Press Story

The think tank IPPR is launching a Commission on the Future of Higher Education in England.

The Commission will address how higher education can respond to the challenges it will face over the next twenty years and develop a policy framework to strengthen the position of our higher education institutions.

It will address the following questions:
o What is the purpose of higher education in the 21st century?
o What mix of higher education institutions do we want to serve a diverse, expanded student population?
o What role can Higher Education play in promoting sustainable economic growth and a rebalanced economy across England?
o To what extent should the overall structure of the sector be determined by market forces and to what extent should government play a strategic role?
o If investment in world class research and teaching is to keep pace with the best in the world in an age of austerity, then how can we pay for it?
o If universities are public institutions, how should they be governed?
o What should be the relationship between higher education and other forms of tertiary education?

The Commission is chaired by Professor Nigel Thrift, the Vice Chancellor of Warwick University and its members include a number of other leading vice chancellors, as well as academic experts, business and student representatives. (The full list of Commission members is included in the Notes to Editors below)

The Chair of the Commission, Professor Nigel Thrift, said:

"This is a time of profound change in our Higher Education system so we are very pleased to announce the formation of this commission. Just as the Robbins, Dearing and Browne Reports took a step back to look strategically at the future of higher education, so this commission will examine the role higher education plays in our national life and address the key challenges it will face over the next 20 years."

Notes to Editors

The Commission will run for 12 months, publishing its final report in February 2013.

The full membership of the Commission is as follows:

Professor Nigel Thrift (Commission Chair) is Vice Chancellor of the University of Warwick. He joined Warwick in 2006, having previously been Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Oxford. One of the world's leading human geographers and social scientists, Nigel has been the recipient of a number of distinguished academic awards, including the Royal Geographical Society Victoria Medal. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Thom Arnold is President of Sheffield Students' Union. Sheffield was named UK University of the Year in the 2011 Times Higher Education Awards. Thom was elected to represent the 25,000 strong student body, taking office in June 2011. He chairs the Trustee Board, Student Executive Committee and Staffing Committee, and sits on the University Council and Senate.

Professor Janet Beer is Vice Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University. Janet chairs the Higher Education Public Information Steering Group and is co-chair of the Equality Challenge Unit. She is a Board member of Universities UK and sits on the advisory board of the Higher Education Policy Institute. Professor Beer has an established record of research in late nineteenth and early twentieth century American literature. She is a visiting Fellow at Nuffield College.

Dame Jackie Fisher DBE is Chief Executive of NCG, which comprises Newcastle College; West Lancashire College; the Intraining Group, a national organisation meeting the training and employment needs of employers and employees across the UK; and Rathbone, a national charity focused on meeting the education and employment needs of disadvantaged young people. NCG is the largest provider of Higher Education in a Further Education college.

Dr Sandra McNally is Director of the Education Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Current research interests include economic evaluation of government policies; the effect of careers-related information on educational decisions; returns to education; the effects of 'ability tracking' within school systems; special educational needs; education and mental health.

Hugh Morgan Williams OBE is Chairman of Canford Group plc and Chairman of North East Access to Finance Ltd. He is a leading businessman in the North East of England, and has served as Chairman of the CBI National SME Council and as CBI national spokesman on regional and economic issues. Hugh was appointed as a lay member of Durham University Council in 2006, and was a member of the Nuffield enquiry into the teaching of modern foreign languages in 2000.

Professor John Sexton (corresponding commissioner) is President of New York University and the Benjamin Butler Professor of Law. Professor Sexton is Chair of the American Council on Education, Chair of the New York Academy of Sciences and immediate past Chair of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2003-2006).

Professor Sir Steve Smith is Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter. He was President of Universities UK (UUK) - the representative body for the executive heads of UK universities - from 2009-2011, and remains a member of the UUK Board. Sir Steve is currently Chair of the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions Programme, and is a member of the UCAS Board. He has received many awards for his research in the field of International Politics.

Professor Sir Rick Trainor is Principal and Professor of Social History at King's College London. Previously he was Vice Chancellor and Professor at the University of Greenwich. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an academician of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, of Trinity College of Music, and the Institute of Historical Research. From 2007-2009, he was President of Universities UK. He was knighted in 2010 for his services to higher education.

Contacts:

Tim Finch: 07595 920 899 / t.finch@ippr.org