Author
Team Wonkhe
News, analysis and explanation of higher education issues from our leading team of wonks
716 pieces
Newest first, since October 2014 · page 1 of 36
· Long read
Making Sense of Higher Education – the literature review
Team Wonkhe dives into the books, resources and ideas that have helped us make sense of higher education in our own ways
· Podcasts
Podcast: International recruitment, graduate social mobility
This week on the podcast Home Office figures show more than 20,000 fewer study visa applications in August than a year earlier
· SUs · Members
Energy bills are about to rocket up. Will landlords or students pay the price?
With Wonkhe SUs explainer
· Podcasts
Podcast: Loans, Free speech
This week on the podcast we examine the government’s response to criticism of the student loan system.
· Podcasts
Podcast: Future jobs, uni closures
This week on the podcast we examine Universities UK’s plans to strengthen graduate employment
· Podcasts
Podcast: Burnham, SUs, Year ahead
This week on the podcast we discuss what Andy Burnham’s new government could mean for higher education
· SUs · Members
Power lives in agendas, networks, and beliefs long before it shows up in a vote
Jim Dickinson argues that a democracy and governance review should start by mapping who already holds social and political capacity on campus, rather than with the machinery of committees and elections.
· SUs · Members
How to map campus power before you redesign SU democracy
Jim Dickinson introduces Net-Map, a participatory method for making visible where power actually sits on campus, as a starting point before redesigning SU democracy.
· SUs · Members
The Wonkhe SUs Manifesto / Explainers matcher
Jim Dickinson’s interactive tool for matching officer manifesto commitments to the relevant Wonkhe SUs explainer, embedded from Know Your Student Rights.
With Wonkhe SUs explainer
· SUs · Members
How to carry out a free speech “proportionality assessment”
Jim Dickinson explains how to carry out and document a proportionality assessment under the amended free speech framework, following the August 2026 changes to the OfS’s Regulatory Advice 24.
· SUs · Members
It’s the journey, stupid. What SUs need to know about new research on students who commute
Jim Dickinson reports on OfS research into commuter students, which challenges how universities identify who is commuting in the first place and what that means for the support they get.
· SUs · Members
There’s new research out on student social withdrawal. Here’s what SUs need to know
Jim Dickinson reports on new research in the British Journal of Psychiatry on student social withdrawal, and why it may need treating as something distinct from ordinary engagement or retention risk.
· SUs · Members
England’s councils are being abolished and rebuilt – what SUs need to know
Jim Dickinson explains the government’s plan to abolish 134 councils and replace two-tier local government with new unitary authorities, and what the reorganisation means for SUs.
· SUs · Members
Do students know what stalking is?
Jim Dickinson reports on research from the University of South Wales and Calan DVS on young people’s understanding of stalking, and what it means for how SUs talk about the issue with students.
· Podcasts
Podcast: The end of the year show
This week on the podcast Team Wonkhe looks back on the year in higher education policy and politics
· Podcasts
Podcast: Funding, student loans, NSSmass
This week on the podcast the government’s Strategic Priorities Grant allocation lands with a cash cut of just over £50m
· Podcasts
Podcast: PhD students, Burnham
This week on the podcast we ask why UKRI is spending more on PhD studentships while the number of funded starts falls.
· Podcasts
Podcast: Burnham, IFS on value of HE
This week on the podcast we examine the implications of a change at the top of government, as Keir Starmer prepares to depart and Andy Burnham appears set for a swift coronation as Labour leader and Prime Minister.
· SUs · Members
The Box Set
· Podcasts
Podcast: Minimum entry, governance, working class boys and girls
This week on the podcast reports suggest the Department for Education is considering restricting access to the student loan book to those who hold a pass in GCSE English