Latest news with #BritishUniversities
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Universities ‘don't protect academics from trans harassment'
Universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics from interference and harassment, a government-commissioned report has found. A review led by Professor Alice Sullivan, a sociology expert at University College London (UCL), found that many academics had faced 'barriers to research' as well as abuse and intimidation because of their gender-critical views. The report, which was commissioned by the previous Conservative government and analysed submissions from 140 academics, claimed failure to support such individuals was 'a stain on the higher education sector'. It alleged that administrative bloat at UK universities in recent years and the growth of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) departments were interfering with academic freedom. 'Provided levers for activists' Prof Sullivan suggested they had 'provided levers for activists' trying to shut down gender-critical academics by requiring research to be approved by lengthy ethics committees. The report - on barriers to research on sex and gender identity at British universities - said this had also resulted in some academics having parts of their studies blocked. One anonymised submission from a UK academic claimed they were prevented from collecting data on the number of transgender and non-binary patients in an NHS autism clinic. Another alleged that they were unable to collect data on sex for various national datasets despite the research being relevant to domestic abuse. 'EDI overreach' The report called for universities to crack down on 'EDI overreach' and said such departments should be slimmed down to personnel matters rather than being involved in deciding research content. It comes after research published earlier this year by the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) found that the cost of EDI teams at British universities rose by 125 per cent between 2022 and 2024, to £168,000 on average per institution. The number of EDI staff in UK higher education also swelled by a fifth over that time, with each university out of 110 analysed by the TPA employing an average of 6.9 people in such roles in 2023/24. The report published on Wednesday, led by Prof Sullivan and with input from other academics, urged universities to review their governance documents to remove 'partisan policies and messaging on questions of sex and gender'. 'A chilling effect arose' It claimed free speech and academic freedom on UK campuses have come 'under attack' in recent years by those who believe 'treating sex as an important category 'denies the existence' of trans people'. The report cited the evidence over the treatment of academics including Professor Kathleen Stock and Professor Jo Phoenix, who both claim they were subjected to serious harassment campaigns at their respective universities. The university's watchdog hit the University of Sussex with a record fine of £585,000 in March for failing to uphold free speech in the case of Prof Stock, who claims she was hounded out in a 'witch hunt' over her views on gender. The Office for Students (OfS) warned that 'a chilling effect arose' from the university's transgender policy that caused staff and students to 'self-censor' and left them feeling unable to express 'lawful' opinions. 'Hostile environment' Meanwhile, Prof Phoenix won an unfair dismissal claim against the Open University last year after she was discriminated against and harassed because of her gender-critical beliefs. An employment tribunal found that the academic was compared with 'a racist uncle at the Christmas table' and was forced to quit her job because of a 'hostile environment' created by colleagues and 'insufficient protection' from the university. Long-awaited free speech laws are set to come into force in England next month after they were temporarily shelved by the Labour Government. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act will include a new free speech complaints scheme for teaching staff overseen by Professor Arif Ahmed, the university watchdog's director of academic freedom. 'These are complex issues' Universities UK (UUK), the lobby group representing vice-chancellors, said it would 'carefully consider' the report's findings. A spokesman for UUK said: 'We agree that universities must protect and defend academic freedom and freedom of speech. They are bound to do so by law and, in England, there is a new regulatory approach under the Freedom of Speech Act which is about to come into force. 'These are complex issues. In practice, universities are bound by law to protect the free speech of individuals who have very different views on contentious topics. They are required both to allow and facilitate protest, and to prevent that protest from creating an intimidatory or chilling environment on campus or from preventing staff and students from pursuing their work and studies. 'We will carefully consider this report as part of our work in supporting universities as they navigate these difficult issues.'
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
English university students must face 'shocking' ideas in a drive to protect free speech on campus
Students at English universities must prepare to confront ideas they find uncomfortable and shocking, the national regulator for higher education said as it released new guidelines governing free speech on campuses across the country. The Office for Students said Thursday that freedom of speech and academic freedom are crucial to higher education, so the guidelines are designed to ensure that universities don't stifle any form of legal speech on their campuses or in their classrooms. Students must be allowed to freely share their opinions and be prepared to hear a range of views during their studies, Arif Ahmed, free speech director for the regulator, said in a statement. 'This includes things that they may find uncomfortable or shocking,' he said. 'By being exposed to a diversity of academic thought, students will develop their analytical and critical thinking skills.' The guidance comes as concern grows that British universities had gone too far in silencing professors and students who expressed ideas some people found offensive. In particular, gender-critical academics and pro-Israeli groups say they have been targeted by university officials and students who disagree with their ideas. In 2021, professor Kathleen Stock resigned from her position at the University of Sussex after a group of students who identified as queer, trans and nonbinary demanded that she be fired for expressing the belief that there are two immutable sexes, male and female. Earlier this year, the Office for Students fined the university 585,000 pounds ($785,000) for failing to uphold freedom of speech. The guidance released on Thursday is designed to implement legislation protecting freedom of speech on university campuses that was passed by the previous government in 2023. The regulator stressed that unlawful speech, including speech that violates anti-terror, equality or public order laws, is not protected by the legislation. Universities also have the right to regulate time, place and manner of lawful speech so that that it doesn't interfere with research, teaching and learning. While the guidance is a good first step, universities will still have a difficult time balancing all the interests on their campuses, Julian Sladdin, a partner at the law firm Pinsent Masons, told the Guardian newspaper. 'The difficulty which remains in practical terms is the fact that institutions are still subject to dealing day-to-day with extremely complex and often polarizing issues on campus and where the bounds of what may be lawful free speech are constantly being tested,' he was quoted as saying.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
