbu.org.uk/rot-log/)
- [Liverpool Submission](https://cdbu.org.uk/liverpool-submission/)
- [Promote us](https://cdbu.org.uk/promote-us/)
- [Alan Bennett](https://cdbu.org.uk/alan-bennett/)
- [John Tusa](https://cdbu.org.uk/john-tusa/)
- [Lord Robert May](https://cdbu.org.uk/lord-robert-may/)
- [FAQs](https://cdbu.org.uk/higher-education-in-england-frequently-asked-questions/)
- [Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)](https://cdbu.org.uk/teaching-excellence-framework/)
- [Short-Term Contracts](https://cdbu.org.uk/short-term-contracts/)
- [Media Coverage](https://cdbu.org.uk/media-coverage/)
- [About us](https://cdbu.org.uk/about/)
- [CDBUs response to the TEF consultation](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbus-response-to-the-tef-consultation/)
- [Private Providers](https://cdbu.org.uk/private-providers/)
- [Press Releases](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-releases/)
- [CDBU's response to the Augar Review](https://cdbu.org.uk/cdbus-response-to-the-augar-review/)
- [Blog](https://cdbu.org.uk/blog/)
- [Press Office](https://cdbu.org.uk/press-office/)
- [Write for us](https://cdbu.org.uk/write-for-us/)

## Personnel

- [David Parker](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/david-parker/)
- [Alan Cooper](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/alan-cooper/)
- [Paul Franky](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/paul-franky/)
- [Peter Sandler](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/peter-sandler/)
- [Ricardo Gomez](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/ricardo-gomez/)
- [James Smith](https://cdbu.org.uk/personnel/james-smith/)

## Categories

- [Blog](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/blog/)
- [CDBU Updates](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/cdbu-updates/)
- [Publications](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/publications/)
- [REF](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ref/)
- [Events](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/events/)
- [Academic freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/academic-freedom/)
- [Uncategorized](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/uncategorized/)
- [Casual staff](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/casual-staff/)
- [Free speech](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/free-speech/)
- [Government](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/government/)
- [Guest blog](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/guest-blog/)
- [Humanities](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/humanities/)
- [In the News](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/in-the-news/)
- [Marketisation](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/marketisation/)
- [Opinion](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/opinion/)
- [UCU](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ucu/)
- [Workplace stress](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/workplace-stress/)
- [Tuition fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/tuition-fees/)
- [Widening access](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/widening-access/)
- [University funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/university-funding/)
- [TEF](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/tef/)
- [Part-time students](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/part-time-students/)
- [Scotland](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/scotland/)
- [Higher Education and Research Act](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/higher-education-and-research-act/)
- [Grade inflation](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/grade-inflation/)
- [Office for Students](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/office-for-students/)
- [Press Releases](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/press-releases/)
- [News round-up](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/news-round-up/)
- [Pensions](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/pensions/)
- [University governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/university-governance/)
- [Universities UK](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/universities-uk/)
- [Teaching Excellence Framework](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/teaching-excellence-framework/)
- [Admissions](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/admissions/)
- [Brexit](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/brexit/)
- [Book review](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/book-review/)
- [Unconditional offers](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/unconditional-offers/)
- [Vice-chancellor pay](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/vice-chancellor-pay/)
- [Augar Review](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/augar-review/)
- [Wales](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/wales/)
- [Further education](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/further-education/)
- [UKRI](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ukri/)
- [Essay mills](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/essay-mills/)
- [National Union of Students](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/national-union-of-students/)
- [Racism](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/racism/)
- [University technical colleges](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/university-technical-colleges/)
- [General election](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/general-election/)
- [Erasmus](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/erasmus-3/)
- [Erasmus+](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/erasmus-2/)
- [Horizon](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/horizon/)
- [Covid-19](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/covid-19/)
- [National Student Survey](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/national-student-survey/)
- [Boris Johnson](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/boris-johnson/)
- [Employability](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/employability/)
- [Manifestos for Change](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/manifestos-for-change/)
- [A-levels](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/a-levels/)
- [Ofqual](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ofqual/)
- [Anti-Semitism](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/anti-semitism/)
- [Climate](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/climate/)
- [Academic Freedom Blog Series](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/academic-freedom-blog-series/)
- [Protest](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/protest/)
- [Prevent](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/prevent/)
- [Governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/governance/)
- [Interview](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/interview/)
- [Closures](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/closures/)
- [Arts and Humanities](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/arts-and-humanities/)
- [Culture Wars](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/culture-wars/)
- [America](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/america/)
- [CDBU research](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/cdbu-research/)
- [Israel](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/israel/)
- [Palestine](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/palestine/)
- [IHRA](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ihra/)
- [Jerusalem Declaration](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/jerusalem-declaration/)
- [Student Experience](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/student-experience/)
- [Newsletters](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/newsletters/)
- [Citizenship](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/citizenship/)
- [Cambridge](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/cambridge/)
- [Social mobility](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/social-mobility/)
- [Student numbers](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/student-numbers/)
- [Student loans](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/student-loans/)
- [CDBU Code](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/cdbu-code/)
- [AI](https://cdbu.org.uk/category/ai/)

## Tags

- [academic freedom](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/academic-freedom/)
- [Office for Students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/office-for-students/)
