Visegrád in January

Morning. We’re off to Europe in the new year for our SUs study tours – and we’d love you to join us.

There’s a new push on representing students city-wide. And student housing has been discussed in Parliament – we’ve an updated guide to what amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill could look like for students.

Plus there’s a couple of events coming up for lay/external and student trustees, a huge new Bill on employment rights to get across, we’ve explainers on what SUs can learn from complaints about service issues, a new legal duty on SUs as employers and what SUs can learn from OfS quality assessment reports.

And don’t forget to get involved in our big student experience survey this year – details on the site.

Mack Marshall and Jim Dickinson, Wonkhe SUs

Visegrád in January

There’s never been a more important time for UK SUs to nurture links with Europe – and our partners around the continent have much to offer to aid the development of student representation, democracy and services in the student interest.

Back in 2017 a group of SU officers and managers toured around Scandinavia on an extraordinary and magical five day journey packed full of lessons and learning – and since then we’ve organised tours to Scandinavia, the Baltics, the Low Countries, Finland and the Balkans and Austria.

So in 2025 we’re doing it all again. Our 5 day tour in January will travel to Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Poland, we’ll do 48 hours in Stockholm to learn from our friends in Sweden, and at Easter we’ll be off to Portugal.

We’re pretty confident that this will be the best bit of training and development spend you’ll make this year. Participants will engage with multiple delivery structures for student activities and SU volunteers and staffing, see a range of models for democratic structures, including elections and policy making, and generate new ideas for campaigning, collaboration and influencing in the student interest.

You’ll also learn about new types of regulation over student voice and the student condition

Identify different ways to do belonging, student activities and employability and have the chance to network with other SUs.

It’s an amazing opportunity to spend time with other SU officers and managers, build links with European counterparts and bring back endless ideas for making student lives and SUs better.

Capital concerns

Welcome is always an excellent opportunity to engage with students and understand what excites them and their initial concerns. This year at Westminster Students’ Union, there were well-attended events like welcome fayres, sip n paints, mindful pottery sessions, craftivism and a treasure hunt.

But the most impactful conversations occurred during its new run club, where several students voiced concerns about travel costs.

Many students explained that the high cost of travel, especially peak fares, is a major source of stress. Travelling from areas like Wembley (Zone 5) to central London (Zone 1) for classes can cost £8.80 daily, with limited savings from student Oyster cards.

That financial burden affects their ability to attend classes and engage with university life, leading to a negative impact on their overall student experience.

Addressing these issues requires looking beyond what the university alone can provide. Advocacy needs to extend to addressing regional factors, such as high transport costs, that affect students’ ability to participate in campus life.

Today on the site Westminster SU argues that students need to come together to drive change in areas that impact their experience beyond the university’s direct control.

Take part in our major student survey work

Our partnership with Cibyl (part of Group GTI), helps SUs better understand student lives and concerns. Now in its second year, the platform has been streamlined to feature three termly surveys sent to all students, with questions on academic experience, wellbeing, careers, and free speech, along with rotating themes on employment, health, and academic life. Participating SUs receive access to a dashboard for comparison with national data – and of course, because you’re a subscriber, it’s free.

Explainer briefings on Wonkhe SUs

Our SU explainer briefings archive builds every week – there’s now over 700 briefings on everything from charity law to assessment and feedback. This week:

There’s a new UK-wide employment rights Bill out. Here’s all that SUs need to know.
What SUs can learn from complaints about service issues. Jim Dickinson rounds up the latest batch of case summaries from the OIA.
A new legal duty on SUs as employers is coming re sexual harassment. Here’s what SUs need to know.
A new episode of OfS quality assessment reports has dropped. Mack Marshall has dissected lessons for SUs and reps.
If that then that – here’s our updated guide to what amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill could look like for students.

If you ever want us to cover something, do get in touch – we do take requests. And we’re keeping copies of official external briefings and guidance for SUs here (let us know if you can think of things we’ve missed).

Ten things SUs have been up to this week

Let us know if you want us to include something here.

We have been watching this week

Webinars this week

Renters’ rights

This week’s webinar turns its attention to the Renters Rights Bill for England – what’s in it, where the problems are, and the sorts of amendments that might make a difference. Grab the slides and recording here.

What else matters this week

Work work work

This week the Westminster government has been keen to get on the front foot after weeks of headlines over freebies – and as well as the push on housing (see below), yesterday it announced significant reforms to employment rights to “help deliver economic security and growth” to “businesses, workers and communities across the UK”.

