Teaching and learning

The secretary of higher education for the state of New Jersey talks about her path to a career in policy, family history and handling racist attitudes at college

Without face-to-face interaction, new students could struggle to make friends and adapt to university study, leading to dropouts later, institutions fear

THE snapshot survey finds most institutions will deliver mix of face-to-face and online courses, with social distancing measures in the early planning stages

Improving remote learning may be smartest move universities can make, quality chief advises

As after the 2008 financial crisis, Swedes have responded to the coronavirus-induced downturn by making plans to return to university

Maastricht University’s cross-syllabus approach could point the way forward, say Herco Fonteijn and Teun Dekker

Video conferencing is a reasonable substitute for lectures, but that is where it must end, say Robert Zaretsky and George Alliger

Anticipating a renewed coronavirus outbreak, California State University plans for semester online

The querulous minority are unlikely to mend their ways even in their own bedrooms, predicts Helen Soteriou

Filling the gaps between disciplines and between science and technology could lead to greater progress than AI, says Jinghai Li 

Student wariness may deliver final blow to crisis-weakened institutions

Sir Keith Burnett is relieved to find that through online platforms, teachers can still connect with students and can give ideas life

While overhauls of workforce and institutional architecture beckon, Australian report predicts esteem for expertise in post-pandemic world

McGraw-Hill and Cengage abandon union after government demands heavy culling

Students in the Netherlands are resisting use of software to stop cheating on exams, citing concerns about consent, intrusion and security of personal data

Survey results show online switch ‘going better than expected’, says union. But students at universities of applied sciences appear harder hit

Frustrated final year students could drop out within sight of the finishing line, Australian report warns

Inter-university collaboration to develop core online curricula may be the only way to preserve quality, says Matt Jenner 

Change borne of necessity could usher in major benefits in flexibility, retention, student success and cost savings, pioneers suggest

Switching towards peer-to-peer assessment makes sense for distance learning but a longer-term transformation would benefit students, says David Carless

Governments are prioritising reopening schools and businesses over campuses. But some academics fear the impact on disadvantaged students – and on their teaching

Virtually all modern university courses end with a request for feedback. But are students’ reactions even useful for improving future course design, never mind assessing lecturers? Seven academics discuss their experiences

Diversity makes most sense if it is about authors’ viewpoints rather than their ethnic origins, says Martin Levy

Graduates’ common lack of deep understanding about how AI works is hindering industry take-up, says Min Wanli

Let’s bury the fallacy that students favour particular approaches regardless of the topic, says Gavin Moodie

Continuing remote teaching in the autumn will be unsustainable for some institutions, warns leader of online college

We need to build on the speed and enthusiasm with which academics have embraced online teaching, argue Dawn Lerman and Falguni Sen

Reliance on formulas and philosophies giving way to complexity and case studies

The UK’s existing oversight by external visitors and professional bodies is the best way to safeguard standards, says Colin McCaig 

More than 10,000 signatories want summer exams made optional and teaching loads cut, raising the question: how productive can academics really be during a pandemic?

Virtual THE forum hears academics and funders explore how research landscape may change in wake of virus crisis

Analysts advocate hands-off assistance package, with universities unlikely to share latest government bailout

Swift decisions are needed on contact hours, attendance and assessment, says Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan 

Tributes paid to a ‘contract cheating detective’

Good online pedagogy is all about readability, comprehension checks – and endless clicks, says Nicholas Murgatroyd

The UK government is determined to make good on its manifesto pledge to crack down on substandard university programmes. But what is quality? Is it best measured by graduate earnings, learning gain, a national university curriculum – or something else entirely? Anna McKie ponders the options 

Campuses see economic woes mounting, but full assault on Covid-19 more urgent

Study is first to survey students’ views on how they are judged in the classroom 

Many universities have begun to teach online amid concerns that traditional classes could spread the coronavirus. Yale-NUS lecturer Catherine Shea Sanger explains how it can be done quickly and effectively

The sudden closure of university campuses across China and elsewhere has necessitated the virtual delivery of vast numbers of courses. And while there have been inevitable teething problems, observers are wondering whether the future might just have become the present. Joyce Lau reports

Academics report being heckled, undermined and interrupted in book that questions association of loutish conduct exclusively with alcohol and sports teams

Academic argues that learning about subcultures through music can be more useful than studying abroad

Universities are wrong to assume that they are entitled to use recordings of lecturers however they please, says Robert Cluley

Douglas Dowland considers the damage inflicted by the control freaks of the academy – and some of the ways he has found to keep his own inner control freak in line

Robert Zaretsky is troubled by his students’ refusal to see any nuance in a historical text that contains racial slurs  

Use of flipped classroom model in STEM courses narrows gap on exam scores and course pass rates, study finds 

As Ireland reports success from ban on advertising, campaigners say UK risks reputation of its degrees by not following suit

The Middle East and North Africa have large youth populations and growing university participation. But with high unemployment, low female workplace participation and universities focused on STEM and the public sector, is all this human capital being wasted? Simon Baker reports 

Use of word angers students, who say it was pedagogically unnecessary and hurtful

Tutors at the University of Reading give advice on capturing and developing students’ understanding of assessment criteria

Australian study warns against jettisoning essays in favour of invigilated assessments

Study of module offered at US university suggests it substantially cut graduates’ emissions compared with those of average citizen

Analysis of National Student Survey results also reveals black students’ doubts about lecturers’ attempts to make subject matter interesting

Analysis of responses to major experience survey suggests teaching factors have bigger influence on mental health than student background

Institutional, pedagogical and workload issues more problematic than technological impediments, experts say

Olga Burlyuk explores the different conceptions, challenges and possibilities within the practice

Transition away from end-of-course exams may also increase staff workloads, says report

A feudal approach to intellectual property has turned the academy into a modern police state, says Steve Fuller

With student debt escalating and concerns persisting that college graduates are not job-ready, increasing numbers of companies are taking the training of their workers in-house. But where does that leave the higher education sector, asks Paul Basken 

Questioning the BBC’s agenda in highlighting the problem in Ghana and Nigeria does not make it any less serious, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng