Tag: Numbers

  • UK study visa applications up 7% while dependant numbers plummet

    UK study visa applications up 7% while dependant numbers plummet

    New Home Office migration statistics show the full effect of an almost outright ban on dependants – with numbers dropping sharply for the second year in a row since the policy was announced.

    While there were 419,558 main applications for UK study visas in the year ending September 2025, marking a 7% increase on the previous year, there were 20,366 dependants – a 57% decrease year on year.

    It marks the second consecutive year of falling dependants, with this number decreasing annually by a whopping 87% in the year ending September 2024.

    It follows new rules introduced in January 2024 to ban students on postgraduate-taught programs from bringing their dependants with them to the UK.

    The number of UK study visas issued to international students and their dependants rose sharply after 2016 – reaching a post-Covid peak of 652,072 in 2023. Now, since the dependants ban, the number of study visas issued has fallen to 439,924.

    According to the Home Office, there has been roughly one dependant for every 20 main study visa applicants since the year ending March 2025 – a stark decline since the year ending September 2023, when this number stood at six per 20 main applicants.

    Source: Home Office

    Indian students were issued the most sponsored study visas in the year ending September 2025, with 99,18 visas issued. Chinese students made up the second biggest cohort – with 89,397 visas issued, 15% fewer than the previous year.

    Pakistani students were the third biggest group – issued 39,924 study visas, while there were gains for Nepali students (up 89% to 20,572) and Nigerian students (up 56% to 30,009).

    According to James Pitman, chairman of Independent Higher Education (IHE) and CEO of Studygroup, the effect of the dependants ban has been discriminatory – disproportionately affecting women.

    Speaking in a personal capacity at yesterday’s IHE annual conference, Pitman acknowledged that the dependants visa has “a major flaw”, but said that this could have been corrected rather than withdrawing the scheme entirely for taught degrees.

    “As predicted by the sector, that withdrawal was gender discriminatory, leading to the loss of 19,000 female students vs prior year in the January 2024 intake alone,” he said. “Every one of those was a human story, of ambitions denied, families fractured, careers restricted and yet again women being discriminated against – in this case by UK government policy.”

    Every one of those was a human story, of ambitions denied, families fractured, careers restricted and yet again women being discriminated against
    James Pitman

    Home Office figures obtained by Pitman via a freedom of information request show a marked year-on-year decline in women issued sponsored study visa grants for courses at RQF level 6-8 or equivalent starting in January.

    In 2023, of 81,079 total student visas, 45% were issued to women, compared to 55% that were issued to men. But the following year, after the dependants ban was brought in, the gender split was 66% in favour of men. These numbers stayed stable in 2025, the data showed, with 65% of sponsored study visas issued to men.

    Source link

  • Schools grapple with whooping cough as 2025 outpaces last year’s peak numbers

    Schools grapple with whooping cough as 2025 outpaces last year’s peak numbers

    This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

    Dive Brief:

    Dive Insight:

    The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Nov. 3 that it was tracking a significant increase in pertussis cases in 2025. According to provisional data, the agency said, “Texas has had more than 3,500 reported pertussis cases through October this year, roughly four times the number reported for the same period last year.”

    The number of cases is also reportedly the highest for the state in 11 years.

    Texas schools, among other entities like hospitals, are required to report individuals who are suspected of having pertussis within one work day, according to the state health agency.

    This is the second consecutive year that Texas has experienced high year-over-year increases in reported pertussis cases, and it’s also the second consecutive year the state’s Department of State Health Services has issued a health alert, according to a news release.

    The CDC said reported cases of pertussis are currently trending down in 2025 since a peak in November 2024, when more than six times as many cases were reported, compared to 2023. The agency added that case counts will likely change as it finalizes the data.

    In September, Colorado-based healthcare system UCHealth reported that cases of whooping cough “are on track to be even worse this year than in 2024,” adding that health officials in parts of the state have warned of “a noticeable jump” in pertussis cases as kids have returned to school.

