Making Governance Culture Visible: Insights From a Governance Effectiveness Review
Boards are increasingly realizing that effectiveness hinges on culture as much as on processes. A governance effectiveness review makes hidden cultural signals—behaviour patterns, information flow, and meeting dynamics—visible, allowing boards to diagnose and shape the culture they need. The review goes beyond diversity statistics, probing how inclusive dynamics actually operate and whether challenge is genuine or perfunctory. By surfacing these insights, boards can transform invisible norms into actionable levers for better decision‑making and resilience.
WEEKEND READING: The University – More than a Business?
Robert Gordon University (RGU) has unveiled its "Roadmap to 2030," a focused strategy aimed at becoming the UK’s leading work‑integrated, employability‑led university. The blog stresses that universities differ fundamentally from commercial firms, relying on cross‑subsidies and long‑term research investment despite...
AI, Assessment and Belonging
The HEPI report confirms generative AI is now routine in higher education, prompting institutions to shift from fearing misuse to shaping policy and pedagogy. It calls for clear, accessible guidance on AI‑enabled assessment and research into students’ use of AI...
Rethinking the Student Academic Experience for a Digital Era
TechnologyOne and HEPI are releasing a twentieth‑anniversary edition of the Student Academic Experience Survey, drawing on responses from over 200,000 UK students collected over two decades. The report, titled “What Matters Most? 20 Years of the Student Experience,” highlights four...
Building a Culture of Understanding and Connection: The Open Listening Programme at the University of Sussex
The University of Sussex has institutionalized its Open Listening Programme, a multi‑year effort to equip staff and students with active‑listening skills for contentious topics such as gender, Israel‑Palestine and political divides. Developed by facilitator Jassy Denison, the programme combines conflict‑theory...
AI in Higher Education: Balancing Innovation with Academic Integrity
Artificial intelligence is reshaping research and teaching across universities, but its rapid adoption raises ethical and operational challenges. A recent HEPI policy note outlines key risks—including bias, data integrity issues, researcher deskilling, and accountability gaps—while urging institutions to act strategically....
Do We Do Enough to Address Student-on-Student Bullying in Higher Ed?
HEPI director Nick Hillman reviews Donald Jeffries’s 2020 book *Bullyocracy*, highlighting that bullying remains pervasive in schools and workplaces despite formal policies. The review draws parallels between U.S. case studies and the UK higher‑education sector, noting a gap in focus...
WEEKEND READING: The Time for Change Is Right Now: Why Northumbria Is Moving Ahead with Pension Reform
Northumbria University announced it will implement a Total Reward Approach to pension provision, letting staff choose between the costly Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and the lower‑cost Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The university faces an extra £11 million (≈$14 million) a year in...
WEEKEND READING: What’s Happening with the UK’s Student Accommodation?
The 2025‑26 academic year proved challenging for UK purpose‑built student accommodation (PBSA), as demand slipped despite rising undergraduate enrolments and a rebound in international student visas. A growing share of students—up 4.4% year‑on‑year—now intend to live at home, trimming net...
Tempo Conflict at the Heart of AI in Higher Education
Universities are confronting a "tempo conflict" as generative AI evolves faster than traditional academic governance cycles. The rapid pace of AI capabilities forces institutions to choose between slow, deliberative processes and swift, vendor‑driven adoption, risking either loss of relevance or...
How Can Higher Education Staff-Related Policy, Processes and Services Be Made More Inclusive of Those on the Autistic Spectrum?
On World Autism Awareness Day, Dr. Steve Briggs highlights how UK universities can make staff policies, processes and services more inclusive for autistic employees. With over 4,000 higher‑education staff likely on the spectrum, he urges targeted training, proactive onboarding, and...
What Generative AI Reveals About Staff Capability and Institutional Risk in Higher Education
Generative AI is exposing a deep split in higher‑education staff capability, with some educators confidently integrating AI into pedagogy while others remain uncertain. This unevenness creates disparate student experiences, risking inequitable skill development and inconsistent assessment standards. The sector’s focus...
WEEKEND READING: ‘Things Must Change so Everything Can Stay the Same’: The Paradox of University Transformation
Lee Sanders argues that university transformation in the UK must be purpose‑driven rather than a reaction to financial crises. He outlines overlapping pressures—rising costs, dwindling home‑fee income, AI disruption, demographic shifts, and geopolitical uncertainty—that have made change feel inevitable. The...
No Place Like Home? Understanding the Accommodation Experience of Care-Experienced and Estranged Students
A new joint report by Global Student Living and the Unite Foundation analyses accommodation experiences of care‑experienced and estranged university students, using data from 44,894 respondents, including 663 care‑experienced and 1,003 estranged learners. The study finds these students face limited...
New HEPI Report: ‘Being Indispensable: Capabilities for a Human-AI World, the ‘FUTURES’ Framework’
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) released Report 198, titled “Being indispensable: Capabilities for a human‑AI world, the ‘FUTURES’ framework,” urging universities to move beyond cautious AI pilots and embed generative AI into curricula. The report stresses that while GenAI can...