Features

A punitive attitude towards incarceration limits the access of the US’ uniquely large prison population to college degrees. But there are signs that attitudes are finally shifting. Paul Basken considers the arguments and looks at some prime examples of what can be achieved with a captive audience

Overseas branch campuses have mushroomed in the past two decades, but with the risks larger than initially assumed and the returns less certain, stories of abandoned ventures have begun to mount. Ellie Bothwell asks whether the model still has a future 

Universities in most nations are now obliged to prioritise graduate career prospects, but how it should be approached depends on your view of the meaning of education. Academics need to think that through much more clearly, says Tom Cutterham

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

Brexit or no Brexit, scientists across the continent have an obligation to keep standing up for ideals such as integrity, trust and cooperation, writes the European Union’s former director-general of research, Robert-Jan Smits

Western ‘settler’ nations such as Canada and Australia are wrestling with how to redress historical injustices visited on their native populations. One proposal is for universities to embrace Indigenous knowledge. But what does that mean in practice? Will it achieve its aims? And where does it leave science? Matthew Reisz considers the arguments

The serious-minded pursuit of knowledge is not incompatible with an enjoyment of some rather more popular pursuits. Six academics talk about their passion for a topic conspicuous by its absence from the scholarly literature 

As summer approaches in the northern hemisphere, six academics give their personal guides to their favourite vacation destinations 

Lincoln Allison may have lived through the glory days of academic publishing, but he still wonders whether the countless hours he spent writing his 14 moderately successful tomes would have been better spent on the tennis court

Ellen Kirkpatrick has yearned for an academic career for many years. But 18 months after finally earning her doctorate, she is no longer sure she wants to remain in a sector defined by precarity, exploitation – and ‘quit lit’ 

Most universities still rely on exams and assessed essays to grade their students. But as the fourth industrial revolution, employability and student satisfaction all rise up the agenda, many experts are suggesting that assessment needs to much more closely resemble real-world tasks. Anna McKie marks the arguments   

Recent controversies in Australia over vice-chancellors’ pay, Ramsay Centre funding and the role of academic presses have raised questions about whether university boards have too few – or, perhaps, too many – members from scholarly backgrounds. John Ross chairs the discussion

Neil Dagnall and Ken Drinkwater tell Matthew Reisz about the rare pleasures of teaching and researching belief in ghosts, alien abductions and conspiracy theories

Dutch universities are conspicuously and consistently successful. Yet their funding is declining and their embrace of internationalism has put them on a collision course with the populist right. John Morgan assesses the mood in Leiden, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Maastricht

International conferences are a huge boon to academics, allowing them to hear about new findings, make new connections and, above all, enjoy the physical manifestation of their virtual global community. But is all that footfall worth the huge carbon footprint it leaves? Joanna Kidman is increasingly unsure 

English studies is a traditional big beast in the academy, but there are concerns that changes in student behaviour could put it on the endangered list. Seven academics give their views on whether and how the discipline needs to evolve

The use of VR in psychology experiments is being driven not just by increasingly affordable technology but also by concerns about the reproducibility of many real-world studies. But do humans really behave in the virtual world as they do in reality? And does it matter? David Matthews investigates

The quality of Indian higher education outside a few elite institutions is notoriously poor, and a slew of initiatives aimed at addressing it have made little impact so far. Simon Baker analyses the data to assess the scale of the challenge and asks what more could and should be done

Western countries’ determination to tackle the migration crisis without taking any risks with their own personnel is wasteful and counterproductive, the Oxford anthropologist tells Matthew Reisz 

US universities might be world-leading in research terms, but there is scant evidence that this has any bearing on their prowess as educators. Why do institutions of higher education show so little interest and aptitude in instilling genuine learning, asks John Tagg 

The relationship between PhD students and their supervisors is often said to be the most intense in the academy, with huge implications for student success. Yet most supervisors receive little if any training. Here, six academics give their take on how to approach it 

Friendly competition can push us all to do better. But when the competitiveness that fuels excellence and prestige becomes based in the logic of the market, universities lose sight of their true purpose, writes Kathleen Fitzpatrick

The advent of datasets linking graduates’ income to their student records has fuelled calls for certain courses and universities to be excluded from public funding. But, ahead of England’s Augar review of post-18 education, the minister who commissioned the longitudinal education outcomes project, David Willetts, warns against such abuses of the data

Despite its tarnished reputation and history of collapsed ventures, the for-profit sector retains a strong foothold on the US academy. Paul Basken tracks its successes and failures

Political scientists typically see politics as an exercise in consensus-building. But Chantal Mouffe tells John Morgan that the left must learn from right-wing populists’ exploitation of “them and us” narratives if it is not to be vanquished by them

What are university leaders and chief technology officers doing to meet future challenges?

