Higher education policy

French president seeks to rejuvenate thinking about common continental identity

Ontario parliament demands documents over university’s unprecedented bankruptcy, though analysis may turn to realities of bankrolling remote communities

But despite characteristic consensus on unsustainable workloads, key details of Dutch government investment agenda remain unknown

Outside a few elite institutions promising online formats for the coming semester, campus health experts fear monetary strains may overpower medical judgement

Six humanities projects reportedly vetoed and China collaboration nosedives as Discovery outcomes finally see light of day

University of the People aims to fund 4,000 Afghans to study, with 600 already enrolled in its courses

Sector awaits key details on scheme requiring ‘complete remake of student finance system’ and likely to face Treasury scepticism

But silence on flagship Discovery scheme leaves an estimated 3,000 applicants facing Christmas limbo

Conscripting industry players into research assessment roles will also turn the grant application process into ‘Frankenstein’s monster’

Jury takes three hours to agree nanoscience expert lied about Wuhan ties to sidestep pressure campaign against binational research partnerships

Policies risk inciting behaviour worse than 2000s immigration scams, expert warns

Omicron variant amplifying uncertainties, but initial indications suggest federal relief and economic growth may permit another year of post-secondary gains

Funding for green campuses, levelling up and international links would be a gift from Santa Rishi Sunak to himself, too, says Nick Isles

Commonwealth auditor general asked to review grant administration for the second time in three months

Analysts say generous grants, more housing and better information are needed to fix inequalities driven by parental income 

Universities see room for reasonable new legal restraints on foreign-funded scientists but fear overreach as final deal comes into shape

Study reignites debate over notion that success in gaokao exams and graduation from university has ‘life-changing’ effect on those from rural areas

The Taliban’s professed support for higher education has not been matched by their actions so far, says Rahmatullah Katawazai

UK’s post-Brexit global exchange scheme could be boosted by extending student visitor visas from six months to one year, says UUK report

Canberra demands revamped governance and more applied focus

Along with blocking faculty court testimony, university allegedly also courted state politicians by interfering in hiring, research and teaching

The Florida governor’s control over the make-up of public universities’ boards makes recent controversies unsurprising, says Mei Lan Frame

Tory ex-minister criticises ‘policy-Whitehall-Westminster establishment’ for failure to meet ‘high responsibility’ to plan for new universities

Emily Shuckburgh and Alyssa Gilbert, co-chairs of the COP26 Universities Network, draw the lessons from two years of collective effort

Deep cuts may be reversed, but the Brazilian president’s anti-science rhetoric will do lasting damage, says John Aubrey Douglass

Responding to US Supreme Court’s request for its position, administration agrees the university’s affirmative action tools meet existing constitutional standards

Hepi-published paper argues sector is ‘victim of, and has actively participated in, polarising culture wars’, while those ‘rooted in their local communities’ have been neglected by expansion

Diversifying income stream also makes institutions less exposed to possible government cuts, say Ian Matthias and Mike Boxall

New scheme unveiled six years after its underperforming predecessor was scrapped

Government promises response to review’s other recommendations ‘in due course’

Demand-driven funding a better option, expert says, as hundreds of international students fly into Sydney

In latest attack by conservatives on academic freedom, South Carolina Republicans propose five-year limit on all faculty contracts

Alan Tudge denies wrongdoing and promises to cooperate with independent investigation

‘Traffic light’ coalition brings festive joy with ‘very specific and detailed’ promises to sector that felt neglected by last administration

Government promises stopgap funding for first wave of successful UK-based applicants, as European Commission keeps schtum on full association

The University of Alberta president discusses using data, collaboration and a positive vision to turn around the institution while minimising internal disputes

The country’s conservative government is wary of academia’s social influence and values, but a ministerial letter offers hope, says Agnieszka Piotrowska

Campuses ‘bursting at the seams’, says Amsterdam president, urging government help

Creation of CTER by Welsh government part of shift to ‘rethink the model of post-compulsory education for high participation societies’

Hepi report on graduates’ perspectives on English loans system spotlights ‘psychological burden’ as ministers set to unveil loan hikes

On 15 October 1971, the first edition of The Times Higher Education Supplement was published. In the five decades since, the publication now known as Times Higher Education has charted the expansion and marketisation of the UK sector while taking an ever more global perspective. Three editors reflect on their time at the helm

New government focus on universities raising pre-18 attainment could be a ‘challenge’, but also indicates positive shift

Russell Group must ‘stop making excuses’ on difficulties of diversifying international student flows, says ex-universities minister

Welsh student support and tertiary systems have ‘far more in common with international approaches’ than English ones, says Jeremy Miles

Tens of millions of dollars on offer for institutions that walk their commercialisation talk

Minister also tells THE event that access changes are ‘not focusing on high-paid jobs’ but rather on ‘graduate jobs’

Rectors’ conference concerned that Berlin postdoc law could set ‘blueprint’ for unfunded attempts to tackle precarity

Universities minister to unveil access and participation changes at THE event as new director of fair access named

Foreign interference concerns should not blind policymakers to the benefits of collaboration, forum hears

Key details on scope of English student loan changes yet to be finalised as consultation looms

Amid concern on graduate employment in Westminster and across West, looking at funding systems that put labour market demand at centre is instructive

Refreshed guidelines allow universities to choose which academics face scrutiny of their overseas affiliations

The embrace of those values by the UAE’s higher education institutions has been key to the nation’s success, says Zaki Nusseibeh 

OfS releases latest figures on universities adopting definition following ministerial pressure

UK scientists may increasingly want to take the £7 billion for research offered by Treasury rather than wait for EU wrangling to finish, say research experts

Chief executive’s departure may help new chair to reshape English sector regulator

Suggestions of significant ministerial plan to ‘improve higher education’ this month bring warning not to harm universities’ levelling-up work

Ninety per cent federal funding cut will leave research projects unfinished and cause massive brain drain, experts warn

Deteriorating political climate causing self-censorship, conference hears

Funding preschool instead has compelling rationale, but US should extend both ends of compulsory education, say experts