Politics

Widespread talk of free college may give way to tougher institutional measures, conference hears

US’ top producer of research papers hopes stance will force major gains in open access

‘Inconceivable’ next PM will adopt Augar plans and graduate, employer levy plan is ‘only’ solution for England, says former education secretary

All modern academics know that it’s publish or perish, but is regular publication a gateway or a barrier to groundbreaking scholarship? Simon Baker assesses the data on the relationship between research volume and quality and asks which, if either, should be prioritised

FBI views academic collaboration with Chinese institutions as ‘sharing with the enemy’, says attorney for sacked geneticists

Despite win, academic acknowledges critics of tactic of rapid-fire attacks on president

The coach, Peter Brand, had accepted high home purchase price from applicant’s father

Only a quarter of biology conferences set rules on attendee behaviour and penalties for misconduct are even rarer, study finds

Daughter of academic immigrants has plenty of history on higher education policies

While fighting huge state funding cut, James Johnsen concedes overcapacity and low interest

Rick Snyder withdraws following criticism of his role in the Flint drinking water scandal

Government scheme funded by four universities raises concern in sector over ‘surprising flow of resources’

Lord Storey’s private member’s bill would make it illegal to provide or to advertise contract cheating services

Populism scholar Matthew Goodwin discusses political side-effects of higher education expansion and academic debate about ‘grievances’ fuelling movements

Reduction in budget to tune of $135 million (£107 million) could lead to 1,300 job losses, officials estimate

Scholars say cuts to Higher Education Commission’s budget will drive academic brain drain

Budget restrictions, a focus on teaching and a paucity of internationalisation all hold back Turkish research, says Hakan Ergin

President’s appointment of new Islamic university rector raises academic freedom concerns

Means-tested fees discounts would remove the rationale for fruitless widening participation efforts, argues Norman Gowar

Former universities minister says institutions do not always succeed in maintaining founding diversity as he predicts ‘growth agenda’ will win in the UK

Minister insists English universities remain good value, despite increase in projected student loan write-offs

England’s new Disabled Students Commission will help eliminate the institutional missteps that can still blight disabled students’ experiences, says Chris Skidmore

Disciplinary-level assessment unlikely to survive in its current form, say sector leaders

Corruption, poverty and inequality can’t be tackled by weakening the state and driving academics abroad, says Mark Aspinwall

A punitive attitude towards incarceration limits the access of the US’ uniquely large prison population to college degrees. But there are signs that attitudes are finally shifting. Paul Basken considers the arguments and looks at some prime examples of what can be achieved with a captive audience

The country’s increasingly similar universities also need to be forced to specialise, argues government advisory body

Augar’s failure to grasp the differential effect of government policy on different kinds of universities is his report’s Achilles heel, says Greg Walker

Chair of England’s post-18 review says £7,500 fee a cap a fair deal after ‘windfall’ years and that universities in financial trouble are guilty of ‘bad management’

Sector leaders question why it has taken so long to address long-running decline in value of quality-related research funding

The Augar review should prompt the creation of a network of secular synagogues devoted to adult peer learning, says Tom Schuller

MPs’ report on UK-India relations also says ‘leading universities’ should be allowed to issue visas direct to ‘the best’ Indian students

The New Education Policy breaks with India’s post-independence preference for vocational avenues of upward mobility, says Saikat Majumdar

Do as we say, not as we do, government tells universities after ministers reject another optional recommendation of French review

The Advertising Standards Authority is wrong to permit to any provider of training to graduates to declare itself a “graduate school”, says Viv Ellis

Final budget, pending Senate and White House input, may be slightly less generous

Government proposals to create large, multidisciplinary universities hailed as ‘important new drive’ but experts say they have ‘seen this play before’

Chris Skidmore tells peers he hopes for announcement soon but acknowledges that UK is ‘in a very strange place politically’

Experts divided over whether centre-left but anti-immigration Social Democratic Party will continue, scrap or enhance current policy restricting foreign student numbers

Critics warn against equating a course’s value with its graduate earnings, of threats to universities’ autonomy on funding decisions and damage to research

Endorsement of new partnership by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin may be reaction to US cold shoulder

Arden v-c Carl Lygo says panel judged universities against Oxbridge model and ignored value of widening participation institutions

Lifting cap increased participation but was not accompanied by more support for non-traditional students, says Productivity Commission

Raising UK outlay to international levels will reap rich technological, social and political rewards for the next Conservative Party leader, says Sarah Main 

Government reportedly suspects campuses are not fully transparent about global ties

University president accuses US and EU of capitulating to populists

Universities minister addresses Augar panel plans and attacks ‘bums on seats’ terminology used by Tory colleagues

Change in Tory electoral strategy already leads some in party to prioritise FE and oppose university expansion, policy experts suggest

There is nothing devilish about government oversight of research, but the Haldane Principle checks more sulphurous instincts, says Paul Jump

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

Gradual changes to lifestyles will not save the planet. Universities need to go beyond Cambridge's recent lead and think bigger, says Peter Harper

After fears that government could seek to cut fees without replacement funding, review chair stresses plans are interconnected

Whatever the romance, students and academics will not flock to a remote part of north-east India, says Pushkar

Federally funded academics would have been required to seek president’s authorisation to go abroad

Building education ties along the New Silk Road will strengthen the influence of Chinese higher education, says Futao Huang

The former universities minister called for fairer access to the UK’s elite institutions and says there is no free speech crisis on campuses 

Jo Johnson’s amendment wins support from 26 Tories, including brother Boris, prompting suggestions it will be accepted by government

Former universities minister renews attack on Oxford’s and Cambridge’s records on access

England’s universities minister says arts and humanities must not be marginalised in wake of Augar review

Augar review’s call to replace lost income ‘not credible’, says Lord Willetts, while Jo Johnson warns that any such funding stream could be ‘slush fund’ for ministerial projects

Peers hear debate about whether English universities might become more reliant on international students if fee cut recommended by Augar review is implemented without replacement funding