Wonkhe

New on Wonkhe: The MAC’s annual report may not contain fireworks, but there’s plenty of food for thought for the higher education sector. Michael Salmon walks us through it https://lnkd.in/e6MieK4F "The central piece of this year’s review is driven by the observation that the new government’s intention is “to more closely link migration and skills policy.” Given that starting point, the MAC carefully explores to what extent this can work."

New on Wonkhe: As pressures on cash tighten, universities are keen to see more of the money that pays for teaching earlier - but the state is worried about ghost students. Jim Dickinson gets across attendance and yield https://lnkd.in/eRXmpVtf "And in the end, this all comes back to an old problem - not knowing what’s going on underneath headline non-continuation."

New on Wonkhe: Karen Kenny explains how a relational, collaborative approach with care-experienced young people can produce impactful resources and inclusive, empowering academic environments https://lnkd.in/e3H-h8Vk "This initiative was a sobering reminder that the messages that society tells young people about their potential become their inner voice."

NEW on Wonkhe: It’s the Chief Medical Officer’s 2024 wrapped https://lnkd.in/epsGAZfQ

NEW on Wonkhe: Mayors will be told to have a plan. But not over student numbers… https://lnkd.in/eWautz39

New on Wonkhe: The government is doubling down on the mayoral model of devolution across England. David Kernohan and Michael Salmon go through what it means for regional R&D, local skills, and universities’ relationship with local government https://lnkd.in/eJHx4fG3 "Devolution is a central plank of the government’s growth agenda. Providing places with the tools and resources to address local problems in ways that make sense on the ground is a means to unleash potential and end what English devolution minister Jim McMahon is happy to call the “top-down micromanaging” approach of ringfencing funds and centralising decision making."

New on Wonkhe: Gemma Ahearne explains a way of assessing students that can empower them to navigate complex topics and write persuasively https://lnkd.in/etRS7GNH "Putting choice and enjoyment in the curriculum is not about “losing academic rigour”, it is about firing students up for their topics of study, and ensuring they can communicate powerfully to different audiences using different tools."

New on Wonkhe: Wonkhe and Mills & Reeve have been exploring how stronger connections between providers could prepare the sector to face the future as well as tackle today's financial challenges – and what's missing from the current legal and regulatory landscape https://lnkd.in/ehgWc--r "If, as some believe, the sector is on the cusp of entering into a new phase of higher education, a much more connected and networked system, tied more closely into regional development agendas, and more oriented to the collective public value that higher education creates, then the thinking needs to start now about how to enable providers to take part in the strategic discussions and scenario plans that can help them to imagine that kind of future, and develop the skills to operate in the new ways that a different HE landscape could require. It is these discussions that need to inform the development of the HE strategy."

New on Wonkhe: If a provider is facing financial distress and potential insolvency there is no legal framework to guide and protect trustees, lenders, or students. Neil Smyth calls for the creation of a special administration regime https://lnkd.in/eZEaWcpr "It is a problem that there is no viable insolvency process for universities. But a special administration regime is not solely about “universities going bust.” In fact, such a regime, based on the existing FE special administration legislation, is much more about providing legal clarity for providers, stakeholders and students, than it is about an insolvency process for universities."

New on Wonkhe: Without any fuss, large survey instruments are starting to fail. David Kernohan asks what is going on and what might happen next https://lnkd.in/erZC2jr6 "We've lived through a generation where data seemed unlimited. What tools do we need to survive a data dark age?"