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1 week ago | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson
Netflix drama Adolescence has ignited two vital national conversations. The rise of online misogyny among radicalised young men has seen Keir Starmer weighing in on the issue. There’s also been a debate surrounding disenfranchisement among boys and young men in primary, secondary and tertiary education. The latter has long been on the radar of policymakers, academics, and researchers.
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Aug 8, 2024 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach
This week has seen racist riots and violence break out across several major cities in the UK, impacting many universities. University buildings and students’ union buildings have been attacked by rioters. The University of Sunderland, Kent, Durham, and Salford – to name a few – have all had to close operations early to keep staff and students safe.
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Jul 16, 2024 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson
The Unite Students Applicant Index is out. Published with the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), the 36-question survey uses a 7-point agreement scale to generate composite scores in finance, social, community, independence, well-being, sustainability, resilience, learning, and employment (0 is the least positive, and 100 is most). The data is then supported by follow-up qualitative questions.
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Jun 16, 2024 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach
When a student does or doesn’t engage – and when the sector says “engage”, it often means “attend” – there are lots of hypothetical reasons why. It might be about the cost of transport, or feelings of belonging, or having to undertake paid work, or being tired. Survey data tells us something about what is going on – but for any individual student it’s a complex interplay of multiple factors at work for any given decision.
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Mar 7, 2024 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach
Universities UK (UUK) has published guidance for universities on tackling the supply and demand for drugs amongst students. Enabling student health and success comes two and a half years after the launch of a Drugs and Alcohol Impact pilot – a scheme to help universities and SUs work towards better drug and alcohol practice – and 14 months after launching the guidance at a national conference on the issue.
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Jan 28, 2024 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach |Ellie Garraway
When students enrol at university, they bring with them diverse experiences of prior learning, life experiences, and worries about the next step. Yet, in most cases in those early weeks, they are still much more likely to be asked whether they enjoyed Freshers and what they think about university marketing than to share insight about who they are that could shape how their institution thinks about teaching, learning, and student support.
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Oct 15, 2023 | 
wonkhe.com | David Gilani |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach |Sunday Blake
One year ago, Wonkhe and Pearson launched their Building Belonging in Higher Education report, which kick-started a sector-wide conversation. Where did the conversation go next after the launch event? Has it really led to tangible improvements in terms of delivery for students? And where can we go next with this concept across our work within higher education?
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Oct 12, 2023 | 
wonkhe.com | Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach |Peter Gray |Sunday Blake
Labour’s confirmation at its party conference that it intends to retain its commitment to a “genuine” Living Wage could have major implications for student finance. As it stands, the “National Living Wage” (a rebadged National Minimum Wage) is determined off the back of a recommendation by the low-pay commission. Unlike the “Living Wage” from the foundation that shares its name, it doesn’t take into account the rising cost of living.
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Jul 17, 2023 | 
wonkhe.com | Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach |Anna Bull |Sunday Blake
“It is absolutely clear that students get different returns from different courses… universities with unacceptably high drop-out rates will be asked to plan improvements. Anyone assuming that an incoming Labour government will deliver on apparent revulsion to the latest crackdown on “low-value” courses in England probably ought to have a read of 2003’s “The future of higher education” white paper.
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May 7, 2023 | 
wonkhe.com | Sunday Blake |Jim Dickinson |Mark Leach |Mack Marshall
The Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee has published a wide-ranging and detailed report on attitudes towards women and girls in educational settings. Laying out laid out key recommendations for universities in tackling sexual violence both on and off campus – alongside recommendations for schools and colleges – it acknowledges that good work has been done in the sector on this issue.
