The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has just published a report looking at how universities spend student tuition fees and how well they communicate to students what they get in return for their money. It shows that, despite continued exhortations to do more in this area, progress has been slow. And that universities across the sector need to do something about it now. Continue reading “Time to talk about money”
Category: Value For Money
Understanding value
Higher education in the UK is looking for better ways to demonstrate the value that it creates for its students and for society as a whole. Advance HE (formerly the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education) has been working with a pilot group of universities to explore how integrated thinking and reporting can help. And I’ve had the honour of drawing out some of the insights that the project has yielded so far. Continue reading “Understanding value”
Keeping it in the family
The rationale for outsourcing services has long been an article of faith across the public sector. Lower costs, greater expertise, increased economies of scale. Or so says the theory, at least. And it is a rare local authority – or NHS trust, university or other publicly-funded body – that hasn’t contracted out at least some of its activities.
But what once seemed such a rock-solid argument appears now to be built on less-than-stable foundations. Continue reading “Keeping it in the family”
VFM: It’s about the value, not the money
With higher education institutions in England being required to report annually on value for money, universities need to raise their game when talking about what they do and how well they do it.
As funding gets tighter and competition for students becomes more intense, our higher education institutions are coming under increasing pressure to justify the public investment that they receive. So it is now more important than ever that we are able to explain clearly and effectively what we do and how we use the funding entrusted to us to create lasting value. Continue reading “VFM: It’s about the value, not the money”
The cost of things
I am a big fan of the ‘slow’ movement. For those not familiar with the concept, ‘slow’ is about doing things mindfully, taking the time to focus on what we are doing and making a conscious effort to do it well. ‘Slow food’, for example, encourages people to choose fresh, high quality ingredients, to cook them with care and to take the time to enjoy eating them, preferably with family or friends. Continue reading “The cost of things”