Management and governance

Long-serving leader will bow out of hometown university early next year

Ministers intervene after Yuko Fujigaki did not win staff vote, but supporters say row demonstrates wider threats to university autonomy

Government demands changes after internet sleuths identify errors, as analyses of past mergers cast doubt on benefits

Critics slam consultant’s ‘flawed’ assumptions, ‘nice round numbers’ and reference errors ‘bearing the hallmarks of AI’

Students and staff to have more seats at the table, state government promises, ahead of fiercely contested election

Luis Vassy’s first two years running the renowned but scandal-plagued Paris institution have been marked in the popular imagination by calling the police on protesters occupying a lecture hall. But his moves to make admission fairer and build a Brussels campus could define his legacy, writes Seher Asaf

Chief scientific adviser-turned-university president to step down when six-year term ends

While consultant’s report suggests benefits will massively outweigh costs, staff have joined administrators in vowing to ‘vehemently fight’ the proposal

Merger of three public universities ‘would create cost, waste and loss of choice’ while ushering ‘complexity rather than competitiveness’

PVC for education to leave Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to head up independent sector standards assessor after period of interim leadership

Governing councils must incorporate voices that raise problems they may not want to hear about, say Jesse Gardner-Russell and Richard Lee 

Female students may be forced to leave country because they do not feel safe amid string of alleged incidents connected to campuses, experts warn

Morten Axel Pedersen says challenge of adapting to new technologies on same scale as industrial revolution

Jane Harrington describes her institution’s merger with Kent as ‘incredibly hard work’ and warns struggling institutions would need support to do the same

The success of the West’s oldest university is down to its ability to adapt to the challenges of each era and a strong relationship with its city, Giovanni Molari tells Seher Asaf

US retreat means the UK has unique opportunity to become the ‘global destination of talent’, but risks squandering it, v-cs and politicians tell Labour conference

New arrangement not necessarily a conflict but it makes the advocacy job harder, says Australian governance expert

Scandals about franchised provision have undermined the sector, and universities need to ensure failings are not repeated, vice-chancellors say

Vice-chancellor turned PhD student says university executives can feel ‘isolated’ and are seen as having gone to the ‘dark side’

State government would have firmer hand on universities’ operations under recommendations from latest inquiry into sector ‘crisis’

No amount of executive coaching can compensate for a role whose incumbents are accountable for what they can’t fully control, says Vicki L. Baker 

Vice-chancellor appointment follows contentious deputy v-c roles in Victoria

‘Dubious distinction’ for national university, as regulator raises question marks over licence to operate

As he prepares to retire, Arden vice-chancellor reflects on challenges running for-profit institutions

Regulator says it will adopt more collegiate attitude following High Court defeat

University told to show it can balance new commercial pressures with retaining its academic ethos to prove new model is ‘credible’

Paris-based higher education group eyeing more UK investment says it won’t rule out any category of institution

Public institution to become autonomous company within wider private education group

Intellectual disagreements, broader societal problems and ‘governance 101’ are being misconstrued as blunders, Carolyn Evans claims

We discuss the environmental implications of mass GenAI adoption across higher education and why universities are failing to account for its use in their quest to reduce carbon emissions

Peter Bonfield, who has led Westminster since 2018, named chief executive of British Cycling

Amalgamation with struggling institute of technology would make both institutions ‘an even better proposition’, says university boss

A distressed institution is unlikely to have the cash, management bandwidth and capacity to absorb disruption required by a merger, says David Lloyd

From next spring, Martyn’s Law will mandate proportionate arrangements to protect staff, students and visitors, says Laura Gibb

Rather than relying on an annual survey, governance procedures need regular intelligence on AI developments, says Nick McIntosh

Governing body terminates contract amid ongoing police investigation into financial irregularities

Updated guidance reflects European Convention on Human Rights, which could make it easier for universities to restrict extreme views

Newly appointed chair of Independent Higher Education on weeding out bad actors, complementing traditional universities and the perks of small teams

Country’s aim to shrink sector 20 per cent using mergers likely to have mixed results

Scholars considering leaving as result of getting stuck in junior positions and complaints about their work and accents

Science and maths programmes among those suspended in recent months, with UCU claiming decisions are being made ‘in haste’

Departing leader of St Mary’s reflects on how Teqsa differs from OfS, maintaining proportionality in regulation and ensuring smaller institutions can stand out despite pressures towards homogeneity

Institutions from the US, UK and France given go-ahead in second round of openings following controversial change in law governing private institutions

Proposals to change watchdog’s fee structure will not address concerns about growing costs, providers say

Institutions whose managers are unaccountable to their staff can never be truly civic universities, says Krzysztof Nawratek  

Former Birkbeck leader handed role until 2028 after resignation of Wendy Thomson

Front foot action preferable to the compliance burden bound to follow the next round of bruising headlines, as sector awaits Royal Commission’s report

With two universities set to become one entity next month, unions say there are still too many unknowns about how the new institution will operate

‘Bumps’ inevitable when an institution tries to fuse the best of the East and the West, according to management theory expert

Angela Scott, who has headed Aberdeen City Council for 12 years, faces daunting task of bringing university back from brink of bankruptcy

Quality badge recognises programmes co-designed across borders, as EU moves closer to creating cross-continental degree

Overhaul aims to satisfy EU requirements, while giving the government time to come up with a replacement for controversial foundation model

The institutions that transformed the modern world face existential threats from AI, political hostility and their own inertia, says Geoff Mulgan

South Australian largesse pushes average Australian vice-chancellor earnings higher than ever

Michael Still steps down amid investigation into university contracts, with union reps cautioning that governance issues are ‘sector-wide’

Universities to use government transformation funding to explore collaboration opportunities, but representatives insist institutions will maintain their own identities

Sham and shortcut consultations frowned on, as Canberra mulls more governance reforms

Cranfield deputy-vice-chancellor to become private institution’s first female leader after departure of James Tooley

Satisfaction gained from academic jobs undermined by mounting workloads and ‘creeping’ administrative burden, finds study

Employment tribunal case brought by astronomy professor over ‘culture of misogyny’ within prestigious department concludes