How will the rise of artificial intelligence affect universities’ carbon-based employees? John Gilbey runs the algorithm

Can sharing a city with a more prestigious neighbour make it easier or harder for an institution to realise its value? Jack Grove examines the competition

Anthony Abraham Jack’s new book distinguishes two kinds of under-represented students and sets out what universities need to do if they truly want to recruit the most disadvantaged students. Matthew Reisz writes

Understanding animal behaviour presents many challenges in the field. Matthew Reisz meets Rory Wilson, a biologist who has won awards for his innovative methods of tracking everything from albatrosses to sloths

As universities become ever more wary of negative publicity, leaders who speak out on contentious issues are increasingly finding themselves in hot water. Ellie Bothwell reports

Life as an early career researcher is hard, but when you add being working class into the mix, the obstacles are almost insurmountable, writes an anonymous academic facing the death of her university career

In a rapidly changing world, is a broader approach to the university curriculum needed to develop the critical thinking and creativity increasingly sought after by employers, Anna McKie asks

The UK’s new knowledge exchange framework, whose proposed metrics were unveiled last month, has raised more questions over relationships between universities and business. David Secher and Surya Raghu cast their eye over 40 years of policy evolution on either side of the Atlantic

John Ross examines the state of cross-study and collaboration between Australia and its neighbours in the East

Claims that academics are indoctrinating their students with liberal propaganda are increasingly common in the right-wing media. John Morgan examines why such a conviction has arisen and whether there is any substance to it

Despite huge strides in the past 75 years, a recent forum suggests to Jon Turney that there’s still a way to go before biologists’ deep insights at the micro level are mirrored at the macro

Two researchers who study rainforest resilience tell Jack Grove of their alarm at seeing the devastation wrought by wildfires

Simon Baker examines the rise of China as a research nation and the worries this provokes among some Westerners

Seven academic chemists give their views on the field’s health

Jordanian molecular biologist Rana Dajani talks to Matthew Reisz about her multiple roles as a conspicuously successful feminist, hijab-wearing scientist in the Middle East

Far from being hotbeds of intellectual debate, universities enforce ideological conformity, follow rigid procedures and offer little that enthusiasts could not teach themselves. It is time for radical reform, says Lincoln Allison

Six scholars learn the career and life lessons of their greatest academic missteps

The scholarly calling may be all about intellectual pursuits, but university life is not without its petty irritations. A dozen academics describe the daily distractions that annoy them most

The advent of Plan S promises to turbocharge the open access movement, but amid pushback from researchers and publishers, Rachael Pells examines whether the demand for published research truly merits the disruption

Reforms to the French university admission system have ushered in greater selectivity in an attempt to address high dropout rates. But without adequate filtering by family background, will this disproportionately favour the elite? David Matthews reports from Paris

Some research disciplines have their very own ‘Simon and Garfunkel’. Matthew Reisz talks to some of those whose close and enduring collaborations have convinced them that two voices are better than one

Standardised test scores, interviews, entrance exams, choosing the top percentage of applicants: all are used in university admissions. Ellie Bothwell asks which methods provide the most honest reflection of suitability for higher education

With many doctoral candidates unhappy and reporting mental health problems, Emma Pierson suggests ways supervisors could reduce pressures

Many observers perceive US higher education to be in trouble. They’re missing the big picture, says Steven Brint

When universities accept donations from entities with particular ideological stances, are they sacrificing academic freedom on the altar of Mammon?

As the winter solstice looms in the northern hemisphere, five academics reflect on the light and dark of the dead season

After the Solstice Attack, the University of Rural England has become a bastion of hope and survival, writes John Gilbey. But how far can it push its role as the ultimate post-apocalyptic anchor institution?

Many older academics have a great deal to offer, in terms of both research and teaching the next generation. But should they step aside for the sake of their younger colleagues’ careers? Jack Grove reports

Claims that university education is vital for healthy societies are unconvincing and potentially counterproductive. Better to try to expand the tribe that appreciate the humanities’ relative value, says Nir Evron

A Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal analysis suggests that while the two-year MBA remains extremely strong, shorter alternatives are also becoming highly valued in a time-pressed world. Anna McKie reports

Peer review is lauded in principle as the guarantor of quality in academic publishing and grant distribution. But its practice is often loathed by those on the receiving end. Here, seven academics offer their tips on good refereeing, and reflect on how it may change in the years to come

What single change to university practice would have the most positive and far-reaching consequences? Eight academics and thinkers give us their views

IQ tests are conceptually muddled measures of learned knowledge, self-confidence and social background, says Kenneth Richardson

Chester’s Tim Grady, recently shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize, is proof that smaller universities can produce researchers who compete with the elite. John Morgan writes