Wonkhe

NEW on Wonkhe: Though the numbers involved are small, last year saw a sharp rise in international recruitment to non-PhD research degrees. Mark Bennett asks what is going on buff.ly/ik0ywgd

NEW on Wonkhe: University study has never been more focused on labour market outcomes and local economic needs. Phil Power-Mason, Helen Charlton, Fran Walker-Martin and Sarah Bloomfield think through the vocabulary buff.ly/1G17bEP

NEW on Wonkhe: Wales refuses to implement Westminster’s stealth graduate tax raid bit.ly/4aaPaAt

NEW on Wonkhe: Just visiting? bit.ly/4q8OKjP

NEW on Wonkhe: Tony Hickson's review into university-investor links is out and James Coe finds much to like on how culture, capital, and coordination can fuel the economy buff.ly/Qiw6ycj

NEW on Wonkhe: A programme supporting Black students into doctoral study is delivering results the sector has failed to achieve for decades. Ifedapo Francis Awolowo argues it's time to stop treating such work as exceptional and start treating it as evidence. buff.ly/TbrhHQ9

NEW on Wonkhe: We now have a sense of the government’s intended approach to possible university insolvencies. Neil Smyth takes a look buff.ly/Q5OL3dV

NEW on Wonkhe: The new normal: A struggle that won’t pay off bit.ly/3ZdFtfC

NEW on Wonkhe: Who should pay for our failing student loan system? bit.ly/3OiM0mF

NEW on Wonkhe: With the majority of providers now having published financial accounts for 2024-25, David Kernohan takes an in-depth look at what we can learn buff.ly/sOvupzF

NEW on Wonkhe: A student paradise and a hoax cause crackdowns on international recruitment bit.ly/4rr2Lur

NEW on Wonkhe: Investment in the sector is on the up in some countries. Why? bit.ly/4kfAqoD

Last week on Wonkhe: What SUs can learn from the QAA’s report on assessment practice at Glasgow

Will the student protection stable door ever get closed? Jim Dickinson unpicks OfS polling on cost-cutting impacts and finds the regulator has been documenting the same problems since 2019 – while real student protections remain perpetually on the horizon

Last week on Wonkhe: Jim Dickinson unpicks OfS polling on cost-cutting impacts and finds the regulator has been documenting the same problems since 2019 – while real student protections remain perpetually on the horizon

A renewed commitment to welcoming international students is the story to tell Amid widespread disappointment with the International Education Strategy, Anne Marie Graham identifies what it gets right on student experience, mobility, and welcome

Last week on Wonkhe: Amid widespread disappointment with the International Education Strategy, Anne Marie Graham identifies what it gets right on student experience, mobility, and welcome

The forthcoming NHS workforce plan must treat universities as partners A new 10-year workforce plan for the National Health Service ought to be an opportunity to think carefully about higher education’s role. Susanna Kalitowski explains A new 10-year workforce plan for...

Last week on Wonkhe: A new 10-year workforce plan for the National Health Service ought to be an opportunity to think carefully about higher education’s role. Susanna Kalitowski explains

Responding to the International Education Strategy requires an appreciation of how fast the world is changing Anton Muscatelli explains why a considered response to the government’s international education priorities requires paying careful attention to rapid global change Anton Muscatelli sets out how a considered...

Last week on Wonkhe: Anton Muscatelli explains why a considered response to the government’s international education priorities requires paying careful attention to rapid global change

Podcast: Demand, Disabled students, medicine This week on the podcast we examine what a rise in UK university applicants really tells us about the future demand for higher education.With UCAS reporting a 4.8 per cent increase in applications at...

Last week on Wonkhe: This week on the podcast we examine what a rise in UK university applicants really tells us about the future demand for higher education.

You can't give students a voice. They already have one Survey fatigue is real, trust is at an all-time low, and partnership frameworks often operate like consultation in disguise. Nikita Asnani explains why student voice needs to become structure, not just...

