Learning is a complex process and often highly context-specific, so it comes as no surprise that identifying proxies for measuring learning gain is equally no simple feat. The aim of the HEFCE learning gain programme is to explore different methods to develop and improve our understanding of learning gain within English higher education. Read More.

A new report from HEFCE examines how degree outcomes from 2013-14 vary between different groups of graduates, after accounting for other student and course characteristics. This report adds to a growing body of work by HEFCE analysing the outcomes of graduates from English higher education institutions. Read more.

Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD. The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results.The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised "too many false hopes". Tom Bennett, the government's expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been "dazzled" by school computers. The report from the Organisation for E...

Unite Foundation and Stand Alone launched the New Starts report which provides the first comprehensive picture of estranged students studying in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  The study reveals that 9,338 students estranged from their parents are vulnerable to homelessness during the holiday periods and 14% admitted that they had either registered homeless or had considered registering homeless during their studies.  Read More.

GCSE grades A* to C have risen slightly this year, but top A* and A grades have edged down. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving the results of summer exams. In broadly stable results, the proportion of A* to C grades rose to 69%, up from 68.8% last year, but A* grades fell by 0.1 percentage points. Read More.

The proportion of top A-level grades has fallen slightly this year, but record numbers have been accepted on university courses. A* and A grades were awarded to 25.9% of entries, down from 26% last year. But in a year of "stable" results, passes rose by 0.1 percentage point. The Ucas university admissions service says 409,000 places have been confirmed, up 3% on last year. Read More.

Steps to Postgraduate Study’ is a new website providing information for students who are making decisions about postgraduate taught (PGT) study. In 2013, HEFCE published research into prospective postgraduate student information needs on behalf of the UK funding bodies. We found that the information students needed was available but scattered in various places, and that an independent resource bringing it together in one location would be welcome. Read More.

Throughout much of human history hereditary privilege was often used as a means of organising society (for example, politically, economically and socially) and allocating resources. Hereditary privilege was not determined by one’s talents or skills or motivation or any other self-determining factor but rather by the class, gender and race one was born into. In other words, throughout much of human history, one’s status within society and one’s lot in life, to a large degree, was determined pr...

This is the final report of the Independent Commission on Fees, which was created in 2011 to analyse the effect of increased tuition fees on students. The report finds that, while the number of students applying to university has not been significantly affected by the new fee regime, certain groups within the system, including part-time and mature students, have been adversely affected. There is also a continuing and concerning gap between the recruitment of students from less advantaged and mor...

The past few years have been a time of fast-paced change in higher education in England. Shifts in some areas have been more pronounced than in others. This report is an update to our publication ‘Higher education in England 2014: Key facts’. It provides an overview of the shifts and trends we identified as key issues in last year’s report, building a picture of higher education (HE) in England in 2015. Read More.