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. Burnham, IFS on value of HE

    -2 j

    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

    43 min
  2. Minimum entry, Governance, Working class boys and girls

    19 juin

    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?

    49 min
  3. TEF, student experience, demographics

    11 juin

    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

    52 min
  4. Public opinion, Missing middle

    4 juin

    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.

    38 min
  5. Cuts, International, Friends

    29 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

    46 min

  6. 22 mai

    LLE, Milburn review

    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 university rather than technical education as youth unemployment climbs to its highest level in over a decade, and our guests each pick a higher education story that has caught their eye. With Anne-Marie Canning, Opportunity Mission Challenge Director at UK Research and Innovation, Johnny Rich, Chief Executive at the Engineering Professors' Council and Push, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe. The Times: Thousands of young unemployed are university-educated Who gets to offer LLE modules?

    38 min
  7. Starmergeddon, Insolvency, Europe

    15 mai

    Starmergeddon, Insolvency, Europe

    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 should happen if a university goes bust, and new comparative research on the pressures facing higher education across Europe. With Brooke Storer-Church, Chief Executive at GuildHE, Jonathan Simons, Partner and Head of the Education Practice at Public First, David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe. What the Education Committee said about higher education funding Euro visions: Key changes and wind machines won’t save the sector King’s College London and Cranfield to merge

    55 min
  8. Antisemitism, AI and graduate jobs, universities and working class voters

    7 mai

    Antisemitism, AI and graduate jobs, universities and working class voters

    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 education's chronic failure to connect with working-class voters is one of the key reasons political leaders keep their distance. With Joe Cooper, Chief People Officer at University of East London, Aaron Porter, Chair at BPP University, and Livia Scott, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe. Students should feel safe on campus. So what’s the plan? Why OfS got the meaning of free speech within the law absolutely wrong AI isn’t taking graduate’s jobs, but it will reshape entry-level roles Three reasons why the higher education sector struggles to land its political arguments

    38 min
Tout afficher (308)

À propos

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.

Informations

  • Création
    Team Wonkhe
  • Années d’activité
    2018 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    308
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Wonkhe.com
  • Site web de l’émission
    The Wonkhe Show

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