Opinion

Hefce figures show that the proportion of scholars under 30 is falling: the implications for the sector's future could be severe

In puritan times, says Thomas Docherty, we need sabbaticals more than ever

Transnational initiatives pay dividends far greater than a share of the overseas student market, Paul Greatrix insists

Pay-to-publish will work for top-flight Big Science: for everything else it will be a disaster, says Salvatore Babones

Sir Martin Harris, Offa's outgoing director, argues that widening participation and fair access remain key to the sector's progress

The UK has more professors than ever, says Stephen Court, but their influence over their institutions, and their optimism, is on the wane

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The government expected price sensitivity and consumer choice to drive down degree costs, but that's not happening

Life/work imbalance hits women harder. But despair not, says Sally Feldman

The British Library is rising to the challenges posed by the creative chaos of the digital age, says outgoing chief executive Lynne Brindley

Public policy shaped Wales' universities early on, and it shapes and supports them still, says Leighton Andrews

As Whitehall mulls reducing quality assurance, Hefce seems to be calling for more. Simeon Underwood is tired of the same old song

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In dark days, the academy must dare to look beyond arguments for economic impact and restate the case for its intrinsic value

Christopher Bigsby is as qualified as any chancellor - and less harmful

A community can run wisely and well without market values, Alan Ryan says

By any objective measure, Welsh university research simply doesn't deserve its bad press, argues Peter Halligan

A cross-border certification regime run by institutions is the only way to tackle unscrupulous recruiters, says Mitch Leventhal

The chief scientific adviser needs academic, diplomatic and political skills. Mark Walport might have them all, thinks James Wilsdon

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Going for gold is the solid approach, argues Michael Mabe...but David Price counters that only green is sustainable

Earth's problems know no borders, observes Feridun Hamdullahpur, and research efforts must be collaborative and global to tackle them

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With immigration and university standards hot issues, any impropriety involving recruiters abroad could tar the sector

Felipe Fernández-Armesto urges students to take on tutors in a war of ideas

Universities must disclose scholars' financial conflicts of interest or the integrity of faculty opinion will be jeopardised, says Cary Nelson

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The move to open access should not mean cuts to research: the government and industry could pitch in to cover the transition

Malcolm Gillies on music, leadership and youth

Contra the media and the bruised egos in the financial sector, the academic mindset is well suited to the Bank of England governorship

Innovation oughtn't mean just profit-making technology - there is a subtler, social sort, explains Nick Petford

It's wrong to call 1,000-strong institutions 'universities', says Michael Farthing, and it's not just a matter of semantics

As British students from all classes look to the US and challenges rise in the East, Anthony Seldon warns the sector against complacency

The information deluge and the promise of open enterprise offer UK universities an opportunity not to be missed, says Geoffrey Boulton

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Private growth in the sector is a tender subject, but the reality is more complex than ideologues on both sides would have it

Thomas Docherty muses on the challenges of second-language acquisition

Research is a global effort, so all must sign the White House petition for open access, argues Cameron Neylon

Aldwyn Cooper, head of Regent's College, explains why he has no plans to turn a profit if the institution gets degree-awarding powers

Greece's academy is long overdue for reform, Giorgos Vavouranakis says, but Law 4009's discredited neoliberalism is not the answer

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The Bauhaus’ principles still have much to teach us, argues Sally Feldman

Between the fatuous emotion and the response falls Christopher Bigsby

Preparing to retire after 16 years as a v-c, John Craven is dreaming of a new philosophy - and being a student again

An emetic email leads Simeon Underwood to discuss how universities are struggling to cope with the permanent immigration revolution

A.W. Purdue, who is no fan of sport, despairs at the thought of a summer given over to Games madness

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The Finch group's open-access task is tricky, but has it missed a trick by not investigating publishers' profit margins?

Give independent scholars their funding due, says Peter Geoghegan: while the academy is 'rethinking', they are busy doing

The sector offers the total package: blue-skies insights for the future and industrial payoffs now, argues Nick Wright

David Willetts defends the coalition's student finance policy as a fair, progressive model that will support the present and protect the future