Politics

But insiders say there are votes to be gained in policies to make participation more equitable

V-cs increasingly predict next government will have to look again at sector funding as costs rise and universities face ‘running on fumes’

With emphasis on research commercialisation and limited gains in aid, higher education senses lost opportunity in Liberal-NDP team

Joint statement released by Russell Group and Group of Eight amid concerns about ‘overkill’ regulations

Universities minister says government may suspend engagement with National Union of Students in light of recent allegations

Student body president concedes academic value, for most black students, outweighs the problems causing many faculty to leave, but calls for stronger leadership

Older and more prestigious institutions could be among the 10 to 15 being inspected next year

Australian universities face more restrictions on their foreign collaboration, no matter who wins the coming election

The president of Macau University of Science and Technology discusses overhauling engineering education and the differences between Macao and Hong Kong 

As president vows to lower drug prices, academia sides with corporates against allowing waivers to legislation credited with driving US innovation

Amid election-year debate on college costs, Biden extends pause on federal loan repayments and wipes away records of past defaults

Iran’s universities have thrived despite the country’s sanctions, which could soon be lifted – but nation still beset by lack of postgraduate opportunities, scholars say

As investigations into a third Romanian prime minister stall, experts say awareness and consistent policies are needed

Growth can help arts university deliver access and ‘social purpose’ despite English funding freeze, says v-c, architect of Blair’s HE expansion target

Government also demands English regulator mount 10-15 on-site inspections checking factors such as use of online teaching

Despite incremental reforms throughout Emmanuel Macron’s first term as president, France still has one of the most centralised higher education systems in Europe. As the election looms, Ben Upton examines attitudes towards institutional autonomy and asks whether its supposed effects on equality and academic freedom are limiting appetite for more

But promised infrastructure and research commercialisation funding could stretch thin

There was ‘no obvious solution’ on fees, but a more targeted review could ‘take politics out’ of accounting for university funding, says Jonathan Slater

Culture change becomes a numbers game as agreement drafters try to pin down progress without spooking major players

Australia’s big talk on science aspirations overlooks the skills needed to make it all happen, critics say

In fiscal 2023 budget plan, president seeks to bolster student and research grants, but without specific eye on community colleges and immigrant children

Allan Goodman tells THE that need to keep pace with other nations could push issue up political agenda

Cabinet minister says he would like to see new institutions in places like Doncaster, Wigan and Grimsby

Canberra’s policy changes helped turn its big-ticket infrastructure schemes into pipe dreams, university-industry report argues

Announcement comes amid growing criticism of extra regulatory load placed on universities by reforms 

Clash of views on whether controversial legislation’s support is dwindling and whether it will be carried over to next session of Parliament

With new divisions at NIH and NSF, federal government making long-promised structural changes to get universities and their scientists beyond their silos

Penalties for student snitches and curbs on Confucius Institutes and Thousand Talents Programme among dozens of recommendations from security committee

University-led projects ‘directly supporting local employers, jobs, and communities’ at risk, UUK tells government

Withdrawal of honorary degree from government race review chair raises Tory ire, while OfS chief executive says legislation would allow it to act on such cases

Parliamentarians clash on funding discretion and whether it should continue, but agree on need for ARC review

Tory former minister who abolished binary divide says hierarchy should be on ‘educational quality’ only – and sector ‘still not properly accountable’

Three decades after the abolition of the binary divide between universities and polytechnics, some commentators still lament the supposed loss of locally focused vocational education. But even as the political winds buffet them, do post-92s offer the solution to the UK’s skills problem? John Morgan reports

Vocational and higher education get equal billing, as Australian university groups unite in jobs-focused election spiel

Flagship campus resumes full autumn admissions plans after legislature exempts it from environmental ruling, but promises fixes to housing crisis

Annual measure offers significant aid increases for low-income and minority students, more modest gains for research spending

The KAUST president discusses the treatment of women and academic freedom

Any attempt to address regional inequalities must recognise the role of post-92 universities as anchor institutions, says Ian Campbell

Authorities to debate changes to master’s and PhD enrolment systems

The 10-year Idex process to reconfigure French universities and make them more internationally visible has reached its conclusion, writes John Ludden

Proposal to ‘link performance and funding’ the latest in an interventionist trend

Identification of 100,000 eligible borrowers cast as first step to fulfill long-promised relief for teachers and others in public and non-profit jobs

Supporters say student engagement could lead to a ‘less radicalised’ student body, but fear more political meddling in institutional decisions

Veto powers not unique to the ARC, medical research funder says – although they are not exercised elsewhere

IRU’s pre-election manifesto for university sector also recommends adoption of the UK’s Haldane principle

Student number controls idea seen as response to ‘handing over levers’ to shape English provision in 2010 switch to loans-based system

‘Big-picture thinkers’ would set national priorities, sidestep electoral cycles and deal with ‘boundary issues’ involving indigenous knowledge

Local authorities should work in close collaboration with academic institutions to make international students feel welcome, says James Pitman

With data showing better post-secondary pathway, administration wants more job-oriented course offerings

While most submissions support legislation to end ministerial veto rights, some urge middle ground approach

The Augar response highlights ministers’ hopes that rising costs will make certain courses economically unviable, says Alexis Brown

Frozen fee levels must rise eventually, but universities need to deliver efficiency gains through hybrid learning, says David Willetts

Threshold indexing change, not mentioned by DfE in media briefings, brings lifetime hit of up to £19,000 for ‘lower middling earners’ who took out loans after 2012

Orbán administration’s illiberal intrusions into institutional governance will be ‘difficult’ to reverse, say scholars 

Westminster policy package described as ‘missed opportunity’ that leaves ‘difficult questions’ to be answered by next government

But academic expresses concern about first-time voters treating enfranchisement as a ‘TikTok moment’

An unsustainable strategic choice has been made to worsen the university offer for future students and graduates, says Chris Husbands

Academics call on overseas colleagues to ‘stand with us’ as Putin’s army attacks

Flawed assumptions about how universities and statisticians would react to the trebling of fees are behind today’s retrogressive steps, says Aaron Porter

Plans for students to apply to university after receiving their results have again been abandoned