Critical thinking and critical speaking are indeed being stifled in the faculties. For some years now the vice-chancellor’s executive has implemented disastrous strategies (centralisation, closure of regional centres, putting so much online in administration and teaching, and drastically reducing tutorial support for students). More...

For England’s 1,000 degree apprentices and their employers, a paid, full-time job with a fully funded, part-time university education is an exciting new opportunity. More...

My apprenticeship lets me apply what I have learned from my management studies in my day-to-day job, in the OU’s business development unit. It’s a key reason why I wanted to be an apprentice. More...

As a nation, we urgently need more professionals – engineers, designers, digital wizards and skilled managers – and the new apprenticeship levy has thrown a lifeline to companies scrabbling for talent. Schools and universities just aren’t turning out enough people with the right skills to plug gaps in some sectors, say leading graduate employers. More...

Britain is still lagging well behind its G7 counterparts in productivity with the average British worker producing around a third less than their German equivalent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. It highlights a desperate need to develop more skills training, which the government is tackling through its ambitious apprenticeship programme, including the launch two years ago of degree apprenticeships. More...

Damian Hinds’ appointment shows the prime minister has not given up on more grammar schools despite lack of enthusiasm by experts or voters. More...

The body that oversees the running of University of Bath has passed a motion calling for the immediate departure of its vice-chancellor following a row about her pay. More...

It has been a rocky start for the Office for Students, the government’s new regulator, launched to champion the interests of students. More...