2,649 pieces
Newest first, since August 2013 · page 2 of 133
· SUs · Members
What the OfS statement of expectations on disability is likely to say, and what SUs should demand
With OfS drafting a statement of expectations on disability, Jim Dickinson sets out what it is likely to contain and what SUs should push for while the regulator is still listening
· Policy Watch
Ministers dodge the question of candour in universities
Baroness Jones asked which university functions the Hillsborough Law covers. Jim Dickinson finds ministers answered none of her questions
· Wonk Corner
Students are being nudged into housing they can’t afford that may also be unsafe
Nobody in government has ever said it out loud, but read the Renters’ Rights Act as a set of choices rather than a set of clauses and it’s hard to escape the conclusion that one of its aims is to get students out of shared houses and into purpose-built blocks.
· SUs · Members
Reserve now, sign later – what the law says about “early” student house hunting
With the 2027-28 house hunt under way, Jim Dickinson sets out what the Renters’ Rights Act stops landlords doing – and where its gaps lie
· SUs · Members
Have your uni’s bursaries kept up with the cost of living?
OfS’ interim director for fair access has told wave 1 providers that an extra year comes with a cost of living test on bursaries. Jim Dickinson sets out what SUs in England should do with it.
· Comment
Britain likes its universities but not its degrees
Polling suggests the public still values universities but no longer trusts the deal they offer. Jim Dickinson sifts five years of surveys for what’s driving the doubt – and what universities can do about it
· Wonk Corner
The Sunday Times has counted postgrads as rich kids turning down maintenance loans
One of the impacts of holding down home undergraduate tuition fees for so long is how cheap a year’s tuition fees are now in comparison to the private school you pay for to get a child into the Russell Group.
· Comment
Who pays the price when universities cancel offers to protect refusal rates?
As visa refusal rates climb, universities are revoking offers and cancelling CAS en masse to stay under the new BCA threshold. Jim Dickinson asks whether that’s lawful – and who ends up paying.
· SUs · Members
Scotland’s compassionate comms report shows SUs what to ask for
QAA Scotland’s report on compassionate communication builds on England’s 2024 principles and goes further. Jim Dickinson sets out the rights hiding in both documents, the gaps neither fills, and what SUs should call for.
· SUs · Members
Not in attendance is a coding choice, and resitting students are paying for it
Students resitting on an assessment-only basis often find their loan stops while they’re still barred from benefits. Jim Dickinson finds that more of the trap sits in universities’ gift than they let on.
· Wonk Corner
EU fees have been parked, but Europe’s real bill for UK higher education is still coming
The UK and the EU have agreed the outline of a November summit that includes a youth experience scheme.
· Wonk Corner
The student protection gap is about more than providers
There’s a piece in the Guardian on collapsing providers of high-end student accommodation.
· Wonk Corner
Hope again? Loan again
Andy Burnham’s conference speech on Tuesday began its housing section with his gran.
· Wonk Corner
A glance at Education at a Glance misleads on UK spend on universities
Every year the OECD publishes Education at a glance, and every year I flick to the table on spending per tertiary student and think the same thing – WTF?
· Wonk Corner
What is going on with student protests in France?
For most of the past fortnight, the big education story in France has been about lycées – the upper secondary schools that take 15 to 18-year-olds through to the baccalauréat, the national school-leaving exam.
· SUs
A decade on the bus – some of our fave moments from Wonkhe SUs study tours
Jim Dickinson goes back through ten years of study tour blogs – and finds that the best lessons were rarely about other countries having more money
· SUs
From Oslo to Hamburg – our January 2027 study tour
Ten years after the first Wonkhe SUs trip north, Jim Dickinson and Sharanya Sivarajah set out the route, the hosts and the costs for 2027’s study tours
With Sharanya Sivarajah
· SUs · Members
A climate film is touring the country and SUs could be shaping what happens after it
With more than 3,500 screenings held or planned, Jim Dickinson sets out what the People’s Emergency Briefing is, who is behind it and how SUs could use it on campus
· SUs · Members
Ten things academic communities could do for students and their SUs
Drawing on years of study tours, Jim Dickinson sets out ten functions, six foundations and a menu of roles for academic communities in UK SUs
· Wonk Corner
At Labour conference, students were counted as supply and forgotten as people
As you might expect, I’ve spent Labour conference here in Liverpool looking for students.