The Wonkhe Show

This week on our final podcast before the summer break, we unpack the mounting panic about graduate jobs – is AI really to blame, or are today’s students simply paying the price for a sluggish economy, a stalling skills strategy, and shifting recruitment practices?Plus we discuss new figures from UCAS that show a record number of 18-year-olds applying to university, and we look at a major new report on how provider closures are affecting students, and what the sector should do next to avoid chaos when courses collapse.With Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, Head of Public Affairs at Jisc, Hugh Jones, independent consultant and higher education postcard maestro, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.You can subscribe to the podcast on Acast, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, RadioPublic, Podchaser, Castbox, Player FM, Stitcher, TuneIn, Luminary or via your favourite app with the RSS feed.UCAS applications and offer making by June deadline, 2025Student protection through market exit is not a compliance exercise

This week on the podcast we examine proposals for transforming the student experience as The Post-18 Project calls for a Student Rights Bill and a complete rethink of higher education’s structure.Could enshrining ten student rights into law and splitting faculties into research and applied institutions finally address the sector’s longstanding challenges?Plus we discuss Labour’s vision for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement as key details emerge on modular provision and approval processes, and ask whether universities are really retreating from their civic commitments as funding cuts bite.Doing better, getting better: Getting a grip on the full-time student experienceThe LLE finally gets a Labour overhaulTo make real progress on widening participation in higher education, we need a new mission

This week on the podcast we examine the latest attacks on international student recruitment as Policy Exchange calls for new restrictions and a £1,000 levy on international fees.Are universities really "selling immigration not education," and what would raising English language requirements to advanced level mean for the sector?Plus we discuss what incoming student leaders are promising in their manifestos – from subsidised laundry to lecture materials uploaded in advance – and ask whether the new metascience unit can deliver on its promise of a more efficient and transparent research funding system.With Duncan Ivison, President and Vice Chancellor at the University of Manchester, Vicki Stott, Chief Executive at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.The attack lines on international students are built on shaky foundations – but won’t go away that easilyShould students’ unions reach for the stars?Metascience comes of age

This week on the podcast we examine the government’s new industrial strategy and what it really means for higher education – from regional clusters and research funding to skills bootcamps and spin-out support.Will the plans finally integrate universities into the UK’s economic future, or is this another case of policy promises outpacing delivery?Plus we discuss the franchising scandal and the damning case for urgent reform, and ask whether new research on social mobility challenges the sector’s claims about access, aspiration, and advancement.With Katie Normington, Vice Chancellor at De Montfort University, Johnny Rich, Chief Executive at the Engineering Professors’ Council and Push, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.Higher education and the industrial strategy priority areasThe cashpoint campus comeback franchising, fraud, and the failure to learn from the FE experienceOn the move: how young people’s mobility responds to and reinforces geographical inequalitiesInequalities in Access to Professional Occupations

This week on the podcast we examine the Office for Students' new free speech guidance as controversial requirements prepare to take effect from August 1st. What do the "deeply disturbing" YouGov findings about academic self-censorship really tell us, and how should universities navigate campus protests and challenging research topics?Plus we discuss outgoing UKRI chief Ottoline Leyser's stark warning about "inevitable consolidation" in university research.With Mark Peace, Professor of Innovation in Education at King's College London, Arti Saraswat, Senior Policy Manager for Higher Education at the Association of Colleges, Livia Scott, Partnerships Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.Will guidance on freedom of speech help the staff who fear physical attack for expressing their views?Prevent data, 2023-24We need a better quality of conversation about education and the skills agenda for the screen industries

This week on the podcast we examine the government's spending review and what it means for higher education. How will the £86bn R&D commitment translate into real-terms funding, and why was higher education notably absent from the Chancellor's priorities?Plus we discuss the Post-18 Project's call to fundamentally reshape HE policy away from market competition, the startling new REF rules, and the striking rise in student term-time working revealed by the latest Student Academic Experience Survey.With Stephanie Harris, Director of Policy at Universities UK, Ben Vulliamy, Executive Director at the Association of Heads of University Administration, Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.Tooling up: Building a new economic mission for higher educationInvesting for the long term often loses out to pensioner powerWhat’s in the spending review for higher educationThe student experience is beyond breaking pointHow to assess anxious, time-poor students in a mass ageREF is about institutions not individuals

This week on the podcast we examine Universities UK's efficiency and transformation taskforce report. What do shared back-office services, federation models and subject cold spots tell us about the sector's financial pressures?Plus we discuss Research England's new EDI action plan, and explore whether the UK's rapid three-year degree model is harming student wellbeing and learning outcomes.With Rille Raaper, Associate Professor in Sociology of Higher Education at Durham University, Jess Lister, Director (Education) at Public First, Mack Marshall, Community and Policy Officer at Wonkhe SUs, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.Our drop-out and pace miracle is harming students’ health and learningUniversities UK’s new era of collaborationFixing the potholes in postgraduate fundingThe spending review is a critical moment for UK science and innovationThere are better politics, big ideas, and future trade-offs in Research England’s new EDI action plan

This week on the podcast we examine the OfS penalty imposed on Leeds Trinity over subcontractual partnerships oversight. What does the £115,000 fine and a new proposed code of “ethical” governance tell us about decision-making at the top? Plus we discuss the government's decision to axe level 7 apprenticeships from levy funding, and explore incoming OfS chair Edward Peck's ten trends shaping the future of campus universities.With Alex Stanley, Vice President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students, Pam Macpherson Barrett, Head of Policy and Regulation at the University of Leeds, David Kernohan, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.Poor quality teaching and student outcomes. But where?The new OfS chair identifies ten trendsA code of ethical university governance is overdueShould governance reform be horizontal or vertical?

This week on the podcast we examine the government's brutal funding cuts to universities. What does the £108m reduction in the Strategic Priorities Grant mean for higher education, and why are media studies and journalism courses losing their high-cost subject funding?When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit http://www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.Plus we discuss the independent review of student suicides, and explore new research on widening participation and regional disparities.With Shân Wareing, Vice Chancellor at Middlesex University, Richard Brabner, Executive Chair at the UPP Foundation, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.Why not take a risk-based approach to discrimination or harassment on campus?Whatuni Student Choice AwardsFor those in HE cold spots, higher education isn’t presenting as a good betA review of student suicides suggests that standards are now necessaryWhat have coroner’s reports said about student suicide?A brutal budget for strategic priorities from the Department for EducationWhy are we so embarrassed about Erasmus?