UK higher education policy
Birmingham professor to temporarily oversee access and participation at English regulator following departure of John Blake
Focus on traditional subjects at GCSE level has not helped pupils get into top universities, says Becky Francis鈥 report on school curriculum
Governments leaning on agencies to convert autonomous institutions into 鈥榮trategic national asset鈥 but face task like 鈥榟erding cats鈥
The Teaching Excellence Framework鈥檚 reliance on existing outcomes and satisfaction data, as proxies for teaching quality, has always invited criticism. But with the OfS now proposing to use it to assess compliance with regulatory conditions, the TEF might have finally found its niche. Juliette Rowsell reports
Welsh government follows England in increasing its fee cap as result of financial pressures faced by institutions
Policymakers should take a broad view of the value of degree courses when building our future workforce, says Charlotte Hallahan
Key part of new legislation unlikely to come to fruition for several years, campaigners fear, creating confusion for those who feel rights have been infringed
Former Open University vice-chancellor fears 鈥榦ver-consumption鈥 of higher education is not addressing country鈥檚 challenges
UK told to strengthen and protect its visa offer to international scientists if it wants to achieve ambition of becoming Europe鈥檚 leading life sciences economy
Proposal to take cut of international earnings now seen as inevitable after ministers tied idea to reintroduction of maintenance grants
The post-16 White Paper was a missed opportunity to correct a mistake that will stymie government missions in areas like housebuilding, says John Somers
Universities would look to 鈥榞ame鈥 new metric for testing learning gain, critics warn, with external examination defended as 鈥榖est we鈥檝e got鈥
Splitting up degree programmes into smaller parts could aid lifelong learning but students risk being seen as dropouts under current system
New vice-chancellor at London South Bank discusses FE-HE integration, universities鈥 reputation problem and what he learnt from years at top of Civil Service
鈥楳ore interventionist, more activist鈥 stance from government will result in deep changes to the sector, but vice-chancellors say key details missing
Formalising process around market exit would make it impossible for institution to come back from the brink, fears UUK chief
Questions will be asked about the Office for Students鈥 fitness to take on extra powers over quality, agents and franchising, says Diana Beech
To understand the government鈥檚 approach to education, we must await more announcements. Let鈥檚 hope they go further, says Nick Hillman
Course completion rate restrictions seen as way to tackle issue as peers mull whether new law is needed to stop student claimants
Government commits to raising tuition fees and maintenance loans, with universities expected to deliver higher-quality teaching and more specialised research in return
Bridget Phillipson says fees to rise with inflation for next two academic years with automatic annual increases then set to be introduced
Higher education institutions could be penalised if they offer courses deemed subpar as universities await Labour鈥檚 reform plans
Mounting institutional deficits form backdrop to coming Holyrood campaign as nationalist party looks to extend grip on power
Threat to academic freedom from secret recordings of seminars being passed to state governments must be taken seriously, says Office for Students free speech lead
School-leavers incentivised to move away from local area to attend university, despite the benefits that staying put can bring, according to MillionPlus
UUK calls on government to hit pause on fee levy plans amid fears chancellor will progress policy next month
Universities鈥 manifesto ahead of 2026 Senedd poll also wants independent commission on participation
Regulator says universities should only enter partnerships when they are satisfied that teaching and support standards will be maintained
Loss of EU students made recruitment more commercial and universities more insular, argues new book
Training sessions to be rolled out to educate university staff on identifying harassment and supporting students
UK policymakers urged to replace 鈥榦utdated鈥 system with nationwide digital programme for logging academic credentials
Attempts to quell universities鈥 fears about competition laws may actually be heightening anxiety over collaboration in cash-strapped sector
鈥楧ebt trap鈥 has replaced 鈥楳ickey Mouse鈥 courses but Badenoch still kicking universities after being 鈥榖oxed in鈥 by Labour鈥檚 apprenticeship embrace and Reform attacks on elitism
New participation target represents 鈥榩aradigm shift鈥 in country鈥檚 approach to education, but government needs to incentivise FE and HE working together, says report
Education secretary confirms devolved nation will not follow UK government in taking a cut of overseas tuition fee income
Specialist institutions could be subsumed without high-level oversight of sector consolidation, MPs warned
OfS and UKRI seen as particularly vulnerable to meddling from government, with report authors calling for more safeguards to ensure independence
Tory leader to use conference speech to attack 鈥榙ebt trap degrees鈥 and pledge more money for apprenticeships
Russell Group calls for long-term partnerships to be secured amid political uncertainty
Tories should allow top institutions to increase tuition fees and encourage others to get off 鈥榤ediocrity escalator鈥, says former science minister
Future crises can be averted if government and universities share data and plans in a more timely and transparent fashion, says Doug Specht
Andy Burnham says universities 鈥榓t the heart鈥 of his plans for growth of Manchester鈥檚 economy
Taxpayer and students losing out as a result of failure to tackle 鈥榣ow-quality鈥 higher education, according to Neil O鈥橞rien
With levy-funded maintenance grants and 50 per cent target scrapped again, government鈥檚 vision for universities becomes clearer. But while rhetoric appears tough, experts see opportunities as education takes centre stage
Using financial incentives to influence student choice risk undermining Labour鈥檚 widening access goals, critics fear
Coming together of 10 research-led universities not a 鈥榮elf-serving鈥 mission group, say vice-chancellors
Move into DWP opens up opportunities for 鈥榯ailored learning鈥, says minister, as some express unease over disjointed approach
Prime minister scraps Tony Blair鈥檚 long-held target to get half of young people into higher education, instead aiming for two-thirds accessing university or apprenticeships
Sussex v-c says media attacks motivated by view that fewer people should obtain a degree
Means-tested support only to be offered to those studying courses aligned to party鈥檚 priority areas
Leeds MP tells party鈥檚 conference that he hopes government 鈥榤oves away鈥 from planned tax on overseas earnings
Universities projected to dip into the red next year due to falling fee income and rising staff costs, with any long-term recovery likely to be uneven
Cost to UK economy of 拢1.8 billion a year once 鈥榞ross value added鈥 by international students factored in, new analysis shows
New chief executive of Advance HE discusses university finances, EDI pressures and plans to pivot body from 鈥榙evelopment to transformation鈥 agency
New modelling estimates that controversial proposals could wipe about 拢2.2 billion from the UK economy in just five years
Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors
Education committee says exemption to defunding plans for healthcare courses should be extended to include 鈥榞rowth-driving鈥 industries
Ben Macpherson returns to government in mini reshuffle triggered by Jamie Hepburn鈥檚 resignation
Government told to incorporate higher education institutions into emergency planning frameworks as the UK attempts to bolster its defences
Almost half of students say they have considered dropping out because of money issues as maintenance loan threshold remains frozen