Thursday 14 May 2020
Session three
Ben has been at UCAS for over a decade and has been described as a ‘leading figure of higher education admissions policy’, with his knowledge in this area ‘second to none’. During his time at UCAS, Ben has led the response and engagement around every major political event that could impact on student progression, including Brexit, admissions reform, qualification reform, Scottish independence, general elections, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved forming part of three separate ministerial taskforces.
Ben has also overseen the delivery of UCAS’ key policy outputs, including Unpacking Qualification Reform, the first major report on schools’ response to qualification reform, Where Next?, a leading piece on student decision making, What happened to the COVID cohort?, the definitive assessment of the impact of the pandemic on student progression, Starting the Conversation, UCAS’ landmark piece on student mental health, and most recently, Next Steps, a first of its kind report looking at the sentiment of LGBT+ students as they progress to university or college.
Outside of work, Ben is a school governor and can often be found searching for his ball on the golf course.