Rethinking Online Student Acquisition: From Buying Demand to Building It

Mid-century-style illustration contrasting two approaches to online student recruitment: a crowded, costly world of ads, clicks, leads and conversion on one side, and a university-led approach built around research, partnerships, community, authentic learning and lasting impact on the other.
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What if the problem with the rising cost of online student acquisition isn’t simply that acquisition has become more expensive, but that universities and OPMs keep acquiring students in much the same way? A recent exchange with Neil Mosley got me thinking about the orthodoxy that has developed around online student recruitment. Why is student … Continue reading Rethinking Online Student Acquisition: From Buying Demand to Building It

Design for Thinking: What AI-Ready Assessment Actually Looks Like in Practice

Mid century modern editorial illustration showing a shift from AI permission scales to assessment designed around thinking. On the left, a ladder labelled with increasing levels of AI use symbolises traditional AI assessment scales. A large arrow reading “Beyond the Scale” points towards two educators discussing assessment design, while a head silhouette contains icons representing problem-solving, analysis, creative thinking, interpretation, evaluation and reasoning. The image conveys the idea that authentic assessment should be designed to develop and evidence human judgement, rather than simply regulate AI use.
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Over the past year I’ve been working with a number of UK universities to rethink assessment for an AI-enabled world. While much of the public conversation has focused on AI policies and guidance, my work has centred on the assessment frameworks that underpin them: the decisions about what students are asked to do, how learning … Continue reading Design for Thinking: What AI-Ready Assessment Actually Looks Like in Practice

What the Revised TEF Means for Fully Online Degree Courses

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The Office for Students has announced significant changes to the Teaching Excellence Framework, and while most of the commentary has focused on headline ratings and recruitment caps, providers of fully online degree programmes face a specific set of challenges that deserve closer attention. Here's what the revised TEF means for the online sector — and … Continue reading What the Revised TEF Means for Fully Online Degree Courses

Online Education, Place, and the UK’s International Education Strategy

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Published last week, the UK’s International Education Strategy 2026 places transnational education (TNE) at the heart of its global ambitions. With its emphasis on partnership, export growth, and flexible modes of delivery, TNE (via on-ground and online modalities) is positioned as a key mechanism for extending UK influence while widening access to high-quality education worldwide. … Continue reading Online Education, Place, and the UK’s International Education Strategy

Why using AI to make more content may be the least interesting thing we can do with it

Mid-century style illustration showing a transition from ‘Content Generation’ to ‘Judgement & Meaning’. On the left, stacks of papers, a laptop, and a university building represent content production. On the right, an open book, a human profile with a question mark, a magnifying glass, and balance scales represent critical thinking, interpretation, and judgement. A soft arrow connects the two, suggesting a shift from producing content to making meaning.
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Higher education is not short on content. It has lectures, readings, videos, activities, frameworks, rubrics, and resources in abundance. What it is increasingly short on is time, clarity, and space for deep thinking. Yet as generative AI becomes embedded across the sector, much of the attention remains fixed on accelerating the very thing we already … Continue reading Why using AI to make more content may be the least interesting thing we can do with it

Looking Beyond the Data: Reflections on the 2025 Voice of the Online Learner Report (UK Edition)

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Risepoint's 2025 Voice of the Online Learner: UK Edition arrives at an important moment for the sector. For more than a decade, the US edition of this report has provided valuable longitudinal insight into the motivations and realities of online students, but this is the first time Risepoint has produced a dedicated UK version. It … Continue reading Looking Beyond the Data: Reflections on the 2025 Voice of the Online Learner Report (UK Edition)