News

One of the UK’s most vocal vice-chancellors has stepped down suddenly because of ill health, it was announced last week. Patrick McGhee, vice- chancellor of the University of East London and chair of the Million+…

Uclan’s Cyprus outpost of ‘particular concern’ to UN secretary general. John Morgan reports

The University of London’s v-c reveals his opinions on issues confronting the sector to David Matthews

Diverse candidates contest top spot in union leadership elections. Jack Grove reports

Male scholars more likely to succumb to temptation as pressure to publish increases. Paul Jump writes

Commissioner warns of heavy R&D cost should UK quit the European Union. Elizabeth Gibney reports

Affirmative action judgment could have repercussions across US. Chris Parr reports

Hefce uneasy over University of Law deal and process for private applicants. John Morgan reports

Retiree challenges UEA v-c in tribunal hearing over FoI requests. David Matthews reports

EU should place spiritual values above potential profit in funding considerations, Chris Parr hears

Scotland shows reversal of trend, possibly due to stronger public funding. Elizabeth Gibney writes

Nicholas Royle’s latest book is framed by his experience as an academic, he tells Matthew Reisz

The number of people applying to university has risen by 3.5 per cent, but has failed to bounce back to pre-£9,000 tuition fee levels, new figures show.

RCUK has announced it will not enforce its stated embargo periods for green open access during the first five years of its new open-access policy.

The government is being urged not to implement immigration proposals that it is claimed could have a damaging effect on UK science, engineering and wider academia.

White applicants are three times more likely to get a professorial post than black and minority ethnic ones, a new report suggests.

Academics at the University of Birmingham will be balloted over strike action in protest at what a union has described as the institution’s “campaign of forced redundancies and aggressive management tactics”.

Twelve “outstanding” university departments are set to receive Regius professorships to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee last year, the Cabinet Office has announced.

Projects focussing on graphene and research into the human brain have won what the European Commission has called “the largest research excellence award in history”.

A new report from the American Historical Association provides fresh evidence of the impact of marital status and gender on academic careers.

International research unit will tackle ‘lack of data’ on higher education. David Matthews reports

A sideways look at the week’s big stories

Leaked documents reveal backlash over mooted changes to assessment at Surrey

Online study certificates go on sale, but Coursera’s Andrew Ng tells Chris Parr they won’t match traditional degrees

V-c keen to match Loughborough’s sports prowess with broad disciplinary strength.

Universities and science minister David Willetts has laid out how the government plan to spend the £600 million allocated to research in December’s Autumn Statement

Hungary’s higher education reforms are facing fierce student opposition, as Kata Ámon reports

Reddit co-founder’s death may bring closer what activist hoped for in life. Jon Marcus reports

The publisher Sage has slashed the price of publishing in its flagship open-access journal to just $99 (£63) in the wake of concern about whether researchers in the humanities and social sciences will be able to afford to comply with the UK’s new open-access mandates.

Loss of international student licence exacts heavy toll on London Met. David Matthews reports

University leavers could have better graduate job prospects than their predecessors when they attempt to enter the world of work this summer, a survey has suggested.

Four UK universities join forces to gain competitive edge in funding shoot-out. Elizabeth Gibney writes

Staff turn down enhanced offer to stay within national bargaining unit. Jack Grove reports

A university education department has warned that it may have to make redundancies as a result of government cuts to allocations of teacher training places.

Government rhetoric over visas is to blame for a perception that the UK is not a good place for international students to set up a business, according to a recent survey

Ucas data demonstrate wide-ranging impact of fees and funding changes. John Morgan reports

Reluctance to contest marks or ask for help may be factors in attainment gap. Jack Grove writes

Loss of international student licence exacts heavy toll on London Met. David Matthews reports

Ucas data demonstrate wide-ranging impact of fees and funding changes. John Morgan reports

Students at some of the UK’s leading university computer science departments are going head-to head to prove their cyber security skills by battling it out in an online code-breaking challenge.

New College of the Humanities, the privately funded higher education institution charging fees of £18,000 a year, plans to open a free school in partnership with a private school firm.

The University of Bristol was one of the biggest winners in the first year of higher fees, expanding its new student cohort by 28 per cent, while London Metropolitan University saw its intake shrink by 43 per cent.

Staff levels at UK higher education institutions have dropped for the second consecutive year, new figures show.

A drop in student numbers of 30,000 this year could cost the country more than £6 billion over the next 40 years, according to a new report.

Jon Marcus on military veterans trading drills and battlefields for disciplinary fields and fundraising

Post-study employment changes and a shrinking ‘expat premium’ prompt second thoughts about value of overseas study. Joanna Sugden reports from New Delhi

A sideways look at the week’s big stories

In the first of a series surveying research evidence about teaching and learning, Graham Gibbs considers the findings on large class sizes