Sir David Watson: Russell Group is not all it’s cracked up to be Senior scholar decries ‘divisive’ mission groups and government’s market focus By John Morgan 3 April
No standard offering of aid for dyslexia Efforts to help identify and support students vary widely among institutions By Barbara Speed 3 April
Magna Charta Observatory seeks secretary-general to lead mission Pan-European body based in Bologna works to promote the academy’s humanist vocation. Plus the latest higher education jobs and appointments By Matthew Reisz 3 April
Overhaul of metrics usage could cut frequency of REF Chair of review into use of metrics suggests REF interval could be cut to once a decade By Paul Jump 3 April
East meets West in MBA for future masters of universe ‘Billionaires come to us to study’, Chinese business school dean says of his role in £77,000 joint course By David Matthews 3 April
UUK review to look at nine-month contracts Efficiency task forces told to seek savings in radical changes to practices By Jack Grove 3 April
Durham v-c wanted student paper ‘to be an advertisement’ Former Palatinate editors claim they feared expulsion after intervention by Chris Higgins By David Matthews 3 April
Higher education contributes £73bn to UK plc UUK report details scope of sector’s economic activity, which adds up to 2.8 per cent of GDP By John Morgan 3 April
Short shrift from staff for Queen Mary’s short form Implementation of QML abbreviation delayed while opposing academics are consulted By Jack Grove 3 April
Number of students starting PhDs falls The number of students beginning PhDs funded by six research councils has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 2009-10 By Holly Else 3 April
‘No academic boycott’, Willetts reassures Israelis Universities and science minister at BIRAX conference affirms intention to encourage partnerships for joint scientific research projects By Matthew Reisz 3 April
More data can lead to poor student choices, Hefce learns Overwhelmed university applicants filter out information to cope, research finds By David Matthews 3 April
Online exposure ‘leads to higher research paper correction rate’ Blog discussions of flaws spur publishers to effect more changes and retractions, says Paul Brookes By Holly Else 3 April
‘Wolf of Northampton’ Nick Petford defended after criticism UCU letter calls celebration of ‘laddish’ behaviour ‘disturbing’ By Chris Parr 2 April
England sees 24 per cent drop in students from European Union Fall is major factor in student numbers from abroad dropping for first time in almost three decades By David Matthews 2 April
UK has ‘lowest drop-out rate in Europe’ The UK has the lowest higher education drop-out rate in Europe, a new study shows. By Jack Grove 1 April
Gowns and mortarboards ‘could be compulsory’ under Gove Proposals part of raft of measures on the table if education secretary gains HE By Avril Olof 1 April
New Coursera chief pledges better communication with partners The incoming head of the largest massive open online course provider has pledged to improve the way it communicates with its university partners. By Chris Parr 31 March
Liberal arts college libraries take on publishers over ebooks By Carl Straumsheim, for Inside Higher Ed 31 March
Softening of line on Open Access-only REF Non-OA journals acceptable only when they are “the most appropriate publication” By Paul Jump 31 March
GCHQ watches over cyber security degrees GCHQ, the UK’s surveillance agency, is to offer official certification for master’s degrees in cyber security. By Chris Parr 30 March
Osborne praises doctoral training centres George Osborne has predicted that 22 new Centres for Doctoral Training will “inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers”. By Holly Else 29 March
Private college funding to hit £1 billion Nearly £1 billion in state-backed funding will be paid to students at private colleges next year. By Jack Grove 28 March
Universities ‘shape future elites’ through soft power, say peers Lords committee also becomes sixth Parliamentary group to call for students to be removed from net migration count By David Matthews 28 March
State pupils on same grades as private counterparts ‘get better degrees’ Contextual data debate likely to be reopened by landmark Hefce report By Jack Grove 28 March
Oxford drops below Cambridge on state school entrants State school admissions to the University of Oxford fell last year but rose at the University of Cambridge, new figures show. By Jack Grove 27 March
Right-wing academic who was denied promotion wins court ruling By Scott Jaschik, for Inside Higher Ed 27 March
Lifting the cap ‘fails to widen access’ in Australia More students are entering higher education but most places are taken by those from wealthy backgrounds By Paul Jump 27 March
Graduates postpone job hunt as gap years take off Poor career prospects fuel rise in US university leavers seeking ‘funemployment’ By Jon Marcus 27 March
Exiled v-c fights to return to Papua New Guinea Students protest in support of Dutch-born university head Albert Schram, expelled by the government in 2013 By David Matthews 27 March
Manchester economics students withhold NSS cooperation over curriculum demands Post-Crash Economics Society campaigners threaten negative feedback in National Student Survey in bid to be offered alternative course modules By Chris Parr 27 March
Former Queen Mary lecturer’s unfair dismissal claim rejected Tribunal rules that academic’s post was genuinely redundant By Paul Jump 27 March
UK/US institution alliance aims for collaborative growth Birmingham and Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pledge coordination on multidisciplinary research projects By Paul Jump 27 March
Modern field has a champion with a rare Crown privilege Southampton scholar discusses the honour of becoming the first Regius professor of computer science. Plus the latest higher education jobs and appointments By John Elmes 27 March
‘Invest in regional universities to rebalance UK economy’ Study of the economic impact of graduates recommends universities should be placed at the centre of strategies to boost regional growth By David Matthews 27 March
No bonanza for those who left places unfilled Big post-92s suffer as Hefce steers allocations towards strong recruiters By John Morgan 27 March
Setting up an overseas campus? Why not choose a tropical paradise Mauritius wants foreign students; Aberystwyth will help to provide them By David Matthews 27 March
Elsevier: bumps on road to open access Academic seeks to gather examples of cases where open access article fees have been paid but content remains behind a paywall By Paul Jump 27 March
Focus on recruiting foreign students reveals ‘mission drift’ Pro v-c at Nottingham Trent attacks ‘profit chasing’ in sector and calls time on marketing speak By David Matthews 27 March
£133