Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

EDITORIAL. Never Alone: Universities’ key role in supporting students’ wellbeing and mental health

Among the many issues universities are currently concerned about, students’ mental health and wellbeing have become a core concern. According to a YouGov’s survey (2016) a quarter of our students suffer mainly of depression and anxiety, or, mostly, both combined. The need to perform, financial worries, and being in a different and new social environment can all contribute to making students feel overwhelmed at times. The IPPR study Not by Degrees (Thorley, 2017), however, paints an even more disturbing picture.

Leadership Foundation launches guide to efficiency for governors

Getting to Grips with Efficiency explores the concept of efficiency and the efficiency agenda within the higher education sector. As part of the Leadership Foundation's guide for governors series, it seeks to provide governors with the information to help guide their institutions to greater efficiency and to plan for new reporting requirements that may push them to go even further (log-in required to download publication).

HEPI Where next for widening participation and fair access?

The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the social mobility charity Brightside are jointly publishing a collection of essays by senior higher education figures entitled Where next for widening participation and fair access? New insights from leading thinkers.
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Integrated Reporting in four British universities

*** Reposted with working link *** This document is intended to assist universities in their transition to this new approach to 'value creation', just as universities start thinking about producing annual reports and accounts for the latest financial year. It is the second phase of BUFDG's work in encouraging universities to adopt Integrated Reporting.
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Sharing research equipment boosts industry in the north

The N8 Research Partnership has improved and updated its equipment-sharing database. This will make it easier to share apparatus from the region’s most research-intensive universities. Nick Goldspink, interim co-director at N8, explains how the database's improvements will be a massive step forward to academics and to Northern industry, saving money, boosting efficiency and aiding research.
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Sharing research equipment: how can we do it better?

Last year staff from Jisc set out to better understand institutional and researchers' needs around sharing research equipment. Senior co-designer Daniela Duca reveals the team's findings.

Higher Education Estates Statistics Report 2016

UK Universities’ response to the efficiency agenda and their own income generating projects have helped them to increase their income to a record £30bn. In its annual estates management report, AUDE reveals that despite a challenging funding environment and a decrease in home students, the sector grew by £2bn in one year.

Demonstrating HE Efficiency and Effectiveness

This report focuses on how universities continue to deliver value for money in a climate where income is reducing in real terms and competition is increasing, while finding recurrent savings which will enable them to make necessary investments. It includes examples from universities across the UK where universities are saving money through efficient estate management.

Analytics in higher education

Universities already collect vast amounts of data about their student populations, but often this is underutilised. This Universities UK report, written in partnership with Civitas Learning and Jisc, sets out the case for better use of analytics in higher education through effective implementation of appropriate technology and techniques.
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The risks and challenges around large investment, transformation and change programmes in higher education

This document highlights the key issues and risks institutions should consider in managing institutional change and investment programmes and the sorts of questions non-executives should be asking. It is part of a series of documents around the theme of managing risk in higher education, each one focusing on different issues [registration required].