HE Scotland

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (04/09/2009)

2009-09-04T08:30:00.002+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

On Sunday Liberal Democrat spokesperson Margaret Smith published figures obtained under Freedom of Information which indicated the "true extent of student hardship in Scotland". The media release was picked up in later that day by Labour spokesperson Claire Baker and, on Monday, in both The Herald and The Scotsman. Later in the week, The Scotsman ran a further piece indicating that the opposition parties were urging the government to "help lift poor students out of hardship". Claire Baker kept us informed via Twitter, announcing Labour's shared position with the Lib Dems on the issue, as well as their "productive meeting" to discuss the topic with Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
UK Visa regulations and their impact on the higher education sector made the news again with The Guardian announcing that International students may spurn the UK because of new visa rules and the University of Warwick's Registrar describing the regulation as "ludicrous heavy-handed package of regulation that risks havoc in international student recruitment" in a Times Higher Education piece.
The prospective University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) kept policymakers on their toes this week. The network found itself under pressure in Inverness about a possible Inverness College move. The Inverness Courier reported on calls for an inquiry into 'pressure' being applied to the College as the decision on the College's potential move to a
proposed Beechwood site was delayed again. UHI also chose to use the findings of a study of youth migration in the Highlands as an opportunity to call for additional funded places from the Scottish Funding Council, with The BBC covering the news:
More generally, the sector appeared to be gripped by a mood of change with the new semester looming just around the corner. Significant changes saw Professor Steve Chapman take over as Principal at Heriot Watt , Dundee's Abertay University announce Lord Cullen as its new Chancellor; and both Abertay and Edinburgh Napier universities made senior appointments. Elsewhere, the University of Aberdeen announced changes intended to take it into the world's top 100 universities and construction of the University of the West of Scotland’s new £70 million campus got underway in Ayr.

In student news:

There was better news for students this week as a HESA media release outlined some positive statistics on recent graduate career progress. UCU Scotland welcomed the figures and Labour Spokesperson Claire Baker MSP tweeted to note that 86.9% were satisfied with careers to date & 88.9% were employed. Whilst The Times chose to report the news positively The Guardian went with "Graduates struggle to find full-time jobs".
Some graduates also found themselves with a bit more money in their pocket as negative interest rates meant they were owed money by the Student Loans company or there was no interest on their loans. Both The Scotsman and The Guardian ran pieces on the issue.
In other student news, The Scotsman ran a piece considering the pros & cons of studying at your local university; a student-run charity at Edinburgh University was awarded £2,000 by BBC Children in Need; Edinburgh College of Art students' work found itself, quite literally, in the shop window; and Scotland's first Polish Student President took up office at Edinburgh Napier University.

In research news:

The Times Higher Education magazine published Research Council funding statistics showing that, amongst Scottish institutions, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities take the lion's share of grants whilst the University of Strathclyde leads in terms of success rate. Overall, the stats showed that increased competition across the UK as a while means that the chance chances of a research grant application being successful were all-time low, something about which the RCUK chair was reported to be 'awfully concerned':
Edinburgh University researchers' findings called into question the wisdom of taking an aspirin everyday and the news was reported globally. The extensive media coverage included pieces in The Times and The Herald.
St Andrews University researchers achieved similar media ubiquity with a press release announcing that girls at single-sex schools are more attracted to feminine looking boys. The BBC and The Scotsman were just two of the many outlets to pick this up.
The biology sector in the capital received a boost with the announcement of a major initiative in synthetic biology at Heriot-Watt University and a significant appointment at Edinburgh University' BioQuarter, where Simon Best is to lead commercialisation activity.

In our competition for the best sector media release title, this week's competition was declared a dead heat between the University of Dundee's:

The Face of Evil reconstructed in Dundee

and St Andrews University's:

Lecture proves levitation isn't just science fiction

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with all the Scottish higher education news as it happens. To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (28/08/2009)

2009-08-28T08:30:00.005+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

After last week's A-level results and the high demand for places, media attention turned to Clearing in the early part of the week. The BBC reported on the 'scramble' for university places and The Guardian suggested that there were 14 students chasing every available university place. Alongside the news agenda, there was ongoing reflection on the unfulfilled demand for places. Whilst The Guardian's web site featured a piece asking 'Why does Labour bail out bankers, yet deny the young?', The Times Online posed the question 'Who wants to go to university, anyway?'.
Changes at the upper levels of the Scottish Funding Council were announced with John Kemp being appointed as Director of Strategic Development and research supremo, David Gani, moving on to become a deputy Principal at the University of Strathclyde. In a further change at Strathclyde, Professor Gani will be joined by Professor Philip Winn who is currently Vice-Principal of Learning and Teaching at St Andrews University.
Just as the Clearing stories started to dry up, an Institute for Public Policy Research press release got people talking by suggesting middle class pupils should be denied student loans and grants. A response from the NUS made it quite clear they were none too keen on the suggestion.
In other policy news, RCUK extended and invitation to contribute to the Review of e-Science 2009 and Eduserv published the result of its survey into web content management in higher education.

