Student

Bleak economic outlook is swaying PhD candidates towards a university career despite sector difficulties, indicates a survey of UK research students

Coronavirus will not stop China’s growing and ambitious middle class from seeking a Western university education for their children, says Sabrina Wang

But unlike in the spring, not all countries are taking a blanket approach, and there are louder concerns about the mental impact on students

The Netherlands’ cautious, common approach to teaching during the pandemic contrasts with the full reopenings planned by many UK and US universities. But what will students get out of it? And is even 20 per cent campus capacity sustainable? David Matthews travels to the Netherlands to talk to the key players

History reminds us that freedom of speech also implies the right to vocally object to and demonstrate against speakers, says Evan Smith

Instilling graduates with a global outlook is a mission more vital than ever, says Duke Kunshan University vice-chancellor-elect Alfred H. Bloom

Having dropped out of university because of loneliness and depression, Hayley Mulenda argues that effective use of data analytics and greater diversity of academic staff are crucial

Seeking out students for personal tutoring in socially distanced times is the labour-intensive but necessary task that may defeat universities, says Michael Wynn-Williams

Confining students with disabilities to ‘special-education castles’ within Chinese universities does not provide true opportunity, says Zhang Yuexin

Amazon’s and Netflix’s obsessive focus on using customer data to improve user experience has valuable lessons for universities, argues Mike O’Connor

Though it’s tiring and challenging, some scholars believe their time in online teaching may make them better university educators, reports Jack Grove

Rosalie Minnitt calls on institutions to offer greater support to those struggling to find work in the midst of a pandemic

Vilified abroad and distrusted in their homeland, Chinese students overseas have been marginalised as a result of a geopolitical struggle beyond their control, says Brian Wong

Those who fear a resurgence of coronavirus as campuses reopen can take heart from how Taiwan’s universities maintained in-person teaching throughout the pandemic, explains Cher Chiu

NYU Abu Dhabi’s vice-chancellor explains how her institution kept its campus open during the pandemic and what others can learn from this experience

The pivot to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic has shown why university educators should embrace artificial intelligence, says Y. J. Jang

Advocates for virtual labs finding chance to show cost and equity benefits of online experimentation

Germany has tradition of student placements in firms and universities, but coronavirus lay-offs highlight lack of state support for living costs

The A-level grading fiasco has highlighted the limitations of using exam results to assess undergraduate preparedness, says Suleiman M. Sharkh

Group of prominent UK scientists warns that the risk of infection is too high for in-person teaching

Dread of ‘selling out’ and heroic figure of ‘struggling artist’ cause many creative arts graduates to persist with dead-end jobs rather than maximising their skills in alternative careers, says Martha Bloom

New guidelines offer fresh hope for veteran Indonesia studies scheme that was facing closure because of Covid impact on overseas travel

Practical help for students and universities left exposed by the A-level results chaos is needed, not political point-scoring, says former Ucas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook

Assessing doctoral candidates’ published papers instead would teach more useful skills and improve morale, says Noam Schimmel

Most institutions say they will take Erasmus+ students in the autumn, with Swiss universities universally open, while the UK and Netherlands are more closed

Falling staff-student ratios and low quality in some graduate programmes are prompting concern that more will mean worse, says Zhang Ruomei

Universities and colleges offering hands-on training have found it harder to shift online, hurting their students, who are more likely to be from less-advantaged families

Shadow universities minister says tests will protect institutions and students affected by Covid-19 pandemic

The recent lockdowns highlighted the strains in student housing provision in several countries. As students puzzle over why their universities have so little power to extract refunds from private providers for unused accommodation, Anna McKie asks whether it is time for some rewiring of the system   

Michelle Donelan says higher rates of university entry among black Britons highlight how narrative about social mobility can be misleading

Two years ago, universities claimed to be selling the student experience. So where are our lockdown refunds, asks Maria Magdalena Gajewska

The government’s tinkering with red tape is welcome but it won’t be enough to overcome Covid-19 uncertainty, says James Pitman

A string of anti-immigration moves has already made the US significantly less attractive to international students, says Rajika Bhandari

The ability for PhD students to research previous students’ experience with particular examiners could reduce bad practice 

Pastoral support for east Asian students has been re-engineered during lockdown and may offer lessons for the future

With the key selling point of university – meeting people and having a ‘great experience’ – now gone, Andreas Schleicher sees high fees as unjustified and calls for more government investment

Increasing numbers of postgraduates appears to be a win-win, with graduates seeking refuge from a poor job market and universities able to make up for lost income, but there are concerns over the quality of those being considered

Caltech suspends requirement for two years while University of Washington commits to long-term shift in entry criteria

Taboo-breaking Parcoursup reforms in 2018 are seen to have reduced failure rates, but there are fears Parisian universities will now hoover up the best students nationwide 

Despite a government loan scheme, unions say students have no choice but to drop out in order to claim unemployment benefit

Open access publication of PhD theses makes it difficult for studies to be published as books, says 93-year-old Shakespeare scholar

Public backlash to an admission of cheating reveals underlying tensions in China’s college entrance exam process

Prospective overseas students are worried about travel restrictions, scholarship complications and finances, Dutch survey shows

Despite greater focus on students’ learning outcomes, in Europe institutions are still largely assessed on the basis of ‘input’ measures, such as staff-to-student ratios, rather than trickier ‘output‘ measures

But applicants for this autumn may find themselves in a ‘buyer’s market’ even at the most selective universities, THE student webinar hears

Without face-to-face interaction, new students could struggle to make friends and adapt to university study, leading to dropouts later, institutions fear

With £7,500 tuition fees off the agenda, new strategies to rebalance English higher education could be introduced, says post-18 education review chair

As after the 2008 financial crisis, Swedes have responded to the coronavirus-induced downturn by making plans to return to university

Initiative hopes to drive promising performers into fundamental science and basic research

Students in the Netherlands are resisting use of software to stop cheating on exams, citing concerns about consent, intrusion and security of personal data

Survey results show online switch ‘going better than expected’, says union. But students at universities of applied sciences appear harder hit

Experts say UK government has made good start but must address further uncertainties and Visa Application Centre closures

In a country where students are heavily dependent on part-time jobs, the pandemic shutdown has devastated incomes, leading to calls for government help

Switching towards peer-to-peer assessment makes sense for distance learning but a longer-term transformation would benefit students, says David Carless

Governments are prioritising reopening schools and businesses over campuses. But some academics fear the impact on disadvantaged students – and on their teaching

The erection of borders, disrupted transport and fear of infection mean many will have to stay put, but their mental health could be at risk, universities are warned

Western universities may soon need to operate with far fewer international students thanks to the Covid-19 contagion, says Salvatore Babones

New objective to support university finances during Covid-19 crisis suggests a new path for England’s higher education regulator

Student income support is increasingly insufficient and in urgent need of reform, says Dawn Freshwater

Study finds that overseas scholars in former communist countries work there not out of deliberate choice but often due to ‘happenstance’, love or to escape poor job prospects at home