A Research On UK "Higher Education And Research Act" And Its Implementing Achievements

In the era of knowledge economy,talents and human resources have become the country's largest resources.Higher education,as a social activity mainly for cultivating senior professionals,has been widely valued by countries all over the world.With the continuous expansion of the scale of higher education,in order to promote the smooth development of higher education,all countries have enacted various laws and regulations to reform higher education.UK higher education has a long history.It has made great achievements and gained international recognition for the quality of its higher education.Thus higher education has become the key point for its sustainable economic growth.However,with the continuous development of its higher education,it also faces a series of problems and challenges.In order to promote the quality of higher education,the UK put forward a higher education reform proposal in 2016.After more than a year of discussion and consultation,the Higher Education and Research Act(HERA)was officially promulgated in 2017.The act legislates a series of higher education reform measures with a view to improving the quality of teaching in higher education and guaranteeing the level of research,thus driving social and economic development.This study aims to analyze the reform measures of this act,summarize the effective measures of this act,and propose some references based on the current situation of China.The main body of this study consists of five parts,including the background,orientations and objectives,main contents,implementation achievements of the HERA and its enlightenment to the reform and development of higher education in China.UK higher education has a history of more than 800 years and enjoys a world-class reputation.Its achievements have made great contributions to the social and economic development of Britain.The UK government will constantly formulate laws and regulations to ensure its smooth development.With the rising tuition fees of higher education in the UK,the public's requirements on the teaching quality of higher education are constantly improving.However,most higher education institutions focus on the development of university scientific research and pay insufficient attention to the improvement of teaching quality.Therefore,the teaching quality of higher education in the UK is in urgent need of improvement.On the other hand,due to the rigid mechanism,it is difficult for alternative higher education providers to enter the higher education market,and even if they do enter the market,it is difficult to compete with established universities.UK higher education faces the problem of insufficient market competitiveness.In addition,the regulatory system of higher education formulated in the 1990 s has been difficult to adapt to the needs of higher education development.Driven by the above factors,the UK promulgated HERA,which aims at the reform of higher education.With the orientation of student center,teaching excellence and quasi-marketization,the act aims to improve the teaching quality of higher education,stimulate the market competitiveness of higher education and optimize the supervision system of higher education.The legislation stipulates for the implementation of the teaching excellence and student outcomes framework,further establishment of a competitive higher education market,establishment of the Office for Students and UK Research and Innovation.Although it has been less than two years since the enactment of the act,it has achieved initial implementation results,improved the teaching quality of higher education,promoted fair competition in the field of higher education,and improved the supervision system of higher education.At the same time,its reform measures have also aroused some relevant doubts.Based on the current situation of higher education in China,the writer believes that China should formulate thorough laws and regulations for higher education,establish a scientific system for evaluating the quality of higher education,stimulate a rational mechanism of higher education marketization,and establish a complete higher education supervision system.