Chris Havergal

Jacqui Smith: maintenance grants ‘less generous than hoped’ Minister suggests internal battle to secure extra maintenance support for disadvantaged students to blame for low grant amount

England's returning maintenance grants not as generous as hoped, but an 'important statement', says skills minister Jacqui Smith www.timeshighereducation.com/news/jacqui-... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Code red on campus? Black belt talking skills are most effective Aggressively tackling intruders is best avoided, but a security guard should always have a ready supply of animal-themed plasters, says George Bass

Delighted to hear campus security guard @georgebas5.bsky.social has a book out with Hachette next year. Here's his latest for @timeshighered.bsky.social, out today: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/code...

Fake sick notes ‘on the rise’ in student cheating cases AI-assisted software makes it easier for students to forge medical evidence for disciplinary hearings, says legal expert

Students accused of cheating at UK universities are increasingly producing fake sick notes in a “desperate” bid for leniency, lawyer warns www.timeshighereducation.com/news/fake-si... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

“The government’s decision to reintroduce maintenance grants is good news, although the amount on offer won’t be enough to close the gaps in the student experience and ultimately degree and labour market outcomes” – @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social in @timeshighered.bsky.social today

Chichester settles with students over axed African history course Institution agrees to pay undisclosed sum after cutting unique master’s programme amid review of provision

Students who sued the University of Chichester over its decision to axe a unique master’s in African history have reached a settlement with the institution www.timeshighereducation.com/news/chiches... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Are banking covenants the big bad wolf of UK higher education? Dark tales abound of various UK universities being at risk of breaching agreements with their banks. But what exactly are covenants? Why have they come to play such a prominent role in the conversatio...

Are banking covenants the big bad wolf of UK higher education? Excellent long read in @timeshighered.bsky.social by @helenpacker.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/are-ba...

First projects funded under Scottish shared services support fund Project that will see a dozen universities band together to respond to research risks among those receiving a grant

First projects funded under Scottish university shared services support fund www.timeshighereducation.com/news/first-p... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social

Grants ‘should be part of wider new deal’ for low-income students Low value of support on offer not enough to move the dial on university access, critics fear

Reintroducing maintenance grants should form part of wider “new deal” for working-class students, experts urge, amid fears they will not be enough in themselves to move the dial on access www.timeshighereducation.com/news/grants-... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Boards hampered by ‘power imbalances and over-familiarity’ New ‘ethical code’ attempts to address criticism that university governance is ‘dominated by cliques’

UK university boards hampered by power imbalances and over-familiarity with senior managers, warns
@hepi-news.bsky.social report by @profstevenjones.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/boards-... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Universities using agents ‘risk falling foul’ of new fraud laws Providers generally unaware that they may face penalties unless they are more proactive in safeguarding recruitment work

British universities working with education agents “particularly vulnerable” to new offence of failure to prevent fraud www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

OfS investigation adds to woes at Greater Manchester Regulator announces it is probing governance arrangements at the under-pressure institution

Office for Students launches investigation into governance at University of Greater Manchester www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ofs-inv... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

DSIT’s AI and technology obsession overplayed – Kendall Tech reskilling and digital democracy plans no distraction from furthering government’s research ambitions, says science secretary

Liz Kendall rejects claims that DSIT is too focused on AI and tech at expense of UK research system www.timeshighereducation.com/news/dsits-a... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Civic engagement a ‘licence to practise’ for universities New initiative launched to strengthen the role of universities in their towns, cities and regions

Great news to see Richard Brabner staying at the forefront of the civic university agenda, leading new initiative with Birmingham and Newcastle universities, QMUL www.timeshighereducation.com/news/civic-e... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

External transformation funds could propel change, says SFC chair Limits of current model mean trying something different can be challenging, according to Cara Aitchison, as government discussions start on future university funding

SFC chair Cara Aitchison on Scottish university funding: “Discussion and debate has opened up, which I think is very positive. It’s a recognition that we need to rethink our model.” Interview by @helenpacker.bsky.social: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/externa...

Essex to close Southend campus and cut 400 jobs University says it has been forced into making ‘decisions we could have never previously imagined’ after steep drop in international student numbers

University of Essex to close Southend campus and cut 400 jobs over next two years www.timeshighereducation.com/news/essex-c... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

UCU strike ballot fails after 60 per cent of members don’t vote UK’s biggest academic union unable to pursue national industrial action over pay and job cuts after it fails to meet minimum turnout threshold

“There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a really disappointing result and it leaves us weakened. It’s not a good place to be,” @dyfrigjones.bsky.social tells @julietterowsell.bsky.social as UCU strike ballot misses turnout threshold www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-str...

