News

Buyers remain keen on UK higher education despite financial turmoil – but bringing in private equity can create challenges for educators

Separate rules on pay and promotions, opaque evaluations and cultural barriers jar with country’s drive to internationalise universities, say scholars

Complaints over ‘price increases’ and open access models spur UK institutions to walk away from offer from publishing giant, despite nationally negotiated agreement

Sharp increases in outlay in recent years along with changes to the English system put pressure on Wales to ensure student loans ‘remain sustainable’, says report

Institutions reliant on cross-subsidy model need to learn how to adapt to policy changes more quickly, says Universities UK chief

Half of Russell Group universities accept record number of undergraduates, according to end-of-cycle admissions figures

University claims staff are in breach of contract for failing to reorganise lectures lost during recent industrial action

Union leader says Southend campus closure will ‘take the heart out of the town’

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

Asian universities achieve new milestones in STEM subjects, but they are rising fastest in humanities and social sciences, reports Patrick Jack

Former University Alliance head returns to UK to lead research universities group after more than a decade in Australia

Fee freezes bring down spend per student, as overall funding for education in England reaches historic lows

UK international education champion Steve Smith defends new strategy from criticism that it ‘lacks substance’

Director of Institute of Development Studies discusses stepping into the role after 25 years, impact of USAID cuts and benefits of Sussex collaboration

Reviewer bias and higher teaching workloads for women may explain why they have to wait much longer for accept or reject decisions, say study authors

Thailand and India each clock up double-figure haul of finalists as prestigious contest enters eighth year

More people sceptical that science makes life better compared with pre-pandemic, and public also doubting contribution to economic growth

Labour prioritises growth abroad over increasing international student numbers on home soil amid immigration concerns

Government renews drive to attract international academics with more recruits coming to UK under Global Talent Fund

Some of president’s most audacious cuts have been scaled back or suspended but a year of turmoil is beginning to show in institutions’ bottom lines

Institutions forced to take matters into their own hands as high employer contributions ‘increase likelihood of university closure’

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

Analysis suggests much of the sector remains mired in financial difficulty with total losses increasing, but rise in income brings hope

Vast majority of parents in England having to support children at university, finds poll, with some sending more than £1,000 a month

‘Trump effect’ drives surge in US HE workers looking to move abroad, with China, Australia and Ireland also big beneficiaries

Teaching and research central to any hopes of rebuilding country, according to academics, as pressure grows for political change

Large numbers of editors publishing in their own special issue attacked as ‘academic narcissism’ and ‘scientific misconduct’ in first-of-its-kind study

MP calls for institution to take steps to restore trust as concerns mount over how it has been run

New Ucea chair warns ‘much is at stake’ if unions and employers don’t collaborate to tackle ‘negative’ sector image, as he promises action on the ‘employee experience’

Politicians target closer research collaboration between two countries but campuses unlikely to follow, given funding constraints

Encouraged by surge in interest in learning Gaelic, Skye’s Sabhal Mòr Ostaig looks to branch out on its own despite pressures on language courses and specialist providers

Jordanian professor’s free-wheeling study is pulled and an editorial board member sacked after linguists criticised ‘extremely strange’ article

Regulator says proportion of top marks awarded by institutions still way above what might be expected

Quarter of institutions admit they don’t know if PhD candidates are working with AI, while only a small proportion say they are coming up with guidelines on its use

Stella Maris axed from Scottish university governing body again over claims she failed to follow governance rules

Polling suggests confused picture on free speech, with students keen to deplatform controversial politicians but also rejecting limits on what people can say

Indian campaigner Achal Agrawal says research watchdog he founded gets tens of tip-offs regarding suspected malpractice every day

Senior leaders selected to help guide higher education watchdog as it attempts to work more collaboratively with sector

Analysis of UK sector accounts shows number of job losses well above predictions, with experts warning cuts are not over yet

Scholars with short contracts seen as more likely to favour doing ‘safer’ work, with ‘serious ramifications’ for their disciplines

Scottish institutions made to address workplace inequalities and zero-hours contracts as condition of receiving grants

University’s plan to cut more than 100 academic roles puts its reputation for inclusive education at risk, fears UCU

Leaders face grilling from free speech director amid concerns about Chinese government-backed scholarships

Scholars with large followings on app say it is a good way to change misconceptions about what they do

Inclusion worker challenges institutions whose scholarship programmes are not open to all after missing out on place on master’s

Experts say introduction of compulsory test for all undergraduate courses shows country’s shifting approach to internationalisation

SNP announces ‘real terms’ funding uplift pre-election but universities say extra money not enough to combat financial challenges

Institutions looking to conclude long-running searches for new presidents likely to favour candidates who can stay out of the limelight, experts predict

Bereaved families push politicians to make universities’ responsibilities toward their students clearer as suicide deaths continue

Little-noticed joint efforts by publishers to catch fake papers are delivering results but further ‘scaling’ is needed, says report

Syrian scholar stopped from seeing dying father among those affected by long waits for clearance, says MP Wendy Chamberlain

Universities facing ‘ongoing repression’ as regime responds to demonstrations with force

Former security adviser turned vice-chancellor calls out silence on controversial defence research, despite evolving threats to national security

Former leader returns to the role following the death of the university’s first female vice-chancellor, Emma Johnston, from cancer complications

Doctoral candidates offered hybrid ‘stipend and salary’ studentships with significant teaching hours will struggle to balance competing pressures, union fears

Prospect of additional support being announced in last budget before polling day as review into higher education funding gets under way

Leaders of research-intensive universities see pay top £350,000 despite financial strife faced by institutions

New book argues it is a ‘myth’ that universities can stay silent on social and political issues

Big cut in enrolments seen as way of modernising country’s universities but some warn further changes are needed to stop students lingering for years