University admissions

Drop driven by fall in number of mature, part-time and non-degree seeking students in past year

State school students more likely to apply for highly competitive courses, says university report

Recommended applicants tend to be more active members of community and give more generously as alumni, says US research

Conor Ryan says students should apply to university once they know their A-level grades

There are now more women than men in higher education worldwide. While it would appear to be a victory for gender equality, this imbalance also highlights boys’ educational underachievement. Ellie Bothwell reports

Overseas students’ academic potential is hobbled if their English does not far exceed current thresholds, says Danijela Trenkic

Fears over international impact of UT Tyler’s decision, with Nepalese applicants hardest hit

But Grattan Institute report urges government, institutions to steer those unlikely to finish towards cost-saving early exit

Regional institutions, facing uncertain funding future, build case for more federal support ahead of budget

Australian schools to run short of teachers as funding cuts and ‘bad media’ bite into education enrolments

But survey finds less than a third of colleges actually look at social media profiles when making admissions decisions

But government data predict that share of black and ethnic minority students on campuses will rise

A dwindling share of post-school students could leave the country’s workforce short of know-how

The curricular dominance of popular music may sell tickets but belies the point of a musical education, says Sam Richards

New Hepi paper that ranks universities on intake equality illustrates gulf between some Russell Group universities and others

Leading expert says a non-academic enrolment mechanism would cause more problems than it solved

Providers fear funding changes could impede disadvantaged Australians’ road to university

Turner prizewinner says universities should make greater efforts to recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds

Policymakers in the US and the UK advise against abolishing fees in light of lessons from gratuidad programme

US-Australian study finds that older students in classes have a better chance of entering higher education

Teenagers have completed three-year programme of after-school tuition

Critical acclaim for Admissions, about the experience of a white student and a black student applying to Yale University

Fixation with students’ scores on national ATAR scale constrains teaching innovation in schools, says report

Aston researchers calculate the tensile forces at work when Spider-Man prevents a ship from splitting in two

Hepi report warns that surge in youth population and higher participation will add to government’s funding headache in England 

Programme closures at Australian Catholic University are more disruptive than previously realised

New money aims to attract students from groups with historically low university participation rates

Office for Students will have ‘much more nuanced and smarter set of powers’ than predecessor organisations, says Chris Millward

Minister unswayed by steelworker’s warning on impact of funding reforms

Monash v-c warns funding freeze is a threat to social cohesion

Sutton Trust report says selective universities should reserve places for local working-class pupils to increase access

Canadian universities’ recruitment of teachers must be done purely on academic merit, say Rodney Clifton and Alexandra Burnett 

Five historians reflect on the disciplinary, institutional, social and political challenges facing their subject

Lawsuit reveals price of consultancy provided to Vietnamese woman by Ivy Coach

Latest data show that Republic is no longer source of strongest demand for UK courses within EU

Analysis of the latest Ucas recruitment data suggests some institutions have changed strategy in the past few years

The latest edition of Times Higher Education discussed by the editorial team

Imperial College London president predicts that higher education institutions will follow global corporations in screening applicants using AI-based algorithms

Union fears changes will increase selectivity in university system

Increased interest from EU and overseas fails to make up for shrinking 18-year-old population and reduced demand from mature students

Latest Hesa data show that University of Oxford again has lowest share of new students from state schools, but Oxford Brookes is furthest from its benchmark

India has made clear that education is key to a future trade deal; the UK must take note, says Lord Bilimoria

Improving access to education should be measured by university dropout rates, says Russell Group chief executive

Former Soviet state can become destination for international students thanks to its successful fight against academic graft, says minister

But latest Ucas data show that institutions with the worst records in the past have seen an improvement

Loss of bursaries is not only cause of dramatic fall in applications for UK nursing courses, say university leaders

Unconditional offers harm A-level performance, but contextual offers do not – and they better target social mobility, says John Law

Mary Visser asks if universities are delivering for people born in the late 1990s

How can more degrees be the solution to urban deprivation when poor areas offer no graduate careers? asks Robert Hesketh

The uncapped system had many benefits but its cost was ultimately too high for politicians to bear, writes Andrew Norton

England’s outgoing director of fair access mulls progress on participation and gives advice to new regulator

Pro vice-chancellor warns that students may be ending up on courses on which they will struggle

Latest data from Ucas suggest bulk of institutions are increasingly recruiting students with similar grade profiles

The rapid increase in the number of unconditional offers being made to school-leavers is cause for concern, says Mike Nicholson

Ucas figures show the subjects, geographical areas and grades where getting such an offer is most likely 

More than one in six 18-year-old applicants now gets no-strings-attached offer, Ucas data show

Six institutions with strong graduation rates announce new targets 

Students do not have enough information to make choices about degrees, says watchdog

Jack Grove explores current strategies for widening participation in higher education, and finds out why improving access remains a huge challenge across the world, despite growing university enrolment

James Seymour says it is unfair to tar all private providers with the same brush following revelations of admissions fraud at one college