World news

Broad support for Serd proposals to reorganise A$4.6bn tax break scheme as current iteration struggles to ignite business investment

Headline enrolment growth masks weaknesses in educational exchange and country’s standing as a TNE player

Secrecy rules tacked on to complaints processes leave students ‘disempowered’ and unable to access social or professional help, ombudsman finds

Government urged to accept proposed reforms after panel recommends measures to protect work across broad range of disciplines

Increase in PhD stipends, efforts to estimate true cost of research and reforms to key grant schemes included in long-awaited recommendations from review panel

More money, control over workloads and protection from AI obliteration also feature in union branch’s log of claims

Treasury reaps the rewards from high contribution rates which appear to be pushing disadvantaged students away from university, analysis finds

‘We know best’ mindset perpetuates Indigenous Australians’ isolation from higher education and wealth, report argues

Business leaders might scoff but they benefit most from an educated populace, according to former opposition leader turned vice-chancellor

While soaring fees are blamed for turning people off university, programmes to forgive fees lure few graduates to the bush

France’s 75 public universities are all running a deficit this year, as researchers warn budget cuts put science at risk 

Technical document, which cast doubt on methodology used in influential study, hit with legal take-down notice from Australian Human Rights Commission

Gender pay gaps worse at Australian universities than other educational institutions, as women dominate senior roles in administration but not academia

Shock decision will put off more students, say critics, with visa grant rates already plummeting

Under-fire Charles Darwin University decides to concentrate on core business after resignation of vice-chancellor

Horse-trading looms, as opposition senators reject legislation outright and crossbenchers demand changes

Requirements around racism, disability and transparency among new proposed benchmarks for retaining registration

Minister outlines vision of value over volume, amid debate over imperatives to ‘make a buck’

Quid pro quo recognition of prior learning seen as a ‘game-changing opportunity’ for Australian students and universities

Leeser promises ‘consultation’ on international education while pruning the ‘thicket of regulation’ in speech to Universities Australia conference

Visa uncertainty hampering ‘free flow’ of scholars, ambassador complains, as security experts warn of Beijing’s ‘voracious’ appetite for foreign research intelligence

Near-decade of funding instability undermining sector’s capacity to deliver for the nation, representative body claims

Universities ‘should be the gathering place where the tribes come together’ in a fraying democracy, Canberra conference hears

Lauded bench scientist-turned-administrator Anne Kelso reflects on gender balance, ‘keeping it real’ and why she left her ‘happy place in the lab’

Sudden departure of Scott Bowman follows outcry over issues in dual-sector university’s training arm

Fees and integrity checks designed for long-stay students risk decimating sector and depriving universities of future enrolments

Pastoral pragmatism reigns as Dunedin’s returning students let their hair down for infamous ‘Flo-Week’

No need to study Down Under because you can do the same courses at home, would-be students told

Findings outline need for systemic whole-of-sector reforms, commissioner says

‘Unique’ university-company partnership would produce GPs geared for country practice without eroding other schools’ placements, backers say

Proposed set-up will not delay Job-ready Graduates overhaul, stand-in boss tells Senate hearing

Researchers brace for renewed funding uncertainty as security checks prove ‘more time-consuming than imagined’

Raft of new policies in wake of terrorist tragedy leaves institutions struggling to balance obligations to well-being and free expression

Joint statement declares support for ‘new form of stewardship’ as legislation faces rocky ride through Senate

Meanjin set for homecoming as QUT assumes custody of ‘cultural icon’, five months after it was deemed ‘no longer viable’

Legislation to create Australia’s tertiary education steward has passed the lower house of federal parliament ahead of a looming Senate showdown

Institutional blind spots around part-time Australian students seen as making life unnecessarily difficult ‘for people on the breadline’

Outpouring of grief, love and laughs at commemoration ceremony for leader who was ‘still in the making’

Government faces horse-trading in the Senate, as shadow minister flags outright rejection of bill to establish commission

Drop in visa applications reflects the social and economic factors affecting the behaviour of the world’s most globally mobile students, analysts say

Recommendations from strategic R&D review still unknown, but Australian representative groups want them funded anyway

Fund underspent even as its value rises, as government curbs payouts and grant success rates head south

Multiple calls to extend Atec’s remit, as the cost of arts degrees edges past A$54K

Venture reflects imperatives to boost offshore efforts and engage more with region

Mandatory edits of research findings a ‘blind spot’ in integrity debate, says scholar who experienced government agency ‘interference’

Rule changes seen as way of improving safety while avoiding billions of dollars being wasted on ‘unnecessary compliance costs’

Council merely doing preparatory work, institution insists, after politician decries ‘historical revisionism’

Regional Australian university joins nine others in establishing South Asian outpost, promising revenue will support New South Wales heartland

Native English speakers accused of abusing anonymous feedback to offer ‘biting critiques’ of language rather than scholarship

Analyst predicts end to enrolment uncertainty despite pressure on South Asia, onshore demand and postgraduate programmes

Adelaide ‘throwing everything’ at resolving enrolment hitches as students and staff protest

Visa applications from the subcontinent go under the microscope, as Canberra finalises measures to combat onshore poaching

‘Do it properly or don’t bother,’ commission sceptic advises, as others argue for more chiefs

Concerns persist despite eleventh-hour watering down of legislative response to Bondi massacre

‘Cynical’ seasoned scholars advise younger peers to pursue alternative employment, signalling ‘sustainability crisis’ for universities

Private chat forums are ‘valued learning environments’ that can help stop students falling behind, Australian study finds

Financial penalties loom for institutions that fail to crack down on issue as government commits to ‘report card’ system

‘Significantly improved’ agreement with world’s biggest scholarly publisher averts new year shutdown

Australian science lobbyists pin hopes on research and development review, saying ‘one-off’ mini-budget funding boost will not compensate for years of decline

Senator warns universities have ‘few levers’ to pull when things go badly – citing ‘havoc’ at the Australian National University under former vice-chancellor