    In many states across the U.S. — including Florida, Oregon and Washington — cases of pertussis as of Sept. 20 were already outpacing total year-to-date cases reported by the CDC in 2025. UCHealth’s September report noted that the worst U.S. pertussis outbreaks so far in 2025 were on the West Coast, with high numbers also reported in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Arizona.

    Other childhood diseases are also on the rise as a result of shifting attitudes toward vaccines and vaccine mandates. According to the CDC, the best defense against pertussis is a vaccination.

    In March, measles infections spread across several U.S. states, a quarter-century after the potentially fatal disease had been declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000.

    In addition to the impact on student health, an uptick in acute and chronic illnesses can also increase chronic absenteeism issues for schools and school districts. A CDC study published last year found that in 2022, 5.8% of children experienced chronic school absenteeism for health-related reasons.

    Source link

  • UCL granted extra CAS numbers after exceeding allocation limit

    UCL granted extra CAS numbers after exceeding allocation limit

    Last week, The Guardian reported that hundreds of international students were contacted by UCL after the institution exceeded its allocation of Confirmations of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) – an electronic document issued by the Home Office and required for student visa applications.

    Students were told they would have to defer their studies to 2026, with many students fearing they’d be left out of pocket, having already spent significant funds on travel and accommodation.

    At the time, the university attributed the issue to an “extraordinary surge in demand”. This week, however, it has apologised for the disruption and assured affected international students that they can now begin their studies at UCL, following the allocation of additional CAS numbers.

    “We wholeheartedly apologise to all those who have been impacted by the recent uncertainty and we are incredibly grateful for their patience. Our teams are now working quickly to contact students directly with updates and support,” said a spokesperson for the university.

    “We also thank the Home Office for working swiftly to assist us in obtaining the additional CAS numbers we requested.”

    The university has offered to pay GBP £1,000 for students to make applications through UK Visa and Immigration’s ‘super priority service’.

    Our teams are now working quickly to contact students directly with updates and support
    UCL spokesperson

    Last week, UCL said it experienced “significantly more applications and acceptances of offers than anticipated” leading to it exceeding the number of CAS allocated by the Home Office. The university’s planning is based on historical data and expected trends, which take account of attrition rates and other factors, a spokesperson told The Guardian.

    UCL has a significant international student body – in 2024/5, the university had a total of 51,793 students, of which 52% were from overseas.

    The institution is expected to be one of the hardest hit institutions by the UK government’s proposed levy on higher education, which could see universities taxed on the income they make from international student fees.

    According to recent analysis from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), the greatest financial losses are expected to fall on major metropolitan universities with high proportions of international students. UCL – which derives 79% of its tuition fee income from non-UK students – could face losses of up to £42 million.

     

    Source link

  • Falling mature student numbers requires policy action

    Falling mature student numbers requires policy action

    With the clutch of traditional higher education flashpoints accounted for – A level and SQA results days, and a clearing season reported to be particularly fraught in some quarters – the summer is drawing to a close, and a new academic year is upon us.

    Eighteen year olds are set to attend universities in record numbers, up 5 per cent year on year and up 27 per cent since 2016. This is unquestionably a great thing. However, it masks a troublingly stubborn decline in mature students numbers.

    In recent years, the number of these students – those aged 21 and over (or 25 and over for postgraduate study) – entering UK universities has been falling at an alarming rate, down by 26 per cent since 2016 according to UCAS. This decline may sound like a niche concern, but it carries big implications for the wider economy, for skills shortages, and for the prospects of people who want to reskill later in life.

    As the government prepares to roll out the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), there’s an urgent opportunity to rethink how the sector and society support adult learners and to ensure that lifelong education becomes a central pillar of our skills system.

    The current picture

    While the signs from clearing so far offer some encouragement, due perhaps to a sluggish economy, the data remains stark. Over the past decade or more, the number of mature students entering higher education has steadily declined, down 43 per cent since 2012.

