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Vice-Chancellor appointed to new post-18 policy initiative

Posted 22 May

ÎÞÂ붯»­ Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan has been appointed an advisor to a new initiative aiming to shape policy for universities and colleges.

The Post-18 Project has been set up by the team behind higher education debate and discussion platform Wonkhe and will offer practical solutions for decision makers and opinion formers who have a stake in the success of post-18 education across the UK.

With the Labour Government set to announce its Spending Review in June, the Project’s initial aim will be to offer Ministers practical ideas and helpful research about funding, the shape of the future sector, and the relationship its institutions have not only with their own staff and students – but also with the wider world and communities outside academia.

It will focus on three core themes:

• Higher education for the common good– exploring what a policy framework looks like that can maximise the public value of post-18 provision to the UK
• The post-18 experience– what prospective and current students need from their education experiences and how to achieve scalable diversity of provision and pathways
• Universities and colleges in a changing world– the global dimension of post-18 education and how it interacts with the UK’s position and influence in the world.

The Project’s Founder and Chair will be Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief of Wonkhe, who will be supported by three Fellows and an Advisory board of nine key individuals from across the sector – including Professor Sloan.

Professor Sloan will draw on his extensive experience in the higher education sector both in the UK and internationally, as well as his current role as Chair of higher education representative body and as National Lead for Employee Experience for the Board of UCEA.  

He said: “There is no doubt that our sector faces a challenging time – and a rapidly changing landscape.

“We are seeing a range of announcements – such as this week’s trade agreement with the European Union – which will impact our sector in various ways.

“As the new Government moves forward with its legislative programme, there will be more to come. It is at moments like this that Ministers should be able to draw on the best independent advice  from those within the post-18 Sector – and that the sector itself can build the capacity for change.

“Government and the higher education sector can, and should, work together for the greater good of the communities we all serve – driving economic growth and community regeneration, building skills across key sectors, and being an engine for ideas and impact.

“It is in all our interests to ensure that the opportunities for post-18s deliver transformational opportunities for young adults as well as delivering social and economic benefits for the nation. That’s what The Post-18 Project aims to facilitate – and I’m hugely excited to be a part of it.”