Vice-chancellor/principal

Has the online transition worked out? How far are student numbers likely to decline? Will governments still have money to invest in universities and research after the pandemic is over? And what does all that mean for staffing? These are just some of the issues explored by our survey of 200 university leaders from 53 territories. Paul Jump runs through the results

In the wake of the George Floyd killing, institutions should prioritise health and well-being over armed enforcement, says Michael Sierra-Arévalo

Selling income-contingent stakes in the future earnings of graduates is the best way to address the student debt crisis, says Paul Oslington

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

Engaging students in institutional planning and enhancing their work placement opportunities could cushion the impact of the virus, says Craig Jeffrey 

Historical data from New Zealand give cause for optimism on student demand. But how much is unclear, says Roger Smyth

Development is coming mostly from centralised government platforms and private universities, but low internet penetration is just one of the hurdles faced by the country

An inadequate response to the death of George Floyd will diminish universities in the eyes of their increasingly diverse students, says ’Funmi Olonisakin

Collaboration between the UK and China – and beyond – is needed more than ever to fight a pandemic in a politicised world

Nations are increasingly making conscious efforts to propel a subset of their universities into the global elite. But are such aspirations ever met? And, if they are, is that a blessing or a curse for those institutions denied entry to the club? Simon Baker examines the issues and the numbers

Universities’ divestment policies are undermined by the USS’ continued investment in oil companies, says Bill Spence 

The areas hit earliest by the coronavirus are reopening, but with protections in place

A plan to put foreign students in supervised quarantine before studying could rescue international programmes, says Roger Smyth

Pandemic-driven shifts could ‘accelerate’ rise of continent’s universities, leaders tell THE event

As the president of a university where ‘crossing borders is in our DNA’, Fernando León Garcia urges institutions to ensure that new e-mobility programmes are more than just a pale reflection of study abroad

Staff over 50 might well wish to stay out of front-line contact with students until a vaccine is found, say Andrew Oswald and Nattavudh Powdthavee

Policymakers, civil society and industry can all benefit from more open science, say Åse Gornitzka and Svein Stølen

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

Why shouldn’t universities decide what to teach based on annual student demand, then hire temporary instructors, wonders Thomas Schneider

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

£7,500 fees are off the agenda, but Covid-19 only increases the need to align state subsidies with economic need, says Philip Augar

England’s main skills challenge is not over-education but preparing workers for the emerging economy, says Tim Blackman 

Maastricht University’s cross-syllabus approach could point the way forward, say Herco Fonteijn and Teun Dekker

Tributes paid to former Stanford president who raised a record-breaking $1.3 billion for the university

A 2017 speech by Emmanuel Macron on European identity has led to the creation of an initial 17 pan-continental consortia involving 114 universities. But do they amount to anything more than yet more vacuous memoranda of understanding? David Matthews reports

Protecting the European research budget offers better long-term hopes of saving the European project

Tomorrow’s world often turns out to be less radically different than we might have first thought, says Bruce Macfarlane

Record year for university philanthropy in UK and Ireland sees Oxford and Cambridge dominate fundraising

Universities hardest hit by coronavirus crisis might need to accept merger or mission shift in exchange for state aid, warn sector leaders

University of Glasgow principal Sir Anton Muscatelli says inputs into England’s TEF will become unreliable owing to pandemic shocks

Universities are steering the country’s response to Covid-19 in the absence of political leadership, which is helping citizens value higher education, says rector

Coordinating across two jurisdictions during a pandemic is difficult, but the effort should pay off, says Yusra Mouzughi

The initiative’s success means that higher education is expected to remain a focus of China’s next five-year plan, says Wu Zhaohui

Tributes paid to a researcher whose work proved a ‘game changer’ in our understanding of cellular fats

Inter-university collaboration to develop core online curricula may be the only way to preserve quality, says Matt Jenner 

Education secretary Gavin Williamson pressed on whether government wants to ‘pick and choose’ which universities to save

New institutions will add nothing unless there is a greater emphasis on quality, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

Jo Johnson tells Times Higher Education event that universities should ‘take advantage’ of crisis to build on experience of online teaching

Treasury’s opposition to Universities UK’s rescue package could be overcome if institutions offer extra assistance to graduates, Lord Willetts tells THE event

Presidents at all the city’s main institutions will give a part of their salaries to fund students in need

Emma Hardy calls on government to underwrite HE funding during ‘unprecedented set of challenges’ posed by Covid-19

Pandemic crisis is chance to consider longer post-study work visas and even route to citizenship for foreign students, Chris Skidmore tells THE event

India’s newest universities are showing immense promise but may find it hard to stay independent from the corporate world, says Ganeshdatta Poddar

‘There is a life in science beyond the virus,’ warns German rectors’ head, amid calls for attention to the trade-offs between shutdowns and scientific progress

University managers must accept that business as usual is not an option for many university staff, says Petra Boynton

With admissions already in decline, Brian Rosenberg wonders whether the end may finally be nigh for many colleges

The government must guarantee the sustainability of universities, say Richard Watermeyer, Aline Courtois and Hugh Lauder

Six months of devastating and unprecedented destruction has brought home the reality of climate change to many Australians. But with time for mitigation short and some politicians still in denial, what more can universities do to save the ‘lucky country’ – and the rest of the planet? John Ross reports

A new alliance of 40 of the world’s top climate change research universities will ensure better access to the facts, say Ian Jacobs and Matthew England

Swift decisions are needed on contact hours, attendance and assessment, says Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan 

A belief that private colleges open more doors explains US voters’ lukewarm response to free public education, says Kate Eichhorn 

The namesake cities in the US and UK are both home to internationally renowned universities whose industry collaborations are proving highly successful. But while that is good news for national economies, where does it leave the locals priced out of their own neighbourhoods? Paul Basken and John Morgan report

The UK government is determined to make good on its manifesto pledge to crack down on substandard university programmes. But what is quality? Is it best measured by graduate earnings, learning gain, a national university curriculum – or something else entirely? Anna McKie ponders the options 

Focusing on how to deliver the UK government’s big ambitions for science could arrest the troubled funder’s drift, says John Womersley 

The sudden closure of university campuses across China and elsewhere has necessitated the virtual delivery of vast numbers of courses. And while there have been inevitable teething problems, observers are wondering whether the future might just have become the present. Joyce Lau reports

Analysis of THE World University Rankings data shows number of women leading highest-ranking institutions has risen slightly

President of research powerhouse Sigbritt Karlsson calls for realism about openness while continuing to foster culture of innovation and entrepreneurialism

Employers value higher and degree apprenticeships. Restricting access to them would be counterproductive, says Jane Longmore

‘Freedom of speech is a question of interpretation,’ says v-c who maintains art studio in Beijing

Pioneering university leader who went on to promote higher education’s social responsibility remembered