- [UCU](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ucu/)
- [Universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/universities/)
- [NHS](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/nhs/)
- [Privatisation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/privatisation/)
- [governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/governance/)
- [managerialism](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/managerialism/)
- [reputation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/reputation/)
- [Warwick University](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/warwick-university/)
- [academic staff](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/academic-staff/)
- [league tables](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/league-tables/)
- [staff satisfaction](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/staff-satisfaction/)
- [student satisfaction](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-satisfaction/)
- [student survey](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-survey/)
- [bibliometrics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/bibliometrics/)
- [peer review](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/peer-review/)
- [RAE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/rae/)
- [REF](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ref/)
- [research assessment](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research-assessment/)
- [research metrics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research-metrics/)
- [student fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-fees/)
- [analytical skills](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/analytical-skills/)
- [counter-terrorism bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/counter-terrorism-bill/)
- [extremism](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/extremism/)
- [university funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-funding/)
- [grant income](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/grant-income/)
- [further education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/further-education/)
- [part-time students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/part-time-students/)
- [tuition fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tuition-fees/)
- [grade inflation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/grade-inflation/)
- [HEFCE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/hefce/)
- [metrics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/metrics/)
- [REF2014](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ref2014/)
- [university ratings](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-ratings/)
- [higher education policy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/higher-education-policy/)
- [REF 2014](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ref-2014/)
- [party policies](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/party-policies/)
- [stem](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/stem/)
- [plaid cymru](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/plaid-cymru/)
- [stem subjects](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/stem-subjects/)
- [academic staff assessment](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/academic-staff-assessment/)
- [university of surrey](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-of-surrey/)
- [student debt](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-debt/)
- [san francisco declaration](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/san-francisco-declaration/)
- [business models for education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/business-models-for-education/)
- [young academics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/young-academics/)
- [scottish universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/scottish-universities/)
- [university governance](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-governance/)
- [teaching excellence framework](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/teaching-excellence-framework/)
- [teaching standards](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/teaching-standards/)
- [TEF](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tef/)
- [tef green paper](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tef-green-paper/)
- [green paper](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/green-paper/)
- [higher education and research bill](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/higher-education-and-research-bill/)
- [Legislation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/legislation/)
- [Politicians](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/politicians/)
- [White paper](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/white-paper/)
- [Parliament](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/parliament/)
- [Alternative providers](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/alternative-providers/)
- [Degree-awarding powers](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/degree-awarding-powers/)
- [Provider exit](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/provider-exit/)
- [University title](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-title/)
- [Department for Education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/department-for-education/)
- [Jo Johnson](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/jo-johnson/)
- [research](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research/)
- [research students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research-students/)
- [teaching](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/teaching/)
- [Scotland](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/scotland/)
- [Wales](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/wales/)
- [Apprenticeships](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/apprenticeships/)
- [institutional autonomy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/institutional-autonomy/)
- [independent universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/independent-universities/)
- [university definition](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-definition/)
- [student visas](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-visas/)
- [Royal Statistical Society](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/royal-statistical-society/)
- [University of Cambridge](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-of-cambridge/)
- [House of Lords](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/house-of-lords/)
- [university](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university/)
- [fees](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/fees/)
- [marketisation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/marketisation/)
- [students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/students/)
- [regulator](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/regulator/)
- [funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/funding/)
- [tertiary education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tertiary-education/)
- [transparency](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/transparency/)
- [Policy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/policy/)
- [NSS](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/nss/)
- [spurious precision](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/spurious-precision/)
- [statistics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/statistics/)
- [Competition and Markets Authority](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/competition-and-markets-authority/)
- [regulation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/regulation/)
- [short-term](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/short-term/)
- [HERB](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/herb/)
- [risks](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/risks/)
- [the Times](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/the-times/)
- [alternative facts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/alternative-facts/)
- [Brexit](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/brexit/)
- [Toby Young](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/toby-young/)
- [Alistair Jarvis](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/alistair-jarvis/)
- [QAA](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/qaa/)
- [Universities UK](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/universities-uk/)
- [book review](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/book-review/)
