Global BUzz

This week the Russell Group published its submission to the Migration Advisory Committee, an agency established by the government in 2017 towards their inquiry into international students. The submission calls for changes to visas that would allow students to stay in the UK for longer after graduation.

During Education questions in the Commons on Monday, Damian Hinds Secretary of State for Education was asked a series of questions concerning access to EU research funding post-Brexit, and on international students. Hinds’ responded that there will be a “full review, looking at all aspects of value for money for young people and others going… Read more » about Parliament announce full review of ‘value for money’ for those attending university

Yesterday the Scottish government released Scotland’s Place in Europe: People, Jobs and Investment, a sector impact analysis of Scotland’s Brexit options. The evidence-led document highlights university and research impacts and presents the benefits from participation in Erasmus+, Horizon2020 and European Research (ERA). There is also a strong case made for the wider social and cultural… Read more » about Scotland’s analysis of Brexit options

At the end of last week HESA’s annual data on student numbers attending higher education institutions in the UK for 2016–17 confirmed the number of international students studying in the UK is stagnating.  The number of students from outside the EU applying to study in the UK has declined by 1%, while the number of… Read more » about International students choosing to study in the UK is stagnating

On Monday Teresa May confirmed her New Year cabinet reshuffle which saw Justine Greening (now former Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities) decline a cabinet role leading the Department for Work and Pensions. The new Education Secretary has been confirmed as former DWP minister and social mobility APPG chair, Damien… Read more » about New Year Cabinet Reshuffle

Last week Universities UK (UUK) followed up the government’s recent Industrial Strategy by reporting on the importance of graduate retention for local economies. UUK states: “Universities play a key role in developing the UK government’s industrial strategy by educating students to meet the higher-level skills needs of a modern economy. ​Increased retention of graduates in the… Read more » about Graduate Retention: Meeting Local Skills Needs Report

On Thursday UCAS released the final instalment of its end of cycle report for the 2017 admissions cycle. The instalment covered patterns in demand, offer-making, unconditional offers, inequality, and acceptances. Headline data revealed: Applications across the UK decreased by 3.1% since 2016 Acceptances fell by 0.5% to 462,945 The numbers and proportions of 18-year-olds accessing… Read more » about UCAS end of cycle report 2017 – final instalment

WONKHE have claimed that “institutions might be paying far more than expected for the privilege of being regulated by the Office for Students (OfS)”. In the article published today, WONKHE suggest that a new model concludes “that the ‘indicative” bands for institutional OfS subscriptions, set out in the consultation due to end next Friday, are… Read more » about WONKHE ask “How much will the sector pay for OfS”?

Universities Minister Jo Johnson confirmed yesterday that university students in England will be able to undertake an accelerated two-year degree, which could cost up to £11,000 a year. The current three-year undergraduate degree typically costs a maximum of £9,250 per academic year. Overall, this would provide students with a 20 per cent saving on the… Read more » about Two year degrees announced

On Tuesday HESA released their operational design for Graduate Outcomes (GO), the new national survey that will capture information on the activities and views of graduates following two years of review, design, and consultation. The operational design includes the data specification and guidance on the roles and responsibilities of providers. The GO will replace the… Read more » about Graduate Outcomes: new national survey