Opinion

Peter Geoghegan lauds an HEA-funded project that aims to correct the commodification of the academic experience

Sciences Po shows that massive tuition-fee rises can be used to underwrite efforts to widen participation, Peter Gumbel writes

Our willingness to end funding for 2* work bodes ill for the future of research at elites and new universities alike, says Michael Rayner

David Willetts, advocate for the arts? Nothing like it, accuses Sally Feldman

Michael Chung proposes the Einstein/Murray Rule to help researchers determine the true value of their work

The 'impact' of great work is neither immediate nor measurable by the apparatchiks: it echoes down the ages, says Simon Blackburn

Shocked by his students' great reluctance to read, Nicholas Morton sought a way to get them hooked on the habit

Tim Birkhead finds a valuable lesson in the story of the bullfinch trainers

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: I can't take the (slow) pace

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: The horror, the horror...

Trinity College Dublin staff follow ancient traditions in the election of their head, but one voter fears their loss as the state encroaches

The British Academy can be proud of its steadfastly arm's-length allocation of public funds, Adam Roberts argues

But the pursuit of money can be a zero-sum game, and one nation's loss may be another's gain - as the UK could learn to its cost

The obsession with contact hours is a result of the market logic that threatens to undermine the academy, argues Thomas Docherty

…and when it comes to £9,000 fees, you ought to lie in it, argues Kevin Fong

External examiner James Derounian seeks respect and fair remuneration for the bastions of the appraisal system

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Tinker, tailor, student, spy

To stop the Arab Spring developing into an oppressive winter, the changemakers should read their Camus, argues Robert Zaretsky

Who wouldn't want to help Africans avoid malaria and find sustainable work? Western aid officials, says Nick Petford

Peter Mandler worries that government priorities are creeping into AHRC decision-making and constraining researchers

Alan Ryan wonders why women still appear to be losing out in academia

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Time to be counted?

Michael Boylan on strategies to engage, empower and educate students when discussing controversial issues

In the search for new proxies to inform the World University Rankings, overseas collaboration is a real contender, says Jonathan Adams

Offa’s access agreements will not work, argues Thomas Docherty, although two principles should be kept in any alternative system

Felipe Fernández-Armesto fears for the future of a leading comprehensive

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: She knows where the bodies are buried

Ethical downfalls are not the result of single acts, but rather the daily erosion of moral standards, says Stefano Harney

The German government minister who was accused of plagiarism really just wants to be loved, claims Christopher Reid

Steve Smith discusses the fundamental dilemmas that knowledge economies face over funding mass education systems and research

Malcolm Gillies discusses the reality of university reputation

Inept alumni communications derail the desire to give, says Tim Birkhead

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Cosmetic effect

Katie Best calls for business school rankings that measure pedagogic merit, not simply cash and corporate power

In today's insecure academy, quality control takes a back seat to pleasing students and covering up errors, a senior lecturer claims

Full competition for qualified students would keep fees down, says Alasdair Smith, and limiting unqualified numbers would control costs

Science alone cannot get to the heart of what makes us human, which is why the humanities and social sciences matter so much

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Sic semper tyrannis

Ending visas for non-EU graduate students to stay in the UK to work would be disastrous, warns Kathryn Holeywell

The LSE's faith in the state has been its default setting for too long. It must break free and seek independence, Terence Kealey argues

Students paying high fees will expect high-quality lectures in return. George Watson gives tips on how to meet those expectations

Sally Feldman stands up for popular works of scholarship

The universities minister has ruined his relationship with the sector, Simon Szreter argues, and it will take more than speeches to fix it

Universities' intention to charge £9,000 fees has undermined the government's plans. Bahram Bekhradnia considers its options

Kevin Fong decides to not make a meal of a life-threatening situation

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Blag on?