Europe's higher education systems are struggling to respond to the established mass demand for higher education, especially given the proportional decline in available resources per student and, more generally the demand for an ever longer education and reduction of the population of working age due to demographic decline. In addition, growing student mobility puts pressure on admission systems to set up relevant procedures for applicants who wish to enter a country. Admission systems to higher education constitute one key element in the mitigation of these challenges. Admissions can regulate student flows, and play a key role in guaranteeing the acquisition of skills in higher education by matching student profiles to their desired courses of study. This article puts European admission systems in perspective. The issue of regulation of student mobility is topical, given the broader and salient discussion on migration flows in Europe. The article uses international comparisons with systems such as the US, Australia and Japan, to provide a critical overview of the role of admission systems in an often overlooked but yet fundamental part of the European Higher Education Area, namely student mobility. The paper also argues for the creation of an information-sharing EU registry on admissions practices for mobile students.

Evidence in support of cycle training is limited, and its potential to improve safety and make a tangible difference to cycling levels is unclear. Nevertheless, Bikeability, the UK government’s cycle training programme introduced in 2006, is widespread in schools and is actively supported by many parents/carers. This paper draws together a number of evidence sources in an attempt to understand the role of cycle training as one among several measures for increasing active travel. It reviews existing research regarding the role of and outcomes from cycle training for children before offering an overview of the current distribution of cycle training in English schools. Next it draws on two new data sources – the 2014 CensusAtSchool and the 2014 Bikeability School Travel Survey – to explore outcomes, experiences and perceptions of cycling and cycle training from a child’s perspective. From this it draws conclusions regarding the role of cycle training in schools and elaborates on what this means for policy makers and practitioners.

As part of a review of the preparation process for the impact element of the REF 2014 within UK higher education institutions to assess the process and identify future improvements, this report provides an in-depth analysis of the gathered data.

There is growing interest around the world in measuring how much students in higher education learn, and the contribution that disciplines, courses and particular educational activities make to that learning. Amongst other factors, such measures can be seen as important to the debates about the quality and impact of higher education, how we evidence the value of investment in it, and how we evidence students' skills acquisition for employers.

As part of a review of the preparation process for the impact element of the REF 2014 within UK higher education institutions to assess the process and identify future improvements, this report summarises the approach adopted for the evaluation and describes the key findings and observations.

• describe the perceived benefits and burdens to HEIs and research users in preparing their impact submissions; • identify intended and unintended consequences of assessing research impact for different institutions and disciplines; • formulate evidence-based conclusions and recommendations for improving the processes of preparing submissions for impact assessment; and • highlight notable practices for institutions, research users, the funding councils and other stakeholders. Preparing impact submissions for REF 2014: An evaluation

The study analyses admission systems to higher education across ten countries, covering some countries of the European Union (France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom), a candidate country (Turkey) as well as commonly used international comparators (Australia, Japan and the US). These countries are compared on three axes: the equity of admissions, their quality and their ability to encourage students’ mobility. On this basis, recommendations are provided with regard to admission to higher education in Europe.

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