Last week on Wonkhe: Survey fatigue is real, trust is at an all-time low, and partnership frameworks often operate like consultation in disguise. Nikita Asnani explains why student voice needs to become structure, not just sound

Change in higher education requires rapid collegiality On a thought-provoking tour of Canadian HE, Jim Dickinson reflects on missed metaphors, messy governance, and why trusting students with power might just save universities from themselves

Last week on Wonkhe: On a thought-provoking tour of Canadian HE, Jim Dickinson reflects on missed metaphors, messy governance, and why trusting students with power might just save universities from themselves wonkhe.com/blogs/change...

Direct entrant students can no longer remain invisible The post-16 white paper wants a more flexible system. For Eloise Heathcote, this means tackling the challenges faced by students who join degrees in later years The post-16 white paper wants a more flexible...

Last week on Wonkhe: The post-16 white paper wants a more flexible system. For Eloise Heathcote, this means tackling the challenges faced by students who join degrees in later years

HESA Spring 2026: Student data The first HESA data release of the season is upon us, so DK unwraps data that gives an insight into current policy topics of interest.

Last week on Wonkhe: The first HESA data release of the season is upon us, so DK unwraps data that gives an insight into current policy topics of interest.

Universities should be positive disruptors on trans inclusion With universities forming working groups and delaying decisions in the wake of the For Women Scotland ruling, Tom Lewis sets out principles for maintaining trans-inclusive environments within legal constraints.

Last week on Wonkhe: With universities forming working groups and delaying decisions in the wake of the For Women Scotland ruling, Tom Lewis sets out principles for maintaining trans-inclusive environments within legal constraints.

Universities need to get a grip on reasonable adjustments Jim Dickinson examines new research on access at universities, and asks why improved attitudes toward disabled students have yet to translate into reliable, systemic support

Last week on Wonkhe: Jim Dickinson examines new research on access at universities, and asks why improved attitudes toward disabled students have yet to translate into reliable, systemic support

What grade inflation panics miss about the real value of higher education Mark Peace puts the case that pressure on the graduate premium, in combination with AI, should be causing higher education to look again at the challenge of capturing the full breadth of student outcomes,...

Last week on Wonkhe: Mark Peace puts the case that pressure on the graduate premium, in combination with AI, should be causing higher education to look again at the challenge of capturing the full breadth of student outcomes, beyond a single grade

What's missing from the UK's international student offer? Jim Dickinson compares fifteen countries' approaches to international education and finds the UK lacks the frameworks, data, and infrastructure that competitors have developed

Last week on Wonkhe: Jim Dickinson compares fifteen countries' approaches to international education and finds the UK lacks the frameworks, data, and infrastructure that competitors have developed

Higher education postcard: vice chancellors and all that This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag prompts a reflection on nomenclature This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag prompts a reflection on nomenclature

Last week on Wonkhe: This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag prompts a reflection on nomenclature

What gets lost when the first draft is always polished? The emails are clearer, the tone is better, and staff can respond more quickly. Nafisa Baba-Ahmed asks what higher education loses when students no longer struggle through the messy process of finding...

Last week on Wonkhe: The emails are clearer, the tone is better, and staff can respond more quickly. Nafisa Baba-Ahmed asks what higher education loses when students no longer struggle through the messy process of finding their voice

The new international education strategy settles the policy direction – now we need to make it work International recruitment may no longer have a target attached, but it's going to remain a big part of the international agenda, argues IDP's Simon Emmett – so it needs to be backed up with evidence...

Last week on Wonkhe: International recruitment may no longer have a target attached, but it's going to remain a big part of the international agenda, argues IDP's Simon Emmett – so it needs to be backed up with evidence of quality and outcomes

What does the 2026 January deadline data show? UCAS' Director of Data and Analysis picks out the key themes from the 2026 UCAS January Deadline data release

Last week on Wonkhe: UCAS' Director of Data and Analysis picks out the key themes from the 2026 UCAS January Deadline data release wonkhe.com/blogs/what-d...