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On behalf of the steering group for the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment, HEFCE has launched a call for evidence to gather views and evidence relating to the use of metrics in research assessment and management.
The quality and diverse impacts of scientific and scholarly research are commonly assessed using a combination of peer review and a variety of quantitative metrics.
The review of metrics will explore the current use of metrics for research assessment, consider their robustness across different disciplines, and assess their potential contribution to the development of research excellence and impact.
The steering group wishes to draw on evidence and views on the role of metrics in research assessment from a wide range of sources across the sector. These could include written summaries or existing published research.
The call will remain open until noon on Monday 30 June. Any person or organisation with an interest in the role of metrics in research assessment is invited to respond by this deadline.
More about the review and the call for evidence
Contact: metrics@hefce.ac.uk. More...

This report examines the influence of economic and policy factors on part-time study at publicly funded higher education providers in England. It shows that the sharp fall in part-time study since 2010-11 in publicly funded higher education is likely to have been influenced by the recession and its aftermath, alongside public policy changes.
Key findings include:

• Part-time UK and European Union undergraduate entrant numbers in 2013-14 are almost half what they were in 2010-11.
• Declines in entry to part-time higher education courses appear to have been affected by a range of macroeconomic factors including falls in employment – particularly in the public sector.
• Wider comparisons among the UK nations show that part-time declines in England appear to have been affected by a range of policy changes alongside economic effects.
• Numbers of UK and European Union entrants with direct financial backing from their employers for undergraduate part-time study fell by almost half in 2012-13 compared with the previous year, from 40,000 to 23,000. A significant fall in employer financial backing was also seen for postgraduate students between 2010-11 and 2012-13. This is largely explained by a large fall in the number of entrants to education-related subjects.
• Part-time fees have risen significantly, but still tend to be lower than full-time fees. Students are generally more likely to find greater variability in fees for part-time courses than for full-time courses.
• Part-time study appears to be more likely to suffer in a recession – but this is not inevitable. Around half of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries saw growth in part-time between 2010 and 2011.

This report draws on a separate report to HEFCE by Oxford Economics, ‘Macroeconomic influences on the demand for part-time higher education in the UK’. More...

This document provides an analysis of the responses to the consultation between 16 September and 6 December 2013 and how those responses have been taken into account in the final version of the memorandum of assurance and accountability.
This document provides both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the responses we received on the ‘Financial memorandum: Conditions of grant payments to institutions: Consultation on arrangements for 2014-15 onwards’ (HEFCE 2013/21). It also sets out how we have taken those responses into account in finalising the memorandum which is now entitled ‘Memorandum of assurance and accountability’. More...

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) today publishes a new report, ‘Pressure from all sides: Economic and policy influences on part-time higher education’ [Note 1]. It shows that the sharp decline in part-time study since 2010-11 in publicly-funded higher education is likely to have been influenced by the recession, its aftermath, and public policy changes. Numbers of part-time UK and EU undergraduate entrant numbers in 2013-14 are almost half what they were in 2010-11. Overall numbers fell by 120,000 – from 259,000 in 2010-11 to 139,000 in 2013-14.
The HEFCE report ‘Pressure from all sides: Economic and policy influences on part-time higher education’ is available. More...

A new report and toolkit set out practical steps to enable this to happen.
‘An emerging profession: The higher education philanthropy workforce’ is the first report to take a detailed look at the fundraising workforce in UK universities and colleges. The ‘Review of philanthropy in UK higher education’ in 2012 (the ‘Pearce report’) set an ambitious goal: that by 2022, universities and colleges would be raising £2 billion per year in gifts from 640,000 donors. The workforce – currently numbering around 1,800, with demand outstripping supply – will need to double, if not triple, if universities are to reach this potential. The new report makes recommendations on how to attract, retain and develop the extra staff needed to achieve that target, and supplies a toolkit for accomplishing this. More...

An analysis of the responses to HEFCE’s recent consultation on our financial memorandum with institutions has been published.
‘Analysis of responses to consultation on HEFCE’s financial memorandum with institutions’ (HEFCE 2014/09) follows last year’s ‘Financial memorandum: conditions of grant payments to institutions: Consultation on arrangements for 2014-15 onwards’ (HEFCE 2013/21). The 98 responses we received broadly supported the proposals in the consultation document.
The revised financial memorandum (to be known from 2014-15 onwards as the ‘Memorandum of assurance and accountability’) will outline amended arrangements for financial commitments, in terms of threshold criteria and the return of information. The requirement for institutions to subscribe to Jisc for the three years from 2014-15 to 2016-17 is confirmed.
The new Memorandum of assurance and accountability is expected to be published in June, and will come into force from 1 August 2014. More...