    The causes are multifaceted, but a shift began with the introduction of higher fees in 2012 and has persisted – it is well established that mature students tend to be more debt-averse, so this coupled with the rising cost of living and the upfront financial commitment of a degree will no doubt put off many.

    Others may well be put off by a lack of flexibility. While real strides have been made in this area, particularly at modern universities, the structures of funding and regulation mean a lot of courses are still designed for school-leavers with the time and freedom to study full-time. Family responsibilities, limited employer support for training and the still-dominant perception that universities are designed for 18-year-olds will also play a role.

    The pandemic briefly nudged some adults back into learning, but the overall trend remains downward. Without targeted action, these numbers are unlikely to recover on their own.

    A price to pay

    Why does this matter beyond the university sector? Because a thriving economy depends on people being able to learn, retrain, and adapt throughout their lives. Mature students often bring real-world experience into classrooms and tend to choose courses that fill urgent skills shortages – in health and social care, teaching, engineering, IT, and other high-demand sectors.

    When these pathways dry up, industries suffer. Skills gaps are prevalent across key sectors and have been estimated by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation to cost the economy almost £40bn per year. Without a pipeline of retrained workers, employers struggle to fill gaps, productivity growth stalls, and regional economies miss opportunities to regenerate.

    It’s also an issue of social mobility. For people whose school results closed off higher education the first time around, mature study offers a second chance to change careers, boost their earnings, and improve their families’ prospects. If that route disappears, inequality widens – and our economy pays the price.

    A new hope?

    The LLE, due to launch in 2026, aims to reshape post-18 education in England by enabling a move away from the traditional three- or four-year degree as the default model. Instead, individuals will be able to draw on a single pot of funding – equivalent to four years of study, or around £38,000 – and use it flexibly over their lifetimes, taking courses in smaller, more targeted chunks.

    In principle, this modular approach could open the door for adults with work and family commitments, allowing them to pursue short courses when needed and return later for further study without losing access to funding. By making learning more flexible, affordable, and tied to labour market needs, the LLE is pitched as a way to lower barriers that currently deter many mature learners, particularly in an economy being reshaped by AI, automation, and the green transition.

    Yet the promise of the scheme is far from guaranteed. The rollout is proving complex, with uncertainties over how funding will be administered, whether universities and colleges will be equipped to redesign courses in modular formats, and how easily learners will be able to navigate the system. Awareness is another challenge: adults with established careers and busy lives may not know the scheme exists, or may find the process of accessing funding too bureaucratic to be worth the effort. Employers, meanwhile, will need to support staff in using the entitlement – something that cannot be assumed.

    There are also cultural and practical reasons to doubt whether large numbers of mature learners will take up the LLE. Adults may be reluctant to re-enter formal education, particularly if they are anxious about returning to study, lack confidence with digital learning, or doubt the value of small qualifications in the job market. Others may weigh the potential benefits against the costs – not only financial, but also in time and disruption to family or work responsibilities – and decide against it.

    In short, while the LLE represents a bold attempt to modernise lifelong education, its success will depend on whether the system can overcome significant implementation hurdles and whether mature learners themselves see it as accessible, relevant, and worthwhile.

    The role of modern universities

    Universities are at the heart of this challenge. They too cannot rest on their laurels and must continue to consider how they design, market, and deliver their courses if they are to serve lifelong learners as effectively as they serve 18-year-olds fresh from colleges. Modern universities, which traditionally teach the majority of mature undergraduates, must continue to lead this agenda from the front.

    Partnerships with local employers, another area in which modern universities lead, are key. By aligning courses with regional economic needs – for example, creating pathways into green technologies, health and care, or digital sectors – universities can help ensure that adults return to education with a clear line of sight to better jobs.

    But a cultural shift is just as important. Universities need to be hubs for lifelong learning, not just finishing schools for young adults, and the government has significant work to do in getting the word out to the general public that the opportunity to study or re-train is there to be taken.

