US court raises chances of jocks getting piece of action Judgment is a key development in student athletes’ bid to claim a cut of billion-dollar college sports By Jon Marcus 12 December
I’ll drink to that - (almost) foolproof party spiel for scientists Russell Foster on how to reply to the question ‘And what do you do?’ at Christmas cocktail parties 12 December
Mandela saw education as a powerful weapon for freedom Martin Hall considers the legacy of academic values left by South Africa’s first black president 12 December
Croatia weighs a strategy for higher education reform Following student protests, government mulls a sector report calling for change. Cyrille Cartier writes 12 December
St Benet’s: fellowship of the ecumenical table Matthew Reisz talks to the master of Oxford hall and ‘place of inter-religious encounter’ By Matthew Reisz 12 December
Beware ‘brain-based learning’ Enthusiasm for ‘neuroeducation’ risks blinding people to its potentially limited efficacy, argues Steven Rose 12 December
Singapore Biennale 2013: a show that fizzes with ideas Mutability and periphery come to the fore in an event focused on Southeast Asia’s artists, writes Peter Hill 12 December
Willetts astonished by elite reaction to expansion Russell Group critical of abolition of student numbers cap By John Morgan 12 December
European sun shines on research funding The European Union officially adopted Horizon 2020 on 3 December 2013 By Holly Else 12 December
Neuroscientist Thelma Lovick wins tribunal victory over Birmingham Judgment says university ‘inadequately investigated’ misconduct case By Paul Jump 12 December
Experts demand quality control for capless ‘free-for-all’ Legislation a must after scrapping of student quotas By Jack Grove 12 December
Scientific voyage into mountainous seas Data gathering can be a dangerous business, oceanographer Penny Holliday tells Paul Jump By Paul Jump 12 December
Whitehall farce by the student numbers Aldwyn Cooper takes aim at the coalition’s haphazard policymaking 12 December
Australian v-c counts costs of uncapped system Admissions standards have fallen to balance budgets, Adelaide chief argues By Paul Jump 12 December
Treasury loan book calculations ‘omit £1.7 billion’ The Treasury’s stated plan to fund expansion in student places by the sale of loans omits £1.7 billion in lost repayments arising from the sell off. By John Morgan 11 December
University of London v-c steps into student protests row Sir Adrian Smith suggests protesters wanted police involved to generate ‘headlines’ By Jack Grove 11 December
Imperial animal testing report ‘should resonate’ across sector A list of recommendations on improving management of animal research at Imperial College London should “resonate” across the UK, their authors say By Paul Jump 10 December
Universities are playing an ‘elite international sport’, says Byrne Shadow universities minister delivers vision for sector in first major speech By John Morgan 9 December
Hundreds sign petition against ‘draconian’ protest ban More than 1,200 people have signed a petition against a ban on protesting at the University of London By Jack Grove 9 December
Postgraduate projects gain £25 million from Hefce More than £25 million has been awarded by England’s funding council to 20 pilot projects designed to support postgraduate students. By Holly Else 9 December
Muslim chaplains to 'challenge campus extremism’ Universities are to work with the government to appoint Muslim chaplains to “challenge extremist views” on campus. By David Matthews 8 December
Students seeking more help from counsellors More students are seeking help from university counsellors amid growing concerns over debt and future job prospects. By Jack Grove 7 December
UK punching further above weight on citation impact UK research has higher citation impact than that of any comparator nation, a report commissioned by the government has revealed. By Paul Jump 6 December
Numbers expansion plan is economic ‘nonsense’ The plan to fund extra student places by selling the student loan book is “nonsense” in economic terms, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. By John Morgan 6 December
University of London protests see more arrests Thirty-six people were arrested after another confrontation between protesters and police at the University of London. By John Morgan 6 December
Abolition of student numbers cap: the sector responds Yesterday’s announcement that student number controls are to be abolished has attracted comment from all quarters. Here is a round-up of responses: 6 December
Mandela tributes pour in from academia Universities across the UK have been paying tribute to Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, who has died at the age of 95. By Chris Parr 6 December