In student news:

In what was generally a quiet week for student news, there was less positive news over the weekend with Saturday's Scotsman reporting that there was no job for 86% of trainee teachers and Scotland on Sunday suggesting that dole fears were keeping gap year students abroad.
Elsewhere, Glasgow Caledonian University released information on podiatry students who had decided to return to the country after travelling overseas to carry out foot and ankle screening at the Special Olympics.
This week's student sport headlines saw Stirling University golfers representing Europe in the USA and a Robert Gordon University sports scholar crowned Pony Club champion, despite the lack of a horse.

In research news:

Physics and astronomy featured heavily this week, with St Andrews researchers turning up a new planet and University of Glasgow scientists participating in an international search for gravitational waves.
Stem cell research was similarly prominent, with The Scotsman reporting that research at Edinburgh University offers hope in the battle against motor neurone disease and the University of Dundee issuing a media release on new findings about the 'Guardian of the genome'.
News desks liked a press release from the University of Glasgow entitled 'Should females trust showy males?', with the BBC one of many to cover news of researchers' findings about mating behaviour in three-spined stickleback fish.
Edinburgh Napier University's news of an online toolkit for the evaluation of festivals' impact was well timed as Edinburgh's Festival Fringe entered its third week and the story was duly picked up by The Scotsman.
In other research news, there was a rash of awards for researchers at the University of St Andrews; bees featured in news releases from both the University of Stirling and the Scottish Agricultural College; there was news that Edinburgh University was to participate in an "urgent" £2.25 million research project into swine flu ; the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama made the news in relation to the discovery of what may be the oldest piece of Scottish music; and the University of Aberdeen's purchase of the Cromarty lighthouse was covered by both STV and the BBC.

Finally, to close, the usual contest for the best media release title of the week. HE Scotland liked this one from St Andrews:

Found: The planet that shouldn't exist

However, this week it is the Scottish Agricultural College which wins out with:

Daisy And A Politician On The Pull

We can only assume that the SAC press office thought Politician Milks Publicity was just too risque...

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (21/08/2009)

2009-08-21T08:45:00.000+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

This week's big story was Thursday's A-level results. In response to increased demand for places and the 27th annual rise in the proportion of students achieving A grades, The Guardian's headline warned 50,000 A-level students to miss out on place at university. Meanwhile, the Russell Group called for additional funding claiming the high demand had "demolished" the persistent myth that tuition fees would put students off higher education and Million+ stated there was 'a serious mismatch between demand for places and supply'. UCU also took the opportunity to comment and lamented the government's failed widening participation agenda.
Earlier in the week, it was graduate employment which made the news as HESA released annual figures on graduate destinations. The Sunday Times focused on Robert Gordon and Edinburgh Napier universities' high graduate employment rates and The Sun similarly focused on Oxbridge's less impressive performance compared to newer universities. The Guardian, however, took its lead from HESA and chose to report that women graduates were more likely to be working than their male peers.
There were questions as to whether the pressure for places combined with the widening participation agenda had led to some trying to cheat the system, with The Telegraph claiming students were lying about their family backgrounds to win university places and The University of Edinburgh mentioned in a similar article in The Mail.
Elsewhere The Times ran a story about universities' use of Twitter; the Scottish Funding Council announced additional funding for its voucher scheme to encourage universities to work with SMEs; a BBC report covered findings suggesting university sites did not meet the requirements of disabled students; the University of Dundee played a leading role in encouraging the V&A to commit to an outpost in the city; and the University of Aberdeen opened a new £28m sports facility in collaboration with the City Council.

In student news:

Debt was a focus with the Publication of the Push Student Debt Survey.The Herald reported that Scottish students rack up £2,000 of debt for every year of study and The BBC reported that new students face a total debt of £23,000. The UCU ttok the finding as an opportunity to comment on an anticipated rise in fees south of the border and claimed any such increase was about as popular as the poll tax.
NUS released figures from their 2009 Student Experience Research revealing hidden course costs. The report's findings were covered by The Guardian which led with the fact that maths and computer science were the costliest degrees.
In the face of the gloom over money, there was, at least, some more positive news to be found in the Push survey, with The BBC reporting that one in five graduates in the UK have settled down with someone they met at university, and The Scotsman noting the important role that a network of student friends can play in graduates' careers.
Students at the University of the Highland and Islands Millennium Institute began a series of historic graduation ceremonies, with The BBC and covering the news in brief.
In student sports news, Robert Gordon University equestrians represented Great Britain in France and the University of Edinburgh announced the equivalent of signing up Chris Hoy for the cycling team when it revealed that Scottish captain & GB Olympian, Graham Moodie, would become the player-coach of its men's hockey team.

In research news:

The Scottish Government announced funding for the Scottish European Green Energy Centre to be based at the University of Aberdeen, with the story being picked up by The Herald.
The Herald also covered Scottish researchers' role in contributing to the development of programmes for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch.
After last week's news about stress ageing sheep, the University of Edinburgh turned its attention to deer, announcing that stags' descent into old age occurs much more quickly than that of does and inspired the headline "In a rut: old age is taking it toll on Scotland’s amorous stags".
However, this week's most media friendly story was that of a Harry Potter inspired St Andrews University physicist's funding for research in the 'tantalising' field of invisibility. Unsurprisingly this was covered widely, including pieces by The BBC, The Telegraph, and an Express story on 'The Professor of Magic'.
Meanwhile staff at the University of Aberdeen might have wanted access to Professor Leonhardt's technology as the visit of HRH, The Countess of Wessex, to meet sight saving researchers at the University's medical school was overshadowed when the royal guest became stuck in a lift.

As usual, we finish with the the best sector media release title of the week. This from the University of Edinburgh gets an honourable mention :

Monarch of the Glen slips quickly into old age, suggests University of Edinburgh study

But the University of St Andrews carries off the crown for the sheer bravado of the following:

'Invisibility' two years away

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (14/08/2009)

2009-08-14T08:45:00.007+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

NUS Scotland published Overstretched and Overdrawn, a survey of 6,000 students focused on financial hardship. The study indicated that more than half of the students surveyed are in commercial debt, and two thirds are in debt to friends and family. It also found that more than half of the students surveyed were in work, with 70 per cent of these working more than the recommended 10 hours a week during term-time. In addition to attracting a variety of coverage, including that by the BBC and The Herald, the SNP issued a media release stating that the SNP Government's decision to abolish the graduate endowment had 'helped to reduce the debt burden of Scotland's students' with Aileen Campbell MSP claiming 'Scottish students were failed by the Labour and Lib Dem administration with a lack of financial support'. Labour opposition spokesperson, Claire Baker MSP, took rather a different view. She initially tweeted to say that the SNP needed to 'get their head out of the sand and take some action' on the issue and went on to brand the SNP's claims about restoring free education 'a joke'.
On Wednesday, Robert Gordon University announced it had signed a deal with Dundee College which will see students on a range of HND programmes at the College able to move straight into their third year of some RGU degree programmes.
On the same day, the University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute's progress towards full university title was criticised with Inverness-based economist, Tony Mackay, calling for an inquiry into the lengthy process.
The Sutton Trust published a research report entitled Applications, Offers and Admissions to Research led Universities which suggested 'thousands of state school pupils shun top degree courses'. UCU took the view that the report revealed a 'poverty of ambition'. Whilst the Russell Group chose not to comment, Million+ took issue with the report's focus on just 13 research intensive universities, claiming the 'risk of this narrow approach is that the social mobility being achieved by the rest of the UK’s universities is ignored,' Widespread media coverage of the report included that by the BBC and The Mail.
There was mixed environmental news for institutions this week. Whilst with the University of St Andrews highlighted the eco-friendly credentials of its new medical school, Heriot Watt University found itself one of a number of UK universities to be criticised for carbon offsetting in an article by the Times Higher Education magazine.

In student news:

Last week's higher results continued to make the news. The Scotsman reported that the recession had boosted the 'Heriot-Watt intake by fifth' and the Sunday Mail ran a similar story. Meanwhile ahead of the A-Level results, The Sunday Times suggested 'the scramble for the final university places will be more intense this year'. Despite the level of demand and last week's calls for more funded places, Thursday's Times Higher Education magazine brought news that the Scottish Funding Council had no intention to relax the recruitment limits placed on the higher education institutions it funds.
With freshers weeks not far off at universities across Scotland, Edinburgh University Student Association published guidance intended to help students get on with their neighbours which the Scotland on Sunday duly dubbed a guide on 'how to party' .
In other party news, former contestant on India's version of X Factor and Edinburgh Napier University student, Anshul Tomer, made the news with his plans to sing at the Edinburgh Mela.
It was also a week of remarkable student journeys. Just as University of Edinburgh fresher Euan Hunter completed a remarkable 37 day trans-Canada cycle ride, James Killingbeck of St Andrews University put out to sea in Devon having taken the decision to head back to Fife for the new term in a sea kayak.

In research news:

University of Edinburgh research made a big splash, in the form of researchers' findings that facial symmetry offered clues to mental ability. Whilst this story received a good deal of coverage, including pieces in The Independent, the BBC and The Scotsman, it was perhaps surprising that an MRC media release detailing research elsewhere in Edinburgh on penis length wasn't picked up by many outlets.
By contrast, Glasgow and Aberdeen archaeologists' discovery of a significant Bronze Age tomb in Perthshire did receive widespread media coverage, including that in The Scotsman, The Times and the BBC.
The University of Glasgow also released news of the forthcoming publication of the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary. Having been forty-five years in the making, one can only imagine the scenes over the years as successive RAE managers at the institution asked about the date of publication...
Meanwhile, Aberdeen University research indicating that gender plays an important role in angina was covered widely, including pieces by journalists from The Guardian and STV.
Elsewhere the University of Edinburgh's automaton computerised band 'Cybraphon' appeared to tickle journalists' fancy, with a feature in The Scotsman entitled 'Cybraphon: 'It's a total moody diva' being just one of many similar pieces.

