On the tenth anniversary of David Willetts' 2013 Robbins Revisited report, David Kernohan wonders if it still stands up

The post Robbins Revisited, revisited appeared first on Wonkhe.

Wonkhe has a new Parking University of the Year for 2023. But is all well in the world of campus parking?

The post Fixed penalty notice: The Wonkhe University Car Parking League Table 2023 appeared first on Wonkhe.

David Kernohan spots the new Secretary of State's thoughts on freedom of speech on campus in a trawl through his past.

The post Who is James Cleverly? appeared first on Wonkhe.

The eagerly-awaited definitive data driven ranking of how easy it is to park a car on a university campus.

The post Bumper to bumper: the Wonkhe Car Parking League Table 2022 appeared first on Wonkhe.

Michael Barber had a hand in the England team's tactics. He bonded with Gareth Southgate over detail and bravery. Alas - as David Kernohan found out - when it counted Michael Barber was no Gareth Southgate

The post When free speech met three lions appeared first on Wonkhe.

... and you'll never believe what I found. Actually, you will, it's mostly the same old contrarian stuff you always hear. Bit of a disappointment

The post I read every paper in the first issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas appeared first on Wonkhe.

How will the Doctor and his companion find the hidden "low quality courses"? Deep within the heart of the OfS data cube, a new plan is born. Trouble is, it isn't very good.

The post The Doctor and the compound metric appeared first on Wonkhe.

A new book gives Nathan Abrams chance to plot some disturbing parallels between higher education and WeWork

The post Why is UK higher education like WeWork? appeared first on Wonkhe.

Now historic enough to have passed into sector mythology, David Kernohan calls for the unlikely return of subject review as a way out of the current quality impasse.

The post To improve quality assessment we should bring back subject review appeared first on Wonkhe.

As Michael Barber announces he is to step down next year, David Kernohan uses data trajectories to consider his impact as Office for Students chair.

The post The avalanche came – but what of it? appeared first on Wonkhe.

Wonkhe's annual and not-entirely-serious ranking of universities by ease of parking returns. And we have a new number one.

The post Multi-storey: the Wonkhe Car Parking Ranking 2021 appeared first on Wonkhe.

The UK higher education sector is served by a number of professional groups and associations that bring together specialist staff and common interests. Andy Youell is taken aback by how many of them we have.

The post A thousand flowers – the world of sector communities appeared first on Wonkhe.

"Golden ages don't have to be in the past" said Michael Barber. Well, 2019 is nearly in the past and - according to David Kernohan - it absolutely was not a golden age.

The post 2019 – the HE year in review appeared first on Wonkhe.

It's THE PHOTO. David Kernohan tells the story of the image that has come to define higher education news.

The post Behind THE PHOTO appeared first on Wonkhe.

Tongue firmly in cheek, David Kernohan and Paul Greatrix rank universities according to their ease of parking, and announce the 2020 Wonkhe Car Parking University (College) of the Year

The post Hard standing: the Wonkhe Car Parking Ranking 2020 appeared first on Wonkhe.

Martin Levy places Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers within the "free university" movement of the mid 20th century

The post Mary Poppins and the Anti-University appeared first on Wonkhe.

David Kernohan was excited to read the first entries on the shiny new Office for Students Register. But he wasn't expecting to find an ancient hierarchy turned upside down...

The post Office for Students rewrites sector history appeared first on Wonkhe.

Team Wonkhe has looked at the evidence of some of the most commonly cited examples of “no platform” at UK universities.

The post To platform or not to platform? appeared first on Wonkhe.

In mapping out the history of sector teaching agencies in England - and developing an iconic family tree you can download and print off - David Kernohan has a disturbing realisation...

The post Teaching quality enhancement in England: the commemorative teatowel appeared first on Wonkhe.

People keep asking David Kernohan about blockchain. We digitally locked him in a small room until he agreed to explain it to us.

The post Blockchain – don’t ask how, ask why appeared first on Wonkhe.

Louis Coiffait reviews James Arthur’s book about policy entrepreneurship, get ready for a fight…

The post Academics as policy entrepreneurs? Prepare to fight for your ideas (if you want to win) appeared first on Wonkhe.

We asked you for suggestions for the name of the sector's newest mega-agency. And, wow, did you ever deliver! We announce our top five, and a worthy winner.

The post Name the new sector agency: we have a winner appeared first on Wonkhe.

The new sector agency needs a name. It’s time for the wonk community to spring into action and get thinking. Can you help?

The post Competition: name the new sector agency appeared first on Wonkhe.

It was twenty years ago, yesterday. Wonkhe's David Kernohan looks back to the way Lord Dearing's Report was received, and finds some surprisingly familiar names with some decidedly unfamiliar policy positions.

The post Dearing in the House – twenty years on appeared first on Wonkhe.

Wonkhe's David Kernohan has done a silly little rummage through TEF provider statements to find if citing any particular league table proved more influential than others for getting a Gold outcome.

The post Status anxiety – how often did universities cite league tables in TEF submissions? appeared first on Wonkhe.

If we really need to measure excellence in the higher education sector, then we really should start with TEF Gold universities' varied and bizarre ways of celebrating their achievements. We present the Wonkhe Outstanding Excellence Framework.

The post EXCLUSIVE – Wonkhe introduces the Outstanding Excellence Framework (OEF) appeared first on Wonkhe.

A hilarious encounter with Voice Recognition Software has led Sue Rivers to wonder whether the higher education sector's language is sufficiently understandable for those who work beyond it.

The post Lessons in the language of higher education: Deep fried corgi?!? appeared first on Wonkhe.

Team Wonkhe had a number of great ideas for April Fools jokes this year, sadly scuppered by the calendar. Nonetheless, sharing is caring.

The post Wonkhe won’t do April fools this year, but if we did… appeared first on Wonkhe.

The results are in for our competition to design a logo for the new Office for Students.

The post Competition results! A new logo for OfS appeared first on Wonkhe.

The Office for Students needs a logo. It's time for the wonk community to spring into action and get designing. Can you help?

The post Competition: design a logo for the Office for Students appeared first on Wonkhe.