- [David Willetts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/david-willetts/)
- [Higher Education and Research Act](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/higher-education-and-research-act/)
- [migration](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/migration/)
- [Sam Gyimah](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/sam-gyimah/)
- [Mary Curnock Cook](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/mary-curnock-cook/)
- [free speech](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/free-speech/)
- [Guild HE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/guild-he/)
- [Russell Group](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/russell-group/)
- [Pensions](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/pensions/)
- [USS](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/uss/)
- [Robert Halfon](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/robert-halfon/)
- [vice-chancellor pay](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/vice-chancellor-pay/)
- [general election](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/general-election/)
- [infographic](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/infographic/)
- [Jeremy Corbyn](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/jeremy-corbyn/)
- [commissioner for public appointments](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/commissioner-for-public-appointments/)
- [Peter Riddell](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/peter-riddell/)
- [minister for higher education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/minister-for-higher-education/)
- [UKRI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ukri/)
- [QS rankings](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/qs-rankings/)
- [universities minister](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/universities-minister/)
- [casual staff](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/casual-staff/)
- [Durham University](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/durham-university/)
- [Freedom of Information](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/freedom-of-information/)
- [Imperial College](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/imperial-college/)
- [Dearing Report](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/dearing-report/)
- [Jarratt Report](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/jarratt-report/)
- [UUK](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/uuk/)
- [vice-chancellors](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/vice-chancellors/)
- [Committee of University Chairs](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/committee-of-university-chairs/)
- [Universities Superannuation Scheme](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/universities-superannuation-scheme/)
- [psychometrics](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/psychometrics/)
- [reliability](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/reliability/)
- [accreditation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/accreditation/)
- [teaching intensity](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/teaching-intensity/)
- [gender pay gap](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/gender-pay-gap/)
- [Open University](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/open-university/)
- [Labour Party](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/labour-party/)
- [Statutory Instruments](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/statutory-instruments/)
- [business schools](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/business-schools/)
- [graduate earnings](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/graduate-earnings/)
- [access](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/access/)
- [Student Loan Company](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-loan-company/)
- [student loans](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-loans/)
- [humanities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/humanities/)
- [medical students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/medical-students/)
- [University of Oxford](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-of-oxford/)
- [MoneySavingExpert](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/moneysavingexpert/)
- [Student finance](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-finance/)
- [treasury committee](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/treasury-committee/)
- [targets](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/targets/)
- [A-levels](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/a-levels/)
- [Clearing](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/clearing/)
- [short-term contracts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/short-term-contracts/)
- [international students](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/international-students/)
- [Richard Pettigrew](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/richard-pettigrew/)
- [Tom Sperlinger](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tom-sperlinger/)
- [diversity](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/diversity/)
- [university admissions](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-admissions/)
- [national education service](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/national-education-service/)
- [Patrick Ainley](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/patrick-ainley/)
- [Vocational training](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/vocational-training/)
- [student numbers](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-numbers/)
- [adult education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/adult-education/)
- [University of Leicester](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-of-leicester/)
- [immigration](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/immigration/)
- [unconditional offers](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/unconditional-offers/)
- [Reading University](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/reading-university/)
- [UCL](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ucl/)
- [university borrowing](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-borrowing/)
- [Augar review](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/augar-review/)
- [university access](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-access/)
- [Ucas](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ucas/)
- [Mental health](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/mental-health/)
- [Manifestos for Change](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/manifestosforchange/)
- [no platforming](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/no-platforming/)
- [Policy Exchange](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/policy-exchange/)
- [lockdown](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/lockdown/)
- [covid-19](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/covid-19/)
- [face to face teaching](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/face-to-face-teaching/)
- [Independent Sage](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/independent-sage/)
- [online learning](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/online-learning/)
- [SAGE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/sage/)
- [science](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/science/)
- [covid](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/covid/)
- [erasmus](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/erasmus/)
- [GCSE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/gcse/)
- [rent strike](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/rent-strike/)
- [Freedom of Speech](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/freedom-of-speech/)
- [government](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/government/)
- [IHRA](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ihra/)
- [CDBU](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cdbu/)
- [climate crisis](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/climate-crisis/)
- [divesment](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/divesment/)
- [fossil fuels](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/fossil-fuels/)
- [redundancies](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/redundancies/)
- [Liz Morrish](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/liz-morrish/)
- [cuts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cuts/)
- [FE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/fe/)
- [press release](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/press-release/)
