Features

Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why scholars must share some responsibility for destabilising them

Three decades after the abolition of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics, some commentators still lament the supposed loss of locally focused vocational education. But even as the political winds buffet them, do post-92s offer the solution to the UK’s skills problem? John Morgan reports

All academics have had that anxiety dream about standing up to give a lecture, only to realise they have forgotten to prepare anything – or to put on any clothes. But real teaching failures are rarely so disastrous – and many are teachable moments. Seven academics tell us their hard-earned lessons

As politicians begin to confront America’s student debt crisis, Charlie Eaton explains how public opinion turned so decisively against the financialisation of US higher education and why full loan cancellation is now on the cards

The grip of Silicon Valley on commerce and culture is huge and ever-growing. But as concerns mount about tech firms’ ethics, is there anything that universities – with vastly lower research and salary budgets – can do to put them on a more responsible trajectory? Four experts give their views

With both Oxford and Cambridge seeking new vice-chancellors, Rosa Ellis examines the unique pressures of leading these prestigious universities and the qualities that successful candidates will need to do the job

Border restrictions, differing national Covid strategies and changing demographics have all made significant impacts on overseas recruitment over the past two years. Simon Baker examines the latest data from five major recruiting nations and considers what they might presage for the future

A recent survey confirms that higher education continues to offer a safe environment for a certain kind of abuser: the successful professor who brings in large grants, say Nanna Haug Hilton and Susanne Täuber

As the pandemic increases public scrutiny of science, the UK Parliament is holding another inquiry into the long-running issue of reproducibility. Five of its contributors give their views on how sloppy science can be eliminated and trust be more firmly rooted 

Students who escaped the chaos in Kabul are beginning their second terms at overseas universities. But can they concentrate on their studies amid trauma, worries about their families and uncertainty about their future prospects? Pola Lem considers what more universities can do to help

Teaching modules intensively, rather than in parallel, has had positive results at the handful of institutions that have tried it. But would it work for all students and all subjects? And would academics trade autonomy in course design for more research time? Anna McKie reports

In John Gilbey’s seasonal tale, life imitates on-screen romance when a film crew is duped into choosing the distinctly unphotogenic University of Rural England as the location for its next blockbuster

As the season of goodwill comes around again, warm words about collegiality and fellowship have been dutifully corralled into all-staff missives from university leaders. But in an era of management, metrics and industrial unrest, does the image of the academy as a commonwealth of scholars still bear scrutiny? Seven academics have their say 

Coyness, contention and competing agendas all hamper historians and sociologists of sex. Matthew Reisz speaks to those who choose, nevertheless, to probe this most sensitive and intimate of subjects

A push to end the habit of assessing researchers by their publication metrics is gaining momentum. But are journal impact factors really as meaningless as is claimed? And will requiring scientists to describe their various contributions really improve fairness and rigour – or just bureaucracy? Jack Grove reports

On 15 October 1971, the first edition of The Times Higher Education Supplement was published. In the five decades since, the publication now known as Times Higher Education has charted the expansion and marketisation of the UK sector while taking an ever more global perspective. Three editors reflect on their time at the helm

Saikat Majumdar surveys developments from the Gulf to South Korea in light of the closure of Yale-NUS College

In the first of our new ‘talking leadership’ interview series, Rosa Ellis meets the Johns Hopkins University president to discuss how he is realigning the institution to educate students about democracy and encourage them to contest ideas

New Zealand’s embrace of Māori vocabulary goes hand-in-hand with the incorporation of Māori understandings into curricula. But is a debate about the unintended consequences of this move being stifled by fear of speaking out? John Ross reports

John Morgan meets the Nobel prizewinning father of nudge economics, who believes that the dismal science can only be improved by taking account of people’s ‘predictable mistakes’ 

When the current generation of university leaders applied for their posts, none of the job descriptions mentioned Covid-19. So how have they found the past 18 months? And what about the future, economic, political and environmental? We asked 180 leaders from around the globe. Paul Jump reports

Basing offers on actual results, uniformly adjusted for previous educational disadvantage, would be more transparent and just, says Quintin McKellar

With contention about diversity adding to concerns about employability and declining student numbers, does Classics in the US need rebranding or rethinking? Paul Basken reports

In the third decade of the so-called Asian century, European and North American universities and governments continue to neglect the world’s most populous continent. As Asia grows ever more powerful, this must change, scholars tell Joyce Lau

The pandemic has exposed some anglophone universities’ financial over-reliance on overseas students. But if internationalisation takes a step back in the coming years, how much will be lost pedagogically? And will anything be gained? Anna McKie reports

Nicholas Till reflects on the path that has led him from research on opera to direct political action

A new term is beginning in the northern hemisphere, and many campuses are reopening. But are academics relishing a return to relative normality or fearful of unvaccinated students? And what has the Covid experience taught them about their approach to teaching? Six scholars offer their perspectives

As an international review of the UK’s REF begins even before the assessment panels have done their work, has the exercise’s reliance on rereading published papers finally had its day? Might it be time for metrics? Or something else entirely? Jack Grove looks around the world for options  

Keeping going through the pandemic has proved a huge challenge for many working in universities. Being asked to present a story involving an abused child proved a step too far for Rachel O’Donnell

Much of the language now used by universities feels like a kind of literary lockjaw that is too dull even to poke fun at. Joe Moran considers the causes and disastrous consequences

The narrative that the humanities are haemorrhaging students, funding and political favour is deeply felt around the world. But the evidence of the disciplines’ decline is considerably more nuanced, finds Simon Baker

Resistance to the knowledge generated by science will only be overcome with the help of the humanities. But what can universities do to bridge C. P. Snow’s famous divide between these fields, which endures to this day?