As usual we finish with the best sector media release title of the week. This edition's award goes to this from Edinburgh Napier University:

University to hothouse future Rockstars
But it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:
Stressful life ages ewe

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (07/08/2009)

2009-08-07T09:30:00.002+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

The Westminster Committee on Innovation Universities, Science and Skills, chaired by Phil Willis, published report into Students and Universities on Sunday. Explore links to some of the resultant media coverage about degree standards and read about the apparent political mood in favour of reducing UK universities' autonomy in HE Scotland's blog post on the report.
The National Student Survey 2009 results were published yesterday. Find out how the Scottish universities participating ranked, how the Scottish sector performed compared to the rest of the UK and read what the UCU and NUS had to say about the results in HE Scotland's special blog post on the results.
University applicants received their Highers results this week. The increased demand for places coupled with the best ever results by school leavers led to calls for additional places at Scottish universities from Labour Spokesperson Claire Baker and in The Herald, whilst the UCU called for penalties for universities which over-recruit to be waived. (Surely this was all a bit late - wasn't the time to make such calls back when England announced additional places two weeks ago? - Ed)
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government published the Student Loans for Higher Education statistics, but these received scant media attention, despite indicating that 35 per cent of students leaving university in 2007 are currently employed below the £15,000 earnings threshold for repayment.

In student news:

Monday saw the release of the NatWest Student Living Index 2009. Whilst PA ran with the revelatory 'Students rely on parents for cash', The Scotsman provided a Scottish angle on the survey's findings and looked at the variation between student costs and working patterns in different cities.
Glasgow School of Art student, Carron Bull, sparkled as she took first prize in Ortak Jewellery's search for jewellery designers of the future.
As Carron sparkled in the west, in the north-east, RGU graduate Rory Fraser shone with the launch of his third computer game 'Football Tycoon'.
Stirling University student golfers past and present also had a good week, the highlight being Catriona Matthew's victory in the British Open.
Elsewhere in student sport, Glasgow Caledonian University student Craig Ruddy received council backing for his 2014 Commonwealth Games bid.

In research news:

Journalists found a University of Aberdeen researcher talking their language and, as a consequence, details of his findings about dolphins' communication made a 'splash' in various outlets, including The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and on Channel 4.
A University of the West of Scotland psychologist also kept journalists busy with his findings that unprotected sex may have mental health benefits. Unsurprisingly, this news was also pounced on by the media, including pieces in The Independent in and The Telegraph.
As if chatty dolphins and unprotected sex weren't good enough, an alcohol story completed the media-friendly research news this week as researchers at the University of Glasgow discovered yet more benefits in drinking red wine. The Express and The Mirror were amongst the many to cover news of the findings.
Elsewhere, Andrew Brierley of St Andrews University informed us that climate change would irreversible by 2040 and joint research by the University of Edinburgh and UHI offered hope of high-speed web access in remote areas.

And finally, there was a bit more to go on this week than last when looking for the best sector media release title of the week. HE Scotland liked the following from the University of Dundee :

Garden to go native and host 'pow-wow'

But this edition's award goes to this from St Andrews:

Academic goes Pop

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

NSS Results - Students in Scotland most satisfied in the UK, but feedback an issue for NUS

2009-08-06T13:45:00.005+01:00

HEFCE today released the results of the National Student Survey (NSS) for 2009. The survey provides a picture of final year undergraduate students' views of their experience in higher education. On the measure of overall satisfaction, preliminary data suggests the Scottish sector as a whole performed well relative to other parts of the UK. Students who have just left the 12 participating Scottish institutions indicated an overall satisfaction rate of 86%. This compared favourably with the 82% rating given by students at English higher education institutions and student satisfaction rates of 83% in Wales and 84% in Northern Ireland.

Feedback poor in Scotland

Despite the positive score for overall satisfaction, NUS Scotland highlighted its concern at Scottish universities' scores for feedback. Noting that only 53 % of students at Scottish institutions agreed that ‘feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand’, the student body voiced its concern that the rate of satisfaction remained "stubbornly low" in this area. President Liam Burns commented

“Many lecturers are working incredibly hard to improve the amount and quality of feedback students receive, but today’s results show that universities have to throw their weight behind this work... University management need to show a commitment to making sure feedback is more than just a number or a grade.”

The UCU, however, welcomed the survey's findings and the fact that the majority of Scottish students were happy with quality of teaching they receive whilst at university. However, assistant general secretary, David Bleiman, warned that students' positive experience in Scotland could not be guaranteed indefinitely and went on to call for additional government support suggesting that:

"...cuts to teaching budgets and worsening student bursaries are going to make it much harder to sustain the current levels of satisfaction. Hence the Scottish Government should spend the extra £30 million it is allocating for student support on bursaries and redouble its efforts to find extra funding for universities."

Scottish Rankings

St Andrews University retained its position at the head of the Scottish league table for overall satisfaction, despite falling back a percentage point. Of the three new Scottish participants this year (RGU, Edinburgh Napier and The Glasgow School of Art), Robert Gordon performed most strongly and was ranked 7th with a satisfaction rating of 84%. Elsewhere, Heriot Watt's level of satisfaction fell by 4%, the University of Edinburgh remained adrift of the rest of the 'Ancients' in 9th place and, at 69%, the level of satisfaction of Glasgow School of Art students was some considerable way adrift of the rest of the sector.

