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

It’s a story that sounds familiar to anyone who’s been following the fate of franchising in higher education in England ever since then universities minister Jo Johnson said that the state of HE subcontracting was “akin to Byron Burger having to ask permission of McDonald’s to open up a new restaurant” back in 2015. Now, following a National Audit Office investigation and action from the Office for Students (OfS), we learn of “widespread academic misconduct”, inadequate contracts, TikTok ads that say “the government will pay the student to study”, and universities “prioritising the financial benefits of these arrangements over the quality of courses”. With universities increasingly cash-strapped, these arrangements are proliferating along with the risks. click here to access the link