EDUCATION
Hughes quits as government shake-up looms
Times Educational Supplement
05/06/2009
The Children's minister, Beverley Hughes, has announced she will stand down as an MP at the next general election and will leave the government in the predicted ministerial reshuffle following the local elections. There is also mounting speculation that Ed Balls will leave his position as Schools Secretary in the reshuffle.
EDUCATION - FURTHER EDUCATION
College construction plans must wait - again
Guardian
02/06/2009
Principals expecting to find out this week if their new buildings can go ahead face a three-month delay. The Learning and Skills Council said in a letter to college principals that many more colleges have put forward a case for their projects to be considered as “shovel ready” than expected, and consequently the Council will have to consider the evidence from PWC regarding the readiness assessment and the prioritisation process to inform a judgement about which colleges will advance.
LSC Further Education Capital Programme letter
LSC
01/06/2009
The Learning and Skills Council has sent a letter to all College Principals outlining further delays to the funding decisions and the next steps in the process.
New guide to help Colleges strengthen ties with business launched
Association of Colleges
02/06/2009
‘Hiding the wiring – a best practice guide for communicating with employers’ has been published by the AoC to help business development and communications professionals in Colleges strengthen ties with business through more effective communication.
Would-be terrorists don't choose bogus colleges, says minister
Guardian
02/06/2009
Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, has told the Home Affairs Select Committee that the government accepts there is a problem with bogus institutions and has taken action to try to deal with that illegal immigration route. However he said "I personally have never seen intelligence that would suggest that terrorists or would-be terrorists have used that route".
EDUCATION - HIGHER EDUCATION
Academics boycott visa 'snooping'
BBC News
29/05/2009
University academics say they will boycott new visa rules for overseas students that would make them into "immigration snoopers".
Ageing professors leave a vacuum
Guardian
29/05/2009
Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) reveal that one in five academics are now 55 or older. This has sparked fears that universities will be forced to rely on young scholars from overseas to replace those about to retire.
Denham questions quality of teaching at universities with high drop-out rates
Guardian
04/06/2009
A huge row has broken out over comments by John Denham, the universities secretary. In a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England he claimed that poor teaching could be a factor in the higher dropout rates seen at some universities.
Higher Education Funding Council for England annual report and accounts 2008-09
HC Paper No.373 (Session 2008/09)
01/06/2009
Hefce annual report and accounts 2008-09 has been published.
Medical research charities: Giving and funding are falling
Times Higher Education
04/06/2009
A quarter of medical research charities plan to cut funding to universities, in some cases by up to 40 per cent. The cut is blamed on a fall in charitable giving caused by the recession.
Now is the age of the discontented
Times Higher Education
04/06/2009
Considers the rise in student complaints, particularly concerning teaching standards and feedback. Includes examples of unjustified student complaints from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.
Part-time researchers: Universities must do more
Times Higher Education
04/06/2009
A report by Vitae, an organisation for the development of research staff, makes 14 recommendations to get universities to strengthen support for part-time researchers.
Privatise elite universities, says top VC
Guardian
01/06/2009
Sir Roy Anderson, rector of Imperial College, said Britain's top five elite universities should be allowed to privatise to form a US-style Ivy league and charge much higher fees.
Questions of cost and usefulness dog e-learning
Times Higher Education
04/06/2009
About half of university staff polled believe that learning technologies are popular with students, but only a small proportion of academics are embracing them as the majority see e-learning as expensive and time-consuming.
Religious observance in higher education: Institutional timetabling and work patterns
Equality Challenge Unit
01/06/2009
Guidance from the Equality Challenge Unit on reconciling religious observance with academic or management responsibilities, such as the timetabling of assessment, teaching and contractual hours.
Students' campaigns take some ugly turns
Times Higher Education
04/06/2009
Lecturers are facing a wave of student activism over teaching quality, which academic leaders have likened to "bullying".
University drop-out rate rises in wake of top-up fees
Guardian
04/06/2009
The university drop-out rate increased slightly for 2007-08 according to official figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This has prompted suggestions that the top-up fees introduced in England could be deterring some students from poorer homes going to university and making it harder for others to stay there. The findings have prompted John Denham, the universities secretary, to order the university funding agency to review why there is such "wide variation" in the drop-out rates and the social backgrounds of students at different universities.
EDUCATION - SCHOOLS
Banks return to Building Schools for the Future market
Education Investor
29/05/2009
Banks and financial institutions are starting to return to the government’s flagship Building Schools for the Future scheme, according to the programme’s head.
Plans for report cards in next week's white paper
Times Educational Supplement
05/06/2009
The proposals for the introduction of school report cards which will classify every primary and secondary school with a single grade are expected to be included in the forthcoming white paper, 21st century Schools.
Soham advice ignored by 60% of schools
Times Educational Supplement
05/06/2009
Only 40 percent of schools have completed a free government training course on staff recruitment aimed at preventing a repeat of the Soham murders, thus prompting the DSCF to draw up regulations to make the training a legal requirement.
Supply teachers could lose out on equal pay
Times Educational Supplement
05/06/2009
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers Union says staff who work fewer than 12 weeks may not be covered by the new employment laws.
Visa warning from private schools
BBC News
02/06/2009
Tighter immigration visa rules to stop bogus colleges are causing problems for private schools seeking foreign pupils, says the Independent Schools Council.