Legislation introduced in Parliament will upgrade workers’ rights across the UK, tackle poor working conditions and benefit businesses and workers alike. The Employment Rights Bill will also end exploitative zero-hour contracts while establishing rights to bereavement and parental leave from day one.

There’s lots in there for students, universities and SUs as employers. On the site we’ve dissected the Bill with all the key implications.

Meanwhile later this month, the existing Worker Protection Act 2023 (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) will come into force aimed at tackling workplace sexual harassment.

It places a mandatory duty on employers to proactively establish preventative and reasonable steps against sexual harassment in the workplace – including students’ unions as employers. The duty extends to England and Wales and Scotland. It does not extend to Northern Ireland.

To help employers understand the new duty and how to comply, the EHRC has issued updated technical guidance on Sexual harassment and harassment at work – the updates to which are summarised on the site.

Renters’ Rights Bill update

The Renters’ Rights Bill got its second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

It was obviously approved – second reading is always about the principle of the Bill and the government has a thumping majority – though the volume of speeches on both sides suggests it’ll have a bumpy ride both at amendments stages and in the Lords.

Most of the afternoon was spent hearing Conservative MPs open their speeches with a warning not to demonise landlords, and Labour MPs explaining why they should be demonised.

The star of the show was Alex Sobel MP (Leeds Central and Headingley, Lab/Co-op), who seems to be taking up the mantle of former Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield’s unofficial role as student champion of the house. He pushed hard on guarantors, following the NUS campaign – but there remain lots of other problems with the Bill when it comes to students.

We’ve updated our explainer on those, with potential amendments for MPs to submit if you’re lobbying them, on the site this week.

The chairs were broken

Previously…on the Office for Students’ quality assessment reports we’ve visited the University of Wolverhampton, Bradford College, University of Northampton and more. Now there’s one from Regent College London. And it’s a doozy.

Long-time followers of this series will know these reports are great for so many reasons. It gives us an insight into how the OfS regulates against the conditions of registration, it gives examples of what is good and poor practice, and best of all it gives us tools to empower officers and reps with when lobbying on educational quality – at least in England.

There’s key takeaways for officers and reps focused on lecture quality, resources and support, study spaces and academic misconduct. It’s a lot – so take your time.

That thing where I had to sit in front of all the staff

Anyone that’s worked with course or class reps will have heard comment about their experience – and they often reveal a disconnect between the intended purpose of course committees and how students perceive their role.

They often say they feel isolated, passive, and faced with an intimidating power dynamic, and highlight the challenges of meaningful student engagement in these meetings.

That sort of feedback illustrates broader issues with student participation in academic decision-making, stressing the need for more active involvement, collaboration, and clarity in these settings.

This week on the site there’s lessons on improving student engagement in quality processes, noting that working towards genuine partnership and communication between staff and students can enhance the effectiveness of “those” committees.

I want a refund

Around the sector, complaints are up on service issues – covering academic issues like teaching, course delivery, supervision, and course-related facilities, wider student experience like accommodation, parking, or the provision of services like careers guidance and advice, and financial issues like fees and funding.

This week the Office of the Independent Adjudicator – which adjudicates on student complaints in England and Wales – has published some helpful case summaries on complaints relating to service issues.

While the OIA only covers England and Wales, the principles do concern students UK-wide, especially given they mainly concern consumer protection law. And the prevention principles are pretty much UK-wide.

Harassment

This morning the Office for Students (OfS) has announced a pilot prevalence survey in 2025 to measure sexual misconduct in higher education across England.

All final-year undergraduate students will be invited to participate in an online survey following the National Student Survey (NSS), with the option to opt-out. The survey aims to improve understanding of students’ experiences at both a provider and national level, following an earlier smaller-scale survey. OfS intends to use this data to tailor interventions, though it remains undecided whether the data will be published or shared with universities and/or SUs.

There are big questions – including whether the survey will expand to cover racial harassment or other student groups like postgraduates. Although devolved nations are “interested”, they won’t be part of the 2025 pilot. Some will worry about the publication of league tables (especially given response rates), while others see this as an important step toward improving regulation and addressing sexual misconduct in universities.

Meanwhile this week Universities Scotland published an update on its members’ anti-harassment and sexual misconduct work.

