HEPI’s recent report Reaching the parts of society universities have missed: A manifesto for the new Director of Fair Access and Participation (HEPI Report 106) is a valuable reminder of how much still has to be done to make participation fairer. The report, produced in association with the charity Brightside, has some valuable perceptions about the obstacles to more balanced participation, and some interesting ideas about removing them. But it takes too little account of the context in which schools and colleges and universities now have to operate. This means, unfortunately, that much of this effort will prove to be nugatory. This note explains why. More...

In the context of the current review of post-18 education, one of the ideas considered to have some political support was that of ‘differential fees’, or the setting of different fee levels on the basis of discipline, or institution, or some other basis. More...

Unite Students has launched a new campaign, The Leap, inspired by the findings of research into applicant expectations that we conducted last year in partnership with HEPI. The Leap focuses on the transition from home to university. Moving away to university is a huge life moment, comparable to getting married, or buying your first house, but in the media and popular culture it receives far less attention. More...

This country’s obsession with full academic degrees has led to the creation of a higher education system that favours academic routes, while intermediate and higher technical offerings are tiny by comparison. More...

The Class Ceiling report by the Social Mobility APPG on access to the leading professions advocates increasing the use of contextual recruitment, and the Office for Students should encourage exactly the same in higher education. More...

The UK has made welcome progress on opening up access to university in recent years. The number of disadvantaged 18-year olds on full-time undergraduate courses reached record levels in 2017, increasing by 52 per cent in a decade. More...

There are many Latin phrases which one had to learn as a Law student. One of the more popular phrases is a principle of responsibility in certain types of legal claim: ‘res ipsa loquitur’, meaning ‘the thing speaks for itself ’. More...