British universities are tightly regulated. But, as often happens with regulation, bureaucratic procedures do not guarantee that things work well. … Continue reading “Scrap the REF”

The Research Excellence Framework – which assesses the research generated by UK universities – is distorting the allocation of resources … Continue reading “University Research Excellence Framework should be abolished”

Summary The Research Excellence Framework (REF) assesses the research generated by UK universities. Most recently conducted in 2014, it is … Continue reading “Abolishing the Research Excellence Framework”

Writing in The Times on Wednesday, Jo Johnson, the new Universities Minister, noted the disappointing statistic that almost half of … Continue reading “Universities need to deliver value for money”

The current system of financing higher education is stuck in a rut. It does not work particularly well for anybody: … Continue reading “Funding higher education through a free-market ‘graduate tax’”

We start with a world in which firms in high-status sectors such as the arts, media, finance and law provide … Continue reading “Banning unpaid internships will harm, not help, the disadvantaged”

Commenting on the Labour Party’s pledge to reduce tuition fees, Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, … Continue reading “Replace tuition fees with a free-market graduate tax”

In an age of big challenges, the general election campaign seems to be throwing up a host of small ideas. … Continue reading “Forget cutting tuition fees – student finance needs a complete overhaul”

Liam Byrne, shadow universities minister, was quoted in the New Statesman recently in relation to tuition fees, saying: ‘We’ve just … Continue reading “There’s still no money, Liam”