It said that 95 per cent of institutions have ensured “close involvement of their student and staff bodies” in their anti-harassment strategies – which suggests that one university didn’t. 63 per cent said said they work with survivors and those with lived experience to inform their strategic approach to anti-harassment – suggesting that seven institutions don’t think they have anything to learn from those who’ve been through it. And if 79 per cent of HEIs now have policies that allow for preventative suspension where this is necessary and appropriate, which does suggest that two institutions… don’t.

If you’re in a position to choose the university you attend in Scotland, the lack of easy to access public information on which institutions each of the requirements means you’re playing a bit of a lottery on measures which are fundamentally about quality and safety. But the bigger question surrounds why applicants should be having to choose at all.

Antisemitism

At last year’s Autumn statement, then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged £7 million over three years to tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.

Then in February of this year, universities minister Robert Halfon proposed plans to introduce an antisemitism “quality seal” to ensure safety for Jewish students and staff on campuses in response to the increase in antisemitic incidents reported by the Community Security Trust (CST).

The tender notice for the project confirmed that it would require a commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

But then a group called the Diaspora Alliance, which has argued in the past that the definition has been used to “repress free speech”, “silence those who campaign against Israel’s government’s actions” and is “really an attempt to create a speech code about Israel”, issued judicial review proceedings over the scheme and its centring of IHRA.

And the Office for Students (OfS) New Condition E6 on Harassment and Sexual Misconduct – which doesn’t kick in until September 2025 – barely mentioned antisemitism at all, and when it did, was decidedly lukewarm on IHRA. The government announced a revised approach this week – and it looks like the charter has been dropped, and the IHRA definition was absent too.

Not on board

Getting On Board, an infrastructure charity focused on promoting trusteeships, has announced its closure due to an “increasingly challenging funding environment” and “acute resourcing pressures.” Founded in 2005, the charity has notified the Charity Commission, and insolvency practitioners from Lucas Ross have been appointed to oversee its winding down. The charity, which saw its income increase sevenfold by March 2023 but recorded a deficit of £15,700 in 2022-23, has not made any redundancies and is seeking individuals or organisations interested in continuing its mission of making trusteeship more accessible and effective.

Since 2005, Getting On Board has worked to improve trusteeship through training, guidance, and resources for individuals, charities, and corporate partners. The charity highlighted its pride in its work and is exploring options to continue its Festival of Trusteeship event while encouraging others to take up its mission.

Trustees workshops

External/Lay Trustees: Monday 18th November 4pm – 6pm

Student Trustees: Tuesday 19th September 4pm – 6pm

Wonkhe SUs and Nick Smith Consulting are collaborating on a special workshop aimed at external (non-student) members of SU boards, and another for student members.

These online sessions will cover the context that created SU boards in their current form, key issues in the sector, and tips for working with other members and stakeholders. There will also be a chance to network and share practice.

The workshops are free for Wonkhe SUs subscribers. Email us now with names to register.

The Matrix

It is possible to predict a student’s wellbeing with significant accuracy using mental health analytics, according to a new report from Jisc based on a three-year project at Northumbria University. Evaluation of the Office for Students-supported project found that data-led prediction of wellbeing issues could then be acted on by the counselling and mental health team.

The report stresses the “immense task” involved in data mapping, noting both the additional staffing requirements and the fact that the project would have been impossible if the university hadn’t already carried out an “extensive data and digital transformation over the previous decade.” On the site, David Kernohan takes a look at the report.

Free speech event

Wednesday, 30th October 2024, 18:30 – 20:00, City St George’s London

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (2023) – brought in by the former Conservative government – was due to be implemented this August 2024. With a surprise snap election and a new Labour government, the commencement of this Act has been postponed.

What are the roots of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (2023)? How will a new government challenge its initial vision? What does freedom of speech mean for Higher Education? And how do these acts affect society more widely?

With an introduction by convenor Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society, City St George’s, University of London, the event will see academics and others from across the political spectrum discuss the significance behind the act and what they hope to see moving forward. More details and registration.

Meanwhile an urgent question in the House of Commons yesterday saw MPs discuss universities and freedom of speech, going over familiar ground in the rights and wrongs of the government suspending implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. Shadow education secretary Damian Hinds, who lodged the question, began with reference to the postponement of an event last night at the University of Cambridge featuring Suella Braverman – the Telegraph has that story.

A parallel debate in the Lords saw skills minister Jacqui Smith defend the government’s position, arguing that a “careful balance” needs to be made between the right to protest and the right of freedom of speech: “I think that these things are probably better dealt with in a calm and considered way than in headlines on the front of newspapers.”

