Ruth Williams

Principal Policy Analyst

A researcher on several of CHERI's academic and policy-related projects concerning universities and their engagement with communities and other stakeholders. For example:

On social disadvantage, she is co-director of the ESRC-funded research project Higher Education and Regional Transformation – Social and Cultural Perspectives. This project runs until December 2009 and is exploring the impact of universities on the lives of local and regional communities and in particular their role in alleviating social disadvantage.
On institutional partnerships, she completed an interim evaluation of Lifelong Learning Networks. These networks are groups of higher education institutions and further education colleges that have been set up to improve progression opportunities for vocational learners into and through higher education.
On employer engagement, she led a systematic review that explored engagement in course development by employers not traditionally involved in higher education.
On students, she has completed a study into student engagement for HEFCE. She has previously undertaken a number of projects on student feedback and its collection and use in relation to the quality and standards of learning and teaching in higher education, and has produced a good practice guide.

Other work includes the management of the Higher Education Empirical Research Database - a database comprising summaries of empirical literature on a range of topics concerned with higher education for DIUS, GuildHE, HEFCE, HE Academy and UUK. The database is an open resource and free to users; it is accessible at http://heerd.open.ac.uk/.

Ruth graduated in politics and international relations and has a masters degree in higher and further education from the University of London.

Recent publications include:

‘Report to HEFCE on student engagement’ (with B. Little, W. Locke and A. Scesa), Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2009

‘Non-university higher education in the UK’ (with J. Brennan), in J. Brites Ferreira, M. de Lourdes Machado, R. Santiago (eds) Non-University Higher Education in Europe, Dortrecht: Springer, 2008

'Interim evaluation of lifelong learning networks' (with B. Little), Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2008
'Engagement in course development by employers not traditionally involved in higher education: student and employer perceptions of its impact' (with A. Scesa), EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, 2007
'Regulatory intermediation and quality assurance in higher education: the case of the auditors', Oxford Review of Education, 2007, Vol 33, No 2

Ruth Williams' publications

Data owner:: cheri webmaster

Last updated:: 12/6/09