Office of Strategic Governance
A weekly round-up of news and developments in the sector.
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Campus in the pandemic, pay offers and what will the Queen say about education?
COVID Although the government has not yet announced when universities will be allowed to re-open their campuses, new data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that 80% of students are now living where they go to university. Meanwhile, there...
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Complaints and EDI
ADMISSIONS AND RECRUITMENT For anyone interested in demand for HE, admissions numbers, fairness and the way that demographics and this year’s exam arrangements feed into this, there is a useful article on Wonkhe. REGULATORY OfS has published its specification...
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Refunds: Consumer action may not be the best or quickest solution.
COVID The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has responded to an open letter from 20 students’ unions calling for action to uphold student rights by saying that “consumer enforcement action may not be the best or quickest solution”. The CMA’s...
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Returning to campus?
COVID This week, the Minister confirmed that students will be advised to return to campus only when the country enters step 3 of the lockdown exit plan, currently scheduled for 17 May. Letters from the Minister to institutions and students...
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New regulation, education agents and supervision agreements
GOVERNANCE AND REGULATION OfS has announced the immediate introduction of a new condition of registration designed to protect the interests of students where a higher education provider has to close or runs into severe financial difficulty. The government has published...
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Covid, research funding and unequal outcomes
COVID The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 passed a vote in the House of Commons on Thursday. The Regulations don’t do much to facilitate a full national return to campus after Easter. Wonkhe has an interesting article...
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Research funding shortfalls and OfS warnings on quality
RESEARCH FUNDING A study hosted on the HEPI blog warns that the UK is likely to miss its target of spending 2.4% of GDP on research and development by 2027. The Russell Group of universities has written to the Prime...
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(Yet) more guidance, Turing, USS and breaching the equality gap
COVID THE reports that English university leaders are pushing for a majority return to campus after Easter if infection rates continue to fall. It is timely, therefore, that OfS has updated its guidance on the subject. OfS has also updated...
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Covid, pensions and the Budget
There are some big issues for the higher education sector to grapple with in the news this week. BUDGET You won’t have missed this week’s budget statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with its associated plan for economic growth....
