JS Group is delighted to announce that the winner of the AUA John Smith’s Essay Prize was Andrew Fisher for his article ‘Towards an orderly exit regime in English higher education’. Andrew was presented with his prize at the AUA conference in Leeds on Tuesday.

John Smith’s has partnered with the Association of University Administrators to launch an annual essay prize. The prize is designed to encourage and recognise original contributions to important policy discussions.

Andrew’s article considers the scope for an “exit regime” in the English higher education sector. It considers how consumers (students) can be protected from the disorderly closure of their higher education providers, whilst retaining the principle of competitive neutrality, or the ‘level playing field’. The article also proposes actions which the sector could take in advance of Government regulation, in order to develop the form of exit regime which will give the greatest protection to students.

Andrew has worked in a number of different institutions, mainly in registry and planning roles, and is currently working in interim management in the HE sector.

Andrew’s article has been published in the special Managers and Markets issue of Perspectives.

Commenting on the prize, Peter Lake, Group Business Director of JS Group, said:

We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with AUA and look forward to working with them in the future. The prize is designed to promote discussion of important policy concerns and this is certainly true of Andrew’s thoughtful discussion of how an orderly exit regime could be considered and constructed.