The Wonkhe Show

This week on the podcast the government's Strategic Priorities Grant allocation lands with a cash cut of just over £50m – and a much wider list of subjects losing high-cost teaching support, including the creative arts, computing and nursing. Plus two competing views on student loans this week – the House of Commons Treasury Committee concludes the government has, in effect, mis-sold student loans...

This week on the podcast we ask why UKRI is spending more on PhD studentships while the number of funded starts falls. New analysis shows doctoral stipends have taken priority over the volume of studentships, with UKRI-funded starts 22 per cent lower than a decade ago – so do we have the right number of PhDs, and what does this mean for institutions, disciplines, UK science and academic careers? T...

This week on the podcast we examine the implications of a change at the top of government, as Keir Starmer prepares to depart and Andy Burnham appears set for a swift coronation as Labour leader and Prime Minister. With new policy priorities, new ministers, and a new political centre of gravity potentially taking shape, what might “Manchesterism” mean for higher education? We discuss what new evid...

This week on the podcast reports suggest the Department for Education is considering restricting access to the student loan book to those who hold a pass in GCSE English – a move that could prove financially devastating for institutions with large numbers of students who lack that qualification, many of them linked to franchised provision. Plus, the Committee of University Chairs has published a r...

This week on the podcast we examine the next phase of the Teaching Excellence Framework, as the Office for Students confirms its first decisions on a revised approach to assessing education quality. With all providers in scope, apprenticeships included, and ratings linked to future incentives, interventions, growth limits, and potentially funding, the stakes around TEF are set to rise. Plus we dis...

This week on the podcast a third of the public now thinks a university education just isn't worth the time and money it usually takes, according to the latest British Social Attitudes survey – a share that has climbed steeply from 14 per cent in 2005. We dig into what is driving the erosion of public confidence in higher education, how attitudes are pulling apart along political lines, and what it...

This week on the podcast we discuss the scale and shape of cuts across UK higher education, as new survey findings from Universities UK suggest institutions are considering mergers, groups, hiring freezes, redundancies, campus closures, and reductions in student support as financial pressures deepen. Plus we discuss the latest international recruitment data, and we consider new Wonkhe research on...

This week on the podcast the final pieces of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement puzzle are falling into place, so what do the new regulations, the long-awaited transcript guidance and the list of 130 approved providers tell us about how flexible the future of student finance will really be? Plus former health secretary Alan Milburn's review argues that too many young people are being pushed towards...

This week on the podcast we talk a turbulent week in Westminster, as Labour’s poor performance in the national and regional elections intensifies pressure on Keir Starmer, and the King’s Speech leaves higher education waiting for a legislative vehicle for promised reform. Plus we discuss the Education Committee’s call for a bespoke insolvency regime for English higher education providers, what sho...

This week on the podcast the government turns up the heat on universities over antisemitism – but with enforcement details still to come, what does Keir Starmer's zero-tolerance pledge actually mean in practice? Plus, a new Institute of Student Employers survey finds that employers expect AI to reshape rather than replace graduate entry-level roles, and a UCL Policy Lab report argues that higher e...

This week on the podcast as voters in Scotland and Wales head to the polls on 7 May, what do the manifestos mean for higher education? North of the border all parties bar Reform have committed to protect free undergraduate tuition, and much of the bigger thinking sits with the joint Scottish government and Universities Scotland "Future Framework" review. Meanwhile a generation of Welsh Labour domi...

This week on the podcast John Blake, Director at the Post-18 Project has published his first paper arguing that English higher education's crisis stems from thirty years of policy failure – and that the only real fix is a major, multi-year review to establish a new concordat between the state, the sector and students about who is responsible for what, and how disputes get resolved. Plus, new resea...

This week on the podcast we're in Reykjavik as the Office for Students (OfS) opens a consultation on a whole new approach to student protection – but with students already struggling to understand or use their rights, will a new regulatory condition actually change anything on the ground? Plus more than twenty thousand weekend students have been told to pay back maintenance loans they were given i...

This week on the podcast an Australian politician has called on universities to scrap group assignments entirely, arguing they're unfair and cheapen degrees – but is the real problem the concept itself, or is it poorly designed groupwork that's giving collaboration a bad name? Plus the government axes popular management apprenticeships, and UKVI's draft proposals for rating international student s...

This week on the podcast recorded live at The Secret Life of Students, new Wonkhe research has found that nearly half of students worry their grades don't reflect what they actually know – so what does that tell us about how students are making decisions around AI use, and what does it mean for assessment in higher education? Plus highlights from sessions across the conference, and a tuition fees...

This week on the podcast the Home Office has announced an "emergency brake" on student visas from four countries, suspending all grants to applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. What does it mean for affected students, and what happens to Chevening scholars caught in the middle? Plus the government's new social cohesion strategy and what it means for universities, and Research E...

This week on the podcast students are still struggling with the cost and quality of renting – so will the new Renters' Rights Act actually make things better, or could it leave fewer properties available? Plus, is transnational education a genuine strategic opportunity or just a quick fix? And the Office for Students announces a new statement of expectations on disability support. With Chris Husba...

This week on the podcast the government has struggled to defend its position on Plan 2 student loans in a Westminster Hall debate as opposition parties offer competing sticking plasters – but can any of the proposals survive contact with the maths, and is a proper funding review now inevitable? Plus there’s cross-national evidence that suggests Britain's shrinking graduate premium is a demand-side...

This week on the podcast UCL has settled with the Student Group Claim over pandemic-era teaching disruptions – but with 36 more universities now facing legal action from over 170,000 potential claimants, what does this mean for the sector? Plus the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) results are out, and we discuss the potential role of universities in arresting the decline of the high...

This week on the podcast MI5 has warned universities that UK higher education has become a "prime target for foreign states and hostile actors" – so what are the risks and how should the sector respond to growing concerns about security and defence? Plus what a potential Labour leadership change could mean for higher education, and Reform's threat to withhold funding from Welsh universities over f...

This week on the podcast student finance has exploded into the headlines – but is the English student loan system really doomed? Backbench Labour MPs are pressing the chancellor to act, polling has revealed widespread antipathy for above-inflation interest rates, and Rachel Reeves has clashed with Martin Lewis over the freeze to repayment thresholds. Now former OfS access tsar John Blake has launc...

This week on the podcast we examine what a rise in UK university applicants really tells us about the future demand for higher education. With UCAS reporting a 4.8 per cent increase in applications at the January deadline, driven largely by a demographic peak in 18-year-olds, we explore whether this represents a genuine resurgence in demand or a temporary population effect. Plus we discuss new evi...

This week on the podcast the government has finally unveiled its new International Education Strategy – but with no headline target for international student numbers and a clear shift towards education exports, what does it mean for the sector? Plus the latest UCAS end of cycle data and what it reveals about entry qualifications at high tariff providers, and a new NUS campaign on student maintenan...

This week on the podcast new polling suggests over a third of students think Reform UK should be banned from speaking on campus – a higher proportion than previous surveys found for the BNP or English Defence League. So what does this tell us about free speech in higher education? Plus Scotland's budget settlement and legislative changes, and unpacking what "Mickey Mouse courses" really means. Wit...

This week on the podcast from Nijmegen on the SUs study tour the team discuss the return of the UK to Eramus+. What steps can UK HE take to ensure that UK students take advantage of and get the benefits of mobility? Plus there’s a Private Members’ Bill on student loan timings, and the team share reflections on the associations, student leaders, curricula and food they’ve seen across Germany, Franc...