"[It was] manifestly the wrong decision"

Read my coverage of the reaction, and fall out, to the "disappointing" UCU ballot result, which sources said "leaves us weakened"👇

Got any thoughts? My email is in bio, and DMs are open 📫

UCU strike ballot fails after 60 per cent of members don’t vote UK’s biggest academic union unable to pursue national industrial action over pay and job cuts after it fails to meet minimum turnout threshold

UCU strike ballot over pay and job cuts fails after turnout hits only 39%. Of those who voted, 70% had backed walking out www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-str... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Most academics strongly opposed to using AI in REF 2029 While new technologies seen as ‘game changer’ for national-level research assessment, study finds vehement opposition, particularly among humanities scholars

Vast majority of academics do not want artificial intelligence used to assess the next Research Excellence Framework, finds study led by @rpwatermeyer.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/most-ac... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

Why the UK’s market for students needs careful curation There have been more winners than losers since domestic student recruitment was uncapped in England. But without better stewardship, all institutions must do what they can to swing the market in their...

This piece on the dynamics of the English HE market from David Maguire and Alex Bols is excellent. So are the conclusions they draw.

www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/why-uk...

Why the UK’s market for students needs careful curation There have been more winners than losers since domestic student recruitment was uncapped in England. But without better stewardship, all institutions must do what they can to swing the market in their...

"The system needs careful curation: a guiding hand to nudge providers back into shape and alignment with national and regional priorities. Unfortunately, though, the Skills White Paper failed to address this need," write UEA's David Maguire and Alex Bols www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/why-uk...

UK universities ‘could cut 10,000 jobs every year’ Academics claim changes made to higher education system a decade ago have divided sector into ‘winners and losers’, with government-imposed limits on income exacerbating financial challenges

Job losses in the UK university sector could run at 10,000 each year, UEA vice-chancellor David Maguire warns www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Almost 15,000 UK asylum claims from students, new figures show Proportion of study visas for Chinese and Indian students has also fallen to the lowest level of the decade, according to latest Home Office data

Number of overseas students claiming asylum in the UK has fallen in the last year but still remains at historically high levels, new figures reveal www.timeshighereducation.com/news/almost-... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

Bailout conditions restrict compulsory redundancies at Dundee University told to come up with a plan for financial recovery before it enforces more job losses

Yes - as you're probably aware, this interview was conducted (and published) prior to the conditions being announced. We covered the latest update last night: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bailout...

Bailout conditions restrict compulsory redundancies at Dundee University told to come up with a plan for financial recovery before it enforces more job losses

University of Dundee told it cannot make any compulsory redundancies until it has a three-year recovery strategy in place as part of conditions placed on its bailout from the Scottish government www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bailout... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social

£925 international student fee levy 'probably a better outcome than many people anticipated', says UUK president Malcolm Press, who warns against opposing policy too vehemently for fear of deterring overseas enrolments www.timeshighereducation.com/news/stop-fe... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Universities are paying the price for UK’s dire economic straits After a shambolic Budget day, it is little surprise that universities have been landed with a costly and overcomplicated international student levy, writes Nick Hillman

In @timeshighered.bsky.social, here's @nickhillman.bsky.social's verdict on Budget day: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/univ...

New grants worth £1,000 as fees set to pass £10K in two years Fee caps for next two academic years confirmed by government post-budget, as students fear extra support will ‘barely scratch the surface’

English universities will be permitted to charge up to £9,790 in tuition fees next academic year, with students set to pay more than £10,000 for the first time in 2027-28 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/new-gra... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social

Details of maintenance grants out: for first and second years of study, £1K a year for those with household incomes below £25K, tapering down to £500 a year for those on £30K. In third year, £750/£375. Won't go very far. Plus tuition fees to pass £10K in 2027-28. More soon @timeshighered.bsky.social

Flat fee or percentage levy divides universities ahead of budget Last-ditch attempts to minimise harm of incoming tax on international student fees splits sector, as research intensive universities set to save millions but post-92s would pay more

We at @timeshighered.bsky.social modelled the impact of a £1,000 flat fee rather than 6% of fee income - flat fee saved Russell Group £100 million, with big increase in costs for some post-92s www.timeshighereducation.com/news/flat-fe...