Home of the higher education debate www.wonkhe.com Editor in Chief @markleach.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mrf75fdyyj25NEW on Wonkhe: Optional modules are not as optional as they look buff.ly/qRvcbD624 Jul 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrf75fdyyj25https://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mrf3rxgp5b2sNEW on Wonkhe: Ministers are throwing students to the wolves buff.ly/MzrcuAR24 Jul 2026 10:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrf3rxgp5b2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mrep7kj4lp27NEW on Wonkhe: When the metric becomes the virtue, trust breaks buff.ly/gUgL1iA24 Jul 2026 06:15 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrep7kj4lp27https://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mreowlvhgg27NEW on Wonkhe: Labour’s growing enemy of opportunity buff.ly/A10K1jZ24 Jul 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mreowlvhgg27https://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mreonnfl4y2sNEW on Wonkhe: With the Treasury dangling £237 million and Ulster cutting 450 jobs, Jim Dickinson unpicks why Northern Ireland's funding review is a set of trade-offs that cannot all be won at once buff.ly/djpmkzO24 Jul 2026 06:05 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mreonnfl4y2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mreofjyyaz2mNEW on Wonkhe: This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag reminds us that for some teaching and learning carry on over the summer buff.ly/K6i1i8p24 Jul 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mreofjyyaz2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mrc5w4eiu624NEW on Wonkhe: Drawing on her research, Beth Hocking asks whether an explosion in admissions testing is supported by appropriate oversight buff.ly/J2nITjE23 Jul 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrc5w4eiu624https://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mrapjn5wdg2uNEW on Wonkhe: Fishing, with Neil O’Brien buff.ly/Ik1oZKu22 Jul 2026 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrapjn5wdg2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr7nptevfn2sNEW on Wonkhe: Higher education faces a demographic cliff through to 2040. David Kernohan sets out four possible futures of higher education in a shrinking Britain buff.ly/aBZWqn622 Jul 2026 06:05 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr7nptevfn2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr7nh5opt22sNEW on Wonkhe: Conversations about student feedback are too focused on response rates and survey fatigue. Emily Chapman and Dr Helena Lim argue the sector should focus on coherence buff.ly/Jtub19U22 Jul 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr7nh5opt22shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr54y6voo625NEW on Wonkhe: Shaalinie Sivalingham argues structural racism is not absent from regulatory discourse, but is rather not positioned as a systemic risk buff.ly/yWHdHew21 Jul 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr54y6voo625https://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr3uqog6gu2xNEW on Wonkhe: Farewell Patrick Vallance buff.ly/Q4hG7va20 Jul 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3uqog6gu2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2pukfvcc2qNEW on Wonkhe: New PM Andy Burnham wants to go further and faster on devolution, but for higher education, local focus still needs to be underpinned with a national policy infrastructure. David Kernohan assesses the options for action buff.ly/RN7plJy20 Jul 2026 07:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2pukfvcc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2nvphrak2xNEW on Wonkhe: Michael Salmon has read 39 LSIPs so you don’t have to – but you should, as they reveal plenty about what places want from their universities buff.ly/QwWB8Oq20 Jul 2026 06:25 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2nvphrak2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2nmrfr5i2sNEW on Wonkhe: "Parity of esteem" for college and university-based HE comes from a shared quality architecture and governance framework, not vague policy aspirations, argue Nic Beech and Rebecca Parks buff.ly/bqeGbW920 Jul 2026 06:20 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2nmrfr5i2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2ndyzn4h2dLast week on Wonkhe: The new Code of Higher Education Governance wants governing bodies to act as a team. Poppy Short and Debbie McVitty explain why that can be a tall order – and what can be done to improve board dynamics https://buff.ly/u8vueKM20 Jul 2026 06:15 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2ndyzn4h2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2n2v52cn2sLast week on Wonkhe: Creativity is routinely cited as a necessary future skill – and can also hold the key to building meaningful learning experiences beyond AI. Chris Mitchell invites you to connect https://buff.ly/QMRVbgm20 Jul 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2n2v52cn2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2mryri342uLast week on Wonkhe: Hanna Groothuizen explains the paradox of compensatory culture work, arguing that efforts to improve research culture can make harmful systems easier to endure and harder to reform https://buff.ly/o69YbpH20 Jul 2026 06:05 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2mryri342uhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mr2mjxlckf2sLast week on Wonkhe: How do we move from collecting evidence and designing frameworks to meaningful transformation? Lauren Flannery and Helen Leggett look for accountability for equalities work https://buff.ly/fjZhGND20 Jul 2026 06:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr2mjxlckf2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqzkycz65s2sLast week on Wonkhe: This week on the podcast Team Wonkhe looks back on the year in higher education policy and politics https://buff.ly/vhdO5SR19 Jul 2026 20:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzkycz65s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqzhnenq652xLast week on Wonkhe: André Brasil and Peter Kolarz set out why we really don't need peer review https://buff.ly/OIHL8zy19 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzhnenq652xhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqzechpvxd2dLast week on Wonkhe: As the policy impetus strengthens for apprenticeships to support youth employment, Michael Salmon would like to see a collaborative sector response rather than a private provider free-for-all https://buff.ly/MUpKF5t19 Jul 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzechpvxd2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqzawvo5nj2sLast week on Wonkhe: If the apprentice system shifts away from universities, then for Gianina Harvey-Brewin students, institutions and employers will all lose out https://buff.ly/Casp9Lw19 Jul 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzawvo5nj2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqz5m7ways2wLast week on Wonkhe: Students were sold an education, a community and a transformation. Jim Dickinson and Sharanya Sivarajah find a generation of student leaders working out those promises no longer fit inside one life https://buff.ly/7MdRTLz19 Jul 2026 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqz5m7ways2whttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqz2a7a7nh2uLast week on Wonkhe: This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag invites us to party on, dude! https://buff.ly/oWWdhFc19 Jul 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqz2a7a7nh2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqywupr3wd2sLast week on Wonkhe: How the apprenticeship levy works for employers is changing. Jo Hartley-Metcalfe finds that higher education institutions are not making the most of what they contribute https://buff.ly/S8qqkqP19 Jul 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqywupr3wd2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqytjmhj3u2mLast week on Wonkhe: Reflecting on the Defence Investment Plan and the newly formed Defence Universities Alliance, James Henry Bergeron and Richard Davies stress the centrality of the higher education system to keeping the country safe https://buff.ly/Pylq7aV19 Jul 2026 13:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqytjmhj3u2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqyq67cdti2nLast week on Wonkhe: Doing fewer things better and faster. James Coe and Michael Salmon summarise UKRI's new strategy https://buff.ly/qf3Y0TM19 Jul 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqyq67cdti2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqymsqts3x2sLast week on Wonkhe: UKRI chief executive Ian Chapman explains the thinking behind the funder's new five-year strategy https://buff.ly/JrDzKU119 Jul 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqymsqts3x2shttps://bsky.app/profile/wonkhe.bsky.social/post/3mqyjhx42qz2xLast week on Wonkhe: Parents and guardians ask one question above all at open days. As Katherine Lloyd Clarke reports, it isn't a straightforward one to answer https://buff.ly/AGEIkwV19 Jul 2026 10:00 +0000at://did:plc:d266ck6vym2irmjwpfo2dcfx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqyjhx42qz2x