Politics

A raft of short-sighted policies are causing harm, says Sir Roderick Floud

Vice-chancellor claims that removing the cap on fees and subsidising poorer students would work but is a ‘toxic issue politically’

Sir Roderick Floud, former UUK president, criticises duplication and waste in ‘muddled non-system’

Panel speakers fear v-cs’ silence presages a lack of pre-election policy debate

Tales of activism and optimism and an eminent scholar’s defence of the humanities aired at Living With the Cuts conference

Scotland’s academics should be concerned about the impact of a ‘yes’ vote, says Jill Stephenson

Whatever the result of the referendum, the impact on Scottish higher education will be considerable. David Matthews talks to advocates for both sides

Libby Hackett is to leave the University Alliance after five years as its chief executive

Brazil will aim to be spend 10 per cent of GDP on education within a decade after a national plan was passed by the country’s main legislature.

Rightward lurches at the polls means migration studies are more essential than ever, says Mette Louise Berg

Call from Labour shadow universities minister follows series of revelations

Alan Ryan on a recent US wave of student protests over high-profile guests

UK government urged to assess financial fallout before embracing similar system

Bright Blue modernisers warn Conservatives to differentiate their university agenda to avoid possible inroads by the UK Independence Party

Open letter from UUK board members points to research funding and mobility as being ‘central’ to success

A committee of MPs has written to David Willetts over the potential risks to UK science of the proposed takeover of AstraZeneca by US giant Pfizer.

Too many policy experts look to the US and Australia as “some higher education funding nirvana”, according to the vice-chancellor who chairs Million+.

University’s 10-week project featured talk by Michael Berlin on First World War conscientious objectors

Lecturer’s contract not renewed after he set up out-of-hours module to broaden curriculum

The UK’s social mobility debate is too narrowly focused on a “small number of elite universities” and needs to be “dragged out of the 1970s”.

But Cable warns that intervention options are constrained by law

Australia is to remove all caps on tuition fees, a move billed as allowing its universities to compete with “the best in the world”.

A vice-chancellor has made an impassioned defence of the benefits to universities of European Union membership amid the rise in popularity of Ukip.

Universities’ zeal for student feedback centres on NSS surveys and best-practice audits; those expressing critical views are increasingly unwelcome

Leaving the Union will help a world-renowned sector to further extend its reach, argues Michael Russell

Racist government policies hurt the higher education sector, says Kevin Fong, but the harm doesn’t stop there

Recommendation to extend demand-driven route likely to get green light

Union seeks court clearance to bill lecturer in failed anti‑Semitism claim

Bright Blue campaign challenges coalition policy

Book examines the effects of ‘modernisation agenda’ on the Continent’s public universities in a time of austerity

Look to Ireland, not Australia, to see the damage caused by unfettered recruitment, says Bahram Bekhradnia

All members of research council grant awarding boards and panels should have training to avoid unconscious bias.

A committee of MPs has slammed a new government “horizon scanning” programme for not sufficiently utilising the Government Office for Science.

Lovers in Time, directed by Agnieszka Piotrowska, is being shown at Harare International Festival of the Arts

David Kemp and Andrew Norton call for state cash for all institutions and pre-bachelor’s courses

The Scottish government has guaranteed that independence would not result in a cut to research funding in the country, even if universities north of the border lose access to UK-wide research councils

CaSE report kicks off lobbying for research ahead of next spending review

Government austerity and the consequent falls in public sector employment are driving a decline in part-time study, a report released today concludes.

Australian education minister sets out vision during UK visit

Businesses are to be included alongside scientists in a new consultation on how to spend £7 billion in capital funding for the next Parliament.

I’ve had it with university enterprise: beam me up, Scotty, says Christopher Bigsby

Universities should not acquiesce in a system that perpetuates inequality - they must take a stand against it, argues Thomas Docherty

UUK head dismisses warning over technological change

UUK to look at what changes would lower cost of system after report reveals meagre savings after fees hike

The economics curriculum at the University of Manchester is too narrow and is stifling innovation, according to a student action group

Review calls for extension of policy to further education and private providers

Labour says it wants more international students to come to the UK and would consider not including students in the same targets as other migrants.

Change in guidance meant to ‘incentivise’ BIS to check long-term costs

Students’ revelation of university’s clandestine activities worked in its favour long-term

Dean from Tunisia’s Manouba University given Courage to Think Award

Under new system, average repayments will double, IFS finds

The minister hopes to sink his teeth into higher education but his political stock is falling, argues Christopher Prendergast

Archie Brown on lessons for universities from political leadership

Commercialising research can do ‘far more’ for humanity than Nobel Prizes, says Mayor of London

England’s funding council has been asked to look at whether overseas universities could take part in future research excellence frameworks.

Universities and science minister at BIRAX conference affirms intention to encourage partnerships for joint scientific research projects

Malcolm Gillies celebrates a watershed moment on the long road to equality

Senior scholar decries ‘divisive’ mission groups and government’s market focus

UUK report details scope of sector’s economic activity, which adds up to 2.8 per cent of GDP

Proposals part of raft of measures on the table if education secretary gains HE