The Wonkhe Show

This week on the podcast there's new polling out on the public perception of universities. Does it explain funding woes and what can be done to turn around voters’ views?  Plus new HESA data shows a dramatic rise in international students, there’s a new survey out on students and sex, and David Kernohan reads the Lifelong Learning Higher Education Fee Limits bill so you don’t have to. With He...

This week on the podcast we interrogate UCAS end of cycle data - what is going on with demand for higher education? Plus the Sutton Trust has new research out on the impacts of the cost of living crisis on students, and the Lords are leaping over student loan reform. With Clare Marchant, Chief Executive at UCAS, Amatey Doku, Consultant at Moorhouse Consulting, Sunday Blake, Associate Editor at Won...

This week on the podcast new universities minister Robert Halfon has written to vice chancellors with new priorities, and our guests analyse the content. Plus UCU have announced 18 days of strike action, and sector mission groups are calling for a review of the Office for Students.  With Mary Stuart, Director of Leadership Development at Minerva, Andy Westwood, Professor of Government Practic...

This week on the podcast we’re in Münster, Germany for the Wonkhe SUs study tour. Jim and guests from the bus trip discuss the HE policy year ahead, drugs on campus, and what we might learn from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Plus DK dives into the UCAS end of cycle data. With India Ellis, President at Lancaster SU, Alexander Robinson, President at the SU Bath University, Gary Hughes, CEO a...

This week in a special seasonal episode of the show we travel to Toronto, Canada to meet with sector experts Higher Education Strategy Associates. Alex Usher and his team chat international students, student mental health, predictions for 2023 and the collapse of a university - and how to avoid it happening again both in Canada and in the UK. With Alex Usher, President at Higher Education Strategy...

This week on the podcast student finance is back up for debate and there’s new guidance out on student suicide. Plus we talk research assessment, PGR supervision, and Disabled students - and there’s a bonus Wonkhe Christmas song at the end too. With Pete Quinn, inclusion consultant, Michelle Morgan, Dean of Students at the University of East London, David Kernohan, Acting Editor at Wonkhe and pres...

This week on the podcast the Free Speech Bill has cleared report stage in the Lords and NDAs have been banned in the process - we discuss what happens next. Plus Gordon Brown’s review of devolution has implications for HE, and we wonder whether Chat-GPT will kill the essay as an assessment tactic. With Nicola Dandridge, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Policy at University of Bristol, Jon...

This week on the podcast we consider the fall out from last week’s immigration figures. Is a crackdown on international students really on its way from government? Plus we chat China amid growing concerns about the superpoower’s relationship with HE, this year’s PTES suggests rapid expansion might need more careful management, and HESA is helping us understand brain drain. With Lucy Van Essen-Fish...

This week on the podcast the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has new stats on students and cost of living. Will more support for students ever come? Plus Rishi Sunak declares the UK an innovation nation, strikes have begun across the sector, and Hidden History looks back at the end of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics in 1992. With Richard Brabner, Director at the UPP Fo...

This week on the podcast the Quality Assurance Agency has “gone woke” – or has it? New minister Robert Halfon has set out his priorities in the role. Plus there’s a Plan B for research, some new equality data and DK reviews the Chancellor’s autumn statement. With Osama Khan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Academic at University of Surrey, Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director at Unite Stu...

This week on the podcast there’s a new report out on regulation - are small and specialist providers at a disadvantage? Plus new figures show that a quarter of providers had no governors from a minority ethnic group, we’ve been debating the Dearing review 25 years on, and there’s a new review of OfS’ statement of expectations on harassment and sexual misconduct. With Debbie Holley, Professor Of Le...

This week on the podcast the free speech bill reaches committee stage in the Lords, and the NUS President has been terminated. What are the implications for culture on campus? Plus there’s a new report out on estranged students, and we discuss the final question set for the new National Student Survey. With Jess Lister, Senior Policy Manager at Public First, Sunday Blake, Associate Editor at Wonkh...

