King's publishes response to the HE Green Paper

In mid-January, King’s College London submitted its institutional response to the Government’s consultation on the Higher Education Green Paper, Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice.  We are now publishing our consultation response in full.

The response was drawn up with comments fed in by relevant committees and a variety of academics and professional services staff across the university. There was also dialogue with KCLSU as part of the process.

The King’s response focused on the need to ensure that any moves to replace HEFCE with new bodies such as the Office for Students and Research UK does not inadvertently lead to a bifurcation of teaching and research activity.

In relation to the Teaching Excellence Framework, King’s argued that universities must demonstrate the richness of research-informed teaching to secure higher level TEF awards.

The King’s response also expressed our support for the Government’s efforts to bolster social mobility and diversity in higher education through the 2020 access targets, an issue where there was significant commonality with the views of KCLSU, especially on the need for the Government to show the same level of ambition in supporting participation by disabled students.  

Commenting on the King’s response, Professor Ed Byrne, President and Principal of King’s College London, said:

‘The Government’s Green Paper and the highly inter-linked proposal to create Research UK, set out in the Nurse Review and endorsed in the Government’s Spending Review, will bring significant change to the sector. 

‘I’m pleased King’s College London responded comprehensively to the Green Paper, with a variety of staff feeding in views.  In the months ahead, I will work with Professor Karen O’Brien and our External Relations Directorate to engage with relevant stakeholders in government and across the sector to promote our key positions.’

 ‘Some of the proposals are clearly welcome but we need to ensure that the holistic strengths and innovative nature of the university sector is preserved and enhanced in line with any restructuring of the funding and regulatory landscape. Our institutional autonomy and the stability of the dual funding system are critical to our long-term success.  

Daniel Cremin, the Head of External Affairs & Government Relations at King’s, added:

‘There are clearly big decisions ahead for the policymakers, with BIS having received well over 600 responses to its consultation on the Green Paper. The Government is clearly in listening mode and we will seek to engage to constructively shape policy development and ensure we are well placed to respond effectively as the reform agenda crystallises.’

You can read the King’s College London response to the Higher Education Green Paper here.

For more information, please contact the Head of External Affairs & Government Relations, Daniel Cremin, via Daniel.Cremin@kcl.ac.uk .

For more information about King’s, visit the King’s in Brief web pages.