Differentiation of English universities: the impact of policy reforms in driving a more diverse higher education landscape

Higher education in the UK is a success story and what we do matters to society. Income is earned by delivering value - and that's clearer now in this new arena of student fees and research impact. Clarity about what we're really good at - academic programmes, learning approach and/or research theme - and communicating that powerfully is what it takes to be distinctive. Smart specialisation is a phrase we're coming to learn - perhaps we can do more to be smart as universities? We need to portray the richness of the UK sector, not vertically hierarchical but horizontally stratified around excellence with a focus on return on investment. In the global higher education landscape, winners will focus on core strengths, develop their distinctiveness, and be innovative and bold in going forward. Higher education policy adopts a largely 'one size fits all' approach - is this still relevant against a backdrop of an increasingly diverse sector? © 2015 Taylor & Francis