Opinion

Felipe Fernández-Armesto judges a revealing after-dinner game

Petting animals can help to overcome social barriers which can lead to improved learning for students, says Erin McKenna

Ourania Filippakou and Ted Tapper consider whether they are heading for extinction

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Malcolm Gillies on contradictory attitudes to soaring fees and value for money

In a world where good names are priceless, UK universities have built up plenty of credit in the reputation bank

Corruption in the academy is being challenged by a ‘clean universities’ ranking and the power of press coverage, says Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

The changes will make sector results look worse than they are, warn Andrew Connolly and Clare Partridge

The idea that universities are hotbeds of incivility is implausible, says Emrys Westacott

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Robert Appelbaum on the war of words that preceded the withdrawal of plans to privatise universities

Examining collaborative provision in an Asian partnership left John Buglear doubting the fitness of such ventures

Kevin Fong worries as UK medical graduates catch an American disease

The 1994 Group’s break-up reflects fragmentation in the sector and leaves the ‘elite’ tag to the Russell Group alone

‘Big money’ grants foster ‘bookkeeping’ work at the expense of small-scale but potentially groundbreaking efforts, says Gary Thomas

If universities want to keep teacher training, their courses must be more relevant to the real school world, argues Susan Bassnett

Academics are expected to engage in rigorous intellectual sparring but do some scholars overstep the mark?

Our cultural values, media and education system are pushing science to the margins, Dame Athene Donald warns

The Universities Superannuation Scheme is in deficit but has healthy assets, says Michael Bourn

There is an essential difference between saloon-bar provocation and paradigm-shifting scholarship, argues Terence Kealey

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Sally Feldman welcomes a modern reimagining of the incomparable Jane

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Christopher Bigsby struggles to see the point of travelling to give a lecture

On Halloween, Richard Sugg reveals how early stories of death from paralysing nightmares morphed into tales of vampires

His portfolio safe, David Willetts can enjoy some stability and clarity, the very things v-cs would like from the minister

Jim Northover considers whether the next global “mega-brand” could be a UK university

Cosmo Graham considers the possible outcomes

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Blame the ‘father of the Constitution’ for the mess in the US, says Alan Ryan

The current regime can’t last for ever, says Andy Westwood

Willetts, like Robbins, envisages more graduates, but he is similarly reluctant to explain how expansion will be funded

Panagiotis Tsigaris found the online learning tool to be a positive addition to his courses

Some institutions’ appeals panels deny students a chance of justice, says Daniel Sokol

Weekly transmissions from the blogosphere

Felipe Fernández-Armesto on the inanity of questionnaires assessing teaching

With interest in Ralph Miliband’s work high after the Mail’s attack, could Marxism regain academic ascendency? asks Martin McQuillan

More and more prestigious US liberal arts colleges are making it voluntary for applicants to submit standardised test scores and say they will not favour the high achievers who do submit. These institutions hardly lack for excellent applicants. What’s up?