There’s little doubt now that enrolments for colleges and universities are going to look very different this year. Luckily, although there is nothing ordinary about 2020, educational staff are rising to the challenge and seeing it as an opportunity to push through much needed change and create a new kind of student experience this year and beyond.

COVID-19 Response Barometer

The COVID-19 Response Barometer has been borne out of necessity – the necessity for Higher Education Institutions to hear and understand the student voice during the pandemic, and the necessity to understand that student voice in the context of a global comparison. Here we look at how the survey has been received and the aspirations of those institutions that are sharing the survey with their student population.

As colleges and educational institutions across the nation try to adapt to a ‘new normal’ way of working in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, how will enrolment look for a new year of learning?

For anyone returning to university, the apprehension and unknows that Covid-19 presents will likely be playing on student minds. Indeed, Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity and Headspace in Australia, have been providing unprecedented levels of dedicated support to both students and staff to help them through this period, and publishing up to date  guidance and resources on a regular basis.

Starting university life is challenging at the best of times. From meeting new people, to moving away from home (likely for the first time), and discovering a new way of learning… it’s not unusual for students to feel apprehensive about what lies ahead. Throw Covid-19 into that mix and the new challenge becomes even more overwhelming. With so much uncertainty and lack of clarity on what the future holds, there has never been a more important time for universities to provide a robust student support and welfare service, especially to those first year students who will be joining the university in the near future.

The funding crisis within the UK education sector has led to curriculums being cut back, staff recruitment and retention suffering and teachers reporting of working on average 50-70 hours per week in order to plug the gap.

To date, our blog series on AI in education has focussed on ‘the future’ and how AI could improve the delivery and provision of learning. Today, we’re looking at what technology is available and valuable to educators, now and why it pays to have an AI strategy.

There are 3 education specific categories in which AI is set to assist institutions in making adaptive, personalised and intelligent decisions. But how far should we trust algorithms with this responsibility? Read on for the latest education use cases and the ‘best case scenario in education’ currently supported by AI….

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) just hype, or is it really the promised paradigm shift in how we construct and use technology as a society? How is it being used in education already? And how can you prepare for how it will affect the role of teachers, MIS managers and institution executives in the coming years? Our new AI in education series is a must read, whether your institution is planning to dip its toe into tested AI waters, or jump in at the proverbial deep end!

Since the publication of the September FE Week article surrounding the ESFA’s oversight of financial management, FE colleges may have found themselves questioning the integrity of sector financial information. As a result, Dame Mary Ney will be carrying out a full review into the way the government monitors college finances.