The complete league table for Scotland looks as follows:

1. University of St Andrews 92% (2008 - 93%)
2. University of Glasgow 90% (2008 - 86%)
3. University of Aberdeen 89% (2008 - 91%)
4. University of Dundee 88% (2008 - 84%)
4. University of Stirling 88% (2008 - 86%)
6. University of Strathclyde 86% (2008 - 85%)
7. Glasgow Caledonian University 84% (2008 - 85%)
7. Robert Gordon University 84% (2008 - N/A)
9. University of Edinburgh 83% (2008 - 83%)
10. Heriot-Watt University 81% (2008 - 85%)
10. Napier University 81% (2008 - N/A)
12. Glasgow School of Art 69% (2008 - N/A)

Further Information

News piece & full dataset from HEFCE

University autonomy: UK swims against the European tide

2009-08-05T09:30:00.000+01:00

With the publication of its report into Students and Universities, the Westminster Innovation Universities, Science and Skills Committee, chaired by Phil Willis, underwent some violent death throes on Sunday and made certain that no one in the sector would fail to notice its passing. The Committee's report and its recommendations made something of a media splash and were covered by The Sunday Times, Th e BBC, The Telegraph, The Observer amongst numerous others. Whilst the media predominantly focused on the rising numbers of firsts awarded and the comparability of qualifications from different institutions,the UCU issued a statement welcoming the recommendations on bursaries.

The Russell Group, however, appeared most affronted by what the report had to say and announced it was "dismayed and surprised" by the Committee's "outburst". By contrast the 1994 Group was more diplomatic, welcoming the "challenging and wide-ranging report", whilst labelling the proposals for a national bursary scheme "a mistake." Whether for strategic reasons or otherwise, Million+ chose not to offer any comment .

The report's 166 pages make for interesting reading, but anyone in the sector will get a good sense of why it caused such ructions from skimming the two page Summary at the start and the Conclusion & Recommendations (p. 136ff). The dominant theme I took away from the document was its determination to measure the sector against the implicit ideal of a coherent and structured collection of homogeneous and directly comparable universities. Whilst never explicitly articulated, it is this desire to bring order and political control that seem to underpin the proposals for national oversight, for a national bursary scheme, for comparability and for a "compact" between the sector and the state.

It is this same theme that appears to have so irked the Russell Group, most notably in the following passage from its response to the report:

The world class reputation of Russell Group universities depends on maintaining excellence. But universities are not schools. An essential feature of a university is its academic freedom and autonomy, with the responsibility to award degrees and uphold standards. While our institutions are working hard to provide more information on what students can expect from their courses, introducing a university equivalent of ‘Ofsted’ will only add another layer of bureaucracy.

The report's discussion of autonomy and the its suggestion of a more tightly regulated relationship with the state echoes some of the work of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce in Scotland. The Taskforce's report, published late last year, sought to establish the Scottish Funding Council as an ‘agent of change’, allocating part of its funding (the 'Horizon Fund') to provide incentives to universities in order that they deliver on government priorities.

The apparent desire of UK politicians to curtail universities' autonomy, runs counter to the dominant mode of thought elsewhere in the EU. In 2006 the European Commission called for "modernised universities" and sought to build on the Glasgow Declaration by proposing that EU members:

Allow universities greater autonomy and accountability, so that they can respond quickly to change. This could include revising curricula to adapt to new developments, building closer links between disciplines and focussing on overall research areas domains (e.g. renewable energy, nanotechnology) rather than disciplines. It could also include more autonomy at individual institution level for choosing teaching and research staff.
Three years on, other EU states continue to look to the achievements of more autonomous institutions in the UK and the USA and seek to reduce state control in universities. The most notable of a series of reforms across Europe have been those in Germany. Increased autonomy from the state and other elements of the "Anglo-Saxon" model of higher education have been pushed through as part of significant reforms to the sector.

If the Committee's recommendations find favour with UK ministers, England may join Scotland in swimming against the European tidal flow. If so, UK universities could find their competitive advantage eroded as the freedoms that have hitherto enabled them to remain fleet of foot and to compete effectively in an aggressive international market ebb away.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (31/07/2009)

2009-07-31T09:30:00.001+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

Lord Mandelson again made headlines, this time with his first major speech on higher education. He had some interesting things to say about universities and the economy and his hints about the possibility of lifting the cap on the fees English universities can charge students elicited a robust restatement of the Scottish Government's stance against fees. Read more in HE Scotland's blog post on the topic.
Glasgow Caledonian University attracted negative commentary from the UCU as well as coverage in The Herald and the Times Higher following news that a commercial joint venture to attract overseas students had lost over £200k.
With news that English universities' funding may be linked to their carbon emissions, St Andrews upped the stakes in Scotland with news of plans for its own wind farm.
A statement was released on Tuesday following a Universities UK seminar on the swine flu pandemic and The Guardian reported news of the sector's preparations.
In a report in the Times Higher an unnamed manager at Edinburgh Napier University claimed that merger with Queen Margaret University would be ' logical'.

In student news:

NUS Scotland released news of a survey suggesting the summer jobs market was proving tough for students and may lead to increased drop out rate. Reporting Scotland covered the story and Labour opposition spokesperson, Claire Baker MSP, tweeted while she watched to say that "serious consideration of student support" was needed.
An exclusive story in The Daily Record outlined a rise in the number of student disciplinary cases and was picked up by several others including The Express and The Scotsman.
There were notable sporting successes for a Stirling golfer, Stirling & RGU swimmers and for Edinburgh's Chloe Maclean who took Bronze at European University Karate Championships.
Finally, The Independent examined the increasing availability of more salubrious student accommodation asking 'Is this the end of dank digs?'

