…ta release 8 February 2010). Steve Smith, President of Universities UK has commented: “Last year about 160,000 students who applied didn’t end up going to university. This year, we already know that there are about another 75,000 applying for university. So… there will be a lot of students this year who do not get a place at university.” University Alliance represents 22 universities at the heart of the sector. There have been significant increase…
…In the university world, differences of opinion are nothing new. But the outcome of this one might just change the character of higher education itself. Universities are at odds over the future of postgraduate study, with a Government review on the subject, due to report in the spring, setting up sharply diverging views on how PhDs should be funded just as finances for the sector as a whole come under huge pressure. Read the full article….
…and are actively business-focussed. These universities educate 26% of all UK students and offer a research-informed, academic learning environment and a culture of entrepreneurialism, equipping graduates for the 21st century. This response follows discussion amongst our Pro Vice-Chancellors with responsibility for teaching, learning and quality at a University Alliance Quality Seminar held on 18 February 2010. Our response highlights the key issu…
…ver, remains very clear: selectivity not concentration has driven excellence in UK research; excellence is not determined by volume alone; and it is the peaks of world-leading research excellence that determine the position of the UK as a world leader. Read the full article….
…highly selective research funding methods in the world – QR funding in 2009-10, based on RAE 2008, has not changed that: In 2007-8, four institutions received 29 per cent of Quality-related (QR) funding (and 23 around 75 per cent). In 2009-10, four institutions received 32 per cent of QR funding (and 25 around 75 per cent). Selectivity can, however, be taken too far. HEFCE’s ‘Fundamental Review of Research Policy and Funding’ concluded that “a maj…
…tivise repayments. Alternatively, it could offer the discount only to lower-income students, information the Student Loans Company already has. So an enlightened Government could enable graduates to repay loans to help them through a difficult start to their careers, allow several thousand more students to attend university and raise much-needed cash for the Treasury. This sounds like win-win politics to me. John Craven Vice-Chancellor University…
…h assistant in an engineering lab. Having said that, he never set out to become a Vice-Chancellor or senior administrator. In that respect, Alistair’s career was partly serendipity, based on his continuing desire to challenge himself and move forward, to the next level. After progressing through the ranks at the University of Southampton, becoming Head of the School of Mathematics and later Pro Vice-Chancellor for International, Alistair moved to…
