The Wonkhe Show

This week on the podcast the sector’s financial woes continue - just how bad is it and are regulators on top of the problem? Plus there’s a new report out on subject cold spots, and student housing is back in the news.With Gavan Conlon, leader of the Education and Labour Market teams at London Economics, Sally Burtonshaw, Director of the Education Practice at Public First, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London, and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.Do we need a league table of scholars produced by Silicon Valley?There are cold spots in arts, humanities, and social sciences provisionIs it reasonable to expect higher education institutions to be more business-like?Governing bodies need to prepare and plan now for a different futureVAT is not always the barrier to shared services that it is thought to beUniversities need a plan to manage future HE provision. So does the governmentThe regulator does not have a handle on the financial state of English higher education

This week on the podcast live from the Festival of Higher Education in London, England is grappling with Labour’s longer-term aspirations for higher education - we try to figure out what it wants. OfS wants to silence the “boomers”, regional access and participation planning is coming and we dive into the history of our venue for the festival, Senate House.With Vicki Stott, Chief Executive Officer at the Quality Assurance Agency, Alistair Jarvis, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Partnerships and Governance) at the University of London, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.Alex Usher’s One Thought to Start Your DayHow to better understand students’ sense of belongingUniversities may be a priority for reform but they are not a priority for investmentSome providers are cutting financial support for students – with OfS’ blessingAccess and participation planning gains a regional dimensionBridget Phillipson has set out the government’s priorities for HE reform

This week on the podcast the Westminster government has announced a fee increase - but will it be enough, and can universities even impose it?Plus the government is on a “renewed drive for efficiency” in universities, and we consider the implications of the results of the US Election.With Brooke Storer-Church, Chief Executive Officer at GuildHE, Johnny Rich, Chief Executive at the Engineering Professors’​ Council and Push, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.Bridget Phillipson increases fees by 3.1 per centAn increase in maintenance loans gets blunted by fiscal dragFees are going up to £9,535. Or are they?Seizing the current policy moment – from cost-savings to radical efficiencyCollaboration is already baked in to the sector, and we need to see more of itDeeper collaboration key to securing the future of UK higher education

This week on the podcast we pore over Rachel Reeves’ first budget and consider the implications for universities. We also think about students’ finances as bus fares and the minimum wage both rise. Plus OfS has been rattling its sabre on consumer rights—but is the sector taking any notice?With Andy Westwood, Professor of Public Policy, Government and Business at the University of Manchester, Mary Curnock Cook, serial sector non-exec and former UCAS CEO, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.Everything in the Budget for higher educationStudent bus travel should be freeMore consumer rights cases emerge from OfS and NTSThe minimum wage is going up. Will maintenance loans rise to match it?The value of historyDfE to stop grading English schools based on proportion of Russell Group students

This week on the podcast student numbers are set to decline in England after 2030 - we discuss the implications. Plus rumours are swirling over next week’s budget, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has turned its attention to VC pay, and there’s a new report on international student perceptions of different destinations.With David Duncan, Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary at University of Glasgow, Selena Bolingbroke, Principal at the Building Crafts College, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.The demographic tide is turning, but university remains popularThe UK will need to do more to reassure international applicants if it wants to remain a first choice destinationTPA: University Rich List 2024

This week on the podcast we look at the latest graduate recruitment trends as the Institute of Student Employers reveals a 60 per cent surge in applications per vacancy.Plus OfS is to survey the prevalence of sexual misconduct, and there’s new NSS data on satisfaction by student characteristic.With Julie Sanders, Vice Chancellor and Principal at Royal Holloway, University of London, Joe Cooper, Director of People and Culture at University of East London, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.What does the graduate jobs market look like right now?A league table on sexual misconduct could be comingNSS 2024 – results by student characteristicsRoyal Holloway's Campus Unity WeekThe Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT)

This week on the podcast Universities UK’s much anticipated “blueprint for change” is out – is a new 70 per cent participation target the right one?Plus The Times reports that fees might be going up, Hidden History recalls university leaders trying to get the attention of government, and Keir Starmer has been in Brussels – will he give way on fees and youth mobility?With Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, Andy Youell, HE data and systems specialist, Livia Scott, Partnerships Coordinator at Wonkhe, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.A bluffer’s guide to the Universities UK blueprint for HE policy under LabourA blueprint for change needs students at its centreUniversities UK has a plan to fix research fundingFees of £10,500 would be a return to the policies of 2017The poverty gap between students and the universities they attend is getting widerStudents have unrealistic expectations of the financial support universities can offer themStarmer vows to turn page on UK’s relationship with the EU

This week on the podcast Team Wonkhe has been at Labour Conference in Liverpool - we discuss what was and wasn’t said about higher education.Plus there’s news on skills (and in particular Level 7 apprenticeships), Hidden History looks at how HE came to be publicly funded, and Wales’ new tertiary regulator has a plan.With Pam Macpherson Barrett, Head of Policy and Regulation at the University of Leeds, Aaron Porter, Chair at BPP University and Deputy Chair at Goldsmiths, University of London, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s, University of London, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor in Chief at Wonkhe.Students should expect less of universities and more of everyone elseMore sharp suits than a Burton’s windowThe Jacqui Smith doctrineWho should pay for relief for students and universities?A strategic plan for Medr