Senate House occupation ends with arrests At least three demonstrators were arrested as security staff and police broke up a student occupation of the University of London’s Senate House. By Jack Grove 5 December
Russell Group criticises student expansion plan The Russell Group has attacked the government’s decision to abolish student number caps, warning of a potential decline in quality. By John Morgan 5 December
Quantum technology gets boost from autumn statement The government has given quantum technologies research a boost in the autumn statement. 5 December
REF selectivity fears ‘prove unfounded’ Fears that universities would be more selective about who they submitted to the 2014 research excellence framework have proved unfounded. By Paul Jump 5 December
Undergraduate numbers cap ‘to be abolished’ – Osborne The government will abolish the cap on student numbers “altogether” the year after next, George Osborne has announced By John Morgan 5 December
Willetts has ‘lost control’ of budget - Byrne David Willetts has “lost control” of his department’s budget in “spectacular fashion”, according to his Labour counterpart Liam Byrne. By John Morgan 5 December
Lord Krebs issues warning over science funding The government has been warned by a leading peer not to cut the science and research budget in today’s autumn statement. By John Morgan 5 December
Wiki edits: not the worst of the dark arts University press offices’ changes to Wikipedia are simply part of a long tradition of spin, argues Chris Hackley 5 December
Gender segregation allowed as long as it isn’t ‘forced’ Times Higher Education poll finds few bans in place as UUK guidance elicits criticism By David Matthews 5 December
Rent per on-campus student bed doubles in under decade Wholly owned university accommodation apes private charges By David Matthews 5 December
Coalition hits emergency brake on private numbers BIS admits scale of planned recruitment was ‘unaffordable’ By John Morgan 5 December
University managers ‘don’t take cybersecurity seriously’ Sadie Creese says institutions’ leaders endanger research by not prioritising digital security By Chris Parr 5 December
British Council cites cost reasons for declining Indian numbers Poll of more than 10,000 students shows visa crackdown is not the biggest hurdle By David Matthews 5 December
Q&A with Rebecca Hughes We speak to the director of international higher education at the British Council. Plus the latest higher education appointments By John Elmes 5 December
Labour plans long-term move to graduate tax, says Byrne Shadow universities minister also vows to tackle overseas recruitment barrier By John Morgan 5 December
Medievalist shares ripe fruit of penis tree New Generation Thinker Sarah Peverley likes to disseminate elements of her work for public By Matthew Reisz 5 December
Horizon 2020 provisions for humanities criticised Lack of interdisciplinarity and pared funds a cause of concern for social sciences By Holly Else 5 December
Lament for the dawn chorus Bird numbers in Britain and Ireland - monitored with the aid of citizen scientists - are falling. Tim Birkhead calls for action 5 December
State-backed child savings scheme in US would tackle debt and inequality, says study Government-matched funding scheme would cut debt burden and improve social equality, say researchers By Jack Grove 5 December
Black scholars: trapped on the race track? African American scholars still struggle for public prominence outside discussions of racial justice, says Daniel Matlin 5 December
US rural community colleges hit by economic upturn Expert points to ill effects of ‘countercyclical’ enrolment By Chris Parr 5 December
Governance gender gap still yawning Audit finds lack of women on university boards affects female v-c numbers By Jack Grove 5 December
College of Fashion and Design’s ‘slimmed down’ academic model Condé Nast courses are cut to fit students’ needs, says vice-principal By John Elmes 5 December
Turkey: liberty and repression The state is confronting student protest with an iron fist while promising to relax its grip on the academy. Jack Grove reports from the country 5 December
Review: Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s A hagiographic look at a US designer store is all style, no substance, Pamela Church Gibson argues 5 December
Jim O’Neill: in BRICS and MINTs, education is fuel for growth As Times Higher Education launches the BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014, Jim O’Neill says the UK can help the world and itself by going global 5 December
Virtual worlds make distance no object for UWS students ‘A-Team’ approach brings campuses together for town planning project By Jack Grove 5 December