In research news:

University of Edinburgh researchers announced a breakthrough in predicting a woman's response to the breast cancer drug Herceptin, with coverage including pieces in The Scotsman and The Express.
In Dundee, the local SNP MSP called for tax breaks in order to support the video game research and the related industry clustered around the University of Abertay.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh received widespread coverage with news of a new computer chip able to deliver faster processing while using significantly less power and space.
Elsewhere, the Scottish Agricultural College reported on the importance of researchers' understanding of the policy environment and the Glasgow School of Art launched an innovative PhD scholarship with the AHRB.

Slim pickings this week in the competition for the best sector media release title... at this rate, the trophy will be permanently residing at the University of Glasgow! It wins again with:

Munch exhibition a screaming success

In the absence of any real sector competition for Glasgow's winner, the following sports headline in The Southern Reporter earns a guest mention in this category:

Students teach Fairies a lesson

Mandelson - universities 'are not factories for producing workers'

2009-07-29T08:30:00.004+01:00

When Lord Mandelson made his first major speech on the topic of higher education at Birkbeck University on Monday, commentary understandably focused on hints that the limit on the cap on the level of tuition fees English universities can charge might be raised. Whilst the UCU suggested higher fees would be less popular than the poll tax, The Herald asked what such a move might mean for Scotland and reported the Scottish Government's continued line against fees.

Away from the headlines and in the context of the economic downturn, Mandelson said some interesting things about the role of Universities in relation to jobs and the economy:

I need to be clear that I do not believe that the function of a university is limited to – or even primarily about - economic outcomes. They are not factories for producing workers. Defining the skills that directly underwrite many skilled jobs in the UK is not the same as defining useful and necessary knowledge.

Despite his other responsibility - for business - he chose to emphasise this partial disconnect between universities and private sector employers and look for the positive within this. He went on to say:

The case for a higher education system that invests in everything from classics to quantum physics is a compelling one.
I say this not just because the utility in knowledge is often impossible to predict. It is because knowledge is an end in itself. Because historical awareness and critical thinking are part of the inventory of a rounded human being.

But also because character and economic competitiveness are actually rather hard to disentangle. If the modern economy is built on specialisms, it is also built on a raft of soft skills such as intellectual confidence, logical thinking, communication and working and collaborating in teams.

This is a considerably more subtle and more complex view of graduates' role in supporting economic growth than some others have attempted. It is not only more credible than the notion that all a degree should provide is a set of specialist skills which three, four, or five years later exactly match an employer's list of expectations, it is also a canny political move. It seems Mandelson is seeking to identify a narrative which in which business and higher education can perhaps agree more fully on the nature of their relationship than has necessarily always been the case hitherto. If by doing so he can avoid conflict between two potentially adversarial elements of of his sprawling ministerial portfolio, he will strengthen his already considerable departmental hand in the face of coming spending cuts.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, the narrative about students, graduates and jobs has been less theoretical and struck a more practical note. The discussion moved on from recent positive news that students graduating from Scottish universities last year had more success finding jobs than their counterparts exiting English institutions. The focus instead turned to current students and to an NUS Scotland survey suggesting a lack of vacation employment opportunities and the Union's concern about the potential impact on indebtedness and, as a consequence, drop-out rates.

At the weekend The Observer had outlined some alternatives this year's graduates might turn to whilst the job market remains poor and the Westminster government announced more substantive help in an effort to address potentially significant levels of unemployment amongst young people, including recent graduates. Time and the publiation of employment statistics will tell but, at present, it seems even if universities were to be regarded as 'factories for producing workers' the demand for such workers may be limited in the short term.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (24/07/2009)

2009-07-24T08:30:00.003+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included...

In policy and funding news:

Lord Mandelson announced an additional 10,000 partially-funded places at English universities with the intention of addressing a significant increase in applications. Find out why the announcement received a relatively cool reception and what the news might mean for Scotland in HE Scotland's blog post on the topic.
A report for the UK government looking at access to the professions included praise for the University of Edinburgh's Pathways to the Professions scheme. However, the findings of Unleashing Aspiration drew comment from the Russell Group, the NUS and UCU, much of it focused on the proposals for 'fee free' degrees for English students staying at home and studying at a local university.
Glasgow Caledonian University found itself at the centre of a political row relating to comments made by the SNP's candidate for the Glasgow North-East Westminster by-election. A former Principal and Labour's higher education spokesperson, Claire Baker MSP, were both critical and the matter was raised in the Scottish Parliament.
There was official news about the impact of the downturn on HEFCE's future funding for English institutions in the form of Wednesday's publication of a consultation on teaching funding efficiency savings and Thursday's news about revised grant allocations.
Also this week, UHI put its draft Gaelic Language plan out to consultation, making it the first Scottish University to produce such a plan.

In student news:

Freshers were left wondering whether they might miss out on a tradition when, on Thursday, the Guardian announced that Universities may cancel freshers' week over swine flu.
The UHI made a series of announcements about students of the year at various of its sites, with Tommy Hayward, Dr George Craig, Kerry McGeachy and Nigel "Kenny" Kenworthy all picking up awards.
University of Aberdeen students had a notable triumph with their self-built car at Silverstone race track, picking up three awards and being placed highly in a global competition.
The University of Abertay, Dundee and RSAMD both made announcements about student funding awards.

