Following the publication by the Home Office of the terms of reference for the Migration Advisory Committee's review into the Graduate route, Universities UK has responded to the detail.
Following the March 2023 Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) meeting, we wish to provide a progress update on three of the key commitments we made within the interim joint statement (dated 17 February 2023). These commitments were:
Universities in England have committed to reversing pandemic grade inflation in first and 2.1 degrees.
In a first of its kind statement Universities UK (UUK) and GuildHE members have committed to return to pre-pandemic levels of ‘upper’ degree classification by 2023.
UK government ministers are being warned that any U-turn on their commitments to grow international student numbers could result in billions of pounds in lost revenue, wreck their growth plans, and damage local economies in their own constituencies.
As universities prepare to welcome a new cohort of students, a new report by London Economics has revealed that higher education makes a £116 billion contribution to the UK economy - £130 billion including the spending of international students.
University leaders are warning that proposed reforms to post 18 education and funding in England would turn back the clock on social mobility while limiting the government’s own levelling up agenda.
In response to the recent government announcement to 'crackdown' on 'rip-off university degrees', Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive of Universities UK said:
The Government’s ambitious plans to strengthen the NHS can only be achieved if significant changes are made to healthcare education and training now, warns Universities UK (UUK).
Since the launch of the government’s International Education Strategy in 2019, growth in international student recruitment to the UK has delivered a boost of more than £60 billion to the UK’s economy, new analysis shows.
Business leaders, vice-chancellors and political stakeholders came together today at Universities UK’s (UUK) Degree apprenticeships and higher technical education conference, to discuss the benefits of degree apprenticeships. The one-day conference aimed to highlight the importance of degree apprenticeships and the role they can play in developing new skills to boost economic growth.
The government is being warned that jobs and talent are at risk, and over 100 local innovation, skills and business support projects teetering on the brink, because of delays and complications as European Union funding for local skills and training partnerships ends.
University students who go on placements as part of their degree need better support, with placement providers and universities working more closely together to reduce mental health and wellbeing risks.
The latest information provided by the USS Trustee suggests that the forthcoming 2023 valuation is likely to reveal a high probability of being able to improve benefits and reduce contributions.