Opinion

The concept of a student market - and so the involvement of the Consumers’ Association - is flawed, argues Martin McQuillan

Striking academics call for better pay, but the PhD students who support their work are suffering even more, Fern Riddell says

Should developing countries receive ‘transfer fees’ when Western universities sign their academics? asks Malegapuru Makgoba

Novice car-buyer Kevin Fong on the value of preparing students for real-world challenges

Unscrupulous operators should be unmasked, but using them to tar all the sector causes damage without tackling vital issues

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Universities have the resources to keep us safe, says Sara Perry. They just need the will

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Sally Feldman dissects the benefits of an old-fashioned but pedagogically rich practice

The UCU’s action is about fairness, equality and defending public higher education, say Tom Hickey and John Holmwood

MPs have highlighted the problem of too few women in science, but more than words are needed to tackle the issue

Has accountability to stakeholders got out of hand? Steven Ward imagines an Orwellian world of over-assessment

It’s off to work we go. Our Best University Workplace Survey reveals discontent, but it’s not all gloom and doom

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Universities are now like Jeremy Bentham, hollow husks of their former selves, laments Christopher Bigsby

The experience of uncapping numbers in the UK will be different from that in Australia, says Libby Hackett

Paul Gibbons says lack of time, money and legal clarity can all affect universities’ responses to FoI Act requests

Researcher Helen E. Lees on using her bid-writing skills to help fund her new company – and freedom

Arguing the case for market forces in higher education will become harder if a university looks likely to fail, warns Emran Mian

Addressing global problems should be the academy’s raison d’être, argues Nicholas Maxwell

What can the UK learn from the uncapped student numbers ‘experiment’ that is already in full swing Down Under?

Can social scientists and humanities scholars rise to the challenge of reshaping Europe while remaining true to their principles?

Roger Jeffery on the difficulties of achieving equity in authorship in multinational teams

A growing zeal to address ‘well-being’ diverts resources from those who really need help, says Kathryn Ecclestone

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What parents and schools fail to do in 18 years is unlikely to be accomplished in a couple of courses, says Alan Ryan

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Shocking new statistics reveal that our university leads the field in the number of times it has refused to answer Freedom of Information requests

Studying how subjects have waxed and waned in popularity reveals some striking changes and some difficult questions

Evidence is vital, but don’t reject intuition, Felipe Fernández-Armesto says

Scientists can speak more freely without fear of being sued, explains Síle Lane

Frigid weather fails to dampen enthusiasm at the MLA conference, finds Robert Eaglestone

Diana Laurillard explains why a model based on unsupervised learning is not the answer

Academics face distinctive choices when they retire, says Malcolm Gillies

Why do so many universities feel they can stonewall requests made under the Freedom of Information Act?

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Britain needs Fraunhofer centres as well as Catapults if the ‘invention revolution’ is to materialise, asserts Tim Holt

Ucas could help ensure that all students are assessed on the same information, says Miles Hewstone

Cut through the PR puff to unlock the true potential of novel notions, says David Maguire

David Willetts’ finely balanced aims for higher education are too often belied by the impact of his government’s policies