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

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

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

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...

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

‘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

Remote Gaelic language specialist faces ‘critical’ period

Encouraged by surge in interest in learning Gaelic, Skye’s Sabhal Mòr Ostaig looks to branch out on its own despite pressures on language courses and specialist providers

‘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

Qualitative researchers’ AI rejection is based on identity, not reason

The claim that AI can’t make meaning contradicts what researchers are finding when they put these tools to careful, critical use, says James Goh

Iran’s students are pushing for revolution

Students may not have started the current uprising but they are seizing what might be a last chance to remake the country, says Roohola Ramazani

Rise in firsts at some English providers ‘unexplained’, warns OfS

Regulator says proportion of top marks awarded by institutions still way above what might be expected