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Uni rankings in the news today. But for a different view, here is our The Sutton Trust social mobility university ranking from a few years ago. Queen Mary top, Westminster second. Generally, Modern unis are very strong for driving mobility. Rachel Hewitt , relevant for our panel on

Positive morning facilitating a joint session with the senior team at Queen Mary Queen Mary University of London & Queen Mary Students' Union - thanks to Colin Bailey & Tahmid Khan, their respective teams for a productive discussion and plans for the academic year ahead. Ps - always good to see the Clement Attlee statue too!

Utterly bizarre that there is a focus on students who achieved lower grades at A level then going on to have firsts as a negative thing - surely learning gain and, most importantly, social mobility and the transformation higher education brings, is a positive thing?

Our collective letter in The Times today regarding reintroduction of maintenance grants. Rachel Carr Nick Bent FRSA Johnny Rich Jayne Taylor Steve Haines Anna Searle @SamHolmes_edu thetimes.com/comment/letter…

I agree with this - the argument was made when fees trebled that the system would raise its quality and access, but there’s mixed evidence this has happened. We must do better at articulating and measuring impact in a credible way, particularly if fees rise again

The issue for a long time with OfS isn’t the role it needs to perform, but the way it has chosen to do it. Incidents like this show how long trust will take to rebuild with the higher education sector

You might have seen this notification in the past couple of days 👇 This change to the block function has highly concerning implications for survivors of online abuse. And for those concerned about updates, the advice X has given is for users to make their accounts private.

"Courses & departments are closing up and down the country. Dozens of institutions have implemented redundancy schemes. There's only so much fat that can be trimmed." Budget will make universities’ funding crisis worse says Rachel Hewitt Rachel Hewitt: researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-vie…

A far greater proportion of private than state school pupils get extra time in exams… which is even odder when you consider the wider context this is happening within: we know special educational needs are more prevalent in poorer areas ft.com/content/5f96ea…

Great article on the importance of educators shaping student identities actively with them, rather than enabling a mentality of passive consumerism, which can lead to worse student outcomes

Agree with this - there is both a lack of transparency about the subsidising of research by fees and, crucially, too much income spent still on vanity projects and chasing metrics rather than core transformative teaching and research

Looking forward to the sessions and seeing colleagues old and new Wonkhe festival of higher education today

Sally Mapstone President of Universities UK outlining the importance of higher education institutions as anchored in their community and building local capacity Wonkhe festival of HE

David Behan interim chair The Office for Students (OfS) says that students need to co create solutions with OfS rather than being only consulted. Agree completely. For some practical recommendations Martha Longdon and I put together this GuildHE briefing last year mcusercontent.com/b736b238f281ea…

In a session on governance in HE, Seamus Gillen makes the salient point that governance models sometimes in higher education date to 19th century and there needs to be a radical shift for the 21st century as the model is in crisis to be able to respond Wonkhe festival

Fantastic to be back at Queen Mary University of London to hear the exceptional Simon Marginson delivering the annual Drapers Lecture. "The most important compromise a university makes is a spatial one... it is one hand local and national, and on the other universal and global."

Getting on the property ladder as someone single and without parental backing is a nightmare, particularly in London. Does anyone have experience with 5% deposit mortgages? Appreciate the rates higher, but I'm currently dumping £1.8k on rent per month.

Some changes to the Bill are welcome, but having the Office for Students continue to set up a complaints scheme where there is limited evidence, and when ultimately it should be laser focused on the sustainability of the sector muddies the regulatory waters and focus further.

How should the The Office for Students (OfS) shift from assurance to enhancement in quality? What can we learn from colleagues in Norway about continuous enhancement? Read more in my new @HEPI blog with Stephanie Marshall on the future of teaching excellence across higher education. Queen Mary University of London