University managerialism ‘can boost academic freedom’ Choice between overarching managers and collegiality in universities a false choice, study suggests By David Matthews 21 August
Canterbury Christ Church vice-chancellor is new HEA chair Rama Thirunamachandran to lead sector body while teaching excellence tops the political agenda By Chris Havergal 20 August
Shared leadership a ‘necessity’ for universities Move away from command and control model to increase staff engagement, advises Leadership Foundation paper By John Elmes 20 August
Doing it themselves: the rebuilding of Somalia’s higher education sector The ineffectiveness of the Mogadishu government is not stopping university leaders from trying to drive up standards By Chris Havergal 20 August
Zygmunt Bauman accused of serial ‘self-plagiarism’ Eminent sociologist has recycled 90,000 words of material across a dozen books, claims paper By Paul Jump 20 August
University of Warwick’s WMG builds UK’s skills base to boost manufacturing Industry-focused offshoot with Jaguar Land Rover link offers teaching from school to manager level By John Elmes 20 August
Russell Group universities ‘unfairly rejecting ethnic minority students’ Study suggests BME students could be missing out on places because institutions are trying to shape ethnic mix By Chris Havergal 20 August
Citations? Great. But have you got the ‘t factor’? Proposed Twitter-based altmetric would treat retweets like citations By Paul Jump 20 August
PhDs from overseas: the rocky road to success for students and supervisors Cultural differences can complicate relationships between international doctoral students and supervisors, Jack Grove hears By Jack Grove 20 August
EU recruitment boom prompts student finance warning Universities believed to be looking to Continent to make up shortfalls in domestic enrolment By Chris Havergal 20 August
University staff in London are least happy in work High costs, long commutes and insecure jobs may explain figures from Best University Workplace Survey 2015 By Jack Grove 20 August
Grant winners – 20 August 2015 A round-up of recent recipients of research council cash By THE reporters 20 August
The week in higher education – 20 August 2015 The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the national press By THE reporters 20 August
Best University Workplace 2016 survey open Tell us what you love (or loathe) about your institution 19 August
Black and Asian scholars 'less likely' to have been submitted to the REF Hefce study finds large differences in submission rates by ethnicity and gender By David Matthews 19 August
New chief executive named by Jisc Paul Feldman joins sector technology body as it shifts to new funding model By Chris Havergal 19 August
Syrian archaeologist ‘beheaded in cold blood’ Islamic State targets octogenarian scholar, according to reports By Matthew Reisz 19 August
Too many graduates in non-professional jobs, HR body says Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says many school-leavers may be better off enrolling on apprenticeships By Chris Havergal 19 August
Do more to support student mothers, universities told Warwick study highlights high dropout rate and queries social mobility benefits By Chris Havergal 19 August
Unease at Reading over consultancy spend ahead of job losses Redundancy process will begin this autumn to achieve new operational model recommended by PwC By Jack Grove 19 August
Candy Crush: is it a model for online courses? Paper argues that mobile game’s addictive appeal could be harnessed to improve course retention By Chris Havergal 19 August
Concerns dwindle over quality of open access journals Fears over quality decline, but many academics still unclear over open access requirements By David Matthews 18 August
Gabonese president to give away inheritance to build university Ali Bongo Ondimba donates property in Libreville to state, free of charge By Chris Havergal 18 August
Internet’s role in rise in student plagiarism exaggerated, study suggests Older papers with unattributed material had higher similarity index than more recent ones By Jack Grove 18 August
Academic values ‘at risk’ in internationalisation, says report European Parliament study highlights pursuit of profit and ‘elite’ monopoly on mobility By Chris Havergal 18 August
US university defends ban on ‘sagging pants’ Signs at Henderson State University said such attire would ‘not be tolerated’ By Jake New for Inside Higher Ed 17 August
Scholar is spending a year ‘as David Bowie’ Kingston academic Will Brooker pioneers a new kind of immersive research By Matthew Reisz 17 August
Rethink over Maltese campus location as public anger grows Proposed campus is likely to be based on several sites amid concerns over environmental impact on much-loved beauty spot By Jack Grove 17 August
Burlesque and naked fairy tales: new book ‘explodes’ stereotyped femininity Happy Stripper scholar challenges view that all female objectification is necessarily negative By Matthew Reisz 16 August
Bursaries for poorer students and teaching checks in London Met’s 2020 vision Strategic plan ushers in £3 million bursary programme, plus ‘pathways out of the university’ for staff who fail to align with mission By Jack Grove 16 August
Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015 results China continues to advance, but Japan dips in Shanghai Jiao Tong ranking based on research strength By Ellie Bothwell 15 August