    The decline in mature students is more than a higher education story. It’s a warning sign for our economy and for our ability to adapt to change. The LLE offers a chance to reverse the trend – but only if universities, employers, and policymakers work together to make lifelong learning a reality.

    In a fast-changing world, education cannot stop at 21. The people of Britain need a system that allows people to keep learning, keep adapting, and keep contributing to the economy throughout their lives.

    Source link

  • The Numbers Don’t Lie: HSI Funding Delivers Results

    The Numbers Don’t Lie: HSI Funding Delivers Results

     Dr. William Casey Boland A lawsuit challenging Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) federal funding represents another figurative bomb lobbed in the current war on U.S. higher education. Galvanized by the President’s blitzkrieg on social funding and education, this assault on the alleged reverse racism of HSI funding reflects the ugly political tenor of the times in the U.S. It also conveniently ignores the evidence of the positive impact of such governmental support. 

    l’ll acknowledge my bias: I teach at a large urban college that recently received an HSI grant. Nearly all my students are students of color, with roughly half being Hispanic. Many are the first in their families to enroll in college. Most of their parents were not born in the U.S.  We are amongst the 20% of all colleges in the U.S. that are eligible to apply for an HSI grant, which are made available through the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Title III and Title V). 

    Why did we apply for this grant? State funding per student to public HSIs is $6,396.59 compared to $15,526.13 for non-HSIs. The ongoing disparities in postsecondary educational attainment based on race and ethnicity reveal more about a deficit in public policy to address the equitable distribution of resources and less about the ability of students of color to obtain a college degree. Despite modest gains over time, gaps in attainment continue. 28% of the Hispanic population in the U.S. received an associate degree or higher compared to 48% of the white population. The average graduation rate in four-year postsecondary institutions was 52% for Hispanic students compared to 65% for white students. HSI grants are made available in part to narrow this gap in college outcomes amongst Hispanic students.

    What is my college doing with its HSI grant? To advance retention, persistence, and specific course completion, the grant will improve the First Year Seminar, provide professional develop with a focus on culturally responsive pedagogy, integrate tutoring, peer mentoring, academic and career coaching, and target intervention in gateway courses.

    Many HSI-eligible colleges look like mine, but not all. They are two and four-year public and private non-profit institutions that are under-resourced, become eligible to apply when their undergraduate enrollment reaches 25% Hispanic and at minimum 50% receive some form of financial aid. The rising number of colleges eligible for HSI grants reflects the growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. Between 2010 and 2022, the Hispanic population accounted for 34 percent of the overall increase in the U.S. population. Hispanic participation in colleges and universities rose from 14 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2022.

    Several characteristics are common across institutions designated as HSIs. First, Hispanics tend to enroll in HSI-designated colleges more than non-HSIs. This is largely due to Hispanic students wanting to enroll in a college close to their community. Second, Hispanic students attending HSIs are often the first in their family to seek a college degree. Third, Hispanic students enrolled in HSIs on average graduated from high schools with large classroom sizes, disproportionate levels of racially minoritized student populations, and lower standardized test scores. Many argue that HSIs offer such students an opportunity to participate in postsecondary education that they would not otherwise have.

    Evidence-based research demonstrates the ROI on the federal government’s investment in HSIs. When colleges receive HSI grants, there is a positive effect on Hispanic students. I found that grant receipt increases Hispanic bachelor’s degree completion by nearly 30 percent and associate degrees by almost 25 percent. In another study, we found a 10% increase in Hispanic students obtaining STEM associate’s degrees. We also found benefits for non-Hispanic students, with an 11% increase in the number of those students receiving STEM associate’s degrees. This echoes another study focusing on the initial year HSI STEM grants were awarded with the authors finding HSI STEM grant receipt directly led to an 8% increase in Hispanic students receiving such degrees in community colleges. 

