Students and parents have long cared about the earnings potential of different degrees, but information previously available to them has been of low quality. Information published on 13 June by the Department for Education using the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is a dramatic upgrade on what was once in the public realm. Instead of […] … learn more→

“Wow. So I guess you’re not using your PhD, huh?” It would be a surprising question if it were the first time that I heard it. Last week, another person offered their unsolicited opinion of my graduate degree and its apparent utility. True, the comment wasn’t overtly “snarky,” but the inference of years of wasted […] … learn more→

It’s so funny watching higher education in the UK slide into the pit, embracing the same failed structures that did so much harm to higher education in the US. Wasn’t anyone paying attention? It seems every time I read an article about the failure of higher education in the UK, it’s familiar to me: it’s […] … learn more→

The UK student population has doubled in the last twenty years to almost two million. During this time, higher tuition fees have placed increased pressure on students – with a recent survey finding that 75% of students who receive a maintenance loan feel stressed about their debt. It may not be a total surprise then […] … learn more→

I am now back from two weeks annual leave. Going on leave doesn’t mean leaving your research and teaching interests behind. As often happens, I had a thought or two during my ‘downtime’. In fact, we had hardly begun our drive through the Highlands when we came across a large group of motor cyclists outside a […] … learn more→

Americans want their higher education system to do more to help students fully realise their talents and develop the skills that will lead to lifelong success. We believe that the higher education regulatory system can be improved to help achieve these goals. While president Donald Trump and secretary of education Betsy DeVos seem poised to […] … learn more→

With more than 5 million articles in English and 30 million registered users, Wikipedia is the largest and most influential source of information in the world. But the online community-based encyclopedia is not a self-generating mass of neutral and reliable knowledge. It is created by people writing collaboratively all over the world. As a result, […] … learn more→

So here’s the thing. What’s the difference between a bibliography and a reference list? I was always taught there was an important difference between a bibliography and a reference list. The reference list is the stuff you actually cite in the paper. The bibliography is all of the books you read, some/a lot of which […] … learn more→

In the 18th century, novels seemed scandalous to many because, above all, they were about subjective experience. Impressionable young men and women, sitting on newfangled sofas gripped by pages of sentimentalism, were moved with pity and pain. Empathising with the plight of so many of those sorry literary protagonists, readers called for social change. Worse […] … learn more→

After nearly 20 years teaching in higher education, I’m walking away. I have taken voluntary redundancy from my post as associate professor at Plymouth Institute of Education. Recently I was informed that the computing and ICT specialism that I have helped to develop and deliver for the past 10 years has been cut from the B.Ed […] … learn more→