Bushfire research opportunities ‘vanishing’ without funding Frustration as Australian Research Council takes six months to judge applications to support urgent impact assessments By John Ross 6 March
Anger over Massey’s plan to switch teaching locations Science students may be required to move about 250 miles from current Auckland campus as university attempts to mitigate a contribution shortfall By John Ross 6 March
UNSW gets approval for second Canberra campus Capital set to become more crowded, as territory government greenlights sixth campus By John Ross 5 March
Funding extinguished for Australian bushfire research centre ‘Highly effective’ research hub’s days are numbered, Australian estimates committee hears By John Ross 4 March
Scholars in poorer states should pay less to publish, funders say High APCs are a barrier to academics in low- and middle-income countries, says Coalition S By David Matthews 4 March
New Zealand: thinktank to help small country tackle big questions University of Auckland centre to be led by science diplomat Sir Peter Gluckman By John Ross 3 March
Chinese government bulldozes ‘publish or perish’ mentality Move to reduce reliance on SCI citations in decision-making could affect everything from researchers’ careers to university rankings, experts say By Joyce Lau 3 March
Subsidy shifts and fee hikes on the menu for Australian universities Minister flags ‘financial fine-tunings’ to ‘squeeze greater productivity out of existing funding’ By John Ross 2 March
Australian university groups dispute ‘academic freedom’ definition Proposed definition could provide get-out-of-jail-free card for ‘rogue academics’, some claim By John Ross 2 March
The Chair: can Netflix series do justice to university life today? With a new show in the pipeline, academics have many suggestions for plot lines and pitfalls to avoid By Matthew Reisz 2 March
Research grant disclosure order ‘a big improvement’ Australian senate order could put an end to deadline clashes plaguing research grant applicants By John Ross 28 February
No end to coronavirus travel ban Respite increasingly unlikely as Australia moves into pandemic mode By John Ross 27 February
‘Hidden discrimination’ stalks Australian campuses No obvious solutions in sight as income support levels plummet By John Ross 27 February
Academic ‘quit lit’: power inequity ‘still present at exit door’ Parting shot the privilege of the established, as precariously employed academics choose less risky departures, says anthropologist By John Ross 27 February
Australian universities ‘could end up doing well’ after coronavirus Universities Australia conference also hears jurist stress human side of crisis, urging government to establish a ‘special student support fund’ By John Ross 26 February
Australia maintains coronavirus travel ban Situation will be reviewed again ‘towards the end of the week’, education minister to tell conference By John Ross 25 February
Universities tell charred Australia: ‘We’re here to help’ Don’t overlook universities’ warnings or their contribution to disaster prevention and mitigation, representative body tells government By John Ross 25 February
Cheats ‘exploiting false sense of security’ in exams Australian study warns against jettisoning essays in favour of invigilated assessments By John Ross 24 February
Coronavirus uncertainty persists in Australia and New Zealand Exemptions and detours under consideration, as universities and students grapple with open-ended travel bans By John Ross 21 February
More universities expected to follow Monash’s lead in Indonesia Money is not the point, Australian institution insists, as it opens the door to a new higher education frontier By John Ross 21 February
Australian research yet to fall short of ‘national interest’ test Opponents see campaign to ‘diminish the regard for academic inquiry’ as political manoeuvring rather than real problem By John Ross 17 February
Coronavirus travel bans ‘unnecessary sleight of hand’, says v-c Coronavirus response driven by ‘political objectives masquerading as public health decisions’, according to outspoken academic By John Ross 14 February
Mistrust of Chinese ‘risks Australia’s diaspora advantage’ Alienation of Chinese students and graduates risks encouraging a monoculture of the ‘male, pale and stale’, senate told By John Ross 14 February
Researchers ‘unaware’ of extent of assessment influence Danish-Australian paper finds researchers unconsciously adjust to accommodate assessment exercise By John Ross 14 February
Coronavirus: Australian university moves to ‘control’ spending Other universities likely to rein in their costs as travel ban threatens their bottom line By John Ross 13 February
Students remain in limbo as Australian travel ban extended Universities scramble to offer ‘targeted solutions’ for Chinese students stranded by coronavirus By John Ross 13 February
Race on to create online courses for virus-stranded students Institutional, pedagogical and workload issues more problematic than technological impediments, experts say By John Ross 13 February
Covid-19 coronavirus crisis: university offers itself as online fallback ‘We’re all in this together’, v-c insists, as universities scramble to teach 100,000 stranded students By John Ross 12 February
Monash to open Indonesia’s first foreign branch campus Postgraduate-only outlet ‘the first of many to come’, says minister By John Ross 10 February
Coronavirus: what students want most is clarity, says v-c Australian university cancels term for up to 10,000 students, saying its timetable will allow them to graduate without delay By John Ross 10 February