And the rest

Bolton SU has been granted funding from the National Lottery Communities Fund to roll out Active Bystander Training to students. More detail on lottery funding here.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published a new audit framework to help charities and other organisations assess their compliance with legal data protection requirements.
The Scottish education committee has published a summary of its pre-budget scrutiny work in the area of college and university funding.
On the SRHE blog, Héctor Ríos-Jara asks why are governments cancelling student debt.
September 2024 saw 72,000 student visa applications, Home Office monthly statistics show – a fall of around 14 per cent from the 83,500 made in September 2023. Overall, the key July-September application period this year saw 49,000 fewer applications than the same three months in 2023.
The Charity Commission has updated its charity trustee welcome pack. This guidance is designed to introduce the role for new trustees (or act as a refresher for existing trustees).
An Australian university has been accused of gender discrimination for implementing an alcohol ban that applies only to male students.
Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Chegg Inc (Chegg).
On-campus sexual assaults are prevalent among first-year undergraduate and queer female students at American universities, according to researchers.
The House of Commons Library has published a briefing on Higher education student numbers.
AMOSSHE has published guidance for the higher education sector around reducing risk and restricting access to means of student suicide.
Pressure group Generation Rent has published research into hardship fund applications in UK universities, based on 27 freedom of information requests.
On the My Imaginary University podcast, Wonkhe Editor Debbie McVitty has developed a genuinely feel good institution.
The Commission has also re-shared its 5-minute guides on support for charity trustees. A few changes have been made to highlight that the Charity Commission has recently updated some of its guidance.
Civil Society has shared an update from the ongoing review of the Charity Governance Code. It shares initial feedback from the consultation and reports that the steering group has confirmed there are “no plans to charge charities for use of the code”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is consulting on updates to its Code of Practice on discrimination, harassment and victimisation. The updated Code sets out steps that should be taken to ensure those providing services, public functions and associations don’t discriminate against people.
Changes to Scottish charity law under the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 came into effect on 1 October. OSCR has shared a post which summarises the changes.

Research round-up

Every week we try to round up the new academic papers, articles and theses on students and the student experience that we have seen:

This review examined the nature, impact, and effectiveness of social support for students with mental health problems. High social support was found to significantly reduce suicide, depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, though barriers to accessing support were noted.
This study examined the psychological benefits of urban parks and consumer-facing businesses among students before and after COVID-19 lockdowns. Photo-based questions showed no significant change in perceived restorative quality, sentiment, and preference for third places, although crowded spaces saw a decline in sentiment and preference. Open-ended responses indicated increased visits to eating/drinking establishments and a shift towards outdoor activities post-lockdown.
This study looked at how different reasons for doing physical activity relate to mental well-being in university students. It used two models: one for types of motivation and one for well-being. The analysis found two key patterns: first, internal motivations like enjoyment or personal goals were most linked to better well-being, and second, having less external motivation and no motivation was linked to more personal growth. The study shows that understanding why students exercise can help improve their mental health.
This study looks at designing an effective peer assessment process in higher education. It focuses on how peer assessment positively impacts students’ learning but uptake is low. It finds that peer assessment is most effective as formative peer feedback whereby students can apply feedback to support their performance and learning.
This article focused on supporting students with assessment by replicating open-door tutorials in online distance education. Tutorials at The Open University are generally tutor led with the tutor setting the agenda and content. This study looks at the inclusion of online student-led drop-in tutorials to support assessment. It finds that students value this style of tutorial and there was an increase in confidence in completing assignments with indications of higher assessment scores.
This study compares resilience development between school leaver undergraduate (UG) and mature-age graduate entry (GE) health students, revealing that GE students exhibited more positive resilience attitudes despite no statistical difference in burnout experience. The study highlights the need for resilience programs in higher education.
In this study it considers embedding the principles of universal design for learning into higher education online course design. It finds that fostering an inclusive learning environment using innovative technologies, such as Voice Thread, offers online instructors a meaningful way to adopt inclusive approaches to curriculum and assessment.
This article looks at student voice and choice in the virtual classroom. The study finds that educators significantly facilitate student engagement in expressing their thoughts and ideas, promoting self discovery, critical thinking and collaborative problem solving.
This article considers the impact of ChatGPT feedback on the development of EFL students’ writing skills. The study finds the potential of CHatGPT is an innovative educational tool for fostering writing proficiency among Gen Z students.

They do what, where?

