News

By Elizabeth Redden, for Inside Higher Ed

One of Plymouth University’s deputy vice-chancellors has started a government secondment, as upheaval at the troubled institution continues

The abolition of student number controls presents a “unique opportunity” to increase the number of poorer students going into higher education.

Flemish government proposes rise despite student protests

With less than seven months left until the general election, eyes are turning towards the impact that university students may have on the outcome.

The University of Birmingham has become the first institution in Europe to partner with the US publisher Wiley to develop online master’s courses

University applicants still rely heavily on parental advice when picking their course, a new survey says.

A one-day conference has explored how to overcome the challenges faced by women in academic medicine

Welsh government ministers have offered reassurance over academic freedom as new powers for the country’s university funding council are debated

Paper by academics calls for greater transparency

Party policy is to remove non-European Union students from the UK’s net targets

A group of medical charities spent more on health research last year than two government funding bodies, according to a report

Scottish government wants immigration powers devolved to Holyrood

Senior professors express ‘outrage’ at Glasgow’s decision to reduce investment

Swiss-French scientist says he just wants to have fun

University of Leeds musicologist heads a team in receipt of a £1.5 million grant to recover pre-war artworks

Institution incentivises students to learn their native tongue as it delivers dual language courses

Liam Byrne, the shadow universities minister, also urges the sector to speak out to prevent a ‘disastrous’ exit from the European Union

Oxford criticises figures given to universities illustrating the impact of future cuts amid calls for independent modelling

Apprentice interviewer Claude Littner offers UK business schools advice on balancing the practical and the theoretical

The UK’s draft Modern Slavery Bill is insufficient, sociologist Margaret Archer argues

Iran shaped the career of Annabelle Sreberny, professor of global media and communications at Soas, but doing research there remains difficult

Realising Opportunities project helps aspiring undergraduates from poor areas gain places at elite research institutions

Hard times for state-funded institutions require forceful restatement of their benefits to society, Simon Marginson says in Clark Kerr Lecture

Recruitment is under way for Yachay University, a new campus that the country hopes will usher in a research and innovation culture

The art of making firm friends starts with making it easy for companies to say ‘yes’ to your approaches, say insiders. Plus the latest higher education appointments

V-c hires law firm amid suggestions the case against her includes a complaint about her management style

Warwick staff concerned about ‘single cash metric’ used to identify redundancies in life sciences

The UK risks losing the global race to exploit the thinnest material on the planet, warns university leader

Universities should encourage graduates to stay in the city where they studied by helping them to find jobs and housing, a report recommends.

Simon Nelson tells Times Higher Education podcast original claims were ‘overhyped and unrealistic’

Universities have suffered a cut in initial teacher training (ITT) places as the government continues to expand its Schools Direct policy

April McMahon blames ‘years of underinvestment’ for tumbling league table positions

By Elizabeth Redden, for Inside Higher Ed

David Willetts, the former universities minister, ranks among “34 leading social scientists” awarded fellowship status by the Academy of Social Sciences

Universities have set out their plans to reform the sector’s largest pension scheme.

A French academic has won the Nobel Prize for economics for his work on market power and regulation

Four PhD students from UK universities have made it to the final of a competition that challenges them to present their research in three minutes

A new approach to teaching economics being piloted at eight leading universities has been criticised by campaigners

Labour’s Chuka Umunna wants to “hold universities’ feet to the fire” on the “unacceptable lack of diversity in their leadership and their senior staff”

Nearly two-thirds of higher education staff say their work performance has suffered as a result of mental health problems, according to a survey

Shadow education secretary tells conference of party’s ‘direction of travel’ ahead of 2016 elections

Vince Cable is announcing a new set of measures designed to stem the fall in Indian students choosing to study in the UK

University College London has apologised after its email system was hacked, leaving students with thousands of spam emails in their inboxes.

MEPs reject candidacy of right-wing Hungarian Tibor Navracsics to education, culture, youth and citizenship portfolio

Glyn Maxwell, whose departure follows Marina Warner’s exit, claims the importance of high-profile academics is ‘lost’ on Essex

World Bank report says countries of sub-Saharan Africa need more and better postgraduate qualifications

In a shifting employment landscape, academics are urged to drive their own progress rather than letting it happen by accident. Plus the latest higher education appointments

Could training schemes for teachers help to improve student learning? asks Graham Gibbs

Flexible model at West Midlands institution providing ‘budget’ higher education means students can balance their study, work and care commitments

Hefce move could signal the end of single regulatory body

MP attacks Labour’s plan and urges his own party to spend spare public funds on bursaries

Tribunal ruling against pay transparency will not extend to senior managers at King’s College London

Positive feedback as agency makes recommendations after controversy over student grades at the School of Management