This week on the podcast Rishi Sunak has been reshuffling his team of ministers - what could the impacts be for higher education? Plus we have the results of UCU's ballot on industrial action, applications appear to be in decline and students seem to have been forgotten about in the cost of living crisis - again. With Carole-Anne Upton, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Middlesex University, David Kernoha...

This week on the podcast Suella Braverman is gone - but has the threat of a crackdown on international students gone with her? We’ve launched new research on belonging and we look at the implications for universities. Plus there’s a new review out on blended learning and hidden history looks at the origins of UCL. With Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO at Jisc, Ian Dunn, Provost at Coventry University, Sun...

This week on the podcast OfS is to survey the scale and nature of sexual misconduct affecting students - we discuss why and what next. Plus the UK has accidentally hit the 2.4 per cent of GDP target for research and development spending, and we consider the culture of debate on campus through two new reports. With Shân Wareing, Deputy Vice Chancellor at University of Northampton, Nick Hillman, Dir...

This week on the podcast the team has been at Conservative party conference - is a crackdown coming on international students? Meanwhile OfS has published data on student experience and outcomes, and there’s interesting new guidance out on students undertaking a placement. With Andy Youell, Executive Director Regulation at UCEM, Selena Bolingbroke, Director at Sighthound Consultancy, David Kernoha...

This week on the show we’ve been to Labour Party Conference. Was anything of interest for higher education announced? Plus the Office for Students has been revising its approach to access and participation, there’s new research out on perceptions of free speech among both students and the wider public, and UCU has a report out on staff and social class. With Claire Taylor, Deputy Vice Chancellor a...

This week on the podcast we're at the end of the 2022 applications season - has there really been a crunch on university places? We also consider if the sector and its students have the energy for the year ahead, and there's a new pamphlet out on academic freedom calling for better education on the concept. With Smita Jamdar, Partner at Shakespeare Martineau, Gavan Conlon, Partner at London Econom...

This week in a special edition of the podcast, academic registrar and sector historian Mike Ratcliffe reflects on the history of the relationship between the royal family and higher education, as well as the fight between Oxford and Cambridge over who is the oldest university and the origins of a student-centred approach to governance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast Liz Truss is the new Prime Minister - what does that and her ministerial appointments mean for higher education? Plus we discuss the cost of living, a new report from Jisc on the digital student experience, and there's an exciting new feature to play along with. With Gary Hughes, Chief Executive at Durham Students’ Union, Ailsa Crum, Director of Membership, Quality Enhance...

Before the show returns properly for the Autumn season, this week the team meets to discuss what you might have missed (or wish you'd missed|) over the summer, including everything from clearing and student numbers to the cost of living crisis, the Conservative leadership contest, the culture wars and the B3 bear. Plus Mike Ratcliffe has a tale of town gown conflict. With David Kernohan, Acting Ed...

This week on the podcast we have a new minister at the Department for Education - but will she be around for long enough to make a difference?  Plus there’s new applications data from UCAS, a coming cost of living crisis for students, a new report on academic governance and evidence suggesting a growing cheating problem in online exams - can anything be done to stop it? With Jenny Shaw, Higher Edu...

This week on the podcast we attempt to keep up with the drama at No.10. What does it all mean for higher education? Plus this year’s NSS results are out, the sector tries to get a grip on grade inflation and there’s a new report out on Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities. With Alistair Jarvis, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Partnerships and Governance) at the University of London, Anne-Marie Canning, CEO...

This week on the podcast there’s a ministerial intervention over equality charters in the name of free speech. How should universities respond? Plus there’s new research on staff views of technology, and big questions over Labour’s policy on fees and funding as speculation mounts about a snap election. With Martha Horler, Head of Registry Services & Business Intelligence at Futureworks, Johnny Ric...

This week on the podcast graduate anxiety is on the rise and feelings of dissatisfaction and low worth are becoming more prevalent. What’s going on? Plus major changes to the student rental housing market are coming, and there’s new polling out on students and free speech. With Paul Ashwin, Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, Alexis Brown, Director of Policy and Advocacy at HEPI...