    I doubt the architects of this recent lawsuit challenging HSI funding have ever spoken to someone who graduated from an HSI. I teach a graduate course on minority serving institutions (MSIs). Nearly all my students are students of color from the New York City metropolitan area. Most attended different MSIs as undergraduates. While experiences vary, most extol the virtues of having attended an MSI. They speak to the level of support they received, the power of being surrounded my others who shared their background, the willingness of HSIs and other MSIs to welcome students’ families and community to campus, amongst many other characteristics that made them glad they chose an HSI or MSI over a PWI.

    It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of postsecondary programs funded through tax-payer dollars. Yet recent political antagonism directed towards higher education looks more like red meat being tossed to appease the red base as opposed to thoughtful, evidence-based decision-making. Acknowledging the effectiveness of HSI funding and similar efforts would weaken the core animating principle of the current Republican mission to decimate political support for such programs and reduce the existence of government more broadly.

    Dr. William Casey Boland is an assistant professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College-City University of New York.

    Source link

  • International Students by the Numbers

    International Students by the Numbers

    Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump and his administration have acted aggressively against international students, including instituting widespread changes to their legal status and implementing entry bans on nationals of specific countries or for scholars at certain institutions.

    To put into context the role of international students in U.S. higher education and their added value to the U.S. economy, Inside Higher Ed compiled five key statistics about them.

    1. International students are 1.1 million strong, making up 6 percent of U.S. enrollments.

    The U.S. hosts the largest share of international students globally (16 percent), welcoming 1.1 million learners in 2024, according to the Institute of International Education. About 242,700 visitors to the U.S. are on Optional Practical Training, or OPT for short, according to IIE data.

    While the U.S. welcomes the largest number of international students, these students make up a fraction—about 6 percent—of the country’s total enrollment. By comparison, Canada welcomed 840,000 international students in 2024, or 39 percent of the country’s total postsecondary enrollment.

    2. Two percent of international students have been impacted by new travel bans.

    As of Monday, nationals of 12 countries have been barred from entering the United States, and those from seven more countries face significant visa restrictions. The ban, announced in a June 5 executive order from President Trump, will impact students from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, among others.

    About 25,000 students from these countries were studying in the U.S. as of March 2024, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security analyzed by Inside Higher Ed. Approximately one in five of them was participating in a bachelor’s program, and 38 percent were enrolled in a doctoral program.

    If the Trump administration succeeds in reducing the number of Chinese students who can participate in U.S. higher education, the impacts may be more dramatic on enrollment; Chinese international scholars numbered 255,146 in March 2024, according to DHS data.

    3. California is the No. 1 host among states.

    Among the 50 states, California welcomes the greatest share of international students each year—just over 140,800 as of the 2023–24 academic year, according to NAFSA, the national organization for international educators. New York is close behind (135,800 students), followed by Texas (89,500 students) and Massachusetts (82,306 students).

    On the opposite end, Montana and Wyoming hosted fewer than 1,000 international scholars apiece, and fewer than 300 international students made their way to Alaska in 2023–24 (and about 50 of those students were from Canada, according to DHS data).

    4. NYU is the campus with the most global scholars.

    Demonstrating that New York City lives up to its reputation as a melting pot, New York University enrolls the greatest number of international students of any U.S. college or university, totaling 27,247 during the 2023–24 academic year, according to data from IIE. International students make up about 44 percent of NYU’s student population, compared to Northeastern University in Boston, where international students are fewer in number but make up closer to two-thirds of the campus population (21,000 of 31,000 learners).

    Among two-year colleges, Texas community colleges lead the way. Houston Community college enrolls the most international students (3,629), followed by the Lone Star College system (3,196) and Dallas College (2,305), as of 2023–24 figures.

    5. International students added $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy last year.

    According to NAFSA, international students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023–24 academic year. That’s a pretty big number. To put it in perspective:

    Through their tuition, international students support nearly 400,000 jobs at colleges and universities, as well as through spending on housing, food, retail and other living expenses, according to NAFSA.

