David Willetts moots overseas universities taking part in the REF England’s funding council has been asked to look at whether overseas universities could take part in future research excellence frameworks. By David Matthews 3 April
Athena SWAN extended to research institutes Six publicly funded research institutes have won Athena SWAN awards for promoting good employment practices for women in science. By Holly Else 3 April
Campus close-up: University of Southampton Engineering and maritime technology campus being redeveloped at Boldrewood in collaboration with industry partner By Holly Else 3 April
A team built by numbers won’t add up to much Universities won’t be sustainable or fulfil their missions if they manage academics using research metrics alone, says a senior manager 3 April
Wealthy students ‘should pay higher fees’ Charges could help to subsidise poor students, says Northwestern University president By Chris Parr 3 April
UUK review to look at nine-month contracts Efficiency task forces told to seek savings in radical changes to practices By Jack Grove 3 April
Deepwater Horizon disaster spurs research into underwater ecology BP-funded oceanographers warn of the dangers of neglecting research By Jon Marcus 3 April
Mary Midgley: more than a sum of parts Exasperated by a profusion of loose thinking, the philosopher tackles the assertion that the self is only a manifestation of the physical body By Matthew Reisz 3 April
The power of small steps Libya’s education system requires reform, but effective change can come incrementally, says Darren L. Linvill 3 April
Resolve student complaints within set time limits, says OIA Draft Good Practice Framework proposes adoption of early dispute resolution approach By Jack Grove 3 April
No standard offering of aid for dyslexia Efforts to help identify and support students vary widely among institutions By Barbara Speed 3 April
Zygmunt Bauman rebuffs plagiarism accusation Sociologist claims high-quality scholarship does not depend on obedience to technical rules on referencing By Paul Jump 3 April
Magna Charta Observatory seeks secretary-general to lead mission Pan-European body based in Bologna works to promote the academy’s humanist vocation. Plus the latest higher education jobs and appointments By Matthew Reisz 3 April
Times Higher Education pay survey 2014 What’s behind the big rises for vice-chancellors? Plus, academic pay across the UK By Jack Grove 3 April
Variety Acts and Turns of the Early 1930s Music hall constantly adapted to survive, yet the cultural form is often dismissed. Fern Riddell considers our collective memory 3 April
Sir Graham Hills, 1926-2014 A former principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, acclaimed for his efforts to widen access to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, has died By Chris Parr 3 April
Q&A with Alice Roberts We speak to the new president of the Association for Science Education By John Elmes 3 April
Durham v-c wanted student paper ‘to be an advertisement’ Former Palatinate editors claim they feared expulsion after intervention by Chris Higgins By David Matthews 3 April
Short shrift from staff for Queen Mary’s short form Implementation of QML abbreviation delayed while opposing academics are consulted By Jack Grove 3 April
Higher education contributes £73bn to UK plc UUK report details scope of sector’s economic activity, which adds up to 2.8 per cent of GDP By John Morgan 3 April
More data can lead to poor student choices, Hefce learns Overwhelmed university applicants filter out information to cope, research finds By David Matthews 3 April
Number of students starting PhDs falls The number of students beginning PhDs funded by six research councils has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 2009-10 By Holly Else 3 April
Marking boycott is an unconscionable sanction Many lecturers will not even consider the ‘nuclear option’ of boycotting marking in the pay dispute, says Bill Ashraf 3 April
‘No academic boycott’, Willetts reassures Israelis Universities and science minister at BIRAX conference affirms intention to encourage partnerships for joint scientific research projects By Matthew Reisz 3 April
Overhaul of metrics usage could cut frequency of REF Chair of review into use of metrics suggests REF interval could be cut to once a decade By Paul Jump 3 April
Online exposure ‘leads to higher research paper correction rate’ Blog discussions of flaws spur publishers to effect more changes and retractions, says Paul Brookes By Holly Else 3 April
East meets West in MBA for future masters of universe ‘Billionaires come to us to study’, Chinese business school dean says of his role in £77,000 joint course By David Matthews 3 April
