Franchised provision of higher education has been under the spotlight in recent times. Without shying away from the challenges faced by those delivering successful franchise arrangements, this paper shows how important franchising can be in extending access to higher education. The authors explain what protections need to be in place to ensure…

This briefing is intended to support Universities UK (UUK) members ahead of the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. The government introduced the Act with the intention of strengthening freedom of speech and academic freedom in higher education in England, and received Royal Assent in May 2023. The legislation will have…

This paper presents results of a comparative study about assistance services for supporting students with disabilities in regular schools in five European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovakia and the UK). Besides the analysis of relevant documents on assistance services, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with learning and…

This paper focusses on our concerns about revelations about sexual harassment in universities and the inadequate responses whereby some universities seem more concerned about their own reputations than the care and protection of their students. Seldom do cases go to criminal court, instead they mostly fall within employment relations policies…

Higher Education staff in the United Kingdom (UK) work long hours to complete their duties. In a 2021 survey, staff reported a weekly average of 51 hours: a fact well understood to undermine health and educational quality. Yet, UK law sets a maximum working week of 48 hours, and failure to uphold this maximum is a criminal offence for employers.…

Increasing pressure is being placed on governments and legislators in different countries to take action against assignment outsourcing in higher education. Global discussions focus on prohibiting commercial outsourcing providers, such as contract cheating services. Despite evidence to suggest that outsourcing behaviours by students are…

Purpose: Government's role and sex education are vital in promoting inclusivity and sexual health. To understand the impact that the legislation has had on sex education, it is necessary to evaluate it at the different training levels. Design/methodology/approach: The method used is a critical review aimed at comparing educational and state…

Higher Education Institutions across the world hold a moral and, in many cases, legal responsibility to make their educational offerings inclusive. Universities may rely solely on checklists of recommendations, which although a key component of developing equitable and inclusive teaching, often fall short of accounting for the multifaceted range…

The student affairs administrator needs to be legally-aware, but not legally-qualified. This article seeks to cover the key legal concepts or principles underpinning the University-Student (Business2Consumer) contract that is at the core of the University's legal relationship with its Students. It does so by exploring the leading cases setting out…

Technology integration in higher education (HE) has brought immense innovation. While research is investigating the benefits of leveraging, through learning analytics, the data created by the greater presence of technology in HE, it is also analysing the privacy implications of vast universes of data now at the fingertips of HE administrators.…

In 2021, York St John University and Mind the Gap collaborated to validate a Certificate in Higher Education (Cert HE) in the Performing Arts for learning disabled and autistic adults. This article presents context surrounding inclusive education, identifying the histories of ableism within assessment processes. We then discuss how we worked in…

Since 1995 the UK higher education sector has been required to implement national disability related legislation. This paper reports on a study which explored the role that policies play in influencing how staff support disabled students. In particular the extent to which staff in HE behave in similar ways to those described as street level…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the legal issues of simultaneous Internet transmission of broadcasting programs of the Open University of Japan (OUJ) and to take legal measures to promote the mutual utilization of open university courses in Japan, the UK, China and Korea. Design/methodology/approach: The author examines the…

The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 requires Relevant Higher Education Bodies (RHEBs) to have due regard to the need to protect people from being drawn into terrorism: the 'Prevent Duty'. Prevent covers all forms of radicalisation that could draw people into terrorism. The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned CFE Research to…

Orphan works are works that are still protected by copyright and whose owners cannot be identified or located by prospective users for copyright clearance. Many countries have addressed this issue since the emergence of the problem, and it remains a legitimate subject of inquiry in this present day. However, Malaysia is yet to initiate public…