In the UK, most prospective university students study 'traditional' academic qualifications such as A-Levels. However, increasing numbers of students are entering UK higher education with 'non-traditional' or vocational qualifications. This has provoked debate about the relationships between entry qualifications and degree outcomes; this paper…

For a large number of Higher Education institutions in the UK, the recruitment of international students remains vital for economic, political, cultural and educational benefits. Increasing competition within the international student market has encouraged many Higher Education institutions to pay closer attention to the quality of their…

One-to-one work with students remains at the core of many higher education career services in the UK, but there is limited empirical evidence detailing the nature of these interactions. Drawing together existing strands of literature on the process and effectiveness of one-to-one career conversations, career decision-making difficulties, and…

This article draws on data from a small qualitative study of men on care-based degree pathways in one university in England. There is little research that specifically considers the experiences of working-class men on these courses. The article explores aspects of men's experiences and responses to so-called 'active learning'. It considers…

Consumerist views have increased in English higher education. At the same time, the wellbeing of university students is of growing concern. Some research suggests that consumerist views amongst students link to lower wellbeing and achievement. This prompted the current paper which speculates that the concept of autonomy (as depicted in…

Inspiring learning and teaching are a matter of growing importance in today's marketised higher education sector. To date, much research in this area has a focus on reviewing literature or adopting a single-stakeholder perspective -- typically that of staff or students. This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study adopting a…

Incivility has been reported as having an adverse impact on student learning, faculty staff retention and student commitment within Higher Education. As such this behaviour has the potential to reduce student achievement and could have a financial impact. The aim of this research was to examine the impact of teaching context (lecture versus…

Student transition into higher education can set the foundation for success at university. However, some students, perhaps in increasing numbers, find this transition difficult. This study explores contemporary students' experiences when transitioning into Higher Education (HE) to gain an up to date picture of the multiple, potential sources of…

Self-governance and responsibilisation are integral to Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB) assessments and Functional Skills qualifications. However, very little is known of its neoliberalist effects and the governance practices of tutors teaching disengaged youth taking Functional Skills as part of the overall employability certificate. Adopting a…

Recognising the changing landscape and financial costs, changes in the higher education sector continue to challenge the purpose and operations of universities, notably the shift towards student consumerism. Given this, what it means to be a student in contemporary higher education can evolve and would arguably have implications about the…

Student consumerism in the Higher Education (HE) sector continues to stimulate critical academic commentary about the consequences of marketisation. Although much of the debate focuses on the effects that consumerism has on student achievement, little empirical research has analysed the effect that consumerism has on teaching and associated…

In this article we discuss the findings from a qualitative research project that explored the struggles of twelve work-based learners whilst they studied on a Foundation Degree in an English University. It examines the concept of struggle within the current context of Higher Education and discusses the need to acknowledge learners' emotional…

This article discusses the educational, social and economic backgrounds of Access to Higher Education (AHE) students and how these factors influence students' choice of courses and colleges in which to pursue their desire to enter higher education (HE) despite the risks involved and the initial lack of confidence of many of them in their…

This article reflects on a novel method to elicit understanding of students' journeys. At a time when universities need to know much more about their students, sector understanding runs the risk of being limited and rather shallow. Knowledge tends to rely on broad-brush descriptions of student life derived from surveys, questionnaires and student…

The National Student Survey (NSS) seeks to measure how 'satisfied' students are with their programmes of study and educational experience. Ongoing NSS data demonstrates that global satisfaction scores are increasing; however, when this is separated into disabled and non-disabled students, downward satisfaction trends for disabled students are…