    More Coverage of International Students in 2025

    Source link

  • Latest Borrower Defense to Repayment Numbers (US Department of Education)

    Latest Borrower Defense to Repayment Numbers (US Department of Education)

    The Higher Education Inquirer has received information today from the US Department of Education about Borrower Defense to Repayment claims.  Here are the results from ED FOIA 25-02047-F.  


     

    Source link

  • UniSA, University of Adelaide retain staff numbers after merger – Campus Review

    UniSA, University of Adelaide retain staff numbers after merger – Campus Review

    University of South Australia vice-chancellor David Lloyd told a parliamentary committee meeting on Monday that 2,767 academic staff were transferred to the new Adelaide University last Saturday.

    Please login below to view content or subscribe now.

    Membership Login

    Source link

  • A new regulatory framework is more than Medr by numbers

    A new regulatory framework is more than Medr by numbers

    Medr, the new-ish regulator of tertiary education in Wales, is consulting on its new regulatory system (including conditions of registration and funding, and a quality framework).

    You have until 5pm 18 July 2025 to offer comments on any of the many ideas or potential requirements contained within – there’s also two consultation events to look forward to in early June.

    Regulatory approach

    As we are already aware from the strategy, Medr intends to be a principles-based regulator (learning, collaboration, inclusion, excellence) but this has been finessed into a regulatory philosophy that:

    integrates the strengths of both rules-based (compliance) and outcome-based regulation (continuous improvement)

    As such we also get (in Annex A) a set of regulatory principles that can support this best-of-both-worlds position. The new regulator commits to providing clear guidance and resources, transparent communication, minimising burden, the collaborative development of regulations and processes, regular engagement, proactive monitoring, legal and directive enforcement action, the promotion of best practice, innovation and “responsiveness”, and resilience.

    That’s what the sector gets, but this is a two way thing. In return Medr expects you to offer a commitment to compliance and integrity, to engage with the guidance, act in a transparent way (regarding self-reporting of issues – a “no alarms and no surprises” approach), practice proactive risk management and continuous improvement, collaborate with stakeholders, and respect the authority of Medr and its interventions.

    It’s all nicely aspirational, and (with half an eye on a similar regulator just over Offa’s Dyke) one appropriately based on communication and collaboration. Whatever Medr ends up being, it clearly does not want an antagonistic or suspicious relationship with the sector it regulates.

    Getting stuck in

    The majority of the rest of Annex A deals directly with when and where Medr will intervene. Are you even a regulator if you can’t step in to sort out non-compliance and other outbreaks of outright foolishness? Medr will have conditions of registration and conditions of funding, both of which have statutory scope for intervention – plus other powers to deal with providers it neither registers nor funds (“external providers”, which include those involved in franchise and partnership activities, and are not limited to those in Wales).

    Some of these powers are hangovers from the Higher Education (Wales) 2015 Act, which are already in force – the intention is that the remaining (Tertiary Education and Research Act 2022) powers will largely kick off from 1 August 2026, alongside the new conditions of funding. At this point the TERA 22 powers will supersede the relevant remaining HEW 2015 provision.

    The spurs to intervention are familiar from TERA. The decision to intervene will be primarily based on six factors: seriousness, persistence, provider actions, context, risk, and statutory duties – there’s no set weight accorded to any of them, and the regulator reserves the right to use others as required.

    A range of actions is open in the event of an infraction – ranging from low-level intervention (advice and assistance) to removal from the register and withdrawal of funding. In between these you may see enhanced monitoring, action plans, commissioned reports and other examples of what is euphemistically termed “engagement”. A decision to intervene will be communicated “clearly” to a provider, and Medr “may decide” to publish details of interventions – balancing the potential risks to the provider against the need to promote compliance.

    Specific ongoing registration conditions are also a thing – for registered providers only, obviously – and all of these will be published, as will any variation to conditions. The consultation document bristles with flowcharts and diagrams, setting out clearly the scope for review and appeal for each type of appeal.

