Explain how REF money is spent, universities told

Research England hopes transparency pilot could lead to more accountability but critics fear bureaucracy and government control

Universities left as ‘piggy in the middle’ after skills reshuffle

Lack of clarity over how brief held by Jacqui Smith will be carved up risks delaying crucial policy interventions, critics fear

Research integrity needs a kindness agenda or we will lose ECRs

Responding to early-career researchers’ honest questions with accusations of misconduct is a travesty of open science, says Madeleine Pownall

UCU to hold nationwide strike ballot after ‘insulting’ pay offer

Union threatens ‘coordinated’ strikes to cause ‘maximum disruption’ at UK universities

Red tape ‘stifling teaching and research’, Senate inquiry hears

Foreign arrangements scheme an example of the regulatory ‘thicket’ smothering universities’ core business, v-cs tell governance inquiry

‘Wage theft’ claims ‘unfair on university payroll staff’

Australian employer association says ‘system complexity’, not governance or deliberate dishonesty, is ‘root cause’ of widespread underpayments

Accreditors step up focus on ‘Wild West’ microcredentials

‘Dynamic pricing’: overseas students offered thousands off fees

Some ‘scholarships’ advertised by UK universities contingent on grades or ‘ambassadorial duties’, with others applied automatically to all

China aims for ‘agile’ education with fast-track degree approvals

New action plan lets universities launch AI- and tech-focused majors within months in response to changing labour market demands

AI easier to deal with if accepted as a ‘wicked problem’

No correct solution to the challenge of assessment in the age of generative AI, and academics must be given ‘permission’ to tailor their approaches, Australian researchers say

Are standards slipping on English language testing?

Financial strains and the emergence of digital testing have led to concerns that anglophone universities are admitting students whose English is not good enough to allow them to succeed. But are...

The REF’s postponement raises hopes that sanity will prevail on PCE

The three-month pause to re-examine the assessment of ‘people, culture and environment’ could prelude a welcome reversal, says Alice Sullivan

Review retirement age rules for Teachers’ Pension Scheme – unions

Falling life expectancy calls for a rethink of when university staff qualify for benefits, letter to Treasury says

Universities ‘poisoning student minds’, says Farage

Populist leader takes aim at higher education in speech on first day of the Reform UK conference in Birmingham

Kyle promoted to business secretary as skills ‘moved out of DfE’

Keir Starmer reshuffles Cabinet after Angela Rayner resignation, with big implications for higher education