Human resources

The shuttering of university campuses leaves security guards watching their screens for tumbleweeds, says George Bass

Mary Beard’s recent admission that she is a ‘mug’ who works 100 hours a week caused a Twitter storm. But how hard is it reasonable for academics to work? Who should decide? And should the mugs be obliged to keep quiet? Seven academics have their say

More account must be taken of pregnancy, assisted fertility and miscarriage, say Christina Hellmich and Marina Della Giusta

The apparent proliferation of libel challenges by scientists accused of research misconduct have led to fears that journals and others will be dissuaded from calling out wrongdoers. But is the observation accurate? And is the chilling effect reproducible? Jack Grove reports  

Universities must improve their career development support for professional and support staff, says Alex Holmes

Bureaucracy is the bane of every academic’s life. But who is to blame for its proliferation – and how can it be kept in check? Six academics have their say – while a registrar offers an equal and opposite reaction 

Spaces can energise or demotivate. Using them to nurture well-being should be seen as an investment not a cost, says Derek Clements-Croome

Academics need to be more aware of this most insidious form of bullying, say Bailey Sousa and Alex Clark

President Bolsonaro’s education cuts and opposition to racial quotas will hit current policies, says Marry Ferreira

Summer is upon northern hemisphere academics. But its cherished traditional identity as a time for intensive research is being challenged by the increasing obligations around teaching and administration that often crowd out research entirely during term time. So is the 40/40/20 workload model still sustainable? Respondents to a THE survey suggest not. Nick Mayo hears why

Leiden University acted unlawfully, a court has ruled, in using anonymous letter to discredit an applicant for a professorship

We must create spaces, resources and communities where individuals and groups can achieve optimal health through everyday activities, says Alan Cromlish

Starting again from scratch every October causes no end of stress, mix-ups and wasted time, says one hourly paid lecturer

Artificial intelligence may be threatening employment but it could also be key to helping humans find alternative jobs, argues Shigeru Miyagawa 

How will the rise of artificial intelligence affect universities’ carbon-based employees? John Gilbey runs the algorithm

A greater willingness from facilitators to listen to feedback could transform collective decision-making, say Liana Kreamer and Steven Rogelberg 

Marketisation, precarity and global competition have combined to create a vast market for academic ghostwriting, says an anonymous scholar

As winter’s tunnel looms, academics would do well not to retreat into lonely silos, says Alison Newby

Research will suffer from the collapse of professional development into financially fixated assessments of ‘capability’, say Gill Evans and Dorothy Bishop 

Gender bias in the academy is all too real, but we should be just as wary of confirmation bias, says Terri Apter 

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

Lord Sugar and Donald Trump may disagree, but kindness works best in higher education management, says Mike Thomas

Robert MacIntosh explains what to expect when staff enter the little-known world of the university exam board

Home Office says records on international academics are ‘not collated in a manner which can be reported on’

Nobel laureates call for early career researchers to be freed from ‘publish or perish’ mentality

Opportunities to discuss ‘taboo’ subject and new institutional guidelines will help women during the menopause, says University of Manchester

The geriatrician and television star on hitch-hiking to Paris, the secret of ageing well, and how an elderly man’s rectal prolapse helped him realise his vocation

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

National strategies also debate merits of basic versus applied research in rapidly expanding field

Young universities appreciate diversity and are particularly adept at responding to the needs of society, says Judy Genshaft

We unveil the top 250 universities under 50 years old and explain our generational and nuanced approach to young institutions

Schemes asking us to transform our workplaces in the name of equality, diversity and inclusivity are failing. It’s time to hold our institutions to account, says Rebecca Harrison

Universities should emulate the private sector in a positive way by eliminating costly duplication, says a worker in professional services

Converting the USS into a defined contributions scheme could give younger academics a bigger pension pot, argues David Voas 

Research fellowship will explore how the US civil rights leader’s work could improve relations between academics and administrators

David Pitt-Watson and Hari Mann believe there could be a way to settle the ongoing pensions row amicably

The ending of Murdoch University’s agreement with its staff over employment conditions could herald a rougher ride for university staff, says Gavin Moodie 

Two UK institutions lead our ranking of the best universities for the first time in its history, with Oxford holding on to the number one spot for the second year in a row, while Cambridge has risen to second place

Claims that outsourcing in higher education improves efficiency are not proven, says analysis

Warwick seminar hears German and Swiss universities lead the way on support for partners

Top university administrators explain how to get the right person when hiring

Keep it brief, tailor to the job requirements and do not mention your hobbies. Our panel of top university administrators offer some tips on how to write a top-notch CV

Veruscript, which publishes a journal on intelligence and security, says that allegations are ‘wholly unfounded’

Our panel of leading university administrators explain how applicants should approach a meeting of this kind at their institution

Study looks at how gender preconceptions are formed at primary school level

Measuring entrepreneurialism must take account of individual academics, say Robert Tijssen and Alfredo Yegros 

Our experts reveal how they seek to choose the right person for the job when faced with a pile of flawless CVs and glowing references

Senior academics and university administrators offer their top tips on how to ask that awkward question at the end of a job interview

In the first of a new series of articles, leading academics and university administrators will share tips on how to get ahead in higher education. Here, those involved in hiring explain how to handle a Skype interview

Headhunters are far from lazy and harmful, says Kim Frost, who uses them all the time

Senior management do not recognise support staff’s pivotal role in achieving positive student outcomes, administrators say

Departments urged to consider their team's skills mix rather than just individual qualities

Academics and administrators can learn to cooperate better if they are willing to acknowledge their stereotypes about each other

Hundreds of students at Europe’s largest postgraduate dental school may have been awarded the wrong marks thanks to form-filling blunders

University revises policy after backlash from academics

Plan to rent university estate via travel app seen as solution to higher education funding worries

New statutory duties designed to stop the rise of extremism on campus are making students and staff apprehensive, AUA conference hears

Director of Claro Learning has complained his firm was unfairly attacked by Margaret Hodge

Australian academic Benjamin Habib reflects on the worst public embarrassment of his career

Researchers cite high levels of independence and the need for social perceptiveness as factors