Global BUzz

Today, UCAS published its analysis of all full-time undergraduate applications submitted by the Friday 24 March 2017 deadline. Findings from both the January and March statistical releases show a decrease of approximately 4% in applicants compared to findings from last year. UCAS reports that the current figures for the number of applicants to higher education from… Read more » about UCAS statistical release shows EU applicants down 6% while international applicants rise 2%

Today, the House of Lords convened for the third reading of the Higher Education and Research Bill to make final changes and ‘tidy up’ the Bill. Amendments that aimed to make significant changes to the Bill were eventually withdrawn during the meeting, with only a few changes to wording made. The main amendment discussed during… Read more » about The House of Lords concludes its Third Reading of the HE and Research Bill

British Council has published The Global Race for International Students which ‘compares the national policies and strategies specifically in support of international student mobility in ten key higher education markets outside the UK’.  Countries used for comparison include Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. It highlights… Read more » about British Council reports Government, the HE sector and industry ‘all benefit’ from internationalisation

Today, HEFCE published a letter by the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Jo Johnson inviting HEFCE to cooperate ‘in taking forward measures to promote student electoral registration within the Higher Education sector and to encourage the take-up of good practice.’ The letter continues that because the Government is committed in ensuring… Read more » about Jo Johnson letter published by HEFCE promoting student electoral registration

Today, U-Multirank – a European Commission project, published its 2017 results of over a thousand universities, making it the world’s largest university rankings.  The EC webpage describes it as a ‘unique new tool for comparing performance includes information on more than 1,300 higher education institutions, 3,250 faculties and 10,700 study programmes from more than 90 countries.’ This year includes… Read more » about U-Multirank rankings allow universities to compare themselves using specific indicators

Today the UK Prime Minister instigated Article 50 which marks the beginning of the UK’s departure from the EU.  Media have announced today as a ‘momentous day in Britain’s modern history’, with remnants of the bitter referendum campaign visible as each outlet published their take on the process, trending as #BrexitDay. In the HE sector,… Read more » about HE Sector celebrates EU citizen contribution to UK on ‘momentous day’

Yesterday, HESA released its UK Performance Indicators Experimental Statistics which combines data from both publicly funded and alternative HE providers to explore widening participating and non-continuation rates. The data highlights that ‘11.5% of young full-time first degree undergraduates were from low participation neighbourhoods in 2015/16, and 90.2% were from state schools or colleges’.* HESA has provided… Read more » about HESA publishes UKPIs Experimental Statistics of Widening Participation & Non-Continuation Rates

Times Higher Education has published the results of their 2017 Student Experience Survey (SES).  The survey is conducted by YouthSight and is now celebrating its tenth annual release. The results are based on the responses of over fifteen thousand undergraduates who were asked questions surrounding eight areas, presented below in the table. This year students were also… Read more » about THE’s Student Experience Survey celebrates its tenth annual release.

The Guardian UK300 is the largest survey of UK employers and students, which provides an in-depth data analysis of who the top 300 graduate employers and how they are viewed by graduates.  The survey polls 120 universities to understand student perception of employer brands, which also helps companies understand the success and efficiency of their… Read more » about The Guardian UK300 survey published, revealing top UK graduate employers

Last Friday 17th March, the invitation for responses from higher education institutions and other groups and organisations interested in research ended. The Consultation set out ‘the proposals of the four UK higher education funding bodies for the second Research Excellence Framework (REF) for the assessment of research in UK higher education institutions.’  It also aimed… Read more » about Consultation on second Research Excellence Framework closed