Clearing placements on A-level results day up 65% More than 420,000 students placed at UK universities by end of 13 August By Chris Havergal 14 August
Cut university budgets to fund FE, suggests thinktank However, others warn that all will lose if colleges and universities are forced to “go to war”, writes Stephen Exley By Stephen Exley 14 August
South Korea plans ‘ghettoised’ university courses for foreign students Proposal announced by Ministry of Education as the number of international students in the country continues to decline By Ellie Bothwell 14 August
Female lecturers ‘suffer from gender biases’ in student ratings French research finds that undergraduates give higher scores to male teachers By Matthew Reisz 14 August
Winners of new university race equality charter mark named Body behind the Athena SWAN gender equality initiative names first institutions to receive award to promote racial diversity By Jack Grove 13 August
Clearing 2015: live blog All the latest breaking news as students receive their A level results 13 August
A-level results 2015: record number of students accepted into UK higher education More than 409,000 accepted on to courses as clearing gets under way, up 3 per cent on last year By Chris Havergal 13 August
More than half of graduates say degree was not worth the money One in 20 respondents to NUS survey say they would have been better off not going to university By Chris Havergal 13 August
Grant winners – 13 August 2015 A round-up of recent recipients of research council cash By THE reporters 13 August
‘Free marketeer’ Javid may seek radical thinking in BIS review BIS confirms it is looking at how to cut costs, after news emerges of ‘quick and dirty’ McKinsey review By John Morgan 13 August
Mexico grapples with quality control as private growth creates ‘tension’ Sector needs national standards and more industry links to drive and sustain economy, say experts By Holly Else 13 August
The week in higher education – 13 August 2015 The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the national press By THE reporters 13 August
Retail platform gives Southampton Solent fashion students an enterprising outlet Lecturer who masterminded student-run commercial operation Re:So shortlisted for enterprise education award By John Elmes 13 August
External peer review of university standards must continue, says QAA UK’s quality body rejects funding council proposals to scrap institutional reviews By Chris Havergal 13 August
Universities face ‘unpredictability’ as clearing gets under way Students ‘in strong position’ as number controls lifted, say sector observers By Chris Havergal 13 August
Clearing the way to higher dropout rates? Lessons from uncapped Australia England urged to learn from country where attrition rates rose after student numbers cap was lifted By Chris Havergal 13 August
Is the UK getting better at philanthropy? Incoming vice-president of international operations at Case says that UK fundraisers are ‘wildly talented’ but that the talent pool is ‘still very small’ By Ellie Bothwell 13 August
Applicants for higher education diplomas in England and Wales More than 44,500 people registered on an access to higher education diploma course in England and Wales in 2013-14, new data show By Holly Else 13 August
Postgraduates: what they worry about and why it matters Government loans may not reverse decline of UK postgraduate numbers, study suggests By Holly Else 13 August
More women on selection committees ‘may reduce chances of success’ for female academics Conference paper challenges argument that gender-balanced committees boost female candidates By Matthew Reisz 13 August
African collaboration helps future leaders master public policy Twelve universities across the continent are offering course aimed at next generation of development professionals By Chris Havergal 12 August
Refugees gain considerable support from German universities, study suggests More than 60 universities in Germany provide help for the country’s growing number of refugees, study says By Jack Grove 12 August
National Student Survey 2015: £9K fees fail to dent satisfaction Results could be used as part of teaching excellence framework to determine which universities can charge higher fees By Chris Havergal 12 August
London School of Economics was paid £40,000 for glowing report on Kids Company Study praised founder of now defunct charity, Camila Batmanghelidjh, for ‘beauty and profound truth’ of her message By Jack Grove 12 August
Convicted Connecticut lecturer could face dismissal Ravi Shankar currently on unpaid leave By Colleen Flaherty for Inside Higher Ed 11 August
King’s College London moves IT help desk to Cornwall Relocation of call centre creates savings that are reinvested to improve provision, says IT head By Jack Grove 11 August
Student sex workers should face disciplinary action, say some staff Study warns universities not to ‘police’ students’ lives and criticises absence of policies on sex work By Jack Grove 11 August
Dubai university administrators accused of faking English language test scores Pair of employees at the American University in Dubai deny criminal charges By Chris Havergal 10 August
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chancellor resigns Phyllis Wise says she will step down due to ‘external issues’ affecting the institution By Ellie Bothwell 10 August
