Too many pundits have characterised university students as ‘snowflakes’. Now, data from the latest Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey, out last week, surely debunks this false image. There is an unprecedented rise in the number holding down part-time jobs…
Recent years have brought a steady and relentless criticism of the value of a university education that deliberately aims to deter would-be students and direct them toward skills-based technical education. This continued from the last government into the new administration…
Keen observers of universities in the UK have long warned of an impending crisis. Yet the government’s response is looking very flimsy and paper-thin. The House of Commons looks like a bleak house overlooking a bleak landscape of Higher Education.…
Most of our universities are now running an annual deficit, with net liquidity for some measured in days and weeks. They are breaking into the student ‘piggy bank’ to cover costs. Maintaining ancient grand buildings alongside modern constructions, with loans…
Last year there was a considerable increase in concern about the time students spent in employment during term time. This is because surveys over the previous two years reported that this burden now affects most students. There is a growing…
You can download a free TEFS 2025 calendar here. The year 2024 for universities and students was dominated by dwindling finances, higher costs, and cuts. 2024 turned out to be a slow-motion train crash for staff and students alike. As…
With Higher education sinking into a deepening crisis as we head for Christmas and New Year, it’s time for reflection and fostering hope. Thousands of staff and students fear the new year as redundancies, cuts and financial peril take hold.…
The autumn budget left higher education, students and universities, in a state of shock (links to details in footnote). Their deliberate omission from consideration was profoundly disappointing, amounting to a betrayal. This was after multiple representations highlighting the financial crisis…
With the budget almost upon us this week, we might be forgiven for thinking most of it has already been revealed in the media. They have been peeping under the bonnet of the government’s economy plans and concluding too much…
The much anticipated Universities UK (UUK) ‘Bluepring for Change’ (pdf) landed on Monday and presented the government with a mountain to climb. With many of our higher education institutions running substantial deficits, the blame lies at the door of the…
