Colleagues, please see below the recent policy update from Jane Forster,\u00a0touching on Higher Education and Research Bill, Teaching Excellence Framework, Student Finance, International Students, Social Mobility, Brexit, Fair Access and Progression:<\/p>\n
Higher Education and Research Bill \u2013 <\/u><\/strong>The bill will reach the report stage on Monday 21st<\/sup> November, and a long list of new amendments have been proposed. \u00a0\u00a0The amended version of the bill following the committee stage is here<\/a>.\u00a0 The list of amendments is here<\/a> (although it is being updated daily so best to look here<\/a>)<\/p>\n The government\u2019s own amendments were described by Jo Johnson in a blog on Wonkhe<\/a> \u2013 an unusual and interesting step.<\/p>\n The other amendments proposed are also interesting \u2013 including amendments relating to Brexit and immigration issues, and student loans, rather than matters directly covered by the Bill, but which show the direction that the debate may be going to take \u2013 e.g. on student loans, using TEF as a measure of quality for immigration controls on student numbers, \u00a0monitoring international staff and student numbers and requiring Parliamentary approval for the TEF.\u00a0 See our summary on the intranet pages here<\/a><\/p>\n The House of Commons library produced a useful briefing<\/a> on the committee stage of the HERB on 16th<\/sup> November 2016.\u00a0 The written evidence and transcripts of the Committee\u2019s sittings are available on the Higher Education and Research Bill 2016-17 page of the Parliament website.\u00a0 This includes BU\u2019s submission \u2013 we were one of only 11 HE institutions to submit individual responses (out of 63 sets of evidence).<\/p>\n Separately, the government published guidance<\/a> on how UKRI and the OfS would work together.<\/p>\n Teaching Excellence Framework<\/u><\/strong> \u00a0<\/u>\u2013 The HEA have published their literature review<\/a>on \u201cdefining and demonstrating quality teaching and impact in HE\u201d \u2013 which was announced in March when we were all grappling with the TEF year 2 technical consultation.\u00a0 It notes \u201cthe lack of robust empirical evidence found by this review\u201d\u00a0 \u201cwith the literature dominated by opinion pieces based on secondary, documentary analysis rather than rigorous comparison group studies.\u201d\u00a0 The review therefore points for a need for more implementation research but also a shared understanding on what \u201cquality teaching\u201d in HE is and why it matters, and then on how to measure it.\u00a0 With that caveat in mind, it sets out what the indicators are, from the literature, showing an interesting correlation with TEF criteria. I\u2019ve put the list of criteria on the TEF pages on the intranet<\/a>.\u00a0 The review looks at student\/alumni feedback as measure of quality and refers to a number of publications that question whether student satisfaction is a good proxy for quality, although it may support quality in institutions as a robust mechanism for feedback.<\/p>\n Brexit<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 <\/u>The House of Commons Science and Technology committee\u2019s report into leaving the EU has been published<\/a>.\u00a0 Read my seperate blog on the BU research blog<\/a> here \u2013 it calls for more reassurance on staff mobility and funding and a Chief Scientific Adviser in the Department for Exiting the EU.<\/p>\n International Students \u2013 <\/u><\/strong>There has been much activity this week \u2013 some of it is reflected in the amendments to the HE and Research Bill as noted above \u2013 many of those filing amendments to the Bill spoke in the Westminster Hall debate<\/p>\n University finance<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 UUK have launched an interactive tool<\/a> looking at University spending \u2013 responding to\u00a0 the HEPI student experience survey<\/a> last year that reported that 75% of students did not feel that they have enough information on where their fees are spent \u2013 something that is of concern when so many students also have concerns about value for money (only a third said that they are receiving good or very good value for money) \u2013 something that is cited by the government regularly.\u00a0 It is worth noting that BU has a very clear explanation of our own finances<\/a> on the website that was developed alongside SUBU last year to make sure that we are presenting helpful information in a clear way.<\/p>\n Social mobility and widening participation<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 <\/strong>A report by the Social Mobility Commission<\/a> was issued this week.\u00a0 The report includes a series of conclusions and recommendations.\u00a0 Specifically relevant to universities, it recommended introducing an annual social mobility league table for universities, and ensuring that there is HE local provision in all areas of the country.\u00a0 The prior attainment issue (at GCSE) affecting HE access is one that has been highlighted a lot recently \u2013 and is one of the factors behind the schools policy that is currently out for consultation.\u00a0 HE \u201ccold spots\u201d have also been identified as an issue, and the focus on local geography is consistent with the approach that is being taken by the government, most recently with the National Collaborative Outreach Programme, targeting specific post-codes and linked to measureable outcomes, and Justine Greening\u2019s announcement<\/a> of new \u201copportunity areas\u201d at the Conservative Party conference, so it will be interesting to see what the reaction is.<\/p>\n Student Finance \u2013 consultations<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The government consulted in 2015 about extending loans to PGR students on means-tested basis and announced with the 2016 budget that they would launch a technical consultation on the detail, which has been launched with a closing date of 16th December 2016 (Consultation on postgraduate doctoral loans<\/strong><\/a><\/em>).\u00a0 BU is preparing a response to this consultation \u2013 \u00a0please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk<\/a> if you would like to be involved and read the summaryhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the Autumn Statement in 2015 the Government announced it would introduce new undergraduate part-time maintenance loans to support the cost of living while studying.\u00a0 The Part-time Maintenance Loans Consultation <\/a>seeks views and evidence on the introduction of the part-time maintenance loan.\u00a0 Please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk <\/a>if you would like to contribute and read the summary here<\/a>.\u00a0 The consultation closes on 16th December 2016.<\/p>\n Colleagues, please see below the recent policy update from Jane Forster,\u00a0touching on Higher Education and Research Bill, Teaching Excellence Framework, Student Finance, International Students, Social Mobility, Brexit, Fair Access and Progression: Higher Education and Research Bill \u2013 The bill will reach the report stage on Monday 21st November, and a long list of new amendments… Read more » about HE policy 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