Sir Eric Thomas: plunge in part-time study now ‘much higher priority’ Bristol v-c admits he did not know who was in charge of policy at his institution when he led UUK review By Jack Grove 3 April
Sir David Watson: Russell Group is not all it’s cracked up to be Senior scholar decries ‘divisive’ mission groups and government’s market focus By John Morgan 3 April
Work experience: a good idea in theory Nearly all undergraduates say placements and advice are valuable, but less than half end up using them, survey finds By Holly Else 3 April
Let’s discuss the way we live now Good communication is vital when dealing with allegations of harassment, says Luke Brunning By Luke Brunning 3 April
‘Wolf of Northampton’ Nick Petford defended after criticism UCU letter calls celebration of ‘laddish’ behaviour ‘disturbing’ By Chris Parr 2 April
England sees 24 per cent drop in students from European Union Fall is major factor in student numbers from abroad dropping for first time in almost three decades By David Matthews 2 April
UK has ‘lowest drop-out rate in Europe’ The UK has the lowest higher education drop-out rate in Europe, a new study shows. By Jack Grove 1 April
Gowns and mortarboards ‘could be compulsory’ under Gove Proposals part of raft of measures on the table if education secretary gains HE By Avril Olof 1 April
New Coursera chief pledges better communication with partners The incoming head of the largest massive open online course provider has pledged to improve the way it communicates with its university partners. By Chris Parr 31 March
Liberal arts college libraries take on publishers over ebooks By Carl Straumsheim, for Inside Higher Ed 31 March
Softening of line on Open Access-only REF Non-OA journals acceptable only when they are “the most appropriate publication” By Paul Jump 31 March
GCHQ watches over cyber security degrees GCHQ, the UK’s surveillance agency, is to offer official certification for master’s degrees in cyber security. By Chris Parr 30 March
Osborne praises doctoral training centres George Osborne has predicted that 22 new Centres for Doctoral Training will “inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers”. By Holly Else 29 March
Private college funding to hit £1 billion Nearly £1 billion in state-backed funding will be paid to students at private colleges next year. By Jack Grove 28 March
Universities ‘shape future elites’ through soft power, say peers Lords committee also becomes sixth Parliamentary group to call for students to be removed from net migration count By David Matthews 28 March
State pupils on same grades as private counterparts ‘get better degrees’ Contextual data debate likely to be reopened by landmark Hefce report By Jack Grove 28 March
A terrible policy at a terrible time If Labour does adopt a graduate tax policy it will be making a grave mistake, says Emran Mian 27 March
Oxford drops below Cambridge on state school entrants State school admissions to the University of Oxford fell last year but rose at the University of Cambridge, new figures show. By Jack Grove 27 March
Right-wing academic who was denied promotion wins court ruling By Scott Jaschik, for Inside Higher Ed 27 March
Former Leeds student loses appeal against removal of PhD scholarship Sanaz Raji criticises eight-month wait for decision from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator By Paul Jump 27 March
Cinematic deconstruction: Derrida gets a close-up Film draws on 1980 work to expose philosopher’s ideas to general audience By Matthew Reisz 27 March
Exiled v-c fights to return to Papua New Guinea Students protest in support of Dutch-born university head Albert Schram, expelled by the government in 2013 By David Matthews 27 March
Rwanda in Photographs: Death Then, Life Now Shahidha Bari finds vivid and lurid representations of the unnerving normality of the everyday in today’s Rwanda 27 March
Science and politics – mix for best results By joining forces, scientists and politicians can pack a policy punch, argues Keith Humphreys 27 March
Groundbreaking science is blind to prejudice Hiranya Peiris rebuts the Daily Mail’s impoverished worldview of scientists 27 March
Graduates postpone job hunt as gap years take off Poor career prospects fuel rise in US university leavers seeking ‘funemployment’ By Jon Marcus 27 March
A profitable alignment of interests Johnny Rich on a simple change that could erase student debt, fund universities and boost employability - without costing taxpayers more 27 March
Boards of investigation: on surfing and learning The academic who says riding the waves can boost cross-cultural communication and sustainable tourism By Matthew Reisz 27 March
Campus close-up: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London Theatre practice and a funded research base make Central more oversubscribed than Oxbridge By Matthew Reisz 27 March