Black female academics in UK ‘face pervasive bullying’ Unsupportive senior staff and ‘unjust’ promotion practices are major problems reported by black female professors, says equity researcher By Jack Grove 4 February
‘Macron network’ bid to cement civic ties ‘no matter what Brexit brings’ Ljubljana-led, Warwick-founded alliance aims to ensure even spread of development across EU regions and maintain UK collaboration By John Morgan 3 February
Finns join journal subscription boycott movement Negotiations with Taylor & Francis collapse over cost as journal outages spread across Europe By David Matthews 1 February
REF 2021: reflections on main panel B's input Taking a more flexible approach to output numbers is a welcome development for REF 2021 but the challenge remains to use metrics in a responsible way, says David Price By David Price 1 February
New English minister signals end to ‘needless’ university bashing Striking a different tone from that of his predecessor, Chris Skidmore says value for money is about ‘much more’ than graduate salary figures By John Morgan 31 January
Small town or London universities ‘may be allowed to go under’ Sussex vice-chancellor predicts ‘variable’ approach to regulatory support for vulnerable institutions By John Morgan 31 January
Female students in ‘sexy’ clothes seen as less competent Dressing ‘sexy’ can negatively influence perceptions of competence, effort and performance, finds new study By Matthew Reisz 31 January
REF 2021: funders let universities submit redundant staff’s work Funding councils acknowledge that policy U-turn may have 'unintended consequences for individuals' By Rachael Pells 31 January
One in three unconditional offers made by just seven universities Ucas data show that, at three institutions, three-quarters of all offers made to applicants were unconditional By Simon Baker 31 January
Robert-Jan Smits: in search of the ‘big flip’ to open access The architect of Plan S tells of his next move to become a university leader in Eindhoven and discusses the art of not taking life too seriously By Rachael Pells 31 January
Precious cargo: archaeologist buys plane seat for Neanderthal Christopher Hunt shared row with precious remains after granting of ‘passport’ By Rachael Pells 31 January
Call for sector guidelines on academic freedom on social media Universities and scholars told to establish ‘the boundaries of acceptable speech’ as staff report meetings with managers over online activities By Ellie Bothwell 31 January