Universities Challenged

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

20121026

The Coalition insists their reforms to the English university system will create a healthy marketplace where universities have to compete to fill their places and students become consumers shopping around for value for money, and driving up quality. But - as the Secretary of State responsible for universities, Business Secretary Vince Cable, tells this programme - that part of the reforms is experimental.

So how is the experiment working out ?

For more than a year, Radio 4 has been given inside access to the University of Bedfordshire as it, along with every other university in England, tries to recruit as many students as it can, setting fees as high as it dares.

The programme hears how Bedfordshire's outspoken Vice Chancellor, Professor Les Ebdon (who midway through the year became the Government's independent universities access czar) justified charging nine thousand pounds a year - the same as Oxford and Cambridge. And how did he handle a tabloid campaign attacking him and the University's so called Mickey Mouse degrees?

Professor Ebdon's successor at Bedfordshire, former Labour universities minister Bill Rammell, also responds to the view that it's just too easy to get into his university.

Universities Challenged charts an extraordinary year for English universities. It's a story of risk, good news and some nasty surprises .

Produced by Ivor Gaber

An IGA production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4 has been following one university for a year to chart the impact of \u00a39,000 fees.

A First-degree Fallout

20250916

Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence.

Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education.

Now Sophia's asking the questions and they're big difficult questions for British Universities. Is a major university at risk of going bust and what happens if it does? It the battle for free speech tearing universities apart? And is a degree still worth it?

Over three episodes, Sophia speaks to students, staff and leaders across the higher education sector.

How much damage are culture wars doing to the academic freedoms of universities in the UK?

Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK.

Sophia Smith Galer looks at whether the battle for free speech is threatening to undermine academic freedoms in the UK's university sector.

[LISTEN NOW]

Free Speech Wars

20250916

Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence.

Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education. But she's got some big questions.

In this second episode of Universities Challenged she explores how universities are handling free speech wars on campus. Interviews with students and academics reveal competing visions of tolerance as the principles of academic freedom clash with institutional policies and student activism. Are these highly publicised disputes undermining the credibility of universities as places of open inquiry and debate? How much damage are they causing the university sector as a whole? Does everyone get the chance to speak freely – and if not, what's being done about it?

Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer

Producer: Lucy Burns & Claire Bates

Sound: Gareth Jones

Editor: Nick Holland

Do conflicts over freedom of speech threaten the whole point of university?

Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK.

Sophia Smith Galer examines how universities are dealing with conflicts over free speech on campus – from Gaza to trans rights.

[LISTEN NOW]

Is It Worth It?

20250923

Today's students face rising tuition fees while the cost of living keeps going up. Their experience of studying is changing. Pressures on university finances mean their teachers are overstretched and class sizes are bigger, while AI changes their whole relationship to knowledge. And then they'll graduate into a challenging jobs market with some of the highest student loan debt in the world. Sophia Smith Galer speaks to students and their parents along with experts in the university sector and asks whether, in the face of all these challenges, is it still worth getting a degree?

Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer

Producer: Lucy Burns

Sound: Gareth Jones

Editor: Nick Holland

With all the problems facing universities, is it still worth getting a degree?

Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK.

Tuition fees have risen, the cost of living keeps going up and the graduate job market is challenging. So is it still worth getting a degree?

[LISTEN NOW]

Tuition Impossible

20250909

Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence.

Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education.

Over three episodes, Sophia speaks to students, staff and leaders across the higher education sector.

Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK.

Is a major university at risk of going bust, and what happens if it does? Sophia Smith Galer hears how vital universities have become to the economic fabric of our towns and cities.

[LISTEN NOW]

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Comments
	20121026	The Coalition insists their reforms to the English university system will create a healthy marketplace where universities have to compete to fill their places and students become consumers shopping around for value for money, and driving up quality. But - as the Secretary of State responsible for universities, Business Secretary Vince Cable, tells this programme - that part of the reforms is experimental. So how is the experiment working out ? For more than a year, Radio 4 has been given inside access to the University of Bedfordshire as it, along with every other university in England, tries to recruit as many students as it can, setting fees as high as it dares. The programme hears how Bedfordshire's outspoken Vice Chancellor, Professor Les Ebdon (who midway through the year became the Government's independent universities access czar) justified charging nine thousand pounds a year - the same as Oxford and Cambridge. And how did he handle a tabloid campaign attacking him and the University's so called Mickey Mouse degrees? Professor Ebdon's successor at Bedfordshire, former Labour universities minister Bill Rammell, also responds to the view that it's just too easy to get into his university. Universities Challenged charts an extraordinary year for English universities. It's a story of risk, good news and some nasty surprises . Produced by Ivor Gaber An IGA production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4 has been following one university for a year to chart the impact of \u00a39,000 fees.
A First-degree Fallout	20250916	Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence. Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education. Now Sophia's asking the questions and they're big difficult questions for British Universities. Is a major university at risk of going bust and what happens if it does? It the battle for free speech tearing universities apart? And is a degree still worth it? Over three episodes, Sophia speaks to students, staff and leaders across the higher education sector. How much damage are culture wars doing to the academic freedoms of universities in the UK? Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK. Sophia Smith Galer looks at whether the battle for free speech is threatening to undermine academic freedoms in the UK's university sector. [LISTEN NOW]
Free Speech Wars	20250916	Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence. Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education. But she's got some big questions. In this second episode of Universities Challenged she explores how universities are handling free speech wars on campus. Interviews with students and academics reveal competing visions of tolerance as the principles of academic freedom clash with institutional policies and student activism. Are these highly publicised disputes undermining the credibility of universities as places of open inquiry and debate? How much damage are they causing the university sector as a whole? Does everyone get the chance to speak freely – and if not, what's being done about it? Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer Producer: Lucy Burns & Claire Bates Sound: Gareth Jones Editor: Nick Holland Do conflicts over freedom of speech threaten the whole point of university? Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK. Sophia Smith Galer examines how universities are dealing with conflicts over free speech on campus – from Gaza to trans rights. [LISTEN NOW]
Is It Worth It?	20250923	Today's students face rising tuition fees while the cost of living keeps going up. Their experience of studying is changing. Pressures on university finances mean their teachers are overstretched and class sizes are bigger, while AI changes their whole relationship to knowledge. And then they'll graduate into a challenging jobs market with some of the highest student loan debt in the world. Sophia Smith Galer speaks to students and their parents along with experts in the university sector and asks whether, in the face of all these challenges, is it still worth getting a degree? Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer Producer: Lucy Burns Sound: Gareth Jones Editor: Nick Holland With all the problems facing universities, is it still worth getting a degree? Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK. Tuition fees have risen, the cost of living keeps going up and the graduate job market is challenging. So is it still worth getting a degree? [LISTEN NOW]
Tuition Impossible	20250909	Universities are in crisis. They're facing social and financial pressures that threaten to undermine the foundations they're built on, maybe even their very existence. Sophia Smith Galer won Celebrity University Challenge last year as part of the Durham team. As the first in her family to go to university she's a big fan of higher education. Now Sophia's asking the questions and they're big difficult questions for British Universities. Is a major university at risk of going bust and what happens if it does? It the battle for free speech tearing universities apart? And is a degree still worth it? Over three episodes, Sophia speaks to students, staff and leaders across the higher education sector. Examining the social and financial pressures currently facing universities in the UK. Is a major university at risk of going bust, and what happens if it does? Sophia Smith Galer hears how vital universities have become to the economic fabric of our towns and cities. [LISTEN NOW]