Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 History  



1.1  Chief Executives  







2 Structure  



2.1  Management  







3 Function  



3.1  Charity regulation  





3.2  Industry-academia links  





3.3  The Prevent duty  





3.4  Register of Higher Education Providers  





3.5  Unistats  







4 Teaching initiatives  



4.1  Higher Education Academy  





4.2  National Teaching Fellowship Scheme  





4.3  Discontinued initiatives  







5 Criticism  





6 Location  





7 See also  





8 References  





9 External links  



9.1  Video clips  
















Higher Education Funding Council for England







 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

(Redirected from HEFCE)

Higher Education Funding Council for England
HEFCE
Agency overview
Formed1992
Preceding agency
Dissolved2018
Superseding agency
TypeNon-departmental public body
JurisdictionEngland
HeadquartersNicholson House, Lime Kiln Close, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS34 8SR
Employeesc.260
Annual budget£3.5 bn (2016–17)[2]
Minister responsible
  • Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities and Science
Agency executives
  • Sir Tim Melville-Ross, Chairman
  • Parent agencyDepartment for Education
    Websitewww.hefce.ac.uk

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in England since 1992. It ceased to exist as of 1 April 2018, when its duties were divided between the newly created Office for Students and Research England (operating within United Kingdom Research and Innovation).

    Most universities are charities and HEFCE (rather than the Charity Commission for England and Wales) was their principal regulator. HEFCE therefore had the duty to promote compliance with charity law by the universities for which it was responsible.

    History[edit]

    HEFCE was created by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (which also created the Further Education Funding Council for England (FEFC), replaced in 2001 by the Learning and Skills Council).

    On 1 June 2010 HEFCE became the principal regulator of those higher education institutions in England that are 'exempt charities'. This followed the Charities Act 2006, according to which all charities should be subject to regulation.

    The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 directed that HEFCE should be replaced by a new body, the Office for Students, also incorporating the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), but with HEFCE's research funding functions reassigned to UK Research and Innovation.[1]

    Chief Executives[edit]

    Structure[edit]

    HEFCE staff worked within six directorates. Leadership for these key strategic areas was shared between the Chief Executive and directors.

    Management[edit]

    The chief executive of HEFCE was Professor Madeleine Atkins (since 1 January 2014), previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Coventry. Her predecessor, Sir Alan Langlands is now the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds.

    Function[edit]

    In 2017-18 HEFCE allocated £3.5 billion in public funds [3] from the UK Government to universities and colleges in England to 'invest on behalf of students and the public to promote excellence and innovation in research, teaching and knowledge exchange'.[4] It only funds the institutions and does not give grants or loans to individual students. It also helps develop and implement higher education policy, based on research and consultation.

    Charity regulation[edit]

    HEFCE was the legal 'principal regulator' for the many UK universities and colleges who are classed as exempt charities. HEFCE described its role as 'to promote compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the administration of the charity'[5] and has a memorandum of understanding with the Charity Commission that details how the two will work together.

    Industry-academia links[edit]

    In addition to distributing both teaching and research funding to higher education institutions HEFCE was also involved with: widening participation; developing links between higher education institutions and business and the community; and enhancing leadership, governance and management within the sector. It provided both a contribution to core funding, and ring-fenced funding for special initiatives, projects and strategic aims.

    The Prevent duty[edit]

    The Government delegated to HEFCE the responsibility for overseeing the Prevent duty, which obliged relevant higher education bodies to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. HEFCE monitored whether these bodies were carrying out the duty effectively, and reports findings back to providers and the Government on a regular basis.[6]

    Register of Higher Education Providers[edit]

    HEFCE administered the Register of Higher Education Providers, a searchable tool that shows how the Government regulates higher education providers in England. This is primarily a regulatory tool, which lists each provider's names and addresses, its powers and the standards it is required to meet, among other information useful to other regulators and Government agencies.[7]

    Unistats[edit]

    HEFCE also owned the Unistats website which includes the student satisfaction ratings for different universities and subjects. These satisfaction ratings are compiled from the National Student Survey, and the feedback from students is held within the Unistats website and allows students to compare subjects, universities and UCAS points, see satisfaction ratings from other students and see what the employment prospects are for graduate jobs by subject chosen.

    Teaching initiatives[edit]

    Higher Education Academy[edit]

    The Higher Education Academy (HEA), founded in May 2004, is funded by the UK HE Funding Councils (including HEFCE) and institutional subscriptions. It was established as the result of a merger of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE), the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN), and the TQEF National Co-ordination Team (NCT).[8]

    National Teaching Fellowship Scheme[edit]

    HEFCE also funded a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) scheme for those working in England and Northern Ireland. The initiative is administered by the HEA and has two separate strands providing individual awards – recognising individual excellence in teaching within the Higher Education sector – and awards for large-scale projects typically undertaken by Higher Education institutions over periods of up to three years.[9]

    Discontinued initiatives[edit]

    Criticism[edit]

    The journal Nanotechnology Perceptions expressed doubt about the ability of HEFCE to effectively regulate the universities for which it was responsible, suggesting that while it would have the power to impose financial penalties on universities engaging in dishonest practice, there was no indication that it was prepared to do so.[13]

    Location[edit]

    HEFCE was based in Stoke Gifford to the north of Bristol. OFFA was based on the same site.

    See also[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. ^ a b "Higher Education and Research Bill". gov.uk. Department for Education. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  • ^ "HEFCE Annual report and accounts 2016-17". Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "Funding for higher education in England for 2017-18: HEFCE grant letter from the Department for Education". HEFCE. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "About us". HEFCE. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "Regulating higher education institutions as charities". HEFCE. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "Monitoring of the Prevent duty". HEFCE. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "About the Register". HEFCE. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • ^ HEA. "Higher Education Academy: About us". Higher Education Academy. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  • ^ HEA. "National Teaching Fellowship Scheme". Higher Education Academy. Archived from the original on 4 April 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  • ^ HEFCE (2007). "Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning". HEFCE. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  • ^ HEA. "Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning". Higher Education Academy. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  • ^ TLRP. "TLRP: Aims". TLRP. Archived from the original on 14 October 2002. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  • ^ Editorial, The corporate responsibility of universities. Nanotechnology Perceptions 8 (2012) 167–170.
  • External links[edit]

    Video clips[edit]


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Higher_Education_Funding_Council_for_England&oldid=1199665575"

    Categories: 
    Higher education in England
    Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government
    Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
    Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom
    Organisations based in Gloucestershire
    Organisations based in Bristol
    South Gloucestershire District
    Government agencies established in 1992
    1992 establishments in England
    Funding bodies of England
    Hidden categories: 
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    EngvarB from September 2013
    Use dmy dates from December 2023
    Webarchive template wayback links
    Articles with ISNI identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with J9U identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
    Articles with NKC identifiers
    Articles with SUDOC identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 27 January 2024, at 17:09 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki