Helen Packer

Labour resists shift on student migration despite Green pressure Calls to loosen restrictions on international students in wake of shock defeat to left-wing party in by-election may go unheard without leadership change, say experts

By @helenpacker.bsky.social in the @timeshighered.bsky.social

Universities enrol hundreds of research students despite warnings Some institutions respond to ‘explosive’ demand for MRes courses by expanding programmes, exacerbating concerns about potential government crackdown

Excellent work by @helenpacker.bsky.social uncovering which universities have been enrolling hundreds more MRes students after the ban on other learners bringing dependants with them to the UK was introduced www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...

Private higher education institutions are increasingly looking at outside investment and mergers as a way to shore up their finances and expand in a competitive market, reports Helen Packer #academicsky #edusky
https://ow.ly/uW5c50Y0LcF

More than a third of students believe representatives of Reform UK should be banned from speaking at universities, finds @hepi-news.bsky.social, despite the majority agreeing HE institutions should promote free speech www.timeshighereducation.com/news/third-s... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Venezuelan academics are pessimistic that a change in leadership will improve the fortunes of the country’s downtrodden universities after the shock ousting of leader Nicolás Maduro. Helen Packer reports
https://ow.ly/uFQ950XSyfc

UK aims to widen access to Erasmus after agreeing to join in 2027 Confirmed deal to cost UK £570 million in first year, with ministers targeting 100,000 participants including apprentices and adult learners

Full details from @helenpacker.bsky.social on UK's return to Erasmus+, including funding, participation, and the future of the Turing scheme www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-aims...

UK aims to widen access to Erasmus after agreeing to join in 2027 Confirmed deal to cost UK £570 million in first year, with ministers targeting 100,000 participants including apprentices and adult learners

UK aims to widen access to Erasmus after agreeing to join in 2027, reports Helen Packer #edusky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-aims-widen-access-erasmus-after-agreeing-join-2027

New study visa rules expected as Labour looks to close ‘loophole’ Fears that expansion of master’s research courses to circumvent dependants ban may prompt more restrictions

Universities urging government to act proportionately as ministers consider changing exemption that allows international students enrolled on MRes courses to bring family members with them www.timeshighereducation.com/news/new-stu... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

‘We can’t ask to turn the clock back. The resources just aren’t there’ As he begins his stint as Universities UK president, Malcolm Press tells Helen Packer that the sector’s demands of government need to be realistic about the constrained state of public finances and th...

New @universities-uk.bsky.social president Malcolm Press tells @helenpacker.bsky.social that HEIs need to 'take control of [their] evolution' and offer something in return if they want more support from government www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/we-can...

Investors keen on takeovers as universities turn to private funds Co-branded campuses and partial mergers expected to become more common in face of higher borrowing costs

More universities could look to private investment to cope with their growing money problems, but it could be too late for non-elite institutions, financial experts have said. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports
#academicsky #edusky

English universities ‘unprepared’ as new free speech rules loom Institutions review policies ahead of new obligations coming into force but campaigners believe culture change is needed, as they gear up to highlight breaches

Campaigners say they are ready to call English universities out on breaches of a new free speech law coming into force this week, amid concerns institutions are ill-prepared for the changes. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports
#academicsky #edusky #freespeech

Dundee bailout ‘sets precedent’ as MSPs evade funding reform Warning more institutions may look to Scottish government for support as ailing university’s problems blamed on mismanagement rather than wider funding pressures

Bailing out University of Dundee has established Scottish govt as “banker of last resort”, with policymakers warned they will face another crisis unless they review how HE is funded www.timeshighereducation.com/news/dundee-... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

The moral hazard that this has created is inescapable.

Politicians blinked first, and pumped tens of millions of taxpayers' money into Dundee to keep it afloat.

Great piece by @helenpacker.bsky.social.

More jobs at risk as universities gear up to fight student levy Domestic student places and essential courses face axe as plan to tax international tuition fees could prove to be ‘final nail in a coffin’ for some institutions

Initially dismissed as 'never going to happen', the idea of a levy on international student fees doesn't seem to be going away. Here @helenpacker.bsky.social reports on the potential impact, and what vice-chancellors are trying to do to resist it www.timeshighereducation.com/news/more-jo...

UK vice-chancellors are planning for smaller increases in student numbers at their universities than they were two years ago as an era of high growth appears to be ending – with a fifth actively looking at mergers. @helenpacker.bsky.social
#AcademicSky

Will defence research throw a lifeline to UK universities? Institutions may be forced to choose between extra research funding and placating students unless narrative around military work changes

Will defence research throw a lifeline to cash-strapped UK universities? Or will the resistance from students be too great? @helenpacker.bsky.social reports www.timeshighereducation.com/news/will-de...

