News bulletin December 2008/January 2009
This bulletin summarises reports and surveys, press releases and news articles under the following headings: education and employment. In education, the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise were announced, a review of the Schwartz Report on higher education admissions was published, and the Higher Education Policy Institute published a paper examining demand for higher education. In employment, the Higher Education Statistics Agency launched its latest survey tracking the careers of graduates three and half years after they left higher education, and Manchester Metropolitan University unveiled a new-look Legal Practice Course.
Education
- RAE shows UK’s strength in international research
- Review of the Schwartz Report on HE admissions
- Oxbridge plans to accept new diploma
- Higher education support in Scotland
- HE facing financial crisis
- Demand for higher education
- Review of careers services in Wales
Employment
- Report on graduates’ earnings
- HESA commences second graduate career survey
- Manchester Met unveils fast-track LPC
Education
RAE shows UK’s strength in international research
The results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirm the dominant position that universities and colleges in the United Kingdom hold in international research. RAE2008, based on expert review, includes the views of international experts in all the main subject areas. The results show that 54% of the research conducted by 52,400 staff submitted by 159 universities and colleges is either ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Taking the top three grades together, 87% of the research is of international quality.
(RAE 2008 confirms UK's dominant position in international research, RAE press release, 18 December 2008.)
Review of the Schwartz Report on HE admissions
This review comprises three reports, published as Fair Admissions top Higher Education: A review of the Schwartz Report principles three years on. It reviews the implementation of the principles of the Schwartz Report, using various methods to identify qualitative and quantitative data. The review notes that the higher education sector has implemented a number of the principles in the Schwartz Report, especially with regard to transparency, staff training and continuing professional development, and use of technology in sharing resources and information.
(Schwartz Report - Review 2008, Supporting Professionalism in Admissions, December 2008. )
Oxbridge plans to accept new diploma
Oxford and Cambridge universities are to accept a diploma qualification in their admissions. The engineering advanced Diploma will be accepted for engineering degree courses beginning in 2010. Applicants will also need to have physics A-level, but it will still be seen as a step forward for diplomas. The diploma qualifications are intended to provide both vocational and academic courses for teenagers.
(Oxbridge plans to accept diploma, BBC, 21 November 2008.)
Higher education support in Scotland
This document provides information on support provided or assessed by the Student awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to higher education students in Scotland and elsewhere in the academic years 2002/03 to 2007/08. It notes an increase in the level of all types of support administered by the SAAS, in the number of students supported and in the amount paid out as non-repayable awards. The paper also notes a rise in the number of EU students receiving SAAS support and in fee loan payments for students studying outside Scotland.
(Higher education student support in Scotland 2007/08, Scottish Government, 27 November 2008.)
HE facing financial crisis
Serious concerns have been raised about the future financial sustainability of the UK’s universities. The BBC quotes the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staffs Review of Higher Education Finance and Pay Data, which states that the higher education sector overall is predicting a 4% “real terms” deficit, partly due to a £2bn shortfall in research funding and high staff costs.
(Universities may face deficit, BBC, 10 December 2008.)
Demand for higher education
This paper is the fifth study on demand for higher education produced by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). Part 1 discusses demography (e.g., full-time demand, part-time demand), part 2 considers the factors that determine eligibility and willingness to participate in higher education, which includes commentary on A-level passes, gender disparity, while part 3 reviews demand for higher education in the future.
(Demand for higher education to 2029, B Bekhradnia and N Bailey, December 2008.)
Review of careers services in Wales
Wales’ Deputy Minister for Skills has approved the Terms of Reference for the Review of Careers Services in Wales. The Review has been commissioned as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Skills that Work for Wales strategy and action plan. Its purpose will be to determine how well placed the Careers Services are to respond to developments in policy, demographic changes and current and possible future economic conditions.
(Review of careers services in Wales, ADSET Information Weblog, 12 December 2008.)
Employment
Report on graduates’ earnings
The 1994 Group, a group of 18 internationally renowned, research-intensive universities, has published a report that compares students’ employment and earnings expectations when they begin university with the reality of what they achieved three and half years after graduation. The study also noted that a postgraduate qualification provides a boost to earning power and that graduates are more likely to receive graduate-level jobs if they studied science and technology than arts and social sciences. Variations were also noted between institutions.
(Graduate earnings uncovered: New 1994 Group report, 1994 Group press release, 25 November 2008.)
HESA commences second graduate career survey
Field work begins in December on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)’s second survey to track the careers of graduates three and half years after they left higher education. The first Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Longitudinal survey was conducted in November 2006 and contacted a sample of leavers who graduated in 2003. The present study will survey a sample of leavers from 2004/05 and will ask about graduates’ activities and satisfaction with careers to date.
(Second longitudinal survey of graduate destinations, HESA press release, 1 December 2008.)
Manchester Met unveils fast-track LPC
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has unveiled a new slim-line Legal Practice Course (LPC). The university aims to run stage one of the LPC from September to June and the second stage from September to December, subject to approval from the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA). MMU has axed lectures on the new course, in favour of small group sessions, and there will also be a series of classes online. The SRA will announce the providers it has approved to offer the new-look LPC on 9 January.
(Manchester Met unveils fast-track LPC, The Lawyer, 6 January 2009.)