In Helsinki, planning for a new freshers event to replace its outdated and intimidating patchwork of bar crawls and club nights began in 2013. There was pressure from both students, the university and the city to reinvent the welcome experience to meet the needs of students, and as part of that students on the planning group resolved to reinvent and reimagine the bar crawl into one of HYY’s biggest events of the year – in a way that would build belonging, deliver educational outcomes and enable students to make memories.

Team Wonkhe’s reading list this week

We don’t agree with everything we read – but here’s what we found interesting this week. And do let us know if you find something worth sharing.

He still calls me Miss “Imagine turning up for the first day of a new job to find a former teacher is a colleague – that was Josh Fenton-Glynn’s experience of arriving at Westminster after the election. And while some teachers may fade from memory, it’s unlikely that anyone taught by Allison Gardner would forget her in a hurry.

The Wonkhe Show: Mental health, renters’ reform, international strategy

This week on the podcast it’s possible to predict a student’s wellbeing using mental health analytics – but what are the ethics and implications? Plus Labour’s new legislation for improving the rental market has been discussed in Parliament, Hidden History looks at a push for higher technical skills, and there’s going to be a new International Education Strategy – we discuss what should be in it.

With Ben Jordan, Director of Strategy at UCAS, Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director at Unite Students, David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe, Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at City St George’s University of London, and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.

You can subscribe to the podcast on Acast, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, RadioPublic, Podchaser, Castbox, Player FM, Stitcher, TuneIn, Luminary or via your favourite app with the RSS feed.

Fiver: Sexual harassment

We regularly dive into the issue of sexual harassment on the site.

It is widely assumed that there is little an institution can do with anonymous reports of sexual misconduct. However, Nicola Campbell explains the many ways universities can use them to make campuses safer
Anna Bull and Hayley Turner-McIntyre outline the findings of their study into the acceptance of “rape myths” among students – with some concerning demographic trends
Lisa Brooks-Lewis lays out the various data sources that institutions can draw upon to inform their approach to preventing gender-based violence
After 20 years of running campus climate surveys on gender-based violence among university students and staff in the United States, William Flack explains what the UK can learn from the US
Nike Gustave introduces OfS’s pilot survey to address data gaps in prevalence of sexual misconduct in English higher education

The full archive on sexual harassment is available on the site.

Today’s HE media coverage

Pie News has sample CAS data which it says reveals which English tests are used to apply to the UK.

The FT has a piece on how to get UK university spinouts out of the “valley of death”.

The South Wales News carries the story of an ex-student warning freshers to take precautions when sleeping with their new flatmates – after hooking up with hers in the first month before ending up pregnant and dropping out.

Around the world

CZECHIA Universities receive CZK1 billion more this year

BELGIUM Universities condemn Pope’s comments about abortion doctors

HUNGARY Hungary proposes new law in bid to re-enter Erasmus scheme

NETHERLANDS Minister makes cuts, demands reduced universities workload

IRAQ Rapid rise in private universities sparks quality concerns

New this week on Wonkhe

Jo Smith and Simon Merrywest introduce new guidance on working as a whole community to reduce student suicide.

Personal tutoring is changing in response to students’ needs and institutional pressures. David Grey and Gary Jones are starting a new community of practice to take on the challenge.

Rachel Maxwell and Steve Briggs put the case for involving specialist staff in personal academic tutoring systems.

A special commission from DfE saw five private providers accused of “draining public money” in further education teacher training. Michael Salmon connects the dots with higher education.

A Jisc report into a project that used analytics to help effectively target mental health and wellbeing support may offer a glimpse of the future. David Kernohan takes a look.

What do we know about trends in undergraduate courses offered in the UK? David Kernohan makes the best of a bad job.

For Sol Gamsu, the Universities UK blueprint for higher education is missing the voices of students and frontline staff.

Getting communities involved with their local universities has the power to renew relationships and counter hostile narratives. Joan Concannon presents the work of the York Festival of Ideas.

Who’s using the government’s new ARI database, and how are different government departments engaging with the researchers who get in touch? Alex Waddington lifts the lid.

David Kernohan works out what’s in the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill, and looks at the difference between university efficiency savings and independent school efficiency savings.

And this week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag shows just how straightforward our ancient universities can be.

Jobs in SUs

Let us know if you’d like your jobs listed here:

How to add a new officer (or staff member) to Wonkhe SUs

Just complete the form hosted at this link. Please make sure you do this even if a new officer is inheriting an existing email address.

In the Wonkhe SUs Pass community, there’s a group for alerts and one for chat (questions to the community), as well as an option to take discussions into a new group. Sign up for staff and officers is available on this link.