Staff diversity: socio-economic background

Policymakers need to understand inequity at primary and secondary level – and between genders – to make tertiary education genuinely inclusive, concludes study

Georgiann Davis’ gripping account of growing up intersex and obese in a dysfunctional provincial family is a ‘queer’ response to J. D. Vance’s celebrated Hillbilly Elegy. But will the Trump administration’s opposition to gender studies spoil her happy ending? Matthew Reisz reports 

Decolonisation is not just about scholars’ colour. It is as much about welcoming a diversity of non-Western ideas, from South Africa and beyond, says Srila Roy

Sutton Trust research finds university leaders more representative of the general population than other professions including judges and diplomats

Failure to acknowledge how class operates within academia means many students still feel uncomfortable on campus, says Beth Johnson

Being odd one out from a celebrated merger makes it ‘easier to differentiate’, while conferring the ‘mantle of seniority’, says vice-chancellor

Universities are at a crossroads and must act decisively to become sites of social transformation, says first black woman to lead a university in Brazil

Special envoy plans ‘report card’ judging institutions on efforts to tackle hate speech and protect Jewish students and staff

Leader of first institution dedicated solely to diversity training says it faces ‘environment of significant risk and hostility’

Two-thirds of incidents not reported through official channels, with academics instead taking own measures such as not attending conferences, survey finds

Research ethics and events management processes can stifle debate and restrict academic freedom, claims government-commissioned paper

Data shows surge in enrolments concentrated in metropolitan universities, as new Australian commission comes into being

Financial pressures changing nature of student experience as higher education increasingly viewed in transactional terms

Leading university to review admissions policies and scholarships as part of institution-wide focus on postgraduate participation

Hiring candidates who didn’t attend elite institutions seen as way of creating diverse workforces as ‘competitive’ labour market reduces employment opportunities

Record number of ethnic minority students accepted and largest annual increase in non-state school students in 15 years

More students accepted into prestigious university, but numbers coming from maintained schools return to 2020 levels after ‘period of rapid growth’

Language around inclusion in higher education has in fact been exclusionary, Australian university leader claims

Opponents of identity politics can be expected to approve of the president’s crackdown on EDI. But are his assaults on research funding and international students – not to mention his hugely divisive wider agenda – giving any pause for thought? Matthew Reisz went to the University of Buckingham to find out

Solutions begin with flexible study policies for students who need a few extra days because mum had a health scare before their essay deadline, says Holly Cobb

Even in a political climate hostile to diversity, Indigenous people will keep asserting their right to use their languages, say Candace Galla and Madoka Hammine

‘Vaguely’ worded statement will be difficult to enforce in disciplinary proceedings, says Jewish law dean

‘Valuing voices’ checklist hopes to help academics to design research projects with ‘principles of inclusiveness’ in mind

Everybody loses if first-world universities do not share the benefits with source countries of doctoral students, university leaders say

Doncaster focus groups find widespread scepticism that cost of a degree will be outweighed by career benefits

The AACSB’s removal of ‘politically charged’ terms risks hampering efforts to create a more just society, say Martyna Śliwa and Ajnesh Prasad

Current widening participation approach not working, say academics, as rural villages and coastal towns revealed as areas with lowest levels of progression to universities

Internationalisation strategies will be damaged by heavy prioritisation of students from Europe and US, report authors warn

University accused of ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to recent rulings, amid fears of more ‘massive fines’

We cannot lose sight of what makes the US vibrant: that we all benefit when everyone has the chance to thrive, says Marybeth Gasman

Former Universities UK chief takes over higher education super-agency to oversee ‘next phase of development’

Survey of first-generation scholars finds many struggle with ‘unwritten rules’ of academic life

As people from non-traditional backgrounds become the majority in Australian universities, a legal academic argues that efforts to accommodate them can help the old guard too

Recent cases brought by gender-critical employees show that going beyond the law can easily turn into stepping outside the law, says Akua Reindorf

OfS finding that university failed to uphold its free speech duties prompts others into reviewing policies that some believe were ‘copied and pasted’

Three-quarters of teachers in the capital predict at least half their class will go into higher education, according to new polling

The Sussex verdict notwithstanding, we need to ask whose participation free speech enables or denies, says Rishi Trikha

The country tends to shun the extremes and our access policies have generally helped harness talent and to build a cohesive society, says Merlin Crossley

Compulsory assessment tasks that highlight cultural histories of Australia and New Zealand help prepare students for future careers, universities insist

‘Cultural shift’ needed in universities to better recognise work academics do with local communities, Lords committee hears

The order does not even claim to alter existing civil rights law, and its stipulations are arguably in contravention of it, says Geraldine Van Bueren

The administration’s hostile edicts on DEI and science funding are sending shock waves through the US’ world-leading higher education system. Here, we present five takes on what is unfolding

UCL research potentially has significant implications for universities rated on post-study employment outcomes

Statement endorsed by 39 Australian institutions described as both being ‘not robust enough’ and a ‘betrayal’ of staff and students

Sutton Trust warns applicants with disadvantaged upbringings can find application process particularly complex and challenging

Universities must change their language to survive assault on DEI, says former Trump chief of staff

‘No academic friend of mine is not deeply worried about this,’ says scholar

Repeat of UK debate looms, as parliamentary committee urges Australian universities to ‘align’ with IHRA definition, and opposition members say it should be mandatory

Capital comfortably outperforms rest of England on higher education access, but progress is stalling and there are significant intra-regional differences, warns report

‘I want to understand as best we can quantitatively, what are the things that lead to our students leaving?’ says University of Colorado Boulder leader

Universities under political pressure to row back on support for minorities need a rallying point, say Manuel Barcia and Effie Kesidou

Students will now believe they can shut down debate of issues they find uncomfortable, rather than engaging critically, says a queer scholar

Why harm high-quality provision at established universities because of a small number of providers with questionable motives, asks Mark Clark

Scaled and standardised, lowering entry requirements for disadvantaged applicants can contribute to a fairer society, says Jon Datta

Report says English universities should shift back towards collaborative outreach activities, led by national coordinating body

Local context is important in overhauling trustee recruitment – and payment may help, says Nikki Le Faou 

Event hears that cold spots in provision must still be addressed

Managers should take inspiration from student organising, but we need more than diversity window-dressing, say Alexander Hensby and Barbara Adewuni

Governors representing multiple protected characteristics could mean only a ‘small number of individuals’ are responsible for boosting boards’ diversity figures

Higher education funding in the UK may still be inadequate, but cost-cutting cannot come at the expense of social mobility, says Fiona Devine