    One novelty for those familiar with the English system is the ability of the regulator to refer compliance issues to Welsh Ministers – this specifically applies to governance issues or where a provider is performing “significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances be reasonably expected to perform, or is failing or likely to fail to give an acceptable standard of education or training”. That’s a masterpiece of drafting which offers a lot of scope for government intervention.

    Regulatory framework

    Where would a regulator be without a regulatory framework? Despite a lot of other important aspects in this collection of documents, the statement of conditions of registration in Annex B will likely attract the most attention.

    Financial sustainability is front and centre, with governance and management following close behind. These two also attract supplemental guidance on financial management, financial commitment thresholds, estates management, and charity regulation. Other conditions include quality and continuous improvement, regard to advice and guidance, information provided to prospective students, fee limits, notifications of changes, and charitable status – and there’s further supplemental guidance on reportable events.

    Medr intends to be a risk-based regulator too – and we get an overview of the kinds of monitoring activity that might be in place to support these determinations of risk. There will be an annual assurance return for registered providers, which essentially assures the regulator that the provider’s governing body has done its own assurance of compliance. The rest of the returns are listed as options, but we can feel confident in seeing a financial assurance return, and various data returns, as core – with various other documentation requested on a more adhoc basis.

    And – yes – there will be reportable events: serious incidents that must be reported within five working days, notifiable (less serious) stuff on a “regular basis”. There’s a table in annex B (table 1) but this is broad and non-exhaustive.

    There’s honestly not much in the conditions of registration that is surprising. It is notable that Medr will still need to be told about new financial commitments, either based on a threshold or while in “increased engagement”, and a need to report when it uses assets acquired using public funds as security on financial commitments (it’s comforting to know that exchequer interest is still a thing, in Wales at least).

    The quality and continuous improvement condition is admirably broad – covering the involvement of students in quality assurance processes, with their views taken into account (including a requirement for representation on governing bodies). Responsibility for quality is expected to go all the way up to board level, and the provider is expected to actively engage with external quality assurance. Add in continuous improvement and an expectation of professional development for all staff involved in supporting students and you have an impressively robust framework.

    We need also to discuss the meaning of “guidance” within the Medr expanded universe – providers need to be clear about how they have responded to regulatory guidance and justify any deviation. There’s a specific condition of registration just for that.

    Quality framework

    Annex C provides a quality framework, which underpins and expands on the condition of registration. Medr has a duty to monitor and promote improvement in the quality and standards of quality in tertiary education, and the option in TERA 2022 to publish a framework like this one. It covers the design and delivery of the curriculum, the quality of support offered to learners, arrangements to promote active learner engagement (there’s a learner engagement code out for consultation in the autumn), and the promotion of wellbeing and welfare among learners.

    For now, existing monitoring and engagement plans (Estyn and the QAA) will continue, although Medr has indicated to both that it would like to see methodologies and approaches move closer together across the full regulatory ambit. But:

    In due course we will need to determine whether or not we should formally designate a quality body to assess higher education. Work on this will be carried out to inform the next cycle of external quality assessments. We will also consider whether to adopt a common cycle length for the assessment of all tertiary education.

    There is clarity that the UK Quality Code applies to higher education in Wales, and that internal quality assurance processes need to align to the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) – external quality assurance arrangements currently do, and will continue to, align with ESG as well.

    To follow

    Phase two of this series of consultations will come in October 2025 – followed by registrations opening in the spring of 2026 with the register launched in August of that year. As we’ve seen, bits of the conditions of registration kick in from 1 August 2027 – at which point everything pre-Medr fades into the storied history of Welsh tertiary education.

    Source link

  • This week in 5 numbers: Trump eyes 15.3% cut for Education Department

    This week in 5 numbers: Trump eyes 15.3% cut for Education Department

    The number of college presidents who testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce this week about how they’ve handled alleged campus incidents of antisemitism. While Republicans have said they’re trying to combat antisemitism, some Democrats accused GOP lawmakers of using those concerns to quell constitutionally protected speech during the hearing with the leaders of Haverford College, DePaul University and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

    Source link