Universities are being told to improve their social mix, but what can they do when early years exert such influence on life chances, Chris Bunting asks. Education secretary Charles Clarke has had...
First it was firefighters, now it's academia's turn - a pay rise with strings. But will the army be sent in to take on teaching and research if the deal is rejected, wonders Valerie Atkinson....
Politicians may be squeamish about taxing the population but, argues Richard Whiting, an earnings-related graduate levy is the logical solution to HE's funding crisis. At the heart of the funding...
I am interested in the differing views of the function of higher education (Soapbox, THES , December 20/; Letters, THES , January 3). I studied for my bachelor and master of arts degrees as a mature...
How refreshing in its clarity was sixth-former Ryan Butler's comment: "Can't people be trained on the job, with companies paying for them to go to university, rather than government?" (Analysis, THES...
Ian Jamieson's reported definition of lecturing as "emptying your head" ("Students rail at cuts in lectures", THES , January 3) is one for the world dictionary of ugly aphorisms. If institutions...
Andrew J. Morgan (Letters, THES , January 3) confuses two separate activities. The protection of academics against governments, employers and sponsors is a matter for the unions and bodies such as...
Americans do indeed "get what they pay for", as Peter Andras and Bruce Charlton state with regard to elite teaching colleges ("The student purse can save us from the mediocre", THES , January 3). The...
Offering progression from further to higher is presented as the latest thinking, yet it is nothing new for art and design institutes ("Access-driven Hodge eases way for mergers", THES , December 13...
Showing the University of Gloucestershire as having the second worst record for recruiting disabled students is misleading ("Who falls behind in the pursuit of justice", THES , December 20/). We did...
Why do academics, when discussing the nexus between research and teaching, seem unable to distinguish between different academic subjects and their emphasis on understanding or factual knowledge,...
Great play is made of the fact that universities and colleges are centres of learning and research and that one activity feeds the other. Both need monitoring for quality. But in separating the...
The University of the Wi****ersrand regrets that in reporting the resignation of Norma Reid Birley as vice-chancellor ("UK v-c told 'quit Wits' amid row", THES, November 22; "Council forces Wits v-c...
Alfred Nobel created five, not six, prize categories (Books, THES , January 3). The prize in economic sciences was created by the Swedish national bank and was first awarded in 1969. Peter van den...
The Diary (January 3) made gentle fun of the fact that Bristol v-c Eric Thomas is sometimes known as "ET", and that I am "BT". But it said the latter stood for "Barry Thomas" instead of "Barry Taylor...