Our new maps launch today - now, crucially, with subject data from individual UK universities. This adds a new dimension to our cold spots mapping what students can study and where. The maps show a complex regional picture - let's get into it ⤵️ (1) www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r... - ThreadSky

lyntonlees.bsky.social • 8 days ago

Our new maps launch today - now, crucially, with subject data from individual UK universities. This adds a new dimension to our cold spots mapping what students can study and where. The maps show a complex regional picture - let's get into it ⤵️ (1)
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-research/british-academy-shape-observatory/mapping-shape-provision/

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lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

First up: new features. We can now filter all providers by subject, year, tariff level etc, tracking increases/decreases in student numbers. Also: compare how the picture has changed over time, select an entire region, multi-select providers into groupings... tons to dig into. (2)

lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

One important new feature: the ability to select/deselect providers in a region. Now we can see what might happen if a provider stopped offering courses in their area - vital in light of new cuts/closures (note this is 22/23 data - 23/24 not yet out). (3) https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/feb/01/quarter-of-leading-uk-universities-cutting-staff-due-to-budget-shortfalls

lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

What do the maps show? It's an uneven picture, divergent regionally + across four nations. Take Classics: up in Scotland, down everywhere else - with NI as a big cold spot. Many Humanities see similar patterns: History, Eng, Langs see moderate increase in Scotland and decreases everywhere else. (4)

lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

What we do see (almost) UK-wide are striking trends in multi-provider urban areas. Even in subjects on the up - Law, Psych, Business - some providers (often lower-tariff) see student no's drop. I get into what we can (and can't) read into this here: (5) https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/interactive-map-regional-access-shape-subjects/

lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

Now the caveats. The maps don't give easy answers on causation. And getting good data on what students study where is much harder than it should be. David Kernohan gets into this in today’s @wonkhe.bsky.social - why it's a problem and what we might do about it: https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/why-does-it-take-the-british-academy-to-plot-subject-geographies/ (6)

lyntonlees.bsky.social•8 days ago

Why build these maps? Simple answer: access. Disadvantaged students are more likely to stay local to study, more likely to access HE through lower tariff institutions, and most likely to be impacted by cuts. Course closures = more barriers to opportunity. HE, we know, is not a pure market. (7)

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