News

Spending by English universities rose faster than their income did in the year before £9,000 tuition fees were introduced, while institutions again increased their reliance on fees paid by overseas students.

Female graduates are still earning less than their male counterparts, even when they have taken courses from the same subject area, new analysis has found.

The Labour Party has warned that the government’s drive to reduce net migration is choking off the flow of “legitimate university students” while ignoring abuse of the visitor visa route used by English language students.

Former education secretary David Blunkett has challenged universities to stand up to coalition ministers if they have concerns over government reforms.

Academic proposes ‘analytic hierarchy process’ and more planning to avoid costly mistakes by universities. David Matthews reports

Nick Petford urges universities to be less risk-averse in difficult economic times

Don’t ‘turn blind eye’ to excessive boozing, heads tell universities

Sir Mark Walport looks back at a highly successful decade in charge

Whoever wins the next election, uncapped enrolments and a big student loan book must be addressed, say observers

London Met’s Steve Jefferys says he did nothing wrong in employing Jawad Botmeh

A sideways look at the week’s big stories

Tories may ban overseas students from using NHS

Further austerity measures could wreak havoc with BIS’ stretched finances

Management pledges to tackle ‘stress-inducing’ culture. By Elizabeth Gibney

‘Draconian’ numbers cap could snuff out sector, coalition warned

Department head Jenny Saul tells Paul Jump what she is doing to combat the bias against women

Universities plan cost-sharing groups once VAT exemption rules are clarified. By Jack Grove

West London development will provide facilities for research, translation and commercialisation, explains Sir Keith O’Nions, Imperial president

University of Birmingham professor appointed post-Higgs boson ‘spokesperson’. By Paul Jump

Academics at post-1992 universities are less happy about levels of management control than staff at older institutions, a study has found.

University of Manouba hosts conference as dean Habib Kazdaghli faces trial said to ‘lack merit’. Matthew Reisz reports

Union says changes will lead to demotion and pay cuts. Jack Grove reports

Collection established of personal accounts of Women’s Liberation Movement activists. Elizabeth Gibney reports

Comparisons drawn between access plans and scrapped outreach scheme. Jack Grove reports

Death of Hugo Chavez unlikely to lead to changes within Venezuela’s ‘isolationist’ university system, says expert

Student accommodation provider UPP has launched its first bond, backed by the income from student residences at five universities.

Longer embargo periods of up to 24 months for green open access will only apply when universities’ annual block grants for “gold” article fees have run out, Research Councils UK has confirmed.

David Willetts has criticised “curmudgeons” who call for the return of a binary divide between universities and polytechnics, while a Labour MP has said modern universities can teach older institutions a lesson.

International students add £120.3 million to the Sheffield economy each year, an in-depth analysis has concluded.

Six elite universities in the US and UK dominate THE’s 2013 World Reputation Rankings

By Carl Straumsheim, for Inside Higher Ed

Ministers have written to Universities UK to urge the sector to waive the fees of Syrian students who have been impacted by the country’s civil war.

The University of Central Lancashire has appointed Gerry Kelleher to become its vice-chancellor when it moves to a new corporate-style group structure later this year.

A writer on human behaviour has urged universities to encourage herd behaviour in their attempt to attract students rather than deploying rational argument.

Universities and schools should collaborate more on classroom techniques to drive up standards in teaching, according to a senior Labour peer.

The United Arab Emirates is now “deeply inimical” to university values, according to a lecturer from the London School of Economics and Political Science who was barred from entering the country.

Two planned strikes over compulsory redundancies and performance management at the University of Birmingham have been called off.

The vice-chancellor of Staffordshire University has been announced as the new chair of the Million+ group of post-1992 universities.

The number of visas issued to overseas students has fallen by a fifth although applications for university student visas have increased by 3 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

A sideways look at the week’s big stories

Emirate’s flagship aims to integrate partners in postgraduate programmes as part of ‘2030’ plan

Editor John Summers tells Matthew Reisz how his political convictions will be reflected in its no-holds barred approach

Government loans may not be the answer, Hefce director argues. Elizabeth Gibney reports

State cuts lead sector to impose ‘arbitrary’ student targets. Phil Baty reports from New Orleans

They say ‘lessons have been learned’ after Research Councils UK is condemned for lack of dialogue

EUA advises greater coordination for ‘confused’ system

Gove’s former top civil servant criticise coalition’s ‘naive’ emphasis on Russell Group

Institutional review approves academic standards but says ‘lack of clarity’ in marketing claims could be ‘misleading’

Research gains in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Korea are not necessarily in their strongest suits, finds Thomson Reuters

Analysis of information on staff and students can help to improve recruitment and retention

But registrar insists management is on the right track

Private university’s new course awaits General Medical Council approval as critics decry projected £144,000 price

‘Grade grubbing’ may be on increase as student entitlement grows in high-fees era