In research news:

The University of Glasgow made a significant splash in the media by announcing news of researchers' findings about a girl with near perfect vision, despite having been born with just half a brain.
The University of Aberdeen's emeritus Professor, Hugh Pennington, was ubiquitous in commenting on the swine flu epidemic and, at the time of writing, had notched up some seventeen name checks on Twitter in just seven days.
There was news of two significant funding awards for the University of Dundee, which picked up £2m for its role leading a research consortium looking into off-grid electricity and was awarded a further £1.7m as the leader of a study looking into the delivery of drugs to treat cancer.

And finally,the nod for this week's best sector media release title goes to one of last week's joint winners, the University of Glasgow:

Pomme de Terrier: spud-loving Angus bites off more than he can chew

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.

To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

10,000 additional places in England - will Scotland follow Mandelson's lead?

2009-07-21T08:45:00.008+01:00

Peter Mandelson yesterday announced an additional 10,000 places for full-time undergraduate students studying at English universities this autumn. A "good news" announcement, it would seem, particularly as it hasn't required additional cash, but has been financed by "re-prioritising existing budgets." The reaction of the sector, however, makes very clear that the devil is most definitely in the detail.

A BBC article described the additional places as "part-funded: universities will get students' tuition fees but not grants for teaching and other support." It's this "part-funding" that is the key to understanding the sector's less than ecstatic reaction. The fact that these places are to be focused on science, technology and maths (STEM) subjects, will mean the "part-funding" received in student fees will, in most cases, very definitely be the smaller part: the HEFCE grant funding universities would normally receive for many STEM students is significantly greater than the £3,145 tuition fee the students themselves pay. Under yesterday's announcement English universities will miss out on this larger element of their normal income per student and only receive the annual fees paid directly by the student for the duration of their course.

This absence of the larger slice of the funding per student, plus the need to still find funds to offer bursaries to many taking up these extra places, is what lies behind the lack of enthusiasm for Lord Mandelson's announcement. Whilst Million+ welcomed the news as a campaign victory, they must surely have hoped for more than this in making the sector's case. The Russell Group, the 1994 Group and the UCU were all far less up-beat and variously voiced concerns about the impact education "on the cheap" might have on the quality of the student experience, on staff workloads and on the long term financial health of universities. Student Groups were similar non-plussed,. The NUS noted that "thousands of people who have applied to study non-STEM subjects are still going to be without a place in the summer" and expressed disappointment that the student loan “repayment holiday” will be reduced to two years as part of the re-prioritisation to find funding for these extra places.

But what might this announcement mean for Scotland? Back in February, UCU called for additional funding for the Scottish higher education sector in recognition of the increased numbers of university applicants resulting from the economic downturn. Can we now expect Fiona Hyslop to accede to the Union's demands and follow Lord Mandelson's lead?

Last month, the Scottish Government announced investment of £16.1 million in places at Scotland's Colleges, along with a further £12 million investment to improve the institution's estates infrastructure. In light of this, it might be that the Scottish Government has made its move, and chosen to spend its money to alleviate demand caused by the downturn by supporting Scotland's colleges, rather than its universities.

However, even though the additional places in England are cash-neutral, some additional funding may yet come the way of the Scottish Government via the Barnett formula which is used to allocate funding to the devolved nations. If this is the case, then Universities Scotland will almost certainly look to lay claim to any such funds in order to assist the sector with the increased level of undergraduate applications. However, as was the case in England, any available funds may have to be stretched much more thinly than institutions might like if the government is to be able to announce an additional number of places which looks newsworthy and appears to go a reasonable way towards meeting the significantly increased demand.

Jobs, Cats, Bats, & Robotic Monsters of the Deep: The Friday Round-Up (17/07/2009)

2009-07-17T08:45:00.000+01:00

Notable stories appearing on the HE Scotland Twitter feed in the last seven days included:

In policy and funding news:

The results of the annual Business & Community Interaction Survey were released with related commentary from the SFC, HEFCE and an interesting summary of Scottish HEIs' performance from the Scottish Government. HE Scotland's blog post on the results comments on the Scottish sector's strong relative performance and the backdrop of expected changes to SFC knowledge exchange funding
UCU claimed job cuts at Stirling and Strathclyde universities threatened the Scottish HE sector's "proud reputation as a global leader in higher education." Responding in a BBC report, the Scottish Government pointed to its "£5.24bn investment in universities and colleges over three years"
Exhortations calling for the UK higher education sector to model itself more closely on the US and develop an equivalent of the Ivy League featured in The Herald and the THE
Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an announcement of additional places for University entry in 2009, but did not provide figures, nor clarify whether this would be a UK-wide measure. UCU gave a qualified welcome to the news - expect further developments and commentary on what this may mean for Scotland as details emerge over the coming days

In student news:

HESA published performance indicators relating to graduate employment which indicated a rise in the number unemployed six months after graduation. UCU and the Russell Group commented on the figures in an article in The Times, whilst a piece in The Scotsman looked to the positive, noting that the employment figures for several Scottish universities were better than Oxbridge
A former welsh youth international footballer made an immediate impact at Stirling, whilst one-time University of Edinburgh midfielder, Jamie Redman, turned professional with Arbroath and a Heriot-Watt graduate took her first UK title winning the 5,000 metres at the Aviva World Trials and UK Championships
Abertay University launched ten new bursaries to commemorate its fifteenth anniversary
In what was surely the headline writer's gift of the last seven days, students in Heriot-Watt's "Team Nessie" recorded a sub-aquatic robotic triumph at 'SAUC-E 2009'

In research news:

There were significant medical breakthroughs reported in relation to e-coli genetics (University of Dundee), a link between a low IQ and heart disease (Glasgow & Edinburgh universities), the relationship between obesity and complications during pregnancy (University of Edinburgh) and the DNA 'Swiss army knife' (University of Dundee).

