University admissions

Limiting international student numbers or cutting post-study work eligibility is not the way to become a science superpower, says Max Lu

Study that asked Americans if they would use genetic screening or gene editing to improve chances of offspring getting into a leading university triggers warning of increased educational inequalities

English regulator concedes providers being asked to do too much, too quickly and gives most another year to work on plans

Total number of applications to study for a degree in UK down by 2.3 per cent at January deadline

Government-set access target ‘can’t become a burden’ and there is ‘debate to be had’ on its metrics, says academic and ex-football referee

US Supreme Court widely expected to rule against Harvard and UNC in landmark cases, leading many institutions to start the process for considering what happens next

UK higher education admissions service moves to put vocational routes into careers on an ‘equal footing’ with traditional options

Recently launched provider spends big in attempt to drive ‘exponential growth’ in student numbers

Leading institutions switching from exams to interviews for admission, but students from many universities are excluded from this route

Enrolment declines also shrink, but inflation and historical patterns cited as reasons for sector to expect danger may be lurking

Beijing’s abolition of Covid-era concession expected to spur international enrolments while generating logistical migraines

The decision to allow organised luck back into student selection sits awkwardly between politics and science

Participation keeps going up, but significant equality issues remain

Experts say long awaited overhaul is welcome but questions-based approach still leaves some students at more of an advantage

The government must invest significantly in a national infrastructure to develop more effective interventions, say Antony Moss and Deborah Johnston

Deans warn of ‘wasted opportunity’ as Westminster government rules restrict intakes to international students only

Admissions service also making changes to teacher references, and plans to release details of grade profiles that were accepted onto courses

Data lay bare how Russell Group institutions have hit the brakes after years of expansion, as post-92s make up ground

Move to ‘ease burden’ on applicants could leave institutions with ‘no choice’ but to raise other costs, scholar warns

Federal prosecutor declares that prosecutions changed elite university operations, although wealth-based privileges seen as still robust

Students aiming for a Russell Group university were set up to fail by a pathways college – but then passed anyway, says Donald Short

Interim policy that allows students with overseas offers to study domestically instead may turn long term

Denying that people have the potential to succeed before offering them any training contradicts what education is all about, says Elisa Stephens

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting attacks cap on medical school places that has led to institutions catering solely to students from overseas 

More than half of school-leavers in the capital enter higher education, but fewer than one in three do elsewhere

Institutions’ marketing approach should be to inform would-be students about the full range of degrees on offer, says Pat Moores

Recent figures also show that the attainment gap is growing

As tuition discounting hits record rates, nation’s higher education leaders feel need to end confusion over their net prices before lawmakers try to do it

The department’s threat to ban international students from all but the top UK universities is totally counterproductive, says Nick Hillman

Return of grants after almost a decade of loans could create an enrolment surge in an already straining system

Hepi report says long, free-form format is ‘incompatible’ with fair admissions code and calls for switch to short-response questions

Articulating numerical goals can focus efforts, commentators say, but not always in the right direction

Leading institutions are not ‘lining their pockets’ by shifting recruitment to international students, says analysis, and situation for less prestigious campuses is even worse

What the country really needs is a common school and evaluation system that compensates for background inequalities, says Gowhar Rashid Ganie

Universities told to spend 5 per cent of total income on equality programmes after report finds UN 2030 goal ‘highly unlikely’ to be met

All but tiny minority of population qualify for enrolment under ‘economically weaker’ label

Leading civil rights figure in US higher education questions assertions by Supreme Court justices that ending legacy advantages could be a reasonable response to their expected ban on affirmative action

Nearly two dozen British institutions now accept a test that allows Chinese high schoolers taking domestic curriculum to apply to universities abroad

Ahead of ruling on Harvard and North Carolina cases, conservative majority on nation’s top court makes clear it leans towards ending predecessors’ 2003 approval of racial preferences in college admissions

‘Dual enrolments’ jump 11 per cent in a year in what colleges hope is a move that will encourage low-income students to consider higher education

Figures include those applying to Oxford and Cambridge, as well as medicine, dentistry and veterinary hopefuls

Regional Australian universities’ fears of losing ‘equity’ enrolments to city rivals prove unfounded

With nation in long-term demographic decline, historically black campuses and dual-enrolled high school students offer hope for growth in post-secondary sector

Report attributes shift to dependency on international fees and heightened competition

Celebrated Harvard economist opens THE’s World Academic Summit by showing academia’s top leaders the ways their sector continues to stratify society

Making appropriate decisions is difficult for students when information is scarce and inaccurate, say Kaibalyapati Mishra and Krishna Raj 

We must examine how our measures of merit are impacted by culture, context, place and hierarchy, says Cheryl de la Rey

As legal challenge gains, Congress avoids renewing provision seen letting elite campuses tie financial offers to student ability to pay

The standardised test is graduate schools’ ideal measurement tool for the personality traits they seek in applicants, says John Gomez

Hitting targets ‘not the be-all and end-all’, John Blake tells THE, as national risk register for higher education participation planned

A groaning university wants ministerial permission to impose separate English- and Dutch-language course caps

Shortage of doctors can’t be fixed by pushing back admissions decisions, says centre-left rival

Former University of Southern California water polo coach gets new trial as federal judge cites significance of USC accepting payment from student’s family

Lower tariff providers have enjoyed their best clearing in years as elite universities abandon expansionist ambitions due to fees freeze

As universities buff up their diversity credentials, Australia’s largest regional institution warns of ‘hunting’ in its backyard

The new UK PM’s team needs to maintain access for the hardest-to-reach, fulfil research spending promises and continue levelling up, says Laura Brassington

About 17,800 applications paused as foundation scrambles to help almost 300 medical and dentistry students promised non-existent places

With the continent’s youth population set to soar, many observers worry that its overstretched universities will be unable to cope, with consequences for the whole world. So what is the solution? More overseas or online study? More branch campuses? Pan-African partnerships? Simon Baker reports 

From admissions to outreach and student data collection, the undergraduate journey must be reviewed to narrow unacceptable social and educational inequalities, say Kim Hunter Reed and Ray Belton

More fluid degree paths could help graduates develop critical thinking, academics say, amid concerns over how similar changes could affect recruitment