The Wonkhe Show

Team Wonkhe

Every week the Wonkhe team and guests from across higher education dissect the week's big policy developments, and we also feature views from around the sector.

  1. 16 de jul.

    The end of the year show

    This week on the podcast Team Wonkhe looks back on the year in higher education policy and politics – from the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper to the financial pressures pushing institutions towards closures, mergers and deeper collaboration. Plus the team discusses the fallout from the Office for Students' High Court case against the University of Sussex, the shifting narrative around who goes to university and why, and the growing gap between students' financial pressures and what the system assumes about their time and money. With Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe, John Blake, Director of the Post-18 Project and David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.

  2. 10 de jul.

    Funding, student loans, NSSmass

    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, while the Post-18 Project's John Blake argues the loan book itself is an accounting fiction obstructing reform of university funding in England. And DK has your NSS headlines. With Sarah Cowan, Head of Policy (Higher Education and Research) at the British Academy, Chris Shelley, Director of Student Experience at Queen Mary University of London and James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, presented by Mark Leach, Editor in Chief at Wonkhe. I’ve stopped believing in Father NSSmas. Here’s why Student loans can no longer be patched up. The system is rotten The NSS shows us that students still seem to like higher education The Silence of the Loans: How student loan book fictions prevent higher education reform The Treasury committee proposes tinkering with student loans

  3. 2 de jul.

    PhD students, Burnham

    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? The team also digs into a new Martingale Foundation report on the experiences of doctoral students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds, and the culture around "not belonging". Plus the Post-18 Project has launched a paper calling for a new Department for Skills, Research, and Prosperity, uniting higher education teaching and research, further education, apprenticeships and the industrial strategy around a presumption in favour of local decision-making. With Eunice Simmons, Vice Chancellor at the University of Chester, John Blake, Director at The Post-18 Project, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. A Ministry for Manchesterism: Rewiring Whitehall for locally-driven prosperity and change Devolution is a means not an end for research The doctoral experience remains shaped by socioeconomic status

  4. 25 de jun.

    Burnham, IFS on value of HE

    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 evidence on graduate earnings tells us about the value of higher education, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies reports on returns to study and government edges closer to using outcomes data to shape student loan access and course provision, and we discuss the higher education stories catching attention this week, from science funding and postgraduate research student experience to English language standards, applicant trends, health and wellbeing, and the future of apprenticeship funding. With Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive at Universities UK, Paul Greatrix, Director of Higher Education Consultancy at Shakespeare Martineau, Livia Scott, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe. The Starmer era in English higher education Higher education study still makes financial sense for most What can GCSE performance tell us about salaries aged 27? Can we really separate student experience and student life? There is no growth without universities

    Burnham, IFS on value of HE

  5. 19 de jun.

    Minimum entry, Governance, Working class boys and girls

    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 revised Code of Higher Education Governance, and we discuss the Sutton Trust's latest research on opportunity which complicates the narrative around white working-class boys. With Mike Ratcliffe, Interim Academic Registrar at Canterbury Christ Church University, Annie Bell, Associate Director Higher Education at Public First, and David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. Opportunity is shaped by where you live, who you are, and how much money your family had The Code of Higher Education Governance has had a complete rewrite Is the government really re-immersing itself in the MERs debate?

    Minimum entry, Governance, Working class boys and girls

  6. 11 de jun.

    TEF, student experience, demographics

    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 discuss new findings from the Student Academic Experience Survey, with students reporting the highest levels of perceived value for money in a decade despite ongoing pressures from paid work, costs, and expectations. And we consider what long-term demographic change means for higher education, as projections point to a shrinking pool of 18-year-olds and a growing need to rethink participation, access, and financial sustainability. With Paul Ashwin, Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, Rachel Macsween, Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement for UK and Europe at IDP, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. First round of consultation on future TEF sees movement on the implications of a Bronze award Students are coping better because the system is demanding less The Big Shortfall: Demographic downturn and the post-18 education system

    TEF, student experience, demographics

  7. 4 de jun.

    Public opinion, Missing middle

    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 all means as the House of Commons Treasury Committee opens its inquiry into student loans. Plus a new report from the Lifelong Education Institute asks whether England will finally get serious about the "missing middle" at levels 4 and 5. With Andy Westwood, Professor of Public Policy, Government and Business at the University of Manchester, Eve Alcock, Executive Director for External Affairs at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.

    Public opinion, Missing middle

  8. 29 de mai.

    Cuts, International, Friends

    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 belonging, friendship and student experience, asking whether universities are designing the structural conditions students need to form meaningful academic and social connections. With Emma Maslin, Senior Policy and Research Officer at AMOSSHE, Neil Mackenzie, Chief Executive at Leeds Beckett SU, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. The international student boom is over – and the bust is being delivered by stealth Friends, it turns out, have benefits Are universities supporting students too much? Managing immigration compliance risk through large deposits is immoral and probably unlawful UUK: Two in five universities consider joining forces through 'multi academy trust' style models or mergers, new survey shows

    Cuts, International, Friends
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Sobre

Every week the Wonkhe team and guests from across higher education dissect the week's big policy developments, and we also feature views from around the sector.

Informações

  • Criado por
    Team Wonkhe
  • Anos de atividade
    2018 - 2026
  • Episódios
    311
  • Classificação
    Livre
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Wonkhe.com
  • Site do podcast
    The Wonkhe Show

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