Higher education policy

Post-18 review highlights the chaotic nature of Westminster policymaking, writes John Morgan

A different environment can do wonders for a person; might universities feel a similar refreshment when the UK’s political landscape settles down again?

Cost growth still set to outstrip funding, as ‘fees free’ absorbs the fat

England’s post-18 education review panel says replacement public funding should be targeted to courses with most ‘social and economic value’

Post-18 funding review calls for minimum grants of £3,000 annually for poorest and extending loan payment period to 40 years

The panel have skilfully avoided some potential elephant traps and have come up with a sensible and wide-ranging view that deserves political attention – even if it doesn’t get it, says Nick Hillman

Long-anticipated review of post-18 education and funding in England delivers 53 recommendations for government

Consumerism, technology and the culture wars threaten to render critical thinking an unwanted skill, worries Victor Ferrall

European elections may give Brexit Party leader a springboard to amplify his attacks on academics

Author concerned about lack of pushback after Italy's far-right governing party demanded removal of critical book from reading list

Reappointed minister vows to work with universities to improve regional schooling

Damian Hinds says universities should drop or revamp courses where graduates do not earn enough five years after leaving university to start making loan repayments

Education secretary’s comments likely to be seen as preparing ground for post-18 review to recommend shifts or cuts in funding

Student organisation considers taking action over interest change on basis of treaty stating higher education must be ‘gradually made free of charge’

PM’s plan to resign leaves post-18 education review on shakier ground than ever, while increasing the chances of student visa liberalisation

Watchdog’s report finds evidence of widespread cheating but also says some falsely accused international students may have been removed

Higher education sector should abandon small battles and focus on the long game, strategists say

Education secretary hits back at university leaders who called his intervention on ‘conditional unconditional’ offers unlawful

Provincial threats to higher education could arouse voter sympathies by October

Plenty on the Continent see a link between Brexit and English educational hierarchy, writes John Morgan

‘Competition in scientific research has gone too far,’ says government-appointed committee proposing wide-ranging reform package

Cardiff policymakers unlikely to be able to make up lost tuition fee income while continuing generous maintenance support

Efforts to accrue more overseas fees could be vetoed by the Home Office and will do little to make UK students more culturally savvy, warns Peter Brady 

White House promising consolidated approach to suspicions of espionage in labs

Sector figures had hoped for Labor victory

Employees and students have organised a protest, with some calling for academic to be dismissed 

Chancellor opposes extra spending on universities, sources suggest, as universities minister dodges questions on report publication

Chris Skidmore tells MPs he is yet to see a copy of the Augar review’s report

Office for Students has sent ‘minded to refuse’ letters to 20 providers

Senator suggests that universities might want to keep more of their findings to themselves

System president says new academic hiring programme and innovation network will boost university following financial issues

CBI warns country will not spend 2.4 per cent of gross domestic product on research and development until 2053

Falling UK graduate wages reflect not too many students but a flexible labour market’s post-crash adjustment, argues David Willetts

Experts question government decision to continue reserving 90 per cent of pre-university programme places to Malay majority

US experience suggests budget shift has little impact on colleges’ results

Money pledged for universities carved up and back-ended, opposition document suggests

Initial moves on 2020 budget suggest another reversal of Trump priorities

Dutch universities are conspicuously and consistently successful. Yet their funding is declining and their embrace of internationalism has put them on a collision course with the populist right. John Morgan assesses the mood in Leiden, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Maastricht

System expansion is not enough. Admission to higher-tariff institutions must somehow be opened up, says Paul Jump

Academics are watching to see how the University of Hong Kong will respond after one of its scholars was jailed for his role in 2014 protests

Coalition, Labour and Greens respond to sector survey

New law merges technical institutions into universities, but critics suspect political motives in run-up to general election

Trump policy expanding long-term bans is set aside and is likely to be ended

Elite institutions making last-ditch bid to block multimillion-dollar levy

Open letter signed by more than 1,500 academics worldwide urges Brazilian government to shelve proposals to withdraw philosophy and sociology in public universities

Shrinking enrolments at Southampton, Manchester and Sheffield suggest English elite are not immune to pressures of marketisation

Proposals for delayed report have to be judged in the round – including implications for those who don’t go to university, says David Robinson

The country’s recent judge-led review is another instance of the global misperception of institutional censorship, say Ian Jacobs and Susan Dodds

Architects of amendment to immigration bill urge Prime Minister Theresa May to ‘embrace’ liberalisation of student immigration regime

Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto includes pledges to substantially boost student numbers and create three new specialist universities

MPs from Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Democratic Unionist Party support ex-minister Jo Johnson

Despite broad differences with president, long-shot candidate Bill Weld demonstrates how ‘belief in markets is bred in the bone’

The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media

The expert on ancient Syria was forced to flee his homeland – but has been able to continue his work thanks to a German scholarship

Politicians seeking to quell discontent about inequality and pre-empt populists could turn on elite institutions, observers predict

Removal of UK universities from key European research project highlights financial impact of impasse over EU exit

Australia’s vice-chancellors must wake up: China's munificence is all motivated by its vast geopolitical ambition, says Nick Forster

Apparent moves to increase university autonomy will have the opposite effect given the government’s authoritarian tendencies, says Jarosław Płuciennik

The quality of Indian higher education outside a few elite institutions is notoriously poor, and a slew of initiatives aimed at addressing it have made little impact so far. Simon Baker analyses the data to assess the scale of the challenge and asks what more could and should be done

Opponents should learn from Chinese candidates’ successful and potentially formative forays into democratic politics, says Salvatore Babones