The immigration service has come under severe criticism since Sept. 11, particularly for its handling of student visas.
The reasons given for the policy included the university's disputes with staff over wages, the vice-chancellor's pay, and the handling of student protests by police.
His reputation soared with his calm handling of student protests, while his defence of the unions during the arguments on the white paper In Place of Strife reinforced his standing within the Labour movement.
Some high-profile senior officers are in hot water for their handling of student demos, others for heavy-handed tactics in dealing with minority communities and/or terrorist suspects, another smaller group for its kid-gloves treatment of the News of the World over alleged widespread phone-tapping of celebs and politicians.
In 2012, the SPVM was accused of being overzealous in its handling of student protests that had cropped up in response to a government tuition hike — thousands were arrested, and dozens were injured in crowd control operations.
Related: Serious Faults Found in Mexico's Handling of Missing Students Case, Independent Team Says.
Serious Faults Found in Mexico's Handling of Missing Students Case, Independent Team Says.
Teaching in higher education has not typically handled thousands of students, but now we have massive open online courses (Moocs) – free courses that are open to all and aimed at an unlimited number of participants.
His critics faulted his handling of the student records system as well as another technology project: to provide every student, teacher and school administrator with an iPad.
Returning to Edinburgh, Higgs soon clashed with the university principal over his handling of the student protests of the decade.
