The REF is a prime example of the sort of elaborate, burdensome process that potentially adds comparatively little value

State school students are more prominent at undergraduate level, but what about postgraduate, ask Claire Hann and Danny Dorling

Revelations that a Chinese university suspended an academic for ‘moral misconduct’ provoked weeks of online controversy

The volatility of current affairs means that the old certainties about how to identify receptive markets are gone, says Anna Esaki-Smith

Time, money, planning and monitoring are key to improving standards, say Eric Fredua-Kwarteng and Samuel Kwaku Ofosu 

Duncan Ross outlines what’s new for the 2020 edition of the University Impact Rankings and how universities can get involved 

More action needs to be taken to confront the toxicity around academic research and job precariousness, argue five academics

Steps are being taking to improve faculty diversity, but real progress requires a long-term commitment to a holistic approach, argues Lee Hedgepeth

As student numbers pass the 50 per cent mark, it is more important than ever to promote the value of HE, and counter perceptions that more means worse

Academic lawyers have helped to resolve legal puzzles, but wider engagement can be demanding and ineffective, says Kenneth Armstrong

Universities should offer a safety net for recent graduates forced into menial work by financial circumstances, says Roy Celaire

Stronger ties between educators and companies will be essential if humans are to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution, says Adenekan Dedeke

Improved citation performance amid falling funding is the result of gaming, say Alberto Baccini, Eugenio Petrovich and Giuseppe De Nicolao

Open access requirements for arts, humanities and social sciences need to reflect the distinctive nature of those disciplines, writes Sarah Kember

Universities should offer residence halls that support students’ socialising rather than expensive luxury-style apartments, argue Fred Volk and Joshua Brown 

Are distance learning programmes still a profitable and academically beneficial pursuit for universities? Neil Kemp asks

Obama’s election supposedly heralded a ‘post-racial’ era, yet inequalities persist for the black community. Today, HBCUs have lessons for us all

Universities rightly make every effort to protect learners’ feelings. But what about teachers’ feelings, asks Alice Wickenden 

Spaces can energise or demotivate. Using them to nurture well-being should be seen as an investment not a cost, says Derek Clements-Croome

History suggests that universities will lure students with the chance to repay fees via post-graduation work, says Peter Brady

A cross-continental push to improve Europe’s best universities will make them more globally competitive, says Jan Palmowski

Encouraging students to adopt active lifestyles alongside traditional mental health treatments could help to improve outcomes, says Jem Spectar

Academics need to be more aware of this most insidious form of bullying, say Bailey Sousa and Alex Clark

Major advances in our ability to acquire data on human health mean we now need to equip biomedical engineers with data science skills, says Frederick Epstein 

Universities’ international experience is a boost to knowledge transfer beyond national borders, says Baiba Pētersone