Gaby Sumner and Susie Whigham present findings on what makes transition programmes work – and call for a national, government-funded rollout. The need for transition support is clear: students from less advantaged backgrounds are less likely to continue their studies and are less likely to gain a 2:1 or a first than students from a more advantaged background. To access the article click here

The OfS has published an Insight brief setting out findings from its recent quality assessments. The briefing draws out thematic issues from the assessments, identifying four main areas which can affect the quality of higher education. It also explains why the OfS chose business and management courses and computing courses for assessment, and how the OfS selected individual providers to assess. To access the article click here

Competition is everywhere in higher education, but Nic Beech and Jackie Njoroge see the value in – messy, complex, but ultimately rewarding – collaboration. To access the Blog click here

Record progression for UK 18-year-olds The headline figure for day 28 is that record numbers of UK 18-year-olds have secured a place at university or college this year, with 277,790 acceptances compared to 270,350 (+2.8 per cent) in 2023 and 239,460 (+16.0 per cent) in 2019. To access the article click here