Competition law and costs ‘holding back mergers’, says UUK Difficult to get new models of collaboration off the ground without ‘transformation funding’, finds efficiencies review

CMA is working with universities to support more collaboration and mergers but institutions may need money from the government to make this happen, says @universities-uk.bsky.social report www.timeshighereducation.com/news/competi... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

“Universities in parts of Asia…have been quick to invite international students to their institutions, jumping at the chance to attract the so-called Harvard refugees after the Trump administration attempted to ban the US institution from hosting foreign students,” reports @helenpacker.bsky.social

Student choice at risk as almost half of universities cut courses Institutions expect to consider more subject closures as financial problems spiral, finds UUK survey

Worrying from @universities-uk.bsky.social survey:
- 49% of universities have closed courses
- 19% have reduced investment in research
- 18% have closed departments
- 25% have made compulsory redundancies
Full story from @helenpacker.bsky.social: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student...

V-cs mull ‘multi-university trust’ mergers to save costs Merger model common in other parts of education sector increasingly appealing to universities keen to retain some autonomy

Universities might consider merging into school-style “multi-university trusts” in response to growing financial pressures, a legal expert has predicted. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports

#AcademicSky #highered

Employer-levy funding plan ‘could stop graduates getting hired’ Sector should be wary of asking businesses to pay ‘additional tax’ and focus on tweaking current system instead, says Universities UK chief

Introducing an employer levy to fund English HE would disincentivise companies to hire graduates, the chief executive of Universities UK has warned. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Efficiency task force eyes government support for ‘faster’ change University transformation relies on more open relationship with government, says group focused on sector-wide cost reductions

Universities need government support to improve efficiencies within the cash-strapped sector, the head of a higher education task force has said, calling for the creation of a sector improvement agency and transformation fund. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky

UCU accused of ‘silencing’ staff as internal rows turn ‘toxic’ Use of ‘hypocritical’ confidentiality agreements by UK’s biggest academic union criticised, with increasingly disgruntled staff set to stage rally outside own offices

The use of ‘hypocritical’ confidentiality agreements by UCU has been criticised by staff and former staff members, with Unite members set to stage rally outside UCU's own offices today over its ongoing industrial dispute

#AcademicBlueSky #EduSky

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-acc...

Student loans for franchised degrees worth nearly £2 billion Unregistered providers account for more than half of franchised tuition fee money claimed in past three years, new figures show

More than £1 billion has been paid out in tuition fee loans for students studying at unregistered franchised providers over the past three years, new government data shows. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky

Defending status quo graduate visa wrong approach, says Skidmore UK should aim for growth in student numbers but recognise ‘opportunities to reform’ post-study work rights, finds commission convened by former universities minister

The UK should continue to aim for growth in overseas student numbers but universities must not rule out reform of the imperfect graduate visa, according to a new report that aims to shape the country’s coming new international education strategy. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky

Sussex says OfS acting beyond powers as it seeks judicial review University handed record fine over free speech breaches claims ruling gives ‘free rein’ to racists and sexists

The University of Sussex has accused the Office for Students of “giving free rein” to “antisemitic, anti-Muslim, homophobic, racist, sexist, and anti-trans speech” as it begins legal action to challenge the regulator’s decision to fine it £585,000, reports @helenpacker.bsky.social
#AcademicSky

Trans policies vanish from university websites after Sussex fine OfS finding that university failed to uphold its free speech duties prompts others into reviewing policies that some believe were ‘copied and pasted’

Policies on transgender staff and students vanish from university websites after Sussex fine www.timeshighereducation.com/news/trans-p... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Skills England faces ‘uphill struggle’ to be heard, says Hepi Warnings lack of independence could stifle new government body as it attempts to unite sector to tackle skills gaps

Skills England may struggle to “become a respected voice” given the variety of jobs it has been tasked with and “junior” position within govt, warns @tom-richmond.com in @hepi-news.bsky.social report www.timeshighereducation.com/news/skills-... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Funds linked to Imran Khan case to be spent on new university Cash recovered from alleged money-laundering pays for development of new institution in Islamabad that prime minister hopes will ‘rival Oxford’

What do do with £190 million recovered from the Imran Khan money-laundering case? Pakistan has opted to develop a new university www.timeshighereducation.com/news/funds-l... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

Cardiff green-lights Kazakhstan campus despite job cuts at home Cash-strapped institution confirms it will not be investing upfront in new Central Asian outpost

Cardiff University is set to go ahead with plans to open a new outpost in Kazakhstan despite axing hundreds of jobs in the face of a multimillion-pound deficit. @helenpacker.bsky.social reports

#EduSky #AcademicSky