UCU chief prepares for sector-wide fight on many fronts Jo Grady confident the union will ‘far surpass’ the necessary turnout of 50 per cent to secure a mandate for further industrial action By Tom Williams 1 September
QAA replacement questions ‘add to uncertainties’ for English sector After body’s decision to relinquish quality role, sector fears lack of options for replacement risks undermining autonomy By Tom Williams 31 August
China signals coming return for international students Embassies in dozens of countries now accepting visa applications, but many students still in the dark over anticipated move By Pola Lem 31 August
Universities warned against ‘victim blaming’ in spiking response Institutions told to ‘join up’ response with local officials, to have emergency medical care and forensic testing procedures in place By Pola Lem 31 August
Korea’s semiconductor talent boost ‘too little, too late’ Easing student caps is a ‘step in the right direction’ but doesn’t solve issue of talent leaving for higher pay in other nations, academics say By Pola Lem 31 August
Australian universities launch inclusivity bidding war Labor minister’s insistence that postcode should not determine opportunity sparks new initiatives By John Ross 31 August
Lives rearranged as Australian funder NIT-picks Grant delays worse than ever, researchers say, as ARC strives to meet demands of ousted government By John Ross 30 August
Australian universities ‘lucky to be sidelined from skills summit’ While the sector laments its low profile in this week’s Canberra congress, policy expert expects it to generate ‘dysfunction’ By John Ross 30 August
Australia postpones research assessment exercise National interest test for research grants to be simplified amid sweeping review of ARC By John Ross 30 August
Universities warned of threat posed by ‘lingering hackers’ Patient cybercriminals may gain access to online systems and wait for months before trying to sell on information By Ben Upton 30 August
Large surpluses post-lockdown ‘a blip’, say Canadian universities Institutions emerge from lockdowns with an unusually large amount of money left over but say surpluses mask real financial difficulties By Paul Basken 30 August
First chancellor with acknowledged disability to fight ‘attitude problem’ Former disability commissioner says universities have lifted their game, but employers not so much By John Ross 29 August
NZ universities ‘underinvesting in staff’, says union But representative body says conclusions from analysis of university financial accounts are based on flawed assumptions By John Ross 29 August
No 10 turmoil forces adviser’s exit and delays number controls Iain Mansfield’s spell as key driver of policy ends – for now, at least – while ‘anti-woke’ campaigner is touted as potential education secretary By John Morgan 29 August
Scholars hail top Korean university’s plan to scrap majors More fluid degree paths could help graduates develop critical thinking, academics say, amid concerns over how similar changes could affect recruitment By Pola Lem 28 August
Rapid expansion of HE in China’s ‘Greater Bay Area’ takes shape First postgraduate students start at new HKUST campus, signalling beginning of huge changes in the area By Jing Liu 27 August
China ‘dilemma’ on undergrad research amid geopolitical tensions Beijing boosts early student participation in research as world becomes ‘less friendly’, but efforts could stall because of limited funding By Pola Lem 26 August
India, Australia flag plan for mutual recognition of qualifications Perennially underdone educational relationship ready to go to the next level, advocates say By John Ross 26 August
US orders publicly funded research be made free to access immediately Campaigners say academic publishers will have to ‘figure this out pretty darn fast’ as Biden sets 2025 deadline for switch to instant open access By Paul Basken 26 August
USC fraternity battle spotlights academia’s failings on abuse Chapters’ severing of campus affiliation predicted to show US sector’s reluctance to challenge ‘Greek life’ abuses By Paul Basken 26 August
Non-elite universities claw back ground in admissions race ‘Tentative signs’ the worst is over for lower tariff institutions after difficult decade since number controls lifted By Tom Williams 25 August
Stand-up research: academics use comedy to explain their work Researchers say using improvisational comedy can improve their ability to communicate findings By John Ross 25 August
Biden slashes $300 billion in student debt As administration approves $10,000 baseline of loan forgiveness after long deliberation, universities promise hard look at pricing and value By Paul Basken 25 August
Cintana seeks million-strong global student network US education firm involving ASU has 12 global partners and foresees future growth bringing scope to collect student learning data on mass scale By John Morgan 25 August
Embassy website removes link to essay writing firm Australian High Commission in India web page on education had link to US company offering to write dissertations, application letters and more By John Ross 24 August
World’s top journals ‘limiting critiques’ In holdover from print-dominant era, top 330 academic science titles too often seen as banning or hindering published rebuttals of their articles By Paul Basken 24 August
Is scanning students’ brains the next frontier in education? Study that used MRI scans to measure neural change in students bills itself as offering path for neuroscience to aid curriculum development By John Morgan 24 August
Hong Kong universities ‘could suffer’ as population shrinks But academics note silver lining, with larger number of qualified local high schoolers gaining access to city’s high-quality institutions By Pola Lem 24 August
High-profile merger of Japanese universities could augur more Two top institutions plan to join forces in potential bid for ¥10 trillion fund, amid concerns over widening gap between sector’s ‘rich and poor’ By Pola Lem 23 August
Dutch universities collaborate to manage surge in enrolments Capping course intakes causes student surges elsewhere, university president says, calling for ‘urgent’ political action to stem international flows By Ben Upton 23 August
