PODCAST: Applications, nurses, 21st century uni, voter registration

This week on the podcast (live from Advance HE's governance conference in London) we discuss the release of the first part of UCAS’ data for the most recent applications cycle, analyse the Conservative’s pledge for 50,000 more nurses, and chat about the University of Lincoln’s manifesto for the university of the 21st century. We also think about the surge in voter registration and what it might mean for the election.

With Joe Cooper, Deputy Director of Human Resources at Imperial College, London; Gemma Paine, President at Surrey SU; and David Kernohan, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.

Yes, but does it correlate?

This week I've been playing with the latest data drop from the Student Loans Company, and am wondering if the percentage change of the number of students applying for full time (undergraduate) English system tuition fee loans over the last two years correlates with the percentage change in the number of academic staff at a university? Do more undergraduates mean more academics? Does it correlate?

The answer is no. R squared is 0.005, and that doesn't change much even if you look at English HEIs only. Clearly changes in staffing levels have little to do with changes in student numbers. What we're seeing here is changes in recruitment of what for many providers is their bread and butter income. Data is from HESA and the SLC, and - where the data doesn't exist - I've not plotted it

Items this week

• UCAS’ 2019 End of Cycle Report reveals ‘unprecedented opportunity’ for anyone considering university
• Universities need to change fundamentally to serve 21st-century society. Mary Stuart and Liz Shutt introduce their manifesto for the permeable university
• How quickly could nursing schools expand to take on 14,000 of the extra 50,000 students promised in the Conservative Manifesto. Not very far without careful investment, finds Wonkhe's David Kernohan
• More than 3 million people apply to vote in general election as deadline looms

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