News

Plans to involve three bodies in resolving student complaints are "a recipe for confusion", the government has been told.

Effort to mitigate AAB and core-and-margin effects spells trouble for post-92s. Simon Baker reports

Ahead of Lord Woolf’s report on the scandal of the LSE’s links with Libya, Christopher Davidson examines the issue of UK university funding by Gulf autocracies in the light of the Arab Spring

Watchdog says institutions may suffer for selling what they can't provide. David Matthews reports

Differential offers are a legitimate means to 'control market', Ulster v-c says. David Matthews writes

Sector can use toolkit to gauge whether it is worth investing in coaching. David Matthews reports

The new head of the Science and Technology Facilities Council has "an understanding of academic research, which his predecessor sadly lacked", a senior academic has said.

Lack of language skills hampers UK graduates' efforts to find employment. Jack Grove reports

When in China, don't mention Tibet but do wash well, firm's code advises. David Matthews reports

"No one would want to be a shambling, rotting corpse," said Marcus Leaning, senior lecturer in media studies at the University of Winchester. "Yet since the early 2000s, there has been a proliferation of zombies expanding out of traditional media. I am interested in the meaning of zombies to producers and fans."

'Abysmal' Australian provision may isolate nation as East rises. Phil Baty reports from Adelaide

A survey showing that one in 10 British students has no interest at all in visiting, working or volunteering overseas has been described as "truly shocking" by the chief executive of the British Council.

Movement demands increase in low levels of state investment in the academy. Paul Jump reports

Dracula, extraterrestrial bugs and the undead are aiding the study of microbiology. Jack Grove writes

To judge by the gleefully bull-headed ignorance shown by politicians, bloggers and others, scientific evidence and scholarly analysis may soon count for nothing. Jon Marcus considers where this anti-intellectual climate leaves the academy

But head of leading non-profit institution vows to block 'political' representation. John Morgan writes

The merging of two prestigious fellowship schemes could set a new global standard in support of early-career independent researchers, it has been suggested.

University of Wales declares that reports of its demise are premature. David Matthews reports

Initial Ucas data indicate big drop in applications from those aged 19 and over. Jack Grove writes

The vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge has offered a robust defence of research as “inherent to the very fibre of a university” and bemoaned the “deafening” silence from government over persistent concerns about postgraduate funding.

Part-time students are to be given an extra year of grace before they become eligible to start repaying tuition fee loans after the government agreed to changes that had been put forward by the sector and Liberal Democrat peers.

A cross-party committee of peers in the House of Lords is to investigate how the European Union can help higher education across the continent to boost jobs, growth and innovation.

By Kaustuv Basu, for Inside Higher Ed

The 40 per cent reduction in public spending on universities over the next four years will help contribute to the biggest fall in education spending over such a period since the 1950s, a respected policy institute has estimated.

The first set of figures on university applications for 2012 entry, when the fee cap rises to £9,000, shows a 9 per cent fall compared to the same time last year.

Researchers should not feel obliged to pursue research favoured by prestigious journals, David Willetts has said.

The chair of the council of the University of Wales has stepped down after the education minister called for him to consider his position.

One in five higher education institutions in England is seeking to lower its fee levels to less than £7,500 to bid for additional student places, the Office for Fair Access has said.

The research councils might never recoup the money they have spent on the troubled Shared Services Centre, the National Audit Office has warned in a critical report.

Lessons for UK as book details often inappropriate focus of American institutions. Matthew Reisz writes

The head of University College London's Australian campus has been assured by the nation's immigration minister that it will benefit from relaxed student-visa rules, after concerns that it would be excluded.

State repeals ban against police on campus after reports of criminal activity. Jack Grove reports

The Greek research system should be overhauled to help boost economic growth, a government-commissioned review has found, as the state-reliant sector faces a squeeze in the nation's debt meltdown.

With acceptances way up, is over-recruitment being used to beat drop in 2012-13? asks Simon Baker

Higher education's unions are divided on the £150 national pay offer, as employers predict tougher wage battles ahead when higher tuition fees create a belief that the sector is "awash with cash".

Widespread uncertainty among partner colleges after abrupt policy shift. David Matthews reports

Consultation on 'unfair' system could result in students sitting A levels early. Jack Grove reports

Degree courses lasting just over 18 months and costing £4,800 a year are to be offered by Coventry University.

Much has been made of the supposedly supine response of vice-chancellors to the wholesale reform of higher education by the coalition government.

The business world's "counter-intuitive" failure to capitalise on the UK's ever-increasing research excellence needs to be addressed by the government, the author of a report into UK research has said.

David Matthews reports from Kampala on problems with public funding and academic freedom

Cutting teaching subsidies could "kill off" evening-class courses, which are a key route into part-time degrees, a conference has heard.

Collection of scholarly essays attacks 'distorting' effects of coalition reforms. Simon Baker reports

Frustration with audit culture has driven a scholar to murder - in fiction. Matthew Reisz investigates

LSE awaits outcome of probe into Gaddafi regime gifts to publish guidelines. David Matthews reports

The bronze lamp in the form of an improbable bird takes its origins from the drawings of grotesque beasts by the Dutch designer and silversmith Arent van Bolten, dating from around 1620.

Bath v-c tells Simon Baker how appointment strategy is vital to sector's long-term health

Too much emphasis on graduate employability in Key Information Sets could play into the hands of private for-profit providers at the expense of universities, a vice-chancellor has warned.

A former president of the British Academy has argued that universities are subject to “elaborate forms of accountability that reveal little about how effectively students are taught or how much they learn on different courses”.

The UK research base is the most productive in the world but its position could be threatened by relatively low investment, a government-commissioned report warns.

The status and influence of chief scientific advisors varies wildly across government, with many advisors lacking sufficient independence, oversight, or ministerial access to properly fulfil their briefs.

By Steve Kolowich, for Inside Higher Ed