Leader

In an age of political civil war, the question of why the Right is so under-represented in academia is important

While some fear a dystopian outcome in which private innovators bypass the university, others are more sanguine about the potential threats to the sector

Data, and the increasingly sophisticated way it is martialled, has enabled remarkable improvements in graduation rates and quality of education

Excellence in an institution is measured by the value of its research and the quality of its teaching, not by the height of the ivy on its walls

In a unique but under-pressure university system, there is still cause for optimism, as the new Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings show

How do you solve a problem like REF selection? Research-active status may be defined by formal or informal means, but is there a realistic alternative?

Tertiary education must be considered as a whole if governments are to prepare the workforce they need

Theresa May’s new industrial strategy will support universities’ R&D, but more partnerships with business – while never entirely risk-free – are needed

Since the Brexit vote, UK institutions have been losing friends and influence around the world. That will continue unless they win political support

Modern languages are struggling in an inward-looking nation. Revival may come by showing the young they are a route to a more connected world

Teaching is being looked at seriously by the government, but those providing still feel overlooked and underappreciated

Our age of unenlightenment demands that institutions share their intellectual and moral capital with the communities around them

Top universities recognise that groundbreaking ideas don’t all develop and stay in one country, and neither do those who create and study them

As the US wrestles with a strongman premier, could more authoritarian leadership help universities battered by funding woes and disciplinary tyranny?

What is a university? The Lords debate on the HE bill asked this very question and reminds us that in 2017, clarifying their purpose is more vital than ever

As campus fortunes fluctuate with changing oil, currency and tuition prices, a Brexit bounce is a possibility. The state can steer the academy towards it

Virtual reality may be set to make an impact on learning, but can it reveal who will keep their resolutions?

Brexit. Trump and his howling climate changers. A sector bête noire as PM. The TEF. Turkey. Ed Balls cutting a rug. It’s been a year, all right

That students debate how to treat campus memorials to figures linked with unsavoury historical events is perhaps a fitting legacy

Few disagree that more higher education is a good thing, but it’s tricky to balance universities’ costs and manageable fees

The male chauvinism faced by female political leaders is not worlds away from that too often encountered in academia

In the TACTICS nations, just as in the UK and the US, universities and democracy depend on each other

As scholars in the UK and US mull the future after Trump’s triumph and Brexit, academics must focus on making society’s walls fall

As push-pull factors exert their force on scholars in the UK, the Article 50 ruling buys universities more time to argue their case against a shifting EU backdrop

Western universities’ desire to go abroad and multiply, in a variety of models, is not always ill-advised

Campus violence could halt the homeward flow of the internationally mobile researchers South Africa’s academy needs

The government is a broken record on overseas student numbers when all the evidence suggests that academic mobility is a win-win situation

Pursuit of excellence, showcased in the WSJ/THE College Rankings, must run parallel with the mission of social mobility 

As state universities struggle in the face of funding cuts, we must not forget their mission and influence on civilisation itself

The world judges in black and white and only strict adherence to principle can regain the public’s trust

Funding, freedom from regulation and staff of the highest calibre are the keys to global success

UK prime minister May’s schools and higher education policymaking relies on anecdote and politicians’ own experience, not evidence

In a smaller but more polarised world, refugees’ appetite for study speaks to higher education’s continuing role as a force for good

Undergraduate or star scholar, status seems to offer little protection against feeling unworthy while less privileged students may be more at risk

Will an Alpine holiday make Theresa May reflect on what is lost when science and education become collateral damage?

While political pledges to scrap fees in the UK and US appeal to many, a debt-free approach will leave someone counting the cost

Universities are divided over tech in teaching but as the Ebola crisis raged a Mooc proved to be a life-saving pedagogical tool

Easing student visa rules at just four selective universities is a failure to see internationalism as a post-Brexit force for good

Unease over the suggestion to tie work to universities overlooks the reality that the REF is an institutional review

Institutions planning for the future would be wise to talk to one of their artificial intelligence researchers

The gargantuan report with its scholarly focus raises questions over who will digest its intellectual arguments

Academia, like journalism, can adapt to the digital landscape by seeing opportunities, not obstacles, and with bold reimaginings

With expertise being vilified, institutions must re-establish their relevance to ‘real people’. Fortunately, they are ideally placed to do so

Post-Brexit years will be full of uncertainty that will take its toll on the sector even if worst-case scenarios don’t come to pass

The exercise has the potential to shake up the current hierarchy and will be judged on whether it revises how firms and students view universities

In India as in the UK, highly stratified systems have negatives, especially for first-generation students

Amid the cases for and against Brexit, two eye-opening graphs highlight key points to ponder ahead of the poll

Plans for handling institutional failure face scrutiny as storm clouds gather and universities stockpile for a rainy day

Scrutiny of datasets informing the teaching excellence framework will ramp up, and rightly so, given the high stakes and risk of misuse

The argument that v-cs will jump ship if their salary doesn’t match that of commercial comparators rings hollow

Class is a national fixation yet if we truly want social mobility we must stop talking about it and take steps to make it a reality

Among all the changes in an international higher education sector, one constant is the primacy of integrity and quality

With targeted help from the government, the country’s universities have reasserted their quality and regained their global standing

China’s motives, like the West’s, are mixed, but it clearly has a role to play in building capacity in African higher education

The book is far from obsolete. Our feature recommends key texts for students, and one v-c looks to Machiavelli for advice

The academy’s focus on prestige makes sense, but odd-couple pairings can be as valuable as luxury ‘brands’

Some say of newer institutions that more means less, but that’s not true – more universities mean a larger economy

Sport at university can be a draw for some, but not all students want to take part – or support the costs of their provision

UK universities must compete for talent with places where you can put a roof over your head on an academic’s salary – and maybe even a bus driver’s

The UK is an energising force on the Continent, with staff and student mobility crucial to our ability to compete internationally