Opinion

A vague policy on higher education could help the party win the next election, argues Nick Hillman

Anthony Forster explains why university leaders have strong concerns about the proposals

John Holmwood and Stephen McKay examine the results for the social sciences and identify some anomalies

In the debate over EU membership universities need to remind us of the ideal value of transnational knowledge, says Anna Notaro

Is the tide about to turn on the college sport?, ask Daniel Goldberg and Robert Lee Maril

Countries worldwide are investing to get ahead in the global game of research. Not doing so will cost the UK dear

Kevin Fong examines his responses to £35,000 a year degree

Some early career scholars feel there is not enough support for academics who reach out, say Richard Watermeyer and Jamie Lewis

Institutions must cater for the reality that graduates of arts-based courses are likely to work in ‘arts in the community’, says Judith Hills

Calls to sack Robert Lambert would deprive us of academic expertise, argues Stefano Bonino

Marnie Hughes-Warrington on the case for re-thinking academic career progression

Fictional journalists show more principle than their BBC counterparts, says Sally Feldman

South America’s neoliberal pioneer is taking higher education out of the market. The UK should take heed, says Bahram Bekhradnia

Consultants often boost the number of shortlisted women, but universities must fight their own ‘people like us’ mindset, says Sue Shepherd

Building an academic career is hard, but high initial hurdles and a lack of clear progression paths make it unnecessarily daunting

A perverse focus on research cash and high-impact publications threatens academics’ careers and the aims of science itself, says Dorothy Bishop

A professor with two decades of experience reviews his career highs and lows

Institutions are using pictures of glamorous students to tart up their marketing, but not everyone approves of the trend, says Hong Bing

Laurence Grove on the role of bandes dessinées and satirical cartoons in France’s commitment to liberty

Students searching for the perfect university must value the diversity on offer and be aware of the complexity it brings, says Alan Ruby

Christopher Bigsby on those who take a creative approach to academic rigour

Universities must have at heart a public ethos counterbalance to weigh against commercial interests and state diktat

Things to say, and things to not say, in a campus biography

The counter-terrorism bill will co-opt academics into the ‘securocrat’ and chill debate on campus - it must be fought, says Martin Hall

Jenny Pickerill offers some advice on some common mistakes and how to stand out from the pack

Philip Cowley and Robert Ford describe a step change in their discipline’s engagement with the electorate

The exercise was robust and positive, says Willy Maley, who found work on the English subpanel to be like ‘a well-run exam board’

The sector would do well to consider setting a target for the proportion of women heading universities, says Simonetta Manfredi

With the fever of REF results subsiding, we contemplate what 2015 might hold in store for higher education

Three achievements are underestimated in current political debates, says Anne Corbett

Alan Ryan is dismayed to see that the US is still bedevilled by lethal racism

Academic staff must do more to address inequality of access to taught master’s and doctoral degrees, say Sally Hancock and Paul Wakeling

Remember that everyone is watching your online lectures

Emran Mian argues for standardisation in setting of exams

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

The Erasmus programme presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover the perks of international mobility, says Brian Bloch

Felipe Fernández-Armesto on the habit of naming everything, from university libraries to landings, after people

The REF results can be wrapped up and presented many different ways. THE puts its analysis under the sector’s tree

Why do so many Christmas gifts continue to be gender-specific? asks Sally Feldman

Nicholas Boyle, the author of 2014: How to Survive the Next World Crisis, reflects on the predictions he made about the past 12 months

Problems associated with the system of research assessment would be reduced by a move to annual reviews, Paul Grout argues

Alfred Morris argues that alternative providers, criticised by the National Audit Office, aren’t the villains they’re made out to be.

The arrest of several academics has raised questions about the nation’s research culture, says Hong Bing

Opinions on campuses worldwide are just a click away

Andrew McGettigan considers the findings of the National Audit Office’s investigation into alternative providers

Despite the introduction of postgraduate loans, the government’s education funding aims remain a puzzle, says Nigel Carrington

Christopher Phelps views universities through new eyes when he accompanies his daughter on a tour of UK campuses