Free up teaching grants, Australian government told Mission group calls for flexibility to use funding to support lifelong learning By John Ross 9 February
Funder may not announce 2021 grant awards before 2022 deadline Australian researchers fear wasting weeks writing potentially pointless applications By John Ross 7 February
Australian National University vows to go ‘carbon negative’ Australian university promises ‘carbon negative’ footprint as v-c reflects on a summer of fire, ice and virus By John Ross 7 February
Universities ‘getting it wrong’ on student communication Students tell Australian survey that institutions struggle to find right balance between offering ‘too much and too little’ information By John Ross 5 February
Two-thirds of Australia’s Chinese students ‘stuck at home’ Australian universities face fiscal crisis, as virus chokes off vital revenue stream By John Ross 4 February
New Zealand students protest coronavirus entry ban ‘overreach’ Chinese students in New Zealand incensed at mounting costs, while Australian universities criticise ‘disturbing’ detentions By John Ross 4 February
Moscow university tightens political speech rules after protests Academics and students at the Higher School of Economics forbidden from disclosing affiliation when engaging in politics By David Matthews 4 February
Both sides nervous on free tuition as New Zealand election called While policy is regarded to have fallen short of aspirations, scaling it back may trigger political backlash By John Ross 3 February
Australian ‘big five’ pressed on staff-student mix shift Analysis of 10 years of data identifies sea change in research-intensive universities’ profiles By John Ross 2 February
Universities reel as Australia bans entry to Chinese Free deferrals offered and online offerings boosted as virus outbreak keeps students away By John Ross 2 February
Open data ‘tougher’ than open access and needs ‘mindset change’ Huge rewards could ensue if governments bankroll the systematic sharing of research data, but experts warn of unintended consequences By John Ross 31 January
Australian degrees rated less highly by graduates than bosses Australian survey finds ‘strong relationship’ between graduates’ attributes and demands of their jobs By John Ross 30 January
You keep the royalties on IP, Sydney institution tells companies ‘Commercial entanglements’ a deadweight on prosperity, Australian university insists By John Ross 30 January
China a ‘challenging’ partner, says German exchange scheme head Joybrato Mukherjee says Chinese researchers ‘not always on the same page’ over IP – and looks forward to a VR-enabled ‘entirely virtual semester abroad’ By David Matthews 29 January
Top universities ink data-sharing pact as virus spread shows need Research-intensive university groups ask funders to provide additional support for data management By John Ross 28 January
Australia’s demand-driven student surge ‘overestimated’ Analysis highlights Australians’ dwindling share of enrolments in their own universities By John Ross 26 January
Australian government accused of politicising grant announcements Research grants that have languished in Australian politicians’ to-do trays are ‘spun’ as rapid government action By John Ross 24 January
Queensland enlisted in search for coronavirus vaccine Australian university joins race to control virus By John Ross 23 January
Age and performance ‘fail to explain’ gender pay gap New Zealand analysis of ‘globally unique’ dataset repudiates common justifications for earnings disparities By John Ross 22 January
Murdoch did fast foreign intake pivot before whistleblower claims Internal documents reveal rapid shift to South Asia in Australian university’s international operations By John Ross 22 January
Academics fear for jobs as maths and statistics major dropped Staff nerves fray as whistleblower row university calls time on course By John Ross 21 January
Backlash over call for ‘Darwinism’ in French research funding Ahead of a new law that critics fear will reduce tenure rights, French scientists have opposed CNRS chief’s full-throated support for competition By David Matthews 21 January
Australian researchers contend with continuing extreme weather Academics and researchers grapple with the latest challenge of a catastrophic summer By John Ross 20 January
Finishing isn’t everything, says dropout study A ‘deficit-centric discourse’ is obscuring the benefits of partially completed courses, Australian research finds By John Ross 19 January
Counselling and scholarships prioritised in bushfire response Mental and financial survival are prioritised, as government and universities chart recovery efforts By John Ross 17 January
Malaysia tipped to get stand-alone HE department as minister quits Prime minister acting as education minister after departure of Maszlee Malik By John Ross 17 January
Australian education bodies take action as bushfires still rage International education association considers its frequent flyers footprint, as university representative body joins crisis talks By John Ross 14 January
Australian academics debate long-term impact of bushfire crisis As universities help to shoulder the disaster response, experts say the ultimate outcomes from a tragic summer are hard to predict By John Ross 14 January
Murdoch withdraws financial pursuit of whistleblower Perth university offers concession ‘in the spirit of moving towards a resolution’ with Gerd Schröder-Turk By John Ross 13 January
Australian bushfires spotlight campuses’ sanctuary roles Disaster entrenches universities’ function as community safe spaces By John Ross 10 January
