Opinion

Got some last minute scholarly Christmas shopping to do? Glen Wright has got your back

Clare McGlynn is not surprised that the UK was overlooked as a focus country after a successful EU funding bid

It may be five years since Moocs went mainstream, but Diana Laurillard and Eileen Kennedy believe they still have the potential to reach the hard-to-reach

The rapid increase in the number of unconditional offers being made to school-leavers is cause for concern, says Mike Nicholson

Group CEO of the Universities Superannuation Scheme Bill Galvin outlines the processes and procedures involved in the pension scheme valuation

Pay awards to vice-chancellors would not meet the requirements laid down in the Corporate Governance Code, says Stuart Farquhar

Universities hoping to submit staff who have already left are going to have to work hard on maintaining goodwill, says Robert Dingwall

Controversy in Canada over support for blue-skies research would diminish if more researchers took Pasteur’s approach, says Creso Sá

Academic travel is hard work, but destinations that are sunny and picturesque have their consolations, says Emily Michelson

The mantra that research is loss-making is a convenient fiction used to draw more money to the centres of universities, say Peter Coveney and Christopher Greenwell    

Outrage over vice-chancellors’ remuneration has focused on individuals – but the buck stops with governors

Without action, the UK might end up in the situation of funding both subscriptions and article-processing charges on an ongoing basis, writes Helen Blanchett

Mark Jones looks at what happens to the league tables if you isolate the World University Rankings’ teaching metrics

Longer courses could mean bigger loans, which would eat into the government’s trumpeted savings, says Nick Hillman

Rich Sullivan-Jones on why the National Audit Office looked into higher education, and what its report tells us about the HE ‘market’

Phil Baty asked his Twitter followers what they thought of government plans for two-year undergraduate degrees, and they did not hold back

Les Hatton and Gregory Warr give their two-pronged solution to the problems of peer review

John Gill on today’s NAO report, which claims that students are, in effect, victims of ‘mis-selling’ by higher education institutions

Although satisfaction and learning are not the same thing, universities need to be better at explaining the value that they bring, says Will Pooley

There are many hidden costs associated with PhD study, writes Alfredo Cumerma, particularly if you want to land that dream job on graduation

Monographs typically constitute a scholar’s greatest achievement, but REF strategists discourage their production, says Bruce Macfarlane

Institutions must be willing to meet the new world of populism and protectionism halfway, says Matthew Andrews

The recent downfalls of Dame Glynis Breakwell and Grace Mugabe are very different stories, but both reveal some age-old traits, says Agnieszka Piotrowska

Inequality remains a pernicious problem at our elite universities. Failure to tackle it will have negative consequences for individuals and society at large

It has been a tough year for higher education, but we must not forget how universities transform their students’ life chances, says Maddalaine Ansell

Pam Tatlow looks at the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ of the v-c salary row, and finds some unfortunate trends

Gabriel Paquette calls on universities to meet 'aggressive' tax reforms with a 'forceful, evidence-informed response'

The government’s latest Brexit reassurances are just another punch in the face for EU scholars, writes Tanja Bueltmann

James Seymour says it is unfair to tar all private providers with the same brush following revelations of admissions fraud at one college

Wales will become the first system in Europe to offer equivalent maintenance support to full-time and part-time undergraduates, as well as postgraduates, explains Kirsty Williams  

Sally Hunt offers three ways to fix the proposed USS pension reforms

The government is working hard to secure the rights of the 33,000 academics from other EU countries who are working in the UK, says immigration minister Brandon Lewis

Focus on rankings risks neglecting the genuine quality improvements that could propel Indian institutions into the global league, says Amarnath Bose

It is wrong and discriminatory to assume that religion is a barrier to academic or professional excellence, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Rigour, hierarchy and payrolls are not incompatible with an anti-managerial, democratic and grades-free approach, says Eliane Glaser

The 2021 research excellence framework could be more representative and humane than ever, but the devil will be in the implementation, says James Wilsdon

In the rivalry to make the next scientific breakthrough, collaboration is key. But the UK’s post-Brexit course only undermines its competitive standing

As Dame Glynis Breakwell announces her resignation from Bath, James Treadwell urges scholars to celebrate the real value in our universities

As a report suggests social mobility in the UK is getting worse, Chris Husbands outlines how Sheffield Hallam is attempting to tackle the problem

The Industrial White Paper is welcome, says Andy Westwood, but does it also represent an opportunity missed?

The UK needs its universities more than ever, and the government needs to realise their importance, says Sir Keith Burnett

Ang Davies looks at the pros and cons of the University of Manchester’s recent clinical bioinformatics Mooc

With part-time student numbers through the floor, the time has come for reform, says David Latchman

Diana Beech on an HE-light Budget that nonetheless has some implications for university staff and students

If the Office for Students ever intervenes over freedom of speech, it will only be to widen it, says Michael Barber

Faith in private-sector innovation has driven Conservative reforms under both Willetts and Johnson – but is that really what universities need?

Australia’s new impact assessment exercise recognises cultural, social and environmental impacts, but there is a danger that economic impact will override everything, says David Lloyd

The TEF’s new name may be less misleading, but its incentives remain just as perverse, says Roger Brown

Academic disputes can be acrimonious and unedifying, but victory is always sweet, says Shahidha Bari

Agnieszka Piotrowska looks at the past, present and possible future of Zimbabwe’s universities, following the resignation of Robert Mugabe

Research suggests that students learn better in their native tongue, and English fails to prepare international students for a job after graduation, says Michele Gazzola

Ahead of the UK City of Culture 2021 being named next month, Craig Mahoney looks at how winning the title can revitalise towns and their universities

A badly understood notion of risk has created a fake crisis in university pensions that will devastate academia, argues Dennis Leech

Stephanie Marshall looks at the common features exhibited by universities that successfully achieved a TEF rating upgrade

David Robinson looks at what Philip Hammond might have in store for universities

After rulings against six universities, Iain Campbell and Moya Clifford offer advice on making sure that university adverts are not misleading

It may be the only bit of your thesis that most people will read, but do not waste your best title on your PhD, says Zachary Foster

Academia often treats leavers as failures, but some of our smartest scholars are starting to see walking away as liberation, writes Inger Mewburn

Rising tuition fees and the marketisation of higher education mean the time is right to explore a new model, says Joss Winn