The newsroom blog

Although universities share a common goal, they face diverse challenges that make it unhelpful to view them as a homogeneous mass

UK academics prize the USS pension. Sacrificing a scheme ‘in rude health’ on the basis of overcautious calculations would cause more disaffection

The mercury has fallen, but an alarming number of issues threaten to ignite and, potentially, give the UK sector some painful burns

Laurie Taylor’s campus creation was loved because it mirrored academics’ own experiences. Although it’s closed, it will live on

The UK’s highly internationalised university system – a major factor in its research success – is a treasure that must be saved from a political altar

After a visit to Hungary, Matthew Reisz reflects on how academics can resist simplistic, government-promoted versions of history 

Experts are out of fashion with today’s political vanguard, but fraudulent research risks further undermining science, says THE’s Asia-Pacific editor John Ross

Outside the anglophone world, universities are under pressure to conduct research in English – but teach in their local language, says David Matthews

If only they knew then what they know now about meetings, work-life balance and the importance of being kind

If students aren’t charged fees, who gets stuck with the bill, and can they keep paying enough to keep the quality of the offering from suffering?

Is Australia’s higher education export industry destined to become a victim of its own success?

THE's Asia-Pacific editor John Ross ponders the pluses of a slow-cooked doctorate

For all the good ascribed to Twitter and the rest, is this time-consuming activity improving things or distracting us from achieving transformative impact?

Positive public outreach is critical for universities to remain on the good side of public opinion, but the University of Reading has found that a little bit of sass can go a long way

There is no holding back the king tide that is the Asian country’s higher education ambition – yet while the torrent carries some riches, what will it sweep away?

At a gathering of young scientists and Nobel prizewinners, David Matthews detects a whiff of mutiny in the air stirred by the pressures of a modern research career

Phil Baty explains the motivation and methodology behind the inaugural Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings 

Invisible hands are pumping up an era of inflation inflation. Is it possible to discern what’s behind the alleged crisis of ever more top marks?

Scholars keep feelings of inferiority well cloaked yet self-doubt can strike any of us and only disclosure alleviates the pain of this hidden epidemic

There are hints of a thaw in the Home Office’s icy hostility to immigrants, but universities could also do more to protect their own staff, says Paul Jump

The boom in international students and researchers on campus has obvious benefits, but Australian universities risk going financially bust if they stop coming, and maybe even if they don’t

Mismatch between the TEF and the Student Engagement Survey hints at whether a marketised system offers students good options or just branding bling

Understanding how and why a university achieved a particular rating has become a tougher job than ever, writes Simon Baker

As universities mull their partnerships with outsiders, all eyes study their power within national economic hierarchies

Cutting academics out of module creation poses risks, but it is a model that will be watched closely, says Chris Havergal

Universities whose names are bywords for quality will stand out amid market noise, writes Phil Baty

The stratospheric sums pocketed by university bosses make little sense, but nothing about salaries makes much sense

While it is important to reassess behaviour and power dynamics through a post-Weinstein lens, it is harder to make the case for deleting work from the academic record

A Twitter poll on whether or not lecturers should ever comment on students’ attire attracted almost 400 responses, but the replies quickly became more complex than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’

After tweeting an anecdote of an academic responding to her email the same day as their child was born, Rachael Pells was surprised by the response from other academics on Twitter

That the role of higher education is so often misunderstood or misportrayed, even in institutions, means much good work goes unremarked

Matthew Reisz considers the insights of the former LSE director who has a foothold in both the UK and France

Relatively liberal eras cannot restrain subsequent authoritarian regimes, but we can teach societies to see through propaganda, writes Paul Jump