Blogs

Our nephew’s graduation ceremony from University of Oregon’s (UO) business school was a master class on US higher education. UO is a public university in the smallish (150,000 population) town of Eugene set in the Willamette valley. It has an undergraduate population of a bit more than 26,000, nearly half of whom come from Oregon although some would like that number to be higher.

I teach a first year undergraduate sociology course at the University of Manchester in which students examine social scientific perspectives on major global challenges such as inequality, climate change, migration, radicalisation, ending poverty and corporate power. 

One of the things that we’re regularly told about the transition from school to university is that we will have to become increasingly independent. Where once we had – or should have had – teachers guiding our learning at every step, we are now encouraged to take responsibility for our own education.

Fifty-seven thousand pounds. That's almost $75,000. This is the estimated level of debt that UK students from less advantaged backgrounds are expected to have on leaving university according to a recent report. Students from more advantaged families don’t really fare much better, accruing up to £43,000 of debt. 

I chose Princeton because I loved books; because I wanted to write a thesis; because I fell in love with the Chancellor Green library when I first visited campus; because I saw the integrity in the university’s commitment to service, and because I thought I wanted to study comparative literature (spoiler: I’m a politics major!). I chose Princeton because I saw passion and curiosity and energy reflected in every aspect of the university.

As the dust settles after Hurricane TEF swept its way through UK higher education, it seems the right time to return to one of the main reasons it was set up in the first place: to help students choose a university. 

With this in mind, I've been speaking to students and staff in secondary schools to find out how they are planning to use the results. 

Gold-rated university – University of Cambridge

Lili Bidwell is an undergraduate French and Spanish student at the University of Cambridge

It does not surprise me that the University of Cambridge has received a gold award in the TEF. 

When I first told close friends that I was thinking of pursuing civil engineering at university, lots of them discouraged me.

Marika Santala and Raphaël Beaulieu are graduates of the National Film and Television School’s directing and producing television entertainment master’s course. They recently picked up the Postgraduate Comedy and Entertainment Award at the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards for their programme The Love Gym. Here, they offer other student film-makers their tips on creating a successful film or TV programme. 

1. Build your film or TV programme around a fresh idea

As a recent graduate, I’ve been interested to read all the comments around the release of the UK government’s teaching excellence framework (TEF) results, and I am pleased that teaching is now in the spotlight. Current students and recent graduates are likely to be looking at the results with interest and comparing them to their own experiences. People will be interested in the rating for their own university, particularly as there have been some surprising outcomes.