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Jim Gallacher and Robert Ingram's research on the role of short cycle higher education (SCHE) has now had a significant impact on the development of policy in Scotland, within the European Union and beyond. This has led to initiatives in Scotland to enhance the role of Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC/Ds), and strengthen articulation pathways between colleges and universities. This work has also been recognised at an international level in shaping policy within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and CEDEFOP (European Centre for Development of Vocational Training) on the 'permeability' between vocational and academic qualifications.
The research outlined below was instrumental in the development of a new classification of graduate occupations, beyond a dichotomous graduate/non-graduate distinction, which has become a standard typology for analysing the graduate labour market. Policymakers and research bodies, such as HECSU and Universities UK, have used it to better understand the impact of higher education, labour market and wider social policy reform, such as migration policy. Most UK HEIs have used this typology to compare employment outcomes for their graduates and it has also proved to be an important point of reference for careers advisors and students to aid educational and career decision-making.
The first of the two studies described here helped to persuade the coalition government that sufficient loans and grants needed to be available from autumn 2012 to ensure that higher tuition fees did not deter students from disadvantaged backgrounds from pursuing a university degree. The second study influenced the national debate on widening participation in higher education and encouraged policy-makers to recognise the importance of providing school students with improved information, advice and guidance on how to reach university. It triggered the launch of a successful website that has enabled teenagers to make more informed choices about HE.
The Lecturer Self-efficacy Project is a national and international collaboration led by Professor John Sharp at Bishop Grosseteste University (UK) and Dr Brian Hemmings at Charles Sturt University (Australia). The project was initiated to develop a diagnostic instrument or resource to measure confidence in core academic function (research, teaching, other) with a view to enhancing professional practice across the UK Higher Education sector. The Project claims reach and significance in impact on practitioners and the development of professional services at organisational and departmental levels. This was achieved by stimulating debate and challenging conventional wisdom, thereby influencing the management of professional standards and guidelines on recruitment and training and by using research findings to define best practice and formulate policy towards research capacity building and strategic decision-making.
The number of women in part-time employment is now 5.9 million, accounting for around 40% of all female employment. The hourly rates of pay for women in part-time employment are 35% lower than those for women in full-time employment and just under 12% of part-time jobs were paid at or below the National Minimum Wage (NMW) compared with 3% of full-time jobs. Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA) into part-time employment, led by Sara Connolly (Norwich Business School), has had a direct impact on policy debate and provision in this area. Among other impacts, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) uses the research in evidence every time it debates likely impacts of an increase in the National Minimum Wage, and this has benefited part-time workers. The research has also influenced wider thinking about part-time work, and the UK government's consideration of flexible working.
"Gender equality in employment is recognised by policy makers and advisors (such as the Low Pay Commission) as an extremely important policy area." (Factual statement 1. Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary, Low Pay Commission); affecting as it does, all employees in the UK labour market. Research at the University of York analyses the gender wage gap at a national level, making a new contribution to the understanding of wage inequality in the UK. The three major stakeholder government departments (Low Pay Commission, Government Equalities Office, and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) have used the research findings and policy recommendations in their wage policy development to reduce the gender wage gap in the UK. The report was personally identified by the Minister for Employment Relations as making an important contribution to the development of policy.
Innovative interdisciplinary research undertaken in the areas of intersectionality, diversity, and widening participation at the University of Hull contributed first to the development of a project funded by the European Union, the EU-ALFA III funded project `Development of Policies to Promote Widening Participation and Equal Opportunities in Higher Education Institutions in Latin America' (MISEAL). This project involves a consortium of 16 international institutions (4 EU universities and 12 universities in Latin America). Second, within MISEAL, research undertaken at Hull has led to the development and use of intersectional statistical tools for the measurement of inequality in the 12 Latin American partner HE institutions, of protocols for the analysis of their regulations regarding widening participation and equal opportunities and of guidelines for the organization of workshops (for staff and students) to raise awareness about inequality. MISEAL has also organised a number of reach-out activities, promoted collaboration with governmental organisation and created a network of experts in this area. The relevant impact has been primarily on public services and policy making (especially in the areas of widening participation and equal opportunities) and on education (at an international level and especially in the area of curriculum development and knowledge transfer). The primary beneficiaries have been policy makers including legal professionals and managers who are involved with the development of legal frameworks for widening participation and equal opportunities in Latin American HE institutions as well as academics and students internationally and groups concerned with curriculum development in HE institutions in Latin America.
Research at King's has had a direct influence on the perceived value of workforce planning in the Department of Health and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) and has resulted in its use in relation to pharmacists. Building on long-term research, King's academics developed a model to predict the demand for and supply of pharmacists in the UK over a five and ten year period. These findings changed thinking in the Department of Health and the RPSGB in 2006, and underpinned a change in UK policy. A national policy decision was taken to support the opening and accreditation of up to eight new university Schools of Pharmacy to help to address the anticipated shortfall in the supply of pharmacists predicted by the research.
Open University (OU) researchers were responsible for the development of the National Student Survey (NSS). It is an influential and widely cited source of information about the experience of students in higher education. Around 287,000 students at more than 300 institutions responded to the 2012 NSS. It has been incorporated into the league tables published annually by The Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and the online Complete University Guide. Performance in the survey has led institutions to take actions and initiatives to improve the student experience. The Ramsden report for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) indicates it has become an important element in quality enhancement.
This body of funded research has been conducted primarily in collaboration with Professor Mary Stuart (Kingston University, and currently University of Lincoln) as Principal Investigator. The University of West London collaborators are Dr Catherine Lido and Dr Lucy Solomon. The research highlights factors negatively-impacting Widening Participation (WP) student populations in terms of: experiences, progression and academic outcomes, and evaluates/promotes key variables to support WP students in Higher Education and beyond (e.g. postgraduate study, career success). Findings from our triangulated, mixed-methods approach reveals `sense of fit/belonging' and `connection/identification' with the university, as predictors of students' wellbeing, academic self-esteem and academic achievement and retention. The impact can be seen in peer-reviewed books/papers, conferences, online presence and policy/practices within HEIs.