Universities UK has moved to head off any prospect that the new immigration bill, announced today in the Queen’s Speech, might herald a crackdown on the use of public services by overseas university students.
The proportion of young people accessing higher education hit a record high of 49 per cent as students scrambled to avoid last year’s tuition fee hikes, a new study says.
School pupils from poorer backgrounds could be contacted by the government to nudge them towards applying to university if they get good GCSE grades, David Willetts has said.
The vice-chancellor of the UK’s first private university will attend Baroness Thatcher’s funeral after being invited on her instructions, and has praised her for transforming the nation “wholly for the better”.
Margaret Thatcher’s “revolutionary” reforms helped to transform an ailing university system into a world-leading higher education system, a vice-chancellor has said.
National Union of Students’ president Liam Burns has called for “sensitivity” and “respect” after some delegates at the union’s annual conference were heard to cheer news that former prime minister Baroness Thatcher had died.
Recent comments about initial teacher training made by education secretary Michael Gove and Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, constitute a “concerted political attack” on universities that has “no basis” in evidence.
The University Alliance mission group has gained another new member from Million+ while also announcing it is signing a partnership with its Australian counterpart.
The UK Border Agency is to be split in two, between a visa body and a law enforcement body, and brought back under the control of Home Office ministers.
Sir Alan Langlands is to leave his job as chief executive of England’s funding council to become vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds, where he has been welcomed as a “stellar figure” in higher education.
Academics have been making their voice heard on Twitter after education secretary Michael Gove mocked 100 university professors who had criticised his plans to reform the national curriculum.
Michael Gove has reiterated his desire to move initial teacher training towards school-led providers by pledging an extra £10 million for schools to train the next generation of teachers.
George Osborne’s budget has revealed that the government appears to be scrapping plans to grant VAT exemption to for-profit higher education providers, a move that was aimed at exposing universities to greater competition.
Universities UK has been asked by David Willetts to undertake a review of part-time study and make urgent recommendations in response to a report which shows a “dramatic decline” in part-time students.
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The Prime Minister has rejected calls to withdraw overseas university students from the government’s target to reduce net migration, saying the move “would not make any difference to our student migration policy”.
The tuition fee cap will remain at £9,000 in 2014-15, meaning the government is allowing most universities’ income to be eroded by inflation, while students’ grants for living expenses will be held back with a below-inflation rise.
Established UK universities will go out of business within the next 10 years unless they adapt to survive an era of intense pressure driven by globalisation, technology, rising student expectations, and competition for funding, a report has warned.
The Labour Party has warned that the government’s drive to reduce net migration is choking off the flow of “legitimate university students” while ignoring abuse of the visitor visa route used by English language students.
Former education secretary David Blunkett has challenged universities to stand up to coalition ministers if they have concerns over government reforms.
David Willetts has criticised “curmudgeons” who call for the return of a binary divide between universities and polytechnics, while a Labour MP has said modern universities can teach older institutions a lesson.
The number of visas issued to overseas students has fallen by a fifth although applications for university student visas have increased by 3 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.
The government has rejected universities’ calls for overseas students to be withdrawn from the net migrant count, a move that may kill off hopes of securing the change in the current Parliament.
The lack of clarity over Research Councils UK’s new open access policy is “unacceptable” and government ministers should learn lessons from the confusion, according to a House of Lords report.
