Head of school/department

Schools should be hubs of interdisciplinarity, co-producing research and solutions with key stakeholder groups, says Ansgar Richter

New Cambridge guidance will help academics avoid collaborations that pose a threat to security or academic freedom, says Stephen Toope

The pandemic has exposed some anglophone universities’ financial over-reliance on overseas students. But if internationalisation takes a step back in the coming years, how much will be lost pedagogically? And will anything be gained? Anna McKie reports

One university’s strenuous efforts to eradicate cheating by students and academics point the way for the whole sector, says Július Kravjar

Increased digital literacy will also help boost employability and finally end the crisis narrative, says Jo Fox

The UK archaeology programme, which is being revived on YouTube, represents an ideal to which other disciplines can aspire, says Keith Frankish

A new term is beginning in the northern hemisphere, and many campuses are reopening. But are academics relishing a return to relative normality or fearful of unvaccinated students? And what has the Covid experience taught them about their approach to teaching? Six scholars offer their perspectives

Bullies and snakes can only wreak havoc via the support – conscious or otherwise – of those around them, says Irina Dumitrescu

Headlines about whether the liberal arts can work in Asia only probe part of the story, says Scott Anthony

For all the talk about the digital revolution, the demand for in-person education is stronger than ever, says Nick Hillman

Awareness campaigns and reconfigured assessments are key to reining in cheating, says Ashley Norris

As an international review of the UK’s REF begins even before the assessment panels have done their work, has the exercise’s reliance on rereading published papers finally had its day? Might it be time for metrics? Or something else entirely? Jack Grove looks around the world for options  

Block grants need to be divided up, but UK research quality does not depend on a regular national audit

The Iranian-American academic, who explores the experience of life split between two cultures in Hyphen, on the politics of punctuation

Even with automated translation technology, perfecting course materials in multiple languages will take time, says Mukhtar Ahmad

UK universities will need all the assistance they can get to help incoming students catch up, find accommodation and stay safe, says Matt Western

A major new study reveals that, across the world, work-life balance issues hold women back, say Elaine Howard Ecklund and Di Di

Educators now accept that digital tools are neither inapplicable to educational settings nor incompatible with sector values, says Jo Johnson

The near impossibility of obtaining spousal visas will deprive the post-Brexit UK of expatriate academics’ expertise, says Edward Vickers

An initiative by the University Alliance to offer training and support to BAME scholars is an important step in the right direction, says Vini Lander 

The narrative that the humanities are haemorrhaging students, funding and political favour is deeply felt around the world. But the evidence of the disciplines’ decline is considerably more nuanced, finds Simon Baker

A resulting sense of obligation often leaves women unable to relocate for better or more secure jobs, says Lara McKenzie

But journals’ open access fees are suddenly increasing researchers’ need for funding, says Adrian Furnham

Abandoning measurable evaluation criteria will make judgements more political and more random, say Raymond Poot and Willem Mulder

Campus-based education has its advantages but, for first-gen students, its digital complement can have more, say Jonathan van Belle and John Kaag

The pandemic highlighted UK creative industries’ innovative capacity. Public research spending choices should reflect that, says Andrew Thompson

The pandemic has accelerated numerous experiments in assessment for the digital age, moving beyond simple knowledge recall. But is the traditional exam really obsolete? As the dust settles on another marking season, seven academics give their widely differing views

A multidisciplinary approach to the issue of attention is an experiment in charting genuinely new intellectual territory, says Marion Thain

England’s free speech bill should outlaw gag orders that stifle revelations of bad practice, says an anonymous author 

We need knowledge and content that go beyond the Western world to design a meaningful decolonised, research-led curriculum, says Masi Noor

It will take real courage to unpack the failures of leaders over the past year, but there are important lessons to be learned, says Patrick Sanaghan

Unequal degree classification ranges mean that improvements get more reward at the higher end, say Andy Grayson, Susannah Lamb and Chris Royle

Pride Month may be over but inclusion needs year-round commitment that goes beyond noisy and colourful gestures, says Karen Lambert

The University of California’s decision to back away from the SAT and ACT will only further benefit privileged applicants, says Matt Larriva

The summer marking marathon is among the most dreary of academic duties. Thank goodness students can appeal, says Brian Bloch

A post-qualification applications system is the best way to ensure equity in admissions, says Sasha Roseneil

We should embrace the possibility of degrees made up of a pick-and-mix of modules from around the world – but comparability is crucial, says Nick Isles

NIH data hint at the extent of bullying and emotional abuse, but barriers to tackling the issue remain high, says Joanna Buscemi

Funding is declining but business school research is as vital as science to post-pandemic economic recovery, says Zahir Irani

If leaders don’t proceed with openness and consideration towards nervous staff, it is students who will ultimately suffer, says Rachel Gallardo

A new survey underlines the importance of anti-racism, mental health and climate change to current and potential undergraduates, writes James Sloam  

While female undergraduate numbers have finally reached parity, it is a different story among college fellows, say Elizabeth Baigent and Claire Hann

Wider take-up by academics requires both relevance to specific disciplines and accessibility across disciplines, says Camille Kandiko Howson

Despite the bullying by academics and cuts always hitting professional services first, when we get it right university admin is a great place to work, says Hugh Martin

Covid and its financial fallout are serious, but managers must grasp the impact of their operating experiments on teaching and learning, says Binoy Kampmark

Government, enterprise and education must contribute to a multi-pronged, long-term programme to boost social mobility, says Anulika Ajufo

In the absence of agreed definitions and rigorous enforcement, good practice will continue to depend on personal responsibility, says Ron Iphofen

Universities offer many rewarding technical careers – but local populations are often oblivious of them, says Mike Hughes

Recent cuts and scares have cast doubt on ministers’ commitment to harnessing science in pursuit of a levelled-up, post-Brexit innovation economy. Questions also remain about how funding should be distributed and directed. Jack Grove examines the lessons from history and from overseas

Hybrid working may suit some disciplines, but Gary Macfarlane fears that the convenience will come at the cost of creativity and collegiality

Students would be far better advised to focus on demonstrating their mastery of research skills, says Gordon Message

Neither the Equality Act nor campus groups’ good sense will circumvent the duty to give a platform to anyone who wants one, says David Renton

As post-92 departments close, non-traditional students and scholars risk being shut out – again, says Panikos Panayi

Expecting academics to effectively review potential cheating incidents is unrealistic and ineffective, says Scott McFarland

European Commission says it has heard pleas for more long-term funding, and is considering allowing extra universities to join existing alliances

Her long career as a psychologist and a college president has shown Beverly Daniel Tatum how crucial racial identity formation is and how overriding negative stereotypes about minority students’ performance can be like ‘water in a parched land’. Matthew Reisz hears why

Public confusion is one thing, but some subjects provoke quizzical and sometimes dismissive frowns even among colleagues from different departments. Here, nine academics set the record straight about what they do – and why it matters

Alongside the academic edutainer and the policy expert, there should be room for the voice from the wilderness, says Michael Marinetto

The legal, security and emotional challenges must not get in the way of proper teaching and research into this crucial issue, says William Allchorn

Careers can depend on publishing in higher-quartile journals, but the statistics are too easily gamed, says Jakša Cvitanić