Features

The coalition has angered many in higher education by raising the fees cap, cutting grants, making market reforms - and that's all before its White Paper. Here, David Willetts explains its rationale and why the sector will come to thank him

With not only Bleak House but even Peter Rabbit seemingly too long for a texting, tweeting, attention-deficit generation, Valerie Sanders scans her shelves for a lightweight literary canon and asks: condensed or skimmed?

Andrew Oswald considers recent moves in economics, famously the most dismal of sciences, to take the happiness and psychological health of the population as seriously as a country's GDP

Can science provide the ultimate explanation of human nature? No, says Simon Blackburn, who tells us there's life in the philosophical armchair yet

A name change - along with the inauguration of a new chancellor this week - is intended to mark the start of a new era for the former Thames Valley University. Rebecca Attwood delves into the University of West London's colourful past and hears of its ambitions for a brighter and more secure future

Martin Cohen, a long-term resident of Normandy, presents a gourmet repast of his 11 favourite myths about the French, from barefaced fibs to insouciant self-deception and charming vérité

Study of the best that has been thought and said is under attack. Fred Inglis turns to F.R. Leavis for the ordnance with which to defend the humanities

A scandal involving clinical trials based on research that was riddled with errors shows that journals, institutions and individuals must raise their standards, argues Darrel Ince

About 100 years ago, higher education restructured to meet the needs of the industrial age. It has changed little since, even as the internet has transformed life. Another revolution is needed, says Cathy Davidson, to modernise universities and prepare graduates for a 21st-century working environment

Support for the monarchy is not this sceptred isle's only narrative, insists Clive Bloom. From Thomas Paine to bolshie bunting-subverters, arguments for a Republic weave in and out of our national story

The concept of the 'killer-ape' offers a pessimistic reflection of humanity and its genesis, but the latest research shows that a primate species whose success is based on mutual aid and pleasure, not violence, is a better model for human origins. Eric Michael Johnson considers the better bonobos of our nature

A French conference debates how to cultivate leadership qualities in MBA students, without losing sight of what really matters in life. Matthew Reisz observes

As the student experience becomes more crucial to universities' survival, administrators see a chance to step out of their supporting parts. John Morgan examines how their positions may expand and evolve

Fifty years ago this week, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin fulfilled humanity's ancient dream by ascending into the heavens. Colin Pillinger considers the First Cosmonaut's space odyssey and the intellectual journey that made it possible

To communicate our ideas eloquently is a skill that takes practice. Dale Salwak offers advice on how to help our students write well

Universities' accounts seem fairly healthy, but it's no indication of future well-being. Using an exclusive analysis of the sector's financial statements for 2009-10 by Grant Thornton, Simon Baker asks whether institutions will be strong enough to survive the trauma ahead

Are world leaders born or made? Can policy- based courses prepare the next generation for the challenges ahead? Harry Hoare discusses the role of philosophy in honing the hearts and minds of those who walk the corridors of power

Finbarr Livesey describes the courses preparing the leaders of the future with theory, practical insights...and healthy doses of humility

As his report on university governance is released, Malcolm Gillies asserts that alumni will make the best governors as they are the ones who will hold the greatest stake in future

Reflexive claims for the US academy's greatness ring hollow, says John Summers, given elite institutions' tight links with economic and political power and lack of appetite for challenging ideas

In a time of unprecedented change for the UK's academy, its leaders are under the spotlight as never before. Accordingly, Times Higher Education has augmented its annual survey of pay in the sector with an investigation into our v-cs' educational backgrounds. John Morgan asks: who are these people and what do they earn?

Academics without the freedom to exercise judgement are not true academics. Frank Furedi explains why scholars must resist the rise of proceduralism

There's no such thing as a typical academic, but some have more unusual backgrounds than others. Matthew Reisz discovers some startling stories

Nazi advocate or German nationalist? Research into businessman Alfred Toepfer and his foundation, which offers scholarships to Oxbridge students, has raised allegations of a cover-up of his support for Hitler's Reich. Richard J. Evans examines the evidence and finds a reassuring outcome

A university's brand - crucial in helping to attract students, staff and funding - is built on esteem. Times Higher Education's first World Reputation Rankings reveal how academics view the strength of institutions' teaching and research, while John Morgan explores brand values, virtues and vices

Some 13 million students enrol in the US community college system each year, but only about a third graduate. How can completion rates be improved? Zoë Corbyn reports on what is being done to turn 'access' into 'success'

As the White Paper that will lay out the government's agenda for change is delayed 'to test proposals more thoroughly', seven former education ministers offer their recommendations. Simon Baker reports

As graduation rates shrink and tuition fees and student debts soar in the US, experts call on the UK sector to heed lessons from the world's academic powerhouse. Sarah Cunnane reports

Prospective students' increased focus on graduate employment prospects and salaries in the wake of tuition fee rises will have profound repercussions for the sector in terms of setting fees, argues Christine Buccella

Much of the Ivy League eschews interviews when filling posts, says Amanda Goodall, and UK universities keen to hire the best should follow suit. But Richard J. Evans, appointed to a chair at Cambridge without any face-to-face contact, begs to differ

Prospectus promises don’t always match reality, so how can young people get what they need to make an informed choice? As the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey reveals what undergraduates really think about campus life, Rebecca Attwood learns that universities are working hard to improve

Whites-only in the 1950s, the University of Texas at Austin now has a majority of non-white students. As the nation's ethnic mix shifts, Jon Marcus asks whether US university campuses are becoming more multicultural or are still segregated along ethnic lines

Reform of the university admissions process has been on the agenda for years. Many favour post-qualifications applications, but a workable system has proved elusive. Rebecca Attwood sets out the background

Steven Schwartz recommended the adoption of PQA in a 2004 report. It went unheeded, but he still believes it would be a better system for UK universities

PQA is just one of the options that Ucas will examine in its review of admissions processes. All possibilities will be considered, says Mary Curnock Cook, the head of the service

Stuart Anderson, whose love of ships launched early and never foundered, still delights in combining work travel with visits to historic vessels globally

Via study-away sites, local partnerships, portals and fully fledged overseas campuses, ambitious universities in the West are increasingly keen to take root elsewhere. John Morgan asks how the overseas market will develop

What do your shoes say about you? More than you think, says Caroline Knowles. They hint at your class, job, where you live and even how you spend your leisure time

Dale Salwak explains how he removes the obstacles that prevent his students connecting with the greatest writer in the English language, allowing them to fall under the Bard's spell

Too few academics are putting themselves forward for the top jobs. Amanda Goodall argues that we must nurture talent, value achievement and pay more if we want to fill the empty chairs

In philosophy, logic is too often considered the only appropriate analytical instrument. Adding fiction to the toolkit can, Michael Boylan argues, offer new and illuminating ways to contemplate human existence and its dilemmas

Why has resistance to the government's plans for universities failed? Alastair Hudson decries the state's success in painting legitimate protest as riot

Recent marches by schoolchildren against tuition-fee hikes and budget cuts signal the revival of a long and illustrious tradition of pupil protests in Britain, Clive Bloom observes

Blind faith in the magic of numbers played a major role in the financial crash. Education must change to ensure that mathematicians have their feet firmly planted on the ground, Chris Ormell argues

The Golden State's mix of public planning, spin-off innovation and private excellence has made it one of the global academy's powerhouses. But funding cuts threaten the University of California's pre-eminence and the precious balance of an interconnected system. Zoë Corbyn reports

Peter Hill recalls his time as a lighthouse keeper, a profession since snuffed out by technology. He misses the arduous hours, grand meals, avian migrants and tall tales in the coal fire's glow

Freedom of speech is passionately defended in UK education, but when Islamic extremism and even terrorism have emanated from some of our campuses, should institutions step in? Matthew Reisz weighs up the hands-on and hands-off approaches

Aspiring and seasoned US journalists alike are looking to tech-savvy graduate schools to help them survive and thrive in a new multimedia environment. Jon Marcus reports

Liberal arts degrees are appearing in the UK and arousing much interest. Protagonists claim that the wide-ranging education provides more rounded individuals who are better prepared for modern employment. Rebecca Attwood writes

The high tuition fees paid by overseas students are an attractive source of revenue in these straitened times. But will higher education reforms change all that? Matthew Partridge investigates

Academics have long been criticised for being out of touch with the real world. Matthew Reisz finds that many make great efforts to dispel ivory tower attitudes, but others believe such habits will never disappear

As public funding shrinks, fundraising becomes crucial for universities. Adrian Beney examines how UK institutions are approaching the challenge and what they can learn from US methods

What is the source of this money? Will we offend anyone if we accept it? Have any laws been broken? Hannah Fearn surveys the ethical minefield of fundraising

The man who financed Facebook is offering 20 two-year $100,000 fellowships to teenagers with big ideas - as long as they leave university. Jon Marcus reports

After four decades of listening to, reading about and reflecting on classical music, Roger Brown points the way to fine-tuning true appreciation

A soaring enrolment rate and a driving ambition to compete globally characterise higher education in South Korea. But how is this all-consuming desire affecting society? asks John Morgan

Mill, Smith and Friedman: look away now. Coalition plans to marketise the academy are a corruption of laissez-faire ideology. Martin Cohen lambasts a liberal approach to 'liberalism'

Some think that traditional peer review, the guardian of sound science, is not up to the task of assessing large-scale multidisciplinary research. Paul Jump puts the question to the experts

For the US academy, sport - particularly American football - isn't a matter of life and death: it's much more important than that. David Gewanter discusses the big-money, big-reputation stakes of the 'cult of escapism' - a mano-a-mano University Challenge

Incisive debate on contemporary issues is curtailed by the glacial pace of academic publishing, argues Tim Luckhurst. Adopting new journalistic models would inject vitality into academics' work