chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal
@chrishavergal.bsky.social
580 followers 370 following 640 posts
Editor, @timeshighered.bsky.social
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 1d
The UCL admissions chaos will damage UK HE’s global reputation, writes @dougspecht.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/ucl-...
The UCL admissions chaos will damage UK HE’s global reputation
Future crises can be averted if government and universities share data and plans in a more timely and transparent fashion, says Doug Sprecht
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 2d
Student turns up for course, having been promised £2K scholarship. At end of induction day, told that the course had been cancelled www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
Student turns up at university only to find course cancelled
Sudden cancellation ‘devastating’ as financial pressures force universities across the country to close programmes
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 2d
At least five UK universities have told staff they will not be paying them the sector-wide uplift that was due in August www.timeshighereducation.com/news/five-uk... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social
Five UK universities tell staff they can’t afford pay rises
Negotiations over whether to honour 1.4 per cent increase ongoing at several other institutions amid financial crunch
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 4d
National University of Singapore mandates that all full-time staff should work on campus five days a week www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nus-ord... via @tashmosheim.bsky.social
NUS orders academics back to campus five days a week
National University of Singapore scraps policy that allowed one work from home day because of the ‘value of in-person interactions’
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 7d
Limiting maintenance grants only to certain courses may end up undermining Labour’s goal of widening access and puts arts, humanities, and social sciences programmes at further risk, experts warn www.timeshighereducation.com/news/mainten... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social @patrickjack.bsky.social
Maintenance grants only for priority courses ‘deeply concerning’
Using financial incentives to influence student choice risk undermining Labour’s widening access goals, critics fear
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 7d
Story: Keir Starmer drops Labour’s long-held target of ensuring at least 50 per cent of young people attend university, stating: “I don’t think that’s right for our times.” www.timeshighereducation.com/news/starmer... via @jgro-the.bsky.social
Starmer: 50 per cent university target ‘not right for our times’
Prime minister scraps Tony Blair's long-held target to get half of young people into higher education, instead aiming for two-thirds accessing university or apprenticeships
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 7d
There were times when HE didn't get a mention even in education secretary's conference speech, so it's notable it's in the PM's speech as well...plenty to digest here beyond participation targets, including single funding model for level 4-6 courses, and FE courses coming under OfS regulation
Reposted by Chris Havergal
hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 8d
Pleased to see the return of maintenance grants. Sorry they won’t probably cover most of humanities & social sciences (although let’s see). But most of all intrigued as to how they will manage a very complex funding stream. If fewer international students in a given year does that mean fewer grants?
andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social
Andrew Sparrow @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social · 8d
Bridget Phillipson says poorest students will get maintenance grants for some courses, funded by international student levy - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
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Reposted by Chris Havergal
omaromalleykhan.bsky.social
Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 8d
I noted I still needed time to digest and analyse fully

One q is if this will be applied at a sector or an institution basis

I assume the former, meaning higher tariff universities may contribute more in international student levy

With other universities having more students eligible for grants?
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 8d
Story: Labour to fund targeted maintenance grants with international fee levy www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labour-... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social
Labour promises new maintenance grants ‘funded by fee levy’
Mean-tested support only to be offered to those studying courses aligned to party’s priority areas
www.timeshighereducation.com
chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 8d
Return of maintenance grants welcome but funding it with international student levy is a ‘mistake’, @universitiesuk.bsky.social chief executive @viviennestern.bsky.social tells @smfthinktank.bsky.social fringe. International students already heavily cross-subsidising sector.
chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 8d
In conference speech Bridget Phillipson announces return of maintenance grants for targeted courses, funded by international student levy. Now in @smfthinktank.bsky.social fringe on widening access, so will be interesting to hear what panel makes of that…
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 9d
Steep decline in number of Chinese students studying abroad “highly likely” in next decade but universities reliant on these enrolments for survival remain mostly oblivious to the coming challenge, reports @tashmosheim.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/collaps...
Collapse in Chinese student numbers ‘highly likely’ by 2040
Long-term trends including declining birth rate mean number of students looking to study abroad set to be much lower in only 10 years’ time
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 12d
Scottish universities forecast £13 million deficit for next year www.timeshighereducation.com/news/deficit... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social
Deficit looms for Scottish sector amid ‘stark’ financial climate
Universities projected to dip into the red next year due to falling fee income and rising staff costs, with any long-term recovery likely to be uneven
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 12d
Where now for the REF? Five very different views on how radical the changes should be www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/where-...
Where now for the REF?
The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should t...
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 12d
Majority of constituencies likely to take biggest economic hit from UK’s proposed levy on international student fees are held by Labour, researchers find www.timeshighereducation.com/news/fee-lev... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social
Fee levy economic impact ‘hits hardest in Labour constituencies’
Cost to UK economy of £1.8 billion a year once ‘gross value added’ by international students factored in, new analysis shows
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 13d
Quarter of students have suffered some form of sexual harassment since entering higher education, UK-wide survey finds, with prevalence far higher among certain groups and only one in 10 reporting incidents formally www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nationa... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social
‘National scandal’: quarter of students suffer sexual harassment
‘Shocking figures’ show ‘devastating’ impact on students, with women and LGB people particularly vulnerable
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 13d
Who should replace Melvyn Bragg as host of In Our Time? And should it be an academic? @jgro-the.bsky.social looks at the runners and riders www.timeshighereducation.com/news/should-...
Should an academic replace Melvyn Bragg on In Our Time?
With the veteran BBC presenter leaving the landmark Radio 4 show, some say the job should next go to one of a growing breed of academic broadcasters
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 13d
Little enthusiasm for US-style purge of equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives in universities, major UK poll from @moreincommonuk.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk finds www.timeshighereducation.com/news/public-... via @twilliamsthe.bsky.social iam
www.timeshighereducation.com
chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 14d
Australian funding and policy settings would be restructured to force universities to specialise their research, under draft proposals from a landmark review of the country’s innovation system www.timeshighereducation.com/news/special...
Specialise or else: Australian review targets focused research
Registration requirements and compact negotiations would be reformed to funnel universities into ‘focus areas’, under panel’s draft proposals
www.timeshighereducation.com
chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 14d
KEF 2025: Russell Group shines on research spin-out investment www.timeshighereducation.com/news/kef-202... via @jgro-the.bsky.social
KEF 2025: Russell Group shines on research spin-out investment
Results of the fifth annual Knowledge Exchange Framework show research-intensive institutions performed mostly strongly on intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 15d
Introduction of a levy on overseas tuition fees in the UK could deter tens of thousands of international applicants and lead to loss of university places for domestic students, research finds www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-woul... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
UK ‘would lose 135,000 domestic places’ if fee levy introduced
New modelling estimates that controversial proposals could wipe about £2.2 billion from the UK economy in just five years
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 15d
More priority industries should be exempted from UK government’s plans to defund master’s level apprenticeships, says House of Commons Education Committee www.timeshighereducation.com/news/keep-fu... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
Keep funding high-level apprentices in priority areas, MPs urge
Education committee says exemption to defunding plans for healthcare courses should be extended to include ‘growth-driving’ industries
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 15d
UK government urged by @sciencecampaign.bsky.social to remove barriers in the visa process for researchers to capitalise on new US restrictions imposed by Donald Trump www.timeshighereducation.com/news/confusi... via @patrickjack.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com
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chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 15d
Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars including @jennyrichards.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref... via @jgro-the.bsky.social
Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars
Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors
www.timeshighereducation.com
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