The Wonkhe Show

This week on the podcast students are still struggling with the cost and quality of renting – so will the new Renters' Rights Act actually make things better, or could it leave fewer properties available?
Plus, is transnational education a genuine strategic opportunity or just a quick fix? And the Office for Students announces a new statement of expectations on disability support.
With Chris Husbands, Director at Higher Futures, Helena Vine, Lead Policy Officer for England at the Quality Assurance Agency, Livia Scott, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
Students are worried about finding somewhere to live
TNE can be successful when it’s taken on as a strategic agenda, not a quick fix
TNE presents a quality challenge. Here’s how we solve it
International recruitment and TNE are not a straight swap
The international education strategy should promote quality in its TNE objectives as well as export earnings
When TNE goes wrong, it’s students that suffer
TNE on Wonkhe
Preparing for disability regulation shouldn’t mean waiting for disability regulation
Building public connection with research is about more than good communication
OfS announces a set of expectations on disability adjustments and support

This week on the podcast the government has struggled to defend its position on Plan 2 student loans in a Westminster Hall debate as opposition parties offer competing sticking plasters – but can any of the proposals survive contact with the maths, and is a proper funding review now inevitable?
Plus there’s cross-national evidence that suggests Britain's shrinking graduate premium is a demand-side problem that cutting courses won't fix, and a new study that finds student mental health services are bigger than ever but the students who need them most can't afford to reach them.
With Mary Curnock Cook CBE, independent educationalist and former Chief Executive of UCAS, Martin Priestley, Head of Education at Mills and Reeve, David Kernohan, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor in Chief at Wonkhe.
If the graduate premium is falling, supply-side tinkering won’t bring it back.
Student loan reform is coming. But not without a proper review.
The support paradox is a poverty problem.

This week on the podcast UCL has settled with the Student Group Claim over pandemic-era teaching disruptions – but with 36 more universities now facing legal action from over 170,000 potential claimants, what does this mean for the sector?
Plus the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) results are out, and we discuss the potential role of universities in arresting the decline of the high street.
With Rachel Brooks, Professor of Higher Education at University of Oxford, James Dunphy, Chief Executive at Committee of University Chairs, James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
Who calls the shots when resolving students’ complaints?
The student group claim settles out of court
Postgraduate Research Experience Survey, 2025
Universities have a responsibility for the high street too

This week on the podcast MI5 has warned universities that UK higher education has become a "prime target for foreign states and hostile actors" – so what are the risks and how should the sector respond to growing concerns about security and defence?
Plus what a potential Labour leadership change could mean for higher education, and Reform's threat to withhold funding from Welsh universities over free speech.
With Paul Kett, Group CEO and Vice Chancellor at London South Bank University, Ben Vulliamy, Executive Director at the Association of Heads of University Administration, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.
Intelligence agencies provide briefings on foreign interference
Jacqui Smith’s secret service
Was there a freedom of speech breach at Bangor?

This week on the podcast student finance has exploded into the headlines – but is the English student loan system really doomed? Backbench Labour MPs are pressing the chancellor to act, polling has revealed widespread antipathy for above-inflation interest rates, and Rachel Reeves has clashed with Martin Lewis over the freeze to repayment thresholds.
Now former OfS access tsar John Blake has launched The Post-18 Project, our Wonkhe think tank, by arguing that a review of higher education funding is unavoidable and that a graduate tax should be one of the options. So is the government going to act, or will it be bounced into action?
Plus UKRI has found itself in a perfect comms storm over the future of curiosity-driven research funding, and Michael Salmon sits down with Welsh minister Vikki Howells to discuss the challenges facing tertiary education.
With Ben Ward, CEO at University of Manchester Students' Union, Smita Jamdar, Partner and Head of Education at Shakespeare Martineau, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, Vikki Howells, Minister for Further and Higher Education in the Senedd and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
The Post-18 Project: A review of higher education funding is inevitable
Five challenges faced by the Welsh tertiary sector
Maybe a graduate tax wasn’t such a bad idea after all
Welsh higher education is running out of wriggle room
Wales refuses to implement Westminster’s stealth graduate tax raid
Who should pay for our failing student loan system?