Opinion

University careers attract intellectually curious people who want to make a difference. But Donna Swarthout has been disillusioned once too often

It is crucial to adapt teaching methodology to students’ specific cultures and traditions of learning, says Bashir Makhoul

Academics justifiably express disbelief and outrage when librarians inform them that they can’t afford a particular title, says Caroline Ball

Pre-arrival checks and continuous monitoring of student health are replicable elements of China’s successful approach, say Yingru Li and Jane Duckett

If we can’t find the narrative forms to make the world real to one another, we risk losing our politics to the fantasists and cynics, says Lyndsey Stonebridge

UK universities must investigate how many of their students are affected by homelessness – and what can be done about it, says Ricardo Visinho

For a successful transition to open access, we must respect the needs and requirements for different types of output and disciplines, says Rhodri Jackson

The experience of Monash University suggests that staff members’ greatest mental health needs are not necessarily obvious, says Kim Cornish

In the post-Trump, pandemic era, universities must redouble efforts to change the narrative, win back public trust and help heal divided societies

As the pandemic reshapes both conferencing and publishing, melding talks and papers makes a lot of sense, says Richard Oliver

Support must continue beyond 9 December for those with positive Covid-19 tests, international students and others, says minister Michelle Donelan

The potential involvement of the UK, Australia and Canada requires a fair payments mechanism between the EU and associate countries, says Jan Palmowski

Linguistic framing of coronavirus on campus by management has dodged a proper assessment of risks to students and staff, writes a UK academic

The popular conception that US academics are uniformly liberal fails to take into account universities’ subject breadth, says John R. Thelin

Some locked-down students have no electricity at home, never mind broadband service, say Abdur Rehman Cheema and Mehvish Riaz

When teachers ignore offensive language, we are complicit in making the classroom unsafe, say Mariangela Palladino and Shalini Sharma

We need to teach all students to listen better, to ask the right questions and to be willing to be wrong, says Anne Houtman

Rationalising online and in-person offerings and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships will be crucial, say Michael Braun and Scott Latham

Until we stop glorifying self-achievement, collaboration will remain transactional, say Maru Mormina, Romina Istratii and Alex Lewis

The pandemic has underlined the need for student assessment strategies to adapt to extraordinary circumstances, say Alexander Amigud and David J. Pell 

Universities should create more strategic partnerships with the commercial world to boost their public perception, argues Rupert Younger  

The holy grail of a business model for open access monographs that works at scale for publishers, libraries and scholars is close, says Martin Paul Eve

The removal of Donald Trump from the White House could lead to major reform in college education, but many other issues require urgent action, argue Sandro Galea and Nason Maani

Discussions about how the UK’s largest pension scheme covers its deficit ought to consider whether all employers and members should pay the same rate, argues Paul Hamilton

Coronavirus will not stop China’s growing and ambitious middle class from seeking a Western university education for their children, says Sabrina Wang

Almost all higher education institutions in the country have signed a document committing to combating the climate crisis, says Göran Finnveden

Ministers’ eagerness to launch yet another review when so many others remain unpublished is testing the patience of universities, says Andrew McRae

Despite the world’s apparent boredom with evidence and truth, it’s clear that universities’ expertise and principles are more vital than ever

What does it say about our labour culture that a tenured professor stuck in an elevator did not even consider cancelling his class, asks Irina Dumitrescu

Those who make the loudest noises about equality can be among the most myopic about the evils of academic inbreeding, says Bruce Macfarlane

UK minister Kemi Badenoch’s disavowal of the theory plays into a misleading right-wing narrative, says Hannah Robbins

The establishment of online learning and the routine use of email were long overdue, argues Ali Adnan Mohammed

The pandemic underlines the need for executives to be instilled with a more radical approach to sustainability, say Lars Moratis and Frans Melissen

Supporting pure open access publishers can save money and help cement the transition to full open access, says Helen Dobson

With many students still obliged to learn from their bedrooms, focusing on their well-being and social development is vital, says Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan

Online courses should be easily adaptable to post-Covid circumstances – whatever they may be, says An Jacobs

Tackling bias by urging writers to avoid stereotypically female descriptors undervalues qualities such as cooperation and care, says Davina Cooper

Done properly, teaching in front of a webcam is more effective than teaching from behind a visor, says an anonymous academic

An honest national conversation about the murky origins of Greek life is a prerequisite for a better future, says Taulby Edmondson

The BJP’s permeation of every aspect of higher education will hamper India’s ambitions to be a world leader in research and innovation, says Aditya Sharma

The government’s illogical restrictions deny the country a potential source of post-Brexit growth, argues Dylan Jones-Evans

As Covid-19 stalks student halls, universities are accused of allowing intolerance to infect ideals of academic freedom. But is the criticism fair?

Civilised adults should not have to demonstrate that they can stand up to bullying before being offered a job, says an anonymous academic 

As students fret about being refused service at McDonald’s, George Bass fears having to refuse them exit from their dormitories

Living in a parallel universe of perfect systems and obedient citizens could blow up in vice-chancellors’ faces like Chernobyl, warns Craig Brandist 

The country’s deep belief in cooperation coexists with a quiet opportunism about recruitment and funding, say Tim Seidenschnur and Georg Krücken 

Editing is often assigned to doctoral students from very different fields – but substandard manuscripts may be accepted anyway, says Brian Bloch

Decisions about whether to reopen campuses must weigh up factors such as opportunity costs and the level of risk that is acceptable

Lecturers are being denied the flexibility they are compelled to offer students, despite being more vulnerable to the virus, says an anonymous academic

Publications must always permit debate on the quality and relevance of research – plus the efficacy and costs of derived policy, says Robert Dingwall

Recent attacks on high-profile scholars by government and by a university executive should give us pause, say Christopher Vaughan and Daniel Ncayiyana

University teaching should be refocused on promoting the common good, say Al Martinich and Tom Palaima

It makes no sense to oblige students to risk their own and others’ health by travelling long distances and converging on campus, says Brian Wong

Corporate leaders are uninterested in academic research but do respond when told there is a better way to conduct their business, says Oliver Sibony

Members of the Athena SWAN review steering group write an open letter in response to the plan to cut the link between the equality charter and research funding

Inequality in higher education, magnified during the pandemic, is not new – what has changed, perhaps, is a rising urgency to do something about it

Many students believe that if their instructors did not want them to cheat, they would not make it so easy, say three academics

A willingness to lie and manipulate beyond what most people can imagine can do wonders for a career, notes Irina Dumitrescu

Following the BethAnn McLaughlin and Jessica Krug revelations, Rachel Moss offers her tips for spotting online fakers

The focus on conducting research in independent institutes is holding the country back, say four academics