Politics

A ban on abortion clinics’ use of university-affiliated doctors is a barefaced interference in universities’ hiring decisions, says Edward Halperin

Backlash grows to include proposed legislation to remove ministers’ power to cancel funding applications

Ex-prime minister says cancellation of funding ‘betrays government’s hostility to higher education’

Latest stage of English plan to tackle ‘poor quality’ via absolute baselines for student outcomes brings threat of punishment for institutions that fall short

Ex-governor also wants UK to offer visas to youth born after 1997 to counter clampdown on free speech

Six universities sign up to new pledge committing not to use ‘gagging orders’ in dealing with claims of sexual misconduct, bullying and other harassment

Deadline arrives for universities to choose between shifting student places out of major urban centres or cutting them altogether 

Representative body says institutions should consider contextual data on issues such as local and NHS employment, alongside metrics preferred by ministers

Following conviction of Harvard’s Lieber, expected clearing of fellow Cambridge nanotechnology expert fits with broader failures of Trump-led academic prosecutions

MP’s draft transparency law comes after failure to self-regulate against threats such as autocratic influence, says academic

New schools of future technologies and modern industries part of 10.7 billion yuan plan

Search for wider solutions must continue while Berlin’s postdoc contract law faces judicial scrutiny, experts say

Former director of fair access Chris Millward says government move to cut university places ‘serious prospect’ but unlikely to succeed

Facing lower tolerance for free speech, academics and students share their approaches on retaining autonomy and avoiding unwanted scrutiny

The UK minister’s demand that universities stick to face-to-face lectures is a step backwards for education, says Wendy Garnham

Biden team aims to block Trump-era political interference in research findings, although its top adviser faces her own such questions

The City president discusses his personal ties to the institution, the opportunities and threats universities pose to national security, and self-indulgence in higher education

If the English regulator agrees to tear up universities’ current access plans it risks undermining any perception of autonomy, says Geoffrey Alderman

Leading scholars from Australian universities have joined scientific bodies to demand reversal of pre-election veto of humanities grants

Sciences Po Grenoble director calls for ‘calm and rationality’ after suspension of Klaus Kinzler leads to loss of regional funding

Robbert Dijkgraaf's appointment to the Netherlands’ new government has got academics very excited, says Michèle Wera

The historian raised in a military family talks about her interest in both war and community, and the formative class which shaped that

Legislation gives Westminster government power to block or impose conditions on acquisition of intellectual property in 17 areas

Biden administration promises simplification long sought by research universities

French president seeks to rejuvenate thinking about common continental identity

Ontario parliament demands documents over university’s unprecedented bankruptcy, though analysis may turn to realities of bankrolling remote communities

But despite characteristic consensus on unsustainable workloads, key details of Dutch government investment agenda remain unknown

Outside a few elite institutions promising online formats for the coming semester, campus health experts fear monetary strains may overpower medical judgement

Six humanities projects reportedly vetoed and China collaboration nosedives as Discovery outcomes finally see light of day

University of the People aims to fund 4,000 Afghans to study, with 600 already enrolled in its courses

Sector awaits key details on scheme requiring ‘complete remake of student finance system’ and likely to face Treasury scepticism

But silence on flagship Discovery scheme leaves an estimated 3,000 applicants facing Christmas limbo

Conscripting industry players into research assessment roles will also turn the grant application process into ‘Frankenstein’s monster’

Jury takes three hours to agree nanoscience expert lied about Wuhan ties to sidestep pressure campaign against binational research partnerships

Policies risk inciting behaviour worse than 2000s immigration scams, expert warns

Omicron variant amplifying uncertainties, but initial indications suggest federal relief and economic growth may permit another year of post-secondary gains

Funding for green campuses, levelling up and international links would be a gift from Santa Rishi Sunak to himself, too, says Nick Isles

Commonwealth auditor general asked to review grant administration for the second time in three months

Analysts say generous grants, more housing and better information are needed to fix inequalities driven by parental income 

Universities see room for reasonable new legal restraints on foreign-funded scientists but fear overreach as final deal comes into shape

Study reignites debate over notion that success in gaokao exams and graduation from university has ‘life-changing’ effect on those from rural areas

The Taliban’s professed support for higher education has not been matched by their actions so far, says Rahmatullah Katawazai

UK’s post-Brexit global exchange scheme could be boosted by extending student visitor visas from six months to one year, says UUK report

Canberra demands revamped governance and more applied focus

Along with blocking faculty court testimony, university allegedly also courted state politicians by interfering in hiring, research and teaching

The Florida governor’s control over the make-up of public universities’ boards makes recent controversies unsurprising, says Mei Lan Frame

Tory ex-minister criticises ‘policy-Whitehall-Westminster establishment’ for failure to meet ‘high responsibility’ to plan for new universities

Emily Shuckburgh and Alyssa Gilbert, co-chairs of the COP26 Universities Network, draw the lessons from two years of collective effort

Deep cuts may be reversed, but the Brazilian president’s anti-science rhetoric will do lasting damage, says John Aubrey Douglass

Responding to US Supreme Court’s request for its position, administration agrees the university’s affirmative action tools meet existing constitutional standards

Hepi-published paper argues sector is ‘victim of, and has actively participated in, polarising culture wars’, while those ‘rooted in their local communities’ have been neglected by expansion

Diversifying income stream also makes institutions less exposed to possible government cuts, say Ian Matthias and Mike Boxall

New scheme unveiled six years after its underperforming predecessor was scrapped

Government promises response to review’s other recommendations ‘in due course’

Demand-driven funding a better option, expert says, as hundreds of international students fly into Sydney

In latest attack by conservatives on academic freedom, South Carolina Republicans propose five-year limit on all faculty contracts

Alan Tudge denies wrongdoing and promises to cooperate with independent investigation

‘Traffic light’ coalition brings festive joy with ‘very specific and detailed’ promises to sector that felt neglected by last administration

Government promises stopgap funding for first wave of successful UK-based applicants, as European Commission keeps schtum on full association

The University of Alberta president discusses using data, collaboration and a positive vision to turn around the institution while minimising internal disputes