When it wasn't the medics, it was the vets, with animals featuring prominently. More specifically, cats and bats both featured in research stories with Scottish links:

A University of Edinburgh graduate's research into cats' plaintive appeals to their owners' parental instincts made national headlines
News of two Aberdeen University researchers' experiments with radar to prevent bats meeting an unhappy ending on the blades of wind turbines was released on Thursday

Finally, the inaugural HE Scotland award for the best sector media release title of the last seven days saw a dead heat between the University of Glasgow and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama:

Glasgow academics organise medieval roundtable event (Glasgow)
T Time for Professor Phil (RSAMD)

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens, or to register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, simply e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

Scottish Knowledge Exchange: Strong Performance, But Funding Reforms Anticipated

2009-07-13T21:35:00.008+01:00

Scottish universities performed well in figures released yesterday in the HE Business & Communication Interaction (HE-BCI) Survey summary results for Scottish universities. Despite a decline in income under the "regeneration" and "IP income" headings (not to mention the absence of data from one institution), Scottish institutions increased their total relevant income by some 7% in 2007-08. This increase of £19.1M delivered an overall Scottish total of £341.4m and a 4% real terms growth rate.

The Scottish rate of growth is not only slightly ahead of the rest of the UK, but comparative data shows that Scotland outperforming comparators across a range of areas. The statistics indicate that Scotland's universities make considerably more patent applications per million of population than those in Canada and the rest of the UK. Similarly, spin offs from Scottish HEIs have, on average, a higher turnover than those from the rest of the UK and Scotland's universities have consistently achieved a higher rate of spin-offs per million of population than their peers in Canada, the rest of the UK and the USA.

Whilst this strong performance may be cause for celebration, the funding stream used to incentivise knowledge exchange in Scotland looks set to change. Writing in November last year, Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, asked that the Funding Council (SFC) "ensure that Scotland increases the demand side ‘pull’ for new knowledge created in universities and delivers knowledge into the Scottish economy which creates additional wealth." As a result of this direction, the SFC has stated that it plans to review the metrics used for the allocation of the £21m Knowledge Transfer Grant (KTG) during 2009.

The KTG funding was included in the SFC's new 'Horizon Fund for Universities' the details of which were announced as part of a major overhaul of the SFC's approach to funding in March. The new Fund is specifically intended to drive the government's policy priorities and the inclusion of KTG within this stream, coupled with the emphasis the November letter placed on SME's and the need to address demand, suggests that the consultation may propose some radical reforms.

Whether or not radical reform is proposed, the forthcoming consultation is certain to be particularly closely scrutinsed in the universities of Glasgow, Dundee, Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The HE-BCI survey shows these five institutions account for some 82% of the total value of "contract research" income in the Scottish sector. The same five will also together share some £14.64m, or 70%, of the current KTG grant for 2009-10.

Welcome

2009-07-10T18:21:00.004+01:00

Welcome to HE Scotland! We will be offering you access to all the latest news and comment relevant to the Scottish higher education sector.

Keep yourself right up-to-date with the news every day by following us on Twitter, take a look at our topical blog posts, or catch up on the week's highlights via the Friday round-up.

HE Scotland

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (04/09/2009)

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (28/08/2009)

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (21/08/2009)

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (14/08/2009)

In policy and funding news:

In student news:

In research news:

As usual we finish with the best sector media release title of the week. This edition's award goes to this from Edinburgh Napier University:

University to hothouse future RockstarsBut it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:Stressful life ages ewe

But it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:Stressful life ages ewe

But it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:

Stressful life ages ewe

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Follow HE Scotland on Twitter to keep pace with Scottish higher education news as it happens.To register for e-mail alerts about future editions of the Friday Round-Up, just e-mail "Subscribe" to HEScotland@gmail.com - your details will NOT be shared with third parties.

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (07/08/2009)

NSS Results - Students in Scotland most satisfied in the UK, but feedback an issue for NUS

University autonomy: UK swims against the European tide

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (31/07/2009)

Mandelson - universities 'are not factories for producing workers'

HE Scotland's Friday Round-Up (24/07/2009)

10,000 additional places in England - will Scotland follow Mandelson's lead?

Jobs, Cats, Bats, & Robotic Monsters of the Deep: The Friday Round-Up (17/07/2009)

Scottish Knowledge Exchange: Strong Performance, But Funding Reforms Anticipated

Welcome

University to hothouse future Rockstars
But it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:
Stressful life ages ewe

But it would be impossible to finish without mentioning the following headline from The Scotsman:
Stressful life ages ewe