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The next parliament is likely to include a disproportionately high number of MPs who graduated from Oxbridge, new research suggests.

Many universities are using “unlawful” terms allowing them to make “unfair” changes to courses midway through a degree, a consumer watchdog has said

Elite claim ever-greater share, while 11 institutions fight over remaining 11%, says NUS Scotland analysis

Efforts to trumpet the value of social science can misrepresent important controversies and subtleties, says Martyn Hammersley

Iraq region’s bid to fix ‘dysfunctional’ sector included ‘huge investment’ to send postgrads to Britain, but payoff fell short, says minister

The results show that most people in the sector enjoy their work and their colleagues, but some are happier than others

The “Picasso of low-temperature geochemistry” has died

From post-Taliban Afghanistan to quality control: Global Education Dialogue offered insights on topics such as access for women and private providers

We speak to one of the most highly cited global researchers about her move to become director of the health services and delivery programme at the NIHR

The standards of research and teaching would be best protected by department-based reviews, argues Roger Brown

Academics’ tendency to feel they have not ‘done enough’ needs to be tempered by an appreciation of colleagues’ achievements

Russell Group’s review body on ice after education secretary hits pause button

A professor giving students one-on-one help to understand their subject raises questions about the nature of university teaching, says Brian Bloch

Nathan Smith looks back at a film movement that has challenged stigmas and defended the transgressive

Board claims in public letter that Labour has ignored the ‘legitimate concerns of vice-chancellors’

Move described as ‘early job application’ for council to be chief regulator after the election

Left impugns tactics in Universities Superannuation Scheme dispute but negotiators claim improvements were achieved

HEA study offers tips drawn from first-hand accounts of both participants and course creators. Plus the latest higher education appointments

Report into ESRC network recommends careful monitoring before next stage

Excellent teaching shouldn’t cost the earth, even in a market where price is used as a proxy for quality, argues Carl Lygo

Aberystwyth University will run voluntary severance scheme despite having already spent millions on restructuring

For 15 months, social geographer Jane Dyson lived in a mountain village with young Indian workers, bonding over ‘mountain ice cream’

Polina Bayvel of University College London says investment strategy missed the transformative potential of communications technologies

Foreign flavours enrich the English tongue, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

‘Culture change’ needed to avoid job losses

Compilers of a league table say fear of offending students has gone too far

Prison Service is stopping critics from accessing UK jails, scholar claims

31 per cent of scholars think international students’ English skills are not up to scratch

Kevin Spacey to play a key cameo in new home for fashion, fine art, film and theatre students

Chief scientific adviser is ‘amused’ by funding conspiracy theories but dismisses them as ‘complete invention’

Anshuman Mondal, author of Islam and Controversy, deplores ‘impoverished’ discussion of rights and obligations

Writing may be on the wall for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, according to policy thinktanks

David Phoenix explains why his institution is moving away from the model of big multidisciplinary departments

More than two-thirds of all graduates stay close to home for their first job, a new report reveals

The European Commission’s former chief scientific adviser has spoken out about the ‘push back’ she said she received against her role in Brussels

University admissions should be anonymised to prevent a bias against black and ethnic minority students, a thinktank has said

Proposed amendment seeks to emphasise importance of freedom of speech

By Colleen Flaherty, for Inside Higher Ed

English vice-chancellors have warned Labour not to commit to lowering fees to £6,000, saying the policy would lead to funding cuts for universities

A new study has found restrictions on freedom of expression at four out of five UK universities

A selection of impact statements submitted by medical schools to the 2014 research excellence framework has been published in a new report

In the 21^st century digital age, many universities are falling over backwards in a bid to attract students through their technology offering.

Royal Society professor for public engagement sets out his goals for new role

Move follows row over ‘shadow’ disciplinary panel set up in reaction to institution’s performance management

Fewer than four out of 10 MPs think that UK universities do a good job of using their funding efficiently, according to a new poll

The government has effectively confirmed that England’s quality-related research budget will still be distributed on the basis on 3* and 4* research.

University funding levels will remain broadly similar next year to those announced in 2014, the government’s annual grant letter has today confirmed

But experts warn numbers are disguising fall in part-time and mature applicants

The government has announced a series of new restrictions on private colleges, including “rapid response” investigations of fraud allegations.

Apartment block may have had large role in the early Cambridge University Press

As he turns 80, the writer discusses the ‘golden age’ of universities and the (imagined) sexual indiscretions of academics

An estate master plan will help the institution equip students for the 21st century, v-c Steve West says

Newcastle scholar Sugata Mitra’s $1 million prize helps fund self-organised learning environments worldwide

Emergency services from around the world come to train at the small village with a unique connection to Texas A&M

The work of Thomas Pynchon makes its Hollywood debut in a nostalgia noir tale faithfully adapted by a kindred spirit

Social media can help the literary world come alive for students, says academic Rosie Miles. Plus the latest higher education appointments

An academic’s conviction as a paedophile was kept under wraps in the 1990s. Would a cover-up happen today, asks Geoffrey Alderman

Financing options fail to live up to the promises made by politicians, says Alan Ruby