I think maybe this point, in my report below, went under the radar a little last week as the Hesa data in question came out on the same day as the OfS financial report.

UAL chief: ‘I feel the pain’ of universities facing arts crisis. Interview: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

BBSRC caps fellowship bids mid-call after surge in applications. Frustration as research council rejects preliminary submissions en masse due to “unprecedented demand”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Tories would cut creative arts to ‘rebalance’ higher education. In ‘alternative King’s speech’, Conservative Party singles out creative arts as “low value”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Updated: England’s large research universities take financial hit. Now with further analysis of the OfS and Hesa higher education finance reports. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Quick overview of today's OfS HE finance report. It says increased surplus levels from medium, smaller & specialist institutions is offsetting “aggregate deterioration” in for larger research- and teaching-intensive institutions. Free to read: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

🚨Breaking🚨 OfS publishes 2026 higher education financial health check report. Regulator says large research-intensive universities are holding back financial recovery, with positive signs elsewhere in the sector. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Congratulations John!

The best of luck to @francesjones.bsky.social and @johnmorgan3.bsky.social in tonight's BSME Talent Awards 2026! 🤞

Headed to Holborn last week to interview @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social vice-chancellor Karen Stanton about arts education, the OfS and a few other things. Full interview: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

I spoke to Ed Committee chair Helen Hayes about today's critical report on the government and the HE financial crisis. One thing she told me was that DfE needs to fight its corner against damaging policies from Treasury and Home Office. Full story: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

New: Lack of planning for university failure risks ‘lasting blow’ to R&D. Excoriating education committee report on HE finances warns government is not prepared for university insolvencies, with worrying implications for students and academics. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

"The judgment shows not that free speech regulation is unnecessary, but that it needs more effective enforcement. The government should proceed with the announced timetable in full." www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

ICYMI, the University of Sussex has won its judicial review of the Office for Students’ decision to fine the institution £585,000 over what it claimed were breaches of free speech regulation. Five years of back and forth finally at an end? www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

BREAKING: University of Sussex wins judicial review of OfS free speech fine. High Court overturns English regulator’s decision to impose £585,000 fine. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

This morning we will hear the court's ruling in the judicial review of the OfS's decision to fine it £585k for perceived violations of free speech regulation. The original OfS inquiry was launched a5 years ago. Will today mark the end of the saga? www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Exclusive: Academic hiring at UK research-intensives falls 19 per cent in two years. Data obtained through freedom of information requests reveal impact of financial crisis on job opportunities. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Reports that University of Nottingham is looking at 600 possible job losses would add significantly to this number (story written last week). 😔 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Reports that University of Nottingham is looking at 600 possible job losses would add significantly to this number (story written last week). 😔 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

UK ‘falling out of love’ with higher education. Experts see perceptions sour, as “models and assumptions” that brought cross-party and public backing “break”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Evelyn Welch to be new Russell Group chair. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Over 1,000 UK university job losses announced since January. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

The latest in a long line of worrying signs for universities reliant on international students. Of 49 universities asked, 70 per cent said the number of overseas postgrads starting courses in January was down year-on year. And not just a little down. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Excerpt (free to read) of this morning's Playbook on the 9 universities taking legal steps against DfE / Student Loans Company over the thousands of students being asked to repay maintenance loans. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Will the academic exodus from X silence research? Spread of researchers across multiple platforms (including Bluesky) brings warnings of a tougher struggle for impact. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

There's definitely a reshaping of UK research going on Some of it is intentional - govt encouraging unis to specialise, UKRI directing funds for applied R&I to industrial strategy areas Some of it isn't - unis taking individual decisions to save costs that add up to impact on national capacity 🧵

Researchers ‘must balance AI use with human understanding’. Royal Society vice-president urges caution as AI tools are adopted to speed up science. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...

Open up to boost trust and impact, social sciences urged. Landmark repeatability initiative puts onus on researchers to be “transparent” about their work. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

Orbán defeat seen as ‘victory for democracy’ and universities. European universities celebrate opportunity for Hungarian institutions to restore academic freedom. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

AI use in science linked to more novelty and impact, study finds. The use of artificial intelligence in scientific research appears to be associated with more novel work that has greater impact. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

STFC budget falling in real terms even as UKRI spending rises. New figures show pressure on cash-strapped council, as scientists warn of wide-ranging impacts from cuts. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Universities Scotland: ‘No exceptions’ in political party talks. Scottish universities are making “no exceptions” when it comes to engaging with political parties ahead of the Holyrood elections, the head of Universities Scotland has told me. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Full story from @chrisjparr.bsky.social and me: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

We've been tracking applications for UK student visas for many months now and the trend is...not good March figures released by the Home Office today show there have been 6 straight months where numbers were down on the year before 🧵

Interest on Plan 2 and 3 student loans will be capped at 6% for the 2026/27 academic year, instead of RPI+3%, to "provide borrowers with certainty in an uncertain world", says the government. Source: www.gov.uk/government/n...

Research networks are ‘diminishing by the day’ thanks to the surging number of redundancies in UK universities. Via @chrisjparr.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

'Resmearch' is where groups use AI to trawl large datasets & produce findings that support their stance. @dcomerf.bsky.social says: “It’s bullshit science...peer review is asleep at the wheel on this stuff”. Read @fionamcintyre.bsky.social's piece: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Research networks ‘diminishing by the day’ as redundancies hit. Cross-institutional networks being thwarted by job pressures, warns academic after homicide detection project collapses. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Study visa ban leaves Chevening applicants feeling ‘powerless’. Two Afghan applicants “shocked and saddened” by Home Office decision that halted “life-changing” opportunity. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

The chair of the House of Commons science committee has described impending cuts to physics funding as “wholly unacceptable” and “a failure” in an excoriating letter to the science minister and the leader of UKRI. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Breaking: Looming physics cuts a ‘failure’, says science committee chair. Chi Onwurah says science minister and UKRI leadership must “bear responsibility” and “win back trust”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

STFC boss Michele Dougherty admits UK will lose postdocs through physics cuts. Meeting minutes also show appetite within UKRI to move grants programme to alternative research council. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Name that university...

Female tech leaders slam Elon Musk at Royal Society event. Former Twitter executive and leading computer scientist lament Musk’s impact on social media. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

“There appears to be little actual understanding of what the implications of these sweeping restructures actually mean for staff workloads, research time and. quality of teaching.”

UK university unions demand pay rise 3% above inflation. Employers describe claim as “extremely challenging” in current financial climate. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

RCIF and World Class Laboratories streams take a hit as UKRI boosts infrastructure spending on digital and supercomputing.

Closure of language courses is ‘national catastrophe’, warns VC. Birmingham leader Adam Tickell says “institutional mergers” may be needed to protect “national cultural assets”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Most UK universities now inactive on X. Tipping point reached as shift away from Elon Musk’s social media platform continues. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...