British students to be barred from Turing exchange scheme following Trump visa ban
British students are expected to be barred from spending a year at American universities under Donald Trump's sweeping visa ban. Tens of thousands of UK students are waiting to hear a decision on their funding applications for this year's Turing Scheme, which allows them to enrol at universities around the world for up to a year. Those who applied to study at US colleges next year are expected to be turned down under White House plans, unless they have already received their visas. It comes after Mr Trump ramped up his attack on American universities by ordering US embassies to halt all new visa interviews for prospective international students. Changes expected soon In a leaked cable shared on Tuesday, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, also demanded an 'expansion' of social media vetting for all student visa applicants. The changes, which Mr Rubio said would come into effect 'in the coming days', will apply to student exchange visas as well as those for full-time international students. A Whitehall source confirmed to The Telegraph that J-1 exchange visas required for the Turing Scheme were affected by the ban, but said some students may have already secured their visas for next year. The UK Government will monitor the situation and is discussing potential implications with universities, The Telegraphunderstands. British universities could still change the preferred destination for any Turing Scheme participants affected by the US ban. The Department for Education is responsible for Britain's study abroad programme, but individual universities must organise their students' applications. More than 3,100 British students were offered placements in the US last year as part of the Turing Scheme, which replaced the Erasmus+ scheme after the UK left the EU-wide programme in 2020. The US was the third most popular location after Spain and France. It means thousands of UK students could have their study abroad plans ripped up or be sent to different countries, while British pupils planning to start at US colleges full-time this autumn have had their plans thrown into chaos. Prospective students can apply for full-time study visas up to a year in advance of their course start date, but many colleges send out admissions decisions in spring – meaning many may still be awaiting a visa interview. UK students in the US The number of UK students at US universities has remained broadly stable over the past decade or so, while enrolments from other countries have soared. A record 1.1 million foreign students were enrolled at American universities last year, more than 10,000 of whom were British, according to the Institute of International Education. However, top private schools have increasingly encouraged pupils to apply to Ivy League colleges in the past few years amid frustrations over UK universities' focus on state school admissions. Eton College reportedly sent around a fifth of its leavers to American universities in 2022, with 50 pupils heading for top US destinations such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale and Columbia. Mr Trump has taken aim at many of those institutions and threatened to end their federal funding after accusing them of fostering anti-Semitism and adopting biased admissions policies. The US leader has frozen around $3.2 billion of federal funding for Harvard in recent weeks, sparking a bitter tit-for-tat and multiple lawsuits from the oldest university in the US. Turmoil in the US could, however, prove an unexpected boon for UK universities, which are grappling with a funding crisis fuelled by their own drop in foreign student numbers. A recent British Council report said British higher education could benefit from Mr Trump's re-election, with international students now more likely to seek out alternative English-speaking destinations. The move could also intensify competition for places at some British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. Rohan Agarwal, the founder of UniAdmissions, said he was bracing for 'an even greater acceleration in demand for Oxbridge and other top UK institutions' if the Trump administration followed through with its visa crackdown. A US State Department spokesman said it did not comment on internal communications, but that the Trump administration was focused on upholding the highest national security standards. The spokesman said the department would focus on prohibiting entry to the US for those who might pose a threat to America's security.
BBC News
05-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Swansea dominate Cardiff in Welsh Varsity Boat Race
Swansea University swept away Cardiff University on the River Taff to take the honours in Saturday's Welsh Varsity Boat of the four races went to Swansea's crews to retain their grip on the title of top Welsh rowers in the event hosted in the Welsh men's senior eight beat Cardiff for the first time in a decade, with Cardiff's senior women taking the sole victory for their the wind picking up in the morning, Swansea's rowers had strong wins in both the men's and women's novice events over the 1.7km windy conditions continuing in the afternoon, Cardiff's women picked up their team's only win with a three-and-a-half length victory over their academic senior men finished the day with a convincing four-and-a-half length win, which their captain Oscar Whitcombe described as one of the club's best rows of the season"It was really windy at the top and really challenging. The wind again hit us as we came round the bend to Clarence Bridge, but we held in there," Whitcombe said."This sets us up nicely for the British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) regatta later in the season."Welsh beach rowing sprint international Frances Katirewa sat in the seven seat for Swansea's senior women, who lost to Cardiff, but coached the novice women's eight."It was an incredible win for the novice eight," she said. "I've been coaching them since October with the hope of a Varsity win at the forefront of their minds and then coming here today to win in very tricky conditions. I am so proud of them".Welsh Rowing senior national coach James Walker said the event was "a great opportunity" to talent spot on a pathway for rowers to go on to represent Wales and Great Britain."It was great to see Welsh internationals like Kiera Delaney and Menna Sutton on the water for Cardiff's women, but it was also an opportunity for other rowers to get into the spotlight," Walker said."We have rowers with Welsh vests here today, but in the past this event has seen competitors like Tom Barras and Josh Bugajski row for Cardiff and then go on to represent Wales and medal for GB at the Olympics."