- [Council for the Defence of British Universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/council-for-the-defence-of-british-universities/)
- [Peter Scott](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/peter-scott/)
- [strikes](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/strikes/)
- [Prevent](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/prevent/)
- [protest](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/protest/)
- [ESRC](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/esrc/)
- [essay competition](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/essay-competition/)
- [ESSAY PRIZE](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/essay-prize/)
- [funded research](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/funded-research/)
- [research project](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research-project/)
- [Shawcross Review](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/shawcross-review/)
- [casualisation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/casualisation/)
- [HE News](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/he-news/)
- [philosophy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/philosophy/)
- [split self](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/split-self/)
- [House of Commons](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/house-of-commons/)
- [Policy Workshop](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/policy-workshop/)
- [Universities News](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/universities-news/)
- [research grants](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/research-grants/)
- [University of Brighton](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/university-of-brighton/)
- [interview](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/interview/)
- [senate](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/senate/)
- [arts and humanities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/arts-and-humanities/)
- [aberdeen](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/aberdeen/)
- [language degrees](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/language-degrees/)
- [schools](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/schools/)
- [america](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/america/)
- [Harvard](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/harvard/)
- [antisemitism](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/antisemitism/)
- [Rory Stewart](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/rory-stewart/)
- [Claudine Gay](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/claudine-gay/)
- [Harvard University](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/harvard-university/)
- [DEI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/dei/)
- [culture wars](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/culture-wars/)
- [Penn](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/penn/)
- [Trumpian](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/trumpian/)
- [Supreme Court](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/supreme-court/)
- [CDBU research](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cdbu-research/)
- [steve jones](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/steve-jones/)
- [israel](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/israel/)
- [palestine](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/palestine/)
- [Jerusalem Declaration](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/jerusalem-declaration/)
- [student experience](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/student-experience/)
- [the neoliberal university](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/the-neoliberal-university/)
- [wellbeing](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/wellbeing/)
- [Leo McCann](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/leo-mccann/)
- [Oxford magazine](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/oxford-magazine/)
- [autonomy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/autonomy/)
- [membership](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/membership/)
- [history](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/history/)
- [Oxford](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/oxford/)
- [democratic citizenship](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/democratic-citizenship/)
- [widening participation](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/widening-participation/)
- [higher education](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/higher-education/)
- [civic university](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/civic-university/)
- [cambridge](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cambridge/)
- [colleges](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/colleges/)
- [fair access](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/fair-access/)
- [Magdalene college](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/magdalene-college/)
- [election](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/election/)
- [labour](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/labour/)
- [social mobility](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/social-mobility/)
- [CDBU blog](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cdbu-blog/)
- [ecological university](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ecological-university/)
- [interconnectedness](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/interconnectedness/)
- [nature](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/nature/)
- [economy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/economy/)
- [subjects](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/subjects/)
- [disciplines](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/disciplines/)
- [doctorate](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/doctorate/)
- [admissions](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/admissions/)
- [degrees](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/degrees/)
- [new year](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/new-year/)
- [ICOP](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/icop/)
- [HEPI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/hepi/)
- [HoC](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/hoc/)
- [precarious](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/precarious/)
- [precarious staff](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/precarious-staff/)
- [contracts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/contracts/)
- [UK universities](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/uk-universities/)
- [hourly contracts](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/hourly-contracts/)
- [higher ed](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/higher-ed/)
- [academic precariat](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/academic-precariat/)
- [AI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/ai/)
- [gen AI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/gen-ai/)
- [generative AI](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/generative-ai/)
- [chat GPT](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/chat-gpt/)
- [project funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/project-funding/)
- [CDBU funding](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cdbu-funding/)
- [application](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/application/)
- [AGM](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/agm/)
- [annual general meeting](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/annual-general-meeting/)
- [join us](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/join-us/)
- [Prime Minister](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/prime-minister/)
- [open letter](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/open-letter/)
- [MP](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/mp/)
- [write to your MP](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/write-to-your-mp/)
- [letter template](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/letter-template/)
- [HE review](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/he-review/)
- [British Academy](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/british-academy/)
- [Jason Arday](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/jason-arday/)
- [tribute](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/tribute/)
- [Professor Jason Arday](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/professor-jason-arday/)
- [CDBU updates](https://cdbu.org.uk/tag/cdbu-updates/)