Academic freedom

Community Security Trust finds 123 incidents affecting Jewish students, academics and student bodies over past two years

‘Confusion’ over UN rules leads event organisers to bar students, experts or groups

More than 50 rectors with no international publications continuously tweet pro-government messages, reflecting country’s waning academic freedom

UK-educated scholar is outspoken about the unjust treatment of girls and women

Anne-Marie Brady complied with policies and legislation, says Canterbury, but statement calls for ‘clarity’ amendments

Amendments to draft proposed by university executive win overwhelming backing in ballot

Australian stocktake urges pared back free speech policies, with civil behaviour desirable but not essential

Gavin Williamson’s directive will embolden other groups to demand the enforcement of their interests by ministerial fiat, says Geoffrey Alderman

Chair of English regulator criticises universities for talking up independence and then seeking support during pandemic

Nottingham agrees undisclosed settlement after undergraduate cleared by fitness-to-practise panel 

French scholars, accused of fostering terrorism, fear escalating rhetoric could curtail freedom of research

As Australia’s Kylie Moore-Gilbert prepares to come home, UN human rights observers express grave fears for Iranian-Swedish academic

New education minister threatens to withdraw funding from universities following abortion law protests clash  

Wider reckoning expected after White House ally Scott Atlas urges uprising against governor

‘New versions of old pressures’ have emerged amid campus closures and budget cuts

UK’s chief scientific adviser for national security says threat to universities’ values is most significant risk

Survey finds one in five scholars self-censored their teaching when students from autocratic states were in their class

Academic says some safety requirements increase risk to researchers and encourages institutions to take flexible, academic-led approach

The silencing of a China expert turns into broader debate about academic freedom and foreign ties

But president Alexander Lukashenko has been forced to replace rectors, and some university managers have refused to expel students – suggesting regime control is not complete

‘Real action’ will come when the government changes the regulator’s standards, policy expert says

University denies impropriety, as faculty groups urge transparent review

Yoshihide Suga’s rejection of appointees to the Science Council of Japan may be opening shot in ‘symbolic war’, says professor 

New guidance suggests UK universities could introduce Chatham House rule for seminars to protect recruits from countries with repressive governments

Neoliberal administrators’ policing of institutional reputations and academic colleagues’ condemnation of dissenting voices on issues such as race and gender have led to claims that scholars are losing their ability to engage in free enquiry and open debate. But is academic freedom really the operative concept in the controversies that arise? John Ross probes a highly contested debate

Colleagues remain baffled at security bureau’s exclusion of Australian literature expert

Be more candid about the nature of your foreign collaborations and think about your own moral responsibilities, Australian parliamentarians warn universities

New code of conduct says universities should adopt procedures for confidential reporting of threats to freedom and safety as a result of international collaboration

Despite a favourable ruling from the EU’s top court, the Central European University, pushed out of Hungary, will remain in Vienna

Observers say the country’s universities are led by loyalists, and have long supported president by expelling opposition students and teaching pro-government ideology courses

Watchdog report comes as president seeks to make political issue of campus intolerance

Recent attacks on high-profile scholars by government and by a university executive should give us pause, say Christopher Vaughan and Daniel Ncayiyana

Despite numerous announcements by the University of British Columbia, indigenous leaders see big talk from a big institution, but no clearer answers on finding balance

Institutions and teachers find workarounds to reach students enrolled in Western courses, but domestic internet rules still constrain efforts

The country would not cancel the visas of Chinese academics without good reason, says banned Australian academic Clive Hamilton

Largely symbolic move comes amid worsening diplomatic ties and after Australia revoked Chinese scholars’ visas

History reminds us that freedom of speech also implies the right to vocally object to and demonstrate against speakers, says Evan Smith

White House wants ‘patriotic education’ and directly threatens Princeton

Bill that would extend statutory duties on free speech to unions and threaten fines under discussion

Oxford epidemiologist and lockdown critic says ‘puritanical’ criticism of idea of herd immunity has chilled legitimate scientific and policy debate

Chinese translators the latest victims as Australia’s security state applies the thumbscrews

Stricter political and administrative controls on what can be said have led to the creation of a pioneering ‘free university’, say Katarzyna Kaczmarska and Dmitry Dubrovsky

As Australia struggles to defend its civic values from foreign interference, critics say translators’ banning shows those values are being undermined from within

Self-censorship, fuelled by fears of media misrepresentation and overstepping expertise, is more problematic than external suppression

Actions by publishers could contribute to Chinese students having more one-sided views, economist tells THE

CEU president says that rather than relying on ‘outside institutions’, academics and students must stand up for themselves

Co-director of research project says deal includes measures to ‘safeguard’ against risks and Dutch authorities were consulted

Online restrictions, which mirror existing rules for in-person events, raise academic freedom concerns

Experts unimpressed by new attack on queer theory, post-colonial theory and other forms of ‘social justice scholarship’ by controversial authors

Government issues arrest warrants for students and files complaint against an overseas academic as protests, some held on university campuses, intensify 

Scholars should not face official censure for making provocative statements on social media, but they have a responsibility to embody academic values of empathy and self-reflection in their online posts, argues Chris Barker

Chinese academics coming home from overseas should be seen as a source of new ideas, not sidelined, study says

Precariously employed researchers may be less willing to rock the boat, says report

Carrie Lam calls criticism ‘groundless’ and insists the city’s universities have academic freedom

As time drags on since their signature course was turfed out, Australian whistleblowers’ colleagues fear their discipline will die a slow death

In ongoing pressure campaign, US cites universities as allowing Beijing propaganda

Survey of UK academics finds both left and right discriminate against each other in hiring, funding and publishing decisions, leading to self-censorship across the sector

English regulator also says it wants to reduce overall burden on providers

As academic’s ordeal goes from bad to worse, colleagues urge more action to secure her release

University’s international head says institutions have been ‘naive’ over global partnerships