It’s always fun at this time of year to hop on Google Analytics and see which topics and articles on Wonkhe have been the most read.
At Wonkhe we don’t generally pursue “clicks” for their own sake. The nature of HE is that there are lots of people who have specialist and specific concerns they want to write about and that others enjoy hearing about – and if you have even a passing knowledge of our site you’ll be aware that as a team we have our own share of hobby horses, and niche interests. Thank you for putting up with us.
But there are also moments in the policy cycle that seem to bring the sector together at the Wonkhe watercooler, typically major fiscal events like the Budget, or major government policies such as this year’s post-16 education and skills white paper. In those obvious Big Moments it’s clear that Wonkhe’s policy summaries are widely clicked on and shared. These are meant to be an accessible overview that help non-specialists understand the policy agenda in fairly broad strokes, so hopefully that means they are working.
Beyond the Big Moments you get to the other issues and debates of the year, topics that have needed interpretation and analysis, and sense-making, sometimes with a bit of soap boxing thrown in.
So here, in no particular order, are the top five topics of the year based entirely on my reading of Wonkhe’s web traffic. Do write in if you have a more robust evidence base – or if proper data is your thing change the channel to DK’s year in numbers on the other side.
Artificial intelligence
This conversation just keeps going, and for good reason – as the technology evolves, as students, academics and HE professionals test different use cases and roll out new policies, training and support, the meaning of artificial intelligence in the HE context is also shifting. It started with academic misconduct, but now it’s moving towards learning design, graduate skills innovation and efficiency – and all of those things need unpacking and critical appraisal. If that’s something you’re interested in, do join us at The Secret Life of Students in March 2026.
Free speech
Namely, the fine the Office for Students issued to the University of Sussex, which sent enormous reverberations around the sector and turned what was already a fairly fraught issue as higher education institutions grappled with executing their legal and regulatory responsibilities, into a seriously high-stakes challenges for heads of administration, governors and students’ unions. In 2025 the free speech legislation came into force, alongside modest government amendments to try to make the whole thing workable.
But as the fervid debate over free speech subsides in favour of implementing the regulations the question remains hanging in the air: if 2026 passes without a major regulatory intervention on free speech will it be because regulation has enabled a resurgence of healthy debate on campus, or because higher education institutions are now so terrified of being the next against the wall they are shying away from any possible controversial issue in perpetuity?
Franchising
Last year saw interventions from the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee raising concerns about the culture around franchised higher education provision – and this year ended with confirmation of government “crack down” plans. Meanwhile Universities UK and GuildHE strengthened the sector’s code of conduct on admissions and its guidance on the use of domestic agents. Over on The Post-18 Project we made some suggestions about how to regulate franchised provision, learning the lessons from FE.
So are we looking at steps in the right direction or bringing a knife to a gun fight? While there remain bad actors in the system we can’t be confident that it’s not the latter. It’s possible that in 2026 the government will get round to strengthening OfS’ duties to protect public money, as the post-16 education and skills white paper promised, but the whole agenda depends on “when legislative time allows.” In the meantime, the whole issue is being framed as a “governance problem” – increasingly a get-out-of-jail-free card for ministers wishing higher education institutions would act more against the incentives the current system has handed them.
Mergers
There’s a healthy market for futurologists prepared to speculate about the future size and shape of the HE sector, and lots of work around the margins to work out how to make the process of structural change, where institutions have decided it’s a good strategic choice, less burdensome.
Given the scale of the proposal and its unusual nature it’s not surprising that the announcement that the Universities of Kent and Greenwich plan to merge to form a new multi-university group saw a huge degree of interest, especially as it’s offered a solution to the problem of loss of institutional identity in merger – the two institutions will remain distinct as trading entities while combining as a legal entity with single systems and policies.
Higher education finances
No, mergers and finances aren’t the same thing. Shame on you for suggesting it. Though it’s not insignificant to the broader prospect of structural change that the government has declined to say what it would do if a higher education institution became insolvent, preferring instead to rely on OfS to try and make sure that doesn’t happen.
It will come as a surprise to nobody that higher education finance remains a much-engaged-with topic, as the sector tries to make sense of its circumstances and the implications for its future. In particular this year the financial challenges at the University of Dundee, while distinctive to that institution, have thrown into sharp relief the real risks facing the sector and the impact on higher education communities when an institution finds itself in impossible financial circumstances.
What has changed at the end of this year is some clarity from the Westminster government about the funding settlement, but with a consultation on the Strategic Priorities Grant expected in 2026 plus elections in Wales and Scotland, plus ongoing efforts to manage risks to financial sustainability and/or transform operating models the finances conversation isn’t going anywhere any time soon. But in 2026 let’s change it up so that it’s less about how awful it all is and more about learning how others have managed significant financial changes – and maybe even come out the other side stronger and with a greater clarity of purpose. That’s my Christmas wish, anyway.
Take a breather
If you’ve listened to the podcast this week you’ll have heard DK’s annual Christmas song offering – and I think it’s not all that surprising that his main message this year seems to be less about the HE policy landscape and more about escaping from having to think about it for a week or two.
Not the worst advice by any means – and so to help you switch off we’ll be dialling back our firehose of policy content and commentary to the merest trickle (plus whatever Jim can’t help himself from writing about while he’s supposed to be on holiday).
Have a peaceful Christmas season and a jolly New Year, and we’ll be here in 2026 for another go on the HE policy merry-go-round. Happy festive season everyone and Wonk bless us, one and all.