Politics

Government signals willingness to move on fine points of Australian Research Council bill, as opposition insists on veto rights

Incongruous Australian indexation rules to see arts students paying A$17,000 a year, unless accord’s final report produces an overhaul

Senate committee overlooks warnings of unintended consequences from Australian Research Council reform, saying bill is ‘overwhelmingly’ supported

Reports by London Economics try to help solve the widespread misunderstanding of higher education funding, which is ‘so complicated it should be on Mastermind’

‘Blunt’ measures predicted as politicians ‘panic’ over population explosion

While accord recommendations that suit some universities might not suit others, overall benefit should be the litmus test, says new IRU chair

Conservative majority in House of Representatives backs idea of forcing universities to cover unpaid student loans, widening attack on academic foundations

Universities Australia’s budget pitch a departure from argument that fees ‘do not deter students from undertaking higher education’

International student recruitment comes under scrutiny for raising immigration figures, but it is also valued for fostering allies among future global leaders. Yet if it really does so, why are the West’s largest source countries, China and India, becoming less Western-friendly? Patrick Jack reports

Biden administration examining if favouring alumni families is a civil rights violation

Requirement for new applications to be accompanied by letters of attestation means limits are effective immediately, universities say

George Freeman says he could not cope with doubling of monthly bill on annual salary of £118,000

Plans to charge overseas students ‘return deposit’ must be tossed out, Constitutional Council rules

European University Association says being forced to disclose international funding could lead to institutions being wrongly ‘suspected of representing foreign interests’

Provinces promise action against private operators, but universities fear Trudeau is going too far, too fast, without consulting sector

A change in atmosphere has encouraged academics to return to the country where they were once maligned, but funding pressures and issues with polarisation continue

European Commission stresses that ‘with academic freedom comes academic responsibility’, aiming to ‘de-risk, not to de-couple’ scientific collaboration

Minister and NSFAS chair deny corruption claims, as fund struggles to get payments to students on time

As countries that are home to around half of the world’s population go to the polls, Times Higher Education journalists consider what role higher education will play in the campaigns, and how it might be reshaped by the results

Sandra Borch apologises for making ‘big mistake’ while completing her master’s thesis

Trudeau administration acts after long warning that it won’t tolerate abuses by private campuses and resulting housing shortages

Jamus Jerome Lim, who raised issue in Singaporean parliament, says diverse ideas must be ‘allowed to circulate and be subject to debate’

Campuses in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia may be first to face federal cap on education visas

Creation of dedicated Whitehall office is yet to deliver on its goals, researchers feel

As Canberra considers reforms to make university enrolments more inclusive and abundant, key indicators are moving in opposite direction

Fears over Home Office seeking ‘back door extension’ to review amid debate over terms of reference and what ‘abuse’ means

Ewan Kirk, entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Cambridge, says Westminster government is being ‘driven by the madness of the immigration debate’

Government says that higher education institutions manage their own events but that it might advise them to “respect…wider social norms”

New president introduces legislation that would allow universities to charge, but many may be reluctant to do so

‘University check’ would allow for issues to be resolved in the drafting stage, rather than once policies have been announced, says EUA

With Claudine Gay accepting debatable instances of plagiarism as final straw, faculty see odds getting hopeless for countering unified political and economic power

Restrictions would increase registration fees for non-EU learners, but plans to make international students pay returnable deposits for residence are already in doubt

Top-ranked Canadian institution calculates financial and reputational cost of premier’s move to penalise use of English, and wonders how it can survive

University leaders warn of ‘deepening pain’ from latest cuts, amid ‘concerning headwinds’ on international recruitment

Revised policy fails to address key causes of research career precarity, university leaders say

Long-frozen, loan-funded tuition fees are neither covering course costs nor, arguably, fairly recognising the benefits of higher education to society and employers. But is there an alternative that is politically and economically viable in a likely UK general election year? John Morgan reports

The former science minister talks to Jack Grove about his concerns over recent visa reforms and his ‘lonely battle’ to keep Britain in Horizon Europe

Prime minister’s drive for ‘political capital’ on net migration risks ‘long-term damage’ to international reputation, UK sector warns

While new salary threshold has been announced, clarity on level of discount applied for key roles in higher education is yet to come

Partial elimination of tuition fees could prove self-defeating by undermining the private universities that educate more than half of the country’s students

Universities in conservative region decline to add DEI component to their conditions of accreditation

LLE can overturn ‘mad idea’ that university must happen between ages 18 and 21, says David Latchman, stepping down as Birkbeck v-c after 21 years

Autonomy, tertiary sector integration and sustainable research funding are crucial to sector’s future, Brian Schmidt says, as he relinquishes leadership role

Cutting entitlements will be counter-productive unless countries address cultural barriers keeping international graduates from meaningful work

The UK government must pledge to maintain the graduate route and confine its review to genuine abuse, says Jamie Arrowsmith

Serious financial concerns at a handful of English universities over potential breaches of banking covenants

The Elizabeth Magill case notwithstanding, presidents should focus on how conflicts affect the primary mission of their university, says Nicholas Dirks

While Republicans seek momentum from fiery hearing and Penn ousting, professors gain clarity on the size of the fight ahead

Canberra’s attempt to reduce backlog of ‘permanently temporary’ graduates hamstrung by trade agreement

President wants to turn national research institutes into ‘programme agencies’ and give universities more autonomy, but experts question how effectively the plans can be implemented

Australia’s now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t approach reflects policy patterns in other leading education destinations

Flexible post-18 education funding went through ‘against Treasury’ says its architect after spell in No 10 developing scheme

Biden officials call for publicising details of bad science allegations brought to the government, raising institutional warnings of privacy and legal violations

Rise in financial aid of 10 per cent ‘like an early Christmas present’ amid rising costs, says national student group

Education exports and high student loan repayments help offset damage from inflation and interest rates, according to Australian mini-budget

But minister refuses to rule out further changes to post-study work visa as he outlines details of coming review

Government schemes to bolster higher education come amid ongoing population decline and recent drop in doctoral students

Representative groups broadly welcome focus on quality and integrity, but proposed changes to migration points test will be pivotal

UNC chancellor’s move to Michigan State also comes after years of trustee interference

‘If the government wants data, here’s the data,’ says dean, as study finds Māori and Pasifika remain under-represented in medical enrolments