Academics’ reading lists are increasingly directed by algorithms. But are the recommendation services of platforms such as Google Scholar, ResearchGate and Mendeley distorting science? And might AI ultimately lead it to a disastrous echo chamber? David Matthews reports

It is 2041. Knee-jerk politics is conspicuous by its absence and students are willing to actually hear each other. But is this odd spectacle a premonition or just a dream, wonders Jonathan Zimmerman

The pandemic has accelerated numerous experiments in assessment for the digital age, moving beyond simple knowledge recall. But is the traditional exam really obsolete? As the dust settles on another marking season, seven academics give their widely differing views

There is still much controversy about whether the virus that causes Covid-19 was released from a laboratory. David Sanders considers the nature of ‘gain-of-function’ research, what it can teach us – and the safeguards we need to put in place

Artificial intelligence will soon be able to research and write essays as well as humans can. So will genuine education be swept away by a tidal wave of cheating – or is AI just another technical aid that teaching and assessment will evolve to take account of? John Ross reports

Academics need to think far more carefully about how they define and police the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate knowledge, argues Michael D. Gordin

With a vast youth population but relatively low participation rates, higher education in the Asean region looks ripe for expansion. But can challenges over funding, quality and regional cooperation be overcome? Joyce Lau reports 

Recent cuts and scares have cast doubt on ministers’ commitment to harnessing science in pursuit of a levelled-up, post-Brexit innovation economy. Questions also remain about how funding should be distributed and directed. Jack Grove examines the lessons from history and from overseas

A PowerPoint marathon or a ‘captured’ lecture will always be a pale imitation of a live experience, in which an expert practitioner taps into ‘the dangerous energy of all those watching eyes’, says Richard Sugg

Public confusion is one thing, but some subjects provoke quizzical and sometimes dismissive frowns even among colleagues from different departments. Here, nine academics set the record straight about what they do – and why it matters

Her long career as a psychologist and a college president has shown Beverly Daniel Tatum how crucial racial identity formation is and how overriding negative stereotypes about minority students’ performance can be like ‘water in a parched land’. Matthew Reisz hears why

What strikes some as a tedious chore prone to bias can transform lives and evoke enduring gratitude. Academics should embrace the opportunity to knit the plot of a person, says Douglas Dowland

With the education of a generation of young people thrown into chaos, many universities are rethinking how they admit and support those most in need of assistance. Anna McKie examines how the pandemic will change attitudes and approaches to widening access

As vaccination programmes offer the prospect of a return to physical teaching, what aspects of their pre-pandemic life will academics most heartily re-embrace (or at least touch elbows with)? And are there aspects of locked-down life that they will miss? Our six contributors offer a range of perspectives

With wealth and donations becoming concentrated in ever fewer, ever more influential hands, and with some institutions languishing while the elite flourish, Paul Basken asks whether it is time for American colleges and universities to start biting the hand that feeds   

‘The first Black woman on the tenure track in theoretical cosmology’ tells Matthew Reisz about her struggles to reconcile a pristine childhood image of science with the reality she confronts by using selective citation to marginalise racist or sexist scientists

Covid-19 has prompted an explosion in preprints but has curtailed networking and underlined the extra pressures on women and junior academics. Simon Baker asks whether the pandemic era is a dark blip or a bright new dawn

Efforts to improve access and promote diversity are often undermined by assumptions that they are at odds with ‘excellence’ and academic freedom. Drawing on her experiences all the way from Iran to California, Pardis Mahdavi explains how we can and must do better

With overseas enrolments hitting the buffers during the pandemic, debate rages over whether higher education’s excessive reliance on this income stream is self-inflicted – and how universities can keep themselves on the financial rails in future. John Ross reports

Graduate employment outcomes are obviously crucial. Yet we must be wary of judging courses and institutions on the basis of a few useful but misleading metrics

Amid the economic ravages inflicted by the coronavirus, the EU has agreed a huge stimulus package. But while research in some countries looks set for a transformational boost, it may be a different story for teaching

The pandemic brought out the best in teaching staff in many universities. Yet countervailing forces are stamping out their creativity, warns Andy Farnell

The pandemic has prompted dire predictions about international student enrolment at anglophone universities. But will those fears come to pass? Is there an alternative to standard international education? And how much do universities really spend on recruitment agents? Ellie Bothwell reports

After her first book, The Entrepreneurial State, catapulted her into the academic stratosphere, the UCL economist has paused her audiences with senior politicians to write a follow-up that uses the Apollo moonshot as a model for a mission-based approach to social challenges

Until the pandemic forced teaching to go online almost overnight, universities were widely considered impervious to major change. But if one age-old practice can be flipped on its head, why not others? We ask six academics where they would direct their efforts first 

Universities’ wariness of online instruction was suddenly swept aside last year by Covid-19. But how successful has the overnight digital transition been? Is it sustainable? And should it be? Paul Jump runs through the results of our major survey of university staff

Freshly inaugurated US president Joe Biden owes his election victory to swing states in America’s Rust Belt. But is his plan to revitalise them by creating ‘millions of new manufacturing and innovation’ jobs realistic? And how best can universities play their part? John Morgan reports

The tired stereotype of the unworldly scholar has often been used to justify giving excessive influence over university management to businesspeople and administrators. There is ample evidence that this is a recipe for disaster, argues Terence Kealey