After a year of Trump, fear is the dominant emotion on US campuses

We surveyed US scholars last year; the fact that we cannot identify ourselves as authors of the study speaks volumes, say two academics 

Use of subsidiaries to avoid pension costs ‘fragmenting sector’

Institutions forced to take matters into their own hands as high employer contributions ‘increase likelihood of university closure’

New Australian hate speech laws ‘threaten’ academic freedom

Concerns persist despite eleventh-hour watering down of legislative response to Bondi massacre

UK job applications from US-based staff rise by a quarter

‘Trump effect’ drives surge in US HE workers looking to move abroad, with China, Australia and Ireland also big beneficiaries

Third of UK universities post deficits but cash flow improves

Analysis suggests much of the sector remains mired in financial difficulty with total losses increasing, but rise in income brings hope

Parental burden ‘stealthily increased’ as student loans flatline

Vast majority of parents in England having to support children at university, finds poll, with some sending more than £1,000 a month

The erasure of women from Afghan public life is a nation-building disaster

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was partly justified with reference to the urgency of improving women’s rights. But as the US winds up its reconstruction efforts and the restored Taliban...

AI has moved into universities’ engine room, but no one is at the controls

Ever more processes rely on artificial intelligence, yet our governance is still stuck at the level of ‘is it OK for students to use ChatGPT in essays?’, says Tom Smith

Iran’s universities battered but not beyond repair, scholars say

Teaching and research central to any hopes of rebuilding country, according to academics, as pressure grows for political change

Guest editors use special issues to ‘publish in support of self’

Large numbers of editors publishing in their own special issue attacked as ‘academic narcissism’ and ‘scientific misconduct’ in first-of-its-kind study

Chair exits Greater Manchester role amid governance investigation

MP calls for institution to take steps to restore trust as concerns mount over how it has been run

Reflecting on a bad year for college presidents

‘Bizarre’ linguistics paper on water retracted by Springer Nature

Jordanian professor’s free-wheeling study is pulled and an editorial board member sacked after linguists criticised ‘extremely strange’ article

‘We can either save jobs or award pay rises – but not both’

New Ucea chair warns ‘much is at stake’ if unions and employers don’t collaborate to tackle ‘negative’ sector image, as he promises action on the ‘employee experience’

German universities reluctant to join India campus boom

Politicians target closer research collaboration between two countries but campuses unlikely to follow, given funding constraints