We lead and participate in expert groups to address critical issues and develop innovative solutions for higher education issues on behalf of the sector, in the areas that matter most to our members. Drawing on our deep sector knowledge and extensive networks, we use our position as a formal representative body to directly influence policy development and change.
Sector-wide Codes of Practice: Accommodation and Fair Admissions
We co-design and support sector-wide Codes of Practice to show our commitment to high-quality institutional practices.
Our joint codes with UUK include:
We co-produced the publication Degree Classification: Statement of Intent with Universities UK and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education on behalf and with the support of the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment.
We worked with the Quality Assurance Agency, Universities UK and an expert advisory group to review external examining practice in UK higher education, leading to the creation of the External Examining Principles publication. The principles were agreed by the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assurance and are appended to the Statement of Intent on Degree Classifications.
We created the Higher Education Sector Statement on Promoting Academic Freedom and Free Speech with Universities UK, Advance HE, Committee of University Chairs (CUC) and NUS Charity.
Concordat to Support Research Integrity
GHE Research was a key part of the group leading the design, review and implementation of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity 2025.
The Concordat to Support Research Integrity is the UK’s governing document on research integrity, including requirements on specific aspects of research integrity such as research culture, research ethics and governance of research projects. It is a ‘framework by which the UK research community, and those collaborating with them, can support the trustworthiness of UK research’.
Creative Education Coalition
GuildHE is a founding member of the Creative Education Coalition, a group of creative education organisations concerned about the creative talent pipeline. Founded in 2022 to collaborate on advocacy for creative education, it resulted in our 2023 Creative Education Manifesto and our Creative Compact in 2024.
Franchise Governance Framework
In partnership with Universities UK and the Committee of University Chairs (CUC), we’ve developed a framework to help senior leaders in universities to spot and manage risk in franchised partnerships.
The framework aims to support universities to:
- improve governance of franchised provision
- identify and reduce risk from the start to the end of a franchised partnership
- deliver value for money by being able to identify risk to public funds through stronger oversight
GuildHE Creative
We represent a critical mass of specialist arts institutions in the UK and capture our representative responsibilities under the umbrella GuildHE Creative.
GuildHE Creative is our policy leadership platform for creative education both in the higher education sector and with partners in the creative industries. This includes convening our Creative Arts network (formerly UKADIA) and our Widening Participation arts practitioner group, along with our leadership work via the Creative Education Coalition.
GuildHE-UUK LLE Provider Working Group
GuildHE co-leads (with UUK) an invitation-only group that influences and informs the development of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Members of the group include:
- Association of Colleges
- Association of Employment and Learning Providers
- Independent HE
- Million Plus
- Office for Students
- Russell Group
- University Alliance
- University Vocational Awards Council
Knowledge Exchange Concordat
GuildHE is part of the KEC Advisory Group, led by Knowledge Exchange UK. The group supports the webinar programme for sharing practice and forms part of the leadership for the concordat's design and implementation.
QAA External Examining Principles
Working alongside GuildHE, Universities UK (UUK), and an expert advisory group, QAA undertook a review of external examining practice in UK higher education to develop a set of principles for effective external examining. These were agreed by the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assurance (UKSCQA) and are appended to the Statement of Intent on Degree Classifications.
Quality Council for UK Higher Education
GuildHE is a founding member and a key representative on the the Quality Council for UK Higher Education, a sector-owned forum bringing all four nations together on matters relating to quality and standards in higher education.
The council includes the UK higher education funding bodies, regulators, sector body representatives, academics and students. The current membership of the council includes:
- Association of Colleges
- Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA)
- Colleges Scotland
- Colleges Wales
- Committee of Universities Chairs (CUC)
- Department for the Economy Northern Ireland (DfENI)
- GuildHE
- Independent Higher Education
- Medr
- National Union of Students (NUS)
- Office for Students (OfS)
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)
- Professional Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) member
- Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)
- Scottish Funding Council (SFC)
- Sector members
- Student members
- Universities UK
- Universities Scotland
- Universities Wales
Teacher Education Advisory Group (TEAG)
TEAG serves as a vital link between the higher education sector and policymakers, providing expert advice on teacher training issues and teacher education policy.
TEAG's work contributes to ensuring a high-quality teacher workforce for the future. We convene and provide the secretariat for this group, which is owned jointly by GuildHE and Universities UK.