The Higher Education Show

Latest Episodes:

International, student leaders, metascience Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

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 easily

Should students’ unions reach for the stars?

Metascience comes of age

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Industrial strategy, cashpoint colleges, social mobility Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

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 areas

The cashpoint campus comeback franchising, fraud, and the failure to learn from the FE experience

On the move: how young people’s mobility responds to and reinforces geographical inequalities

Inequalities in Access to Professional Occupations

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Free speech guidance, R&D Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

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, 2023-24

We need a better quality of conversation about education and the skills agenda for the screen industries

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Spending review, Tooling Up, REF, students at work Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

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 education

Investing for the long term often loses out to pensioner power

What’s in the spending review for higher education

The student experience is beyond breaking point

How to assess anxious, time-poor students in a mass age

REF is about institutions not individuals

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Efficiency, EDI, speed Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

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 learning

Universities UK’s new era of collaboration

Fixing the potholes in postgraduate funding

The spending review is a critical moment for UK science and innovation

There are better politics, big ideas, and future trade-offs in Research England’s new EDI action plan

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Governance, apprenticeships, trends May 29, 2025

Show notes

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 trends

A code of ethical university governance is overdue

Should governance reform be horizontal or vertical?

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Cuts, student suicide, widening access May 22, 2025

Show notes

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 Awards

For those in HE cold spots, higher education isn’t presenting as a good bet

A review of student suicides suggests that standards are now necessary

What have coroner’s reports said about student suicide?

A brutal budget for strategic priorities from the Department for Education

Why are we so embarrassed about Erasmus?

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Immigration white paper, Jacqui Smith May 15, 2025

Show notes

This week on the podcast we get across the government's new immigration white paper. What does cutting the graduate route visa from two years to 18 months mean for international students and universities? Plus we examine the proposed 6 per cent levy on international student fees and tighter compliance requirements that could put some institutions at risk.

We also discuss Skills Minister Jacqui Smith’s Telegraph op-ed criticizing universities for "losing sight of their responsibility to protect public money" – are her concerns reasonable?

With Smita Jamdar, Partner and Head of Education at Shakespeare Martineau, Roscoe Hastings, Director of Teaching Excellence and Student Experience at the University of Exeter, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson.

Everything in the immigration white paper for higher education

There are lots of ways to be more transparent about university finances

Lessons from innovating in our student support model

Euro visions: A playbook to fight the populists in the Netherlands

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Finances and cuts, VC pay May 08, 2025

Show notes

This week on the podcast we discuss the Office for Students' financial sustainability report. What do widespread course closures and maintenance cutbacks mean for the sector's future? Plus we examine "naming and shaming" over vice-chancellor pay packages when student outcomes fall short.

With Paul Greatrix, higher education expert and former registrar at the University of Nottingham, Graeme Atherton, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Regional Engagement at the University of West London, Livia Scott, Partnerships Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.

OfS continues to sound the alarm on the financial sustainability of English higher education

Plotting VC pay against OfS progression

Are there secret government bailouts?

Survey shows how the sector is cutting spending

Hard raindrops keep falling on my head

With the power of knowledge – for the world

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Dundee, student health, international May 01, 2025

Show notes

This week on the podcast we discuss the financial crisis at the University of Dundee, as a revised recovery plan reduces proposed job cuts while requesting additional funding. Is this a sustainable solution for institutions facing similar challenges?

Plus we look at concerning new Wonkhe and Cibyl polling on student health, and we examine how international student policies have become political battlegrounds in global elections.

With Chris Shelley, Director of Student Experience at Queen Mary University of London, Rachel MacSween, Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement (UK and Europe) at IDP, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.

Dundee: An alternative pathway to financial recovery, Scottish Government statement

Latest from Belong – students’ health is not OK, and that’s not OK

Canada: The Deeper Meaning of Election 2025

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