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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More