The Higher Education Show

This week on the podcast we examine the government’s response to criticism of the student loan system. With ministers still describing the system as unfair and in need of reform, what might meaningful change now look like?
Plus we discuss the Office for Students’ new freedom of speech conditions of registration, and we take a look at the other higher education policy and sector stories that have caught our guests’ attention this week.
With David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, Pam Macpherson Barrett, Director of Policy and Regulation at the University of Leeds, and Mack Marshall, Editorial Coordinator at Wonkhe, and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
Students feel free to speak – unless they’re training to be doctors
The tone has changed on free speech, but the architecture hasn’t
Student loans are still broken and unfair

This week on the podcast we examine Universities UK’s plans to strengthen graduate employment, as its annual conference puts the future of universities and their contribution to jobs, innovation and communities in the spotlight.
Plus we discuss new research on what university closure actually feels like for students, and whether existing student protection arrangements are equipped to deal with the financial, academic and personal consequences. We also pick through some of the other higher education and research policy stories catching our attention this week.
With Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe, David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, Smita Jamdar, Partner and Head of Education at Shakespeare Martineau, and presented by James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and Research Agenda.
Will a graduate jobs roadmap show us the right way?
Student protection needs to start with what closure actually feels like

This week on the podcast we discuss what Andy Burnham’s new government could mean for higher education, following his first appearance before MPs and a statement setting out priorities on post-16 education, industrial strategy and the role of universities in economic growth.
With promises on devolution, a response to the Milburn review on young people not in education, employment or training, and even a commitment to “save Jodrell Bank”, what should the sector make of the direction of travel – and what might the autumn Budget and forthcoming ten-year plan bring?
Plus we discuss what students have been experiencing over the long summer break, drawing on lessons from students’ unions around the country, and look ahead to the big higher education policy questions of the year, including mergers and collaboration, developments in Scotland and Wales, and the future of quality.
With Hugh Jones, independent consultant and postcard wrangler, Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, and presented by Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe.
Whose universities are they anyway?
Transformation in higher education cannot run on goodwill alone
There’s 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end that

This week on the podcast Team Wonkhe looks back on the year in higher education policy and politics – from the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper to the financial pressures pushing institutions towards closures, mergers and deeper collaboration.
Plus the team discusses the fallout from the Office for Students' High Court case against the University of Sussex, the shifting narrative around who goes to university and why, and the growing gap between students' financial pressures and what the system assumes about their time and money.
With Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe, John Blake, Director of the Post-18 Project and David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.

This week on the podcast the government's Strategic Priorities Grant allocation lands with a cash cut of just over £50m – and a much wider list of subjects losing high-cost teaching support, including the creative arts, computing and nursing.
Plus two competing views on student loans this week – the House of Commons Treasury Committee concludes the government has, in effect, mis-sold student loans, while the Post-18 Project's John Blake argues the loan book itself is an accounting fiction obstructing reform of university funding in England. And DK has your NSS headlines.
With Sarah Cowan, Head of Policy (Higher Education and Research) at the British Academy, Chris Shelley, Director of Student Experience at Queen Mary University of London and James Coe, Associate Editor at Wonkhe, presented by Mark Leach, Editor in Chief at Wonkhe.
I’ve stopped believing in Father NSSmas. Here’s why
Student loans can no longer be patched up. The system is rotten
The NSS shows us that students still seem to like higher education
The Silence of the Loans: How student loan book fictions prevent higher education reform
The Treasury committee proposes tinkering with student loans