Diversity in the United Kingdom is regularly quantified through Census data. The latest figures (2021) for England and Wales indicate that 82% of the population identifies as white, 51% are females, 17.7%-22.3% are disabled, 18.2% hold no qualifications and 51.7% of households are deprived in at least one dimension. Furthermore, the median age in…

The recent period can only be seen as one of rapid and substantial churn as UK governments have attempted to widen participation, strengthen the national system of innovation and control the direct public costs of higher education. Very similar issues have dominated the debate in Australia. This paper compares the current position of two higher…

This paper examines the future of Western higher education. Situated midway between an analysis and a polemic, it concerns itself with how we might begin to actively design the universities of the future. That will require a productionist account of higher education which is so far sadly lacking. But there are signs that such an account might be…

This study sets out to answer the question: how can we know what learning is taking place in MOOCs? From this starting point, the study then looks to identify MOOCs' potential for future use in HE? Using a specially-adapted version of the HEA's UK Engagement Survey (UKES) 2014, the research team at the University of Southampton asked participants…

Non-traditional students entering Higher Education (HE) via university-based foundation courses often encounter significant personal risk upon their return to study, and this can be exacerbated by a lack of understanding of the academic demands of HE at the point of entry. As part of a wider qualitative, grounded theory study of the effect of…

A Delphi study has been carried out, soliciting views from higher education experts on likely and desirable developments in English higher education until 2025. The paper reports the most salient findings of the Delphi questionnaire and presents two scenarios that focus largely on the institutional fabric of the system. The first scenario follows…

Continuous and rapid developments in global higher education today more than ever before present new questions, greater challenges, and vast new opportunities for institutions, policy makers, scholars and students alike. This book is a collection of studies and essays by many of the leading experts in international higher education who share their…

This report reviews the engagement of older learners (defined as those aged 50 and over) in education and training with particular reference to their involvement in higher education. The ageing of populations was one of the most important trends in the 20th century and will raise major challenges in this century. Appended are: (1) Selected UK…

This report is the first output of a major project that Universities UK initiated in 2007. The project is intended to provide a basis for assessing the size and shape of the UK higher education sector in 20 years' time. Its analysis takes account of differences between the four UK countries. The project aims to improve understanding of the factors…

Courses focused on context rather than content must address the issue of the vocational relevance of higher education. A business course on the social and demographic environment, which uses pluralistic learning and teaching strategies, was designed to broaden the meaning of vocationalism. (SK)

Contents of the report include: terms of reference and membership of the Conference of University Administrators of the United Kingdom; the present size and shape of higher education; the demand for higher education; demographic factors; official projections of student numbers since 1963; comments on enrollment projection methods currently used;…

Discussed is the decline of popularity of engineering studies in the United Kingdom, with consequent difficulties in the recruitment of a sufficient number of people into the profession. Possible solutions to the problem are presented, as well as, implications for future funding. (KR)

A survey of 460 students attending multidisciplinary health care modules found no gender differences in performance or satisfaction. Students with disabilities or nonwhite ethnicity were less satisfied, older students more satisfied. Part-time students had more concerns than full-time students. Diploma students were more satisfied than bachelor's…

Many European universities face common staffing problems, with a large number of staff appointed during the 1960s and early 1970s, with a consequent block on promotion prospects for junior staff, and occasional overstaffing. The most common response in northwestern Europe has been to tackle the symptoms without resolving the problem. (Author/MLW)

This report provides information on trends in higher education and the graduate labor market in the United Kingdom. Data was obtained from the Higher Education Statistical Agency, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services, the Association of Graduate Recruiters, the Labour Force Survey, and from recent Institute for Employment Studies…