Remote working ‘led to missed collaborations and groupthink’ First study of its kind estimates lack of in-person interactions hampered innovation as academics spoke only to those they knew already By Tom Williams 23 August
Academic retirement rush set to drive reshaping of French sector Departures will give presidents more scope to change outlook of their university, although enrolments will often demand like-for-like replacements By Ben Upton 22 August
US edge over UK on educating world leaders ‘now unbeatable’ Annual Hepi index seeks to track key measure of soft power By Chris Havergal 22 August
Ditch ‘vanity projects’ and invest in staff, universities told Union estimates UK sector made £3.4 billion in 2020-21 financial year and calls for funds to be invested in staff By Tom Williams 22 August
Coronavirus disruption ‘will keep recurring’ on campuses Universities should keep basic health protections such as mask mandates in place, argues Australian epidemiologist By John Ross 21 August
Chinese students prioritise job prospects when choosing degree Fluctuations in gaokao admission scores indicate growing pursuit of career stability By Jing Liu 20 August
Ukrainian universities see surge in PhD applications Academics debate whether spike in interest is down to draft dodging or career reckonings prompted by upheaval By Pola Lem 19 August
Pensions: Universities Superannuation Scheme now reports surplus Biggest sector fund believes it is £1.8 billion in the black, after fears of multibillion-pound deficits led to cuts to benefits By Chris Havergal 18 August
‘Unluckiest generation’ bears brunt of cautious admissions round Sector ‘re-righting itself’ post-pandemic means more miss out on places in ‘one of the toughest university admissions rounds in years’ By Tom Williams 18 August
Leeds ‘deeply concerned’ for PhD student jailed in Saudi Arabia Salma al-Shehab given 34-year sentence over critical posts on Twitter By Chris Havergal 18 August
A-level results: fewer students get into first-choice university About 20,000 applicants miss out on top choice as grades are deflated back to 2019 levels By Tom Williams 18 August
THE Campus Live ANZ: students ‘dropping too many subjects’ in favour of paid work Demands to accommodate price spikes and satisfy business needs are putting students’ progress at risk, summit hears By John Ross 18 August
Julia Lane: women still don’t know when or how to speak up NYU economist reflects on stumbling into her field, using data for the public good, and lessons from four decades in academia By Pola Lem 18 August
The week in higher education – 18 August 2022 The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media By THE reporters 18 August
Monkeypox alarms US university campuses College leaders wary of limited vaccines, Covid exhaustion and LGBTQ stigmatisation in an environment ripe for spreading, though serious harm judged unlikely By Paul Basken 18 August
Overworked academics ‘give away one-third of their time’ ‘Ground-up’ system for estimating academic workloads suggests universities routinely set them too high By John Ross 18 August
Vice-chancellors who focus on short-term goals paid more – study Research shows need for strong checks and balances on power of executive, according to authors By Tom Williams 18 August
UCU: end ‘appalling’ non-refundable deposits for master’s degrees ‘Under the radar’ practice of charging students to secure their places a sign of ‘increasingly deregulated admissions process’, says Jo Grady By Tom Williams 17 August
THE Campus Live ANZ: block teaching scale-up ‘a learning process’ Australian pioneers of institutional-scale block teaching say expansion forced refinements of the model By John Ross 17 August
UK launches legal dispute against EU over Horizon exclusion Hopes that formal escalation of a prolonged political stand-off will finally allow UK-based researchers to participate in EU programmes By Ben Upton 17 August
THE Campus Live ANZ: universities back plan to reserve extra places for neediest ‘Absolute support’ for Australian government’s decision to quarantine extra places for disadvantaged students By John Ross 17 August
More medical students ‘won’t solve doctor shortage alone’ Addressing issues with trainees dropping out or moving abroad as important as increasing places, says new Medical School Council chair By Tom Williams 17 August
Universities’ future unclear after ‘depressing’ race for No 10 Sector faces battle to make its priorities heard as candidates reveal little about their views while pandering to Tory base By Tom Williams 17 August
Papers in high-impact journals ‘have more statistical errors’ Analysis of more than 50,000 behavioural and brain sciences articles also suggests their results are less likely to be replicated by others By Ben Upton 17 August
THE Campus Live ANZ: academics working flexibly ‘must give up offices’ But preoccupation with the mundane sidelines universities from the main game, according to vice-chancellors By John Ross 16 August
Ministerial revolving door leaves Korean universities in lurch President forced to search for third ministry candidate since May, leaving sector rudderless as universities face enrolment decline and frozen fees By Pola Lem 16 August
Manchester quizzed over funding of masturbation paper author Karl Andersson has long attracted controversy over his interest in sexually suggestive images of teenage boys, so did university investigate this? By Jack Grove 16 August
Australian universities stick with ‘unfair’ early entry schemes With Covid exam disruption mostly gone but early entry schemes still in the ascendancy, admission stresses have been brought forward By John Ross 16 August
International applicants ‘not taking UK students’ places – yet’ Rebalancing of undergraduate intakes after fee freeze ‘not a factor’ this year but may prove important in future, says Ucas chief executive By Tom Williams 15 August
New guidelines to shore up external examination system in UK Universities urged to adhere to set of 12 principles as key quality mechanism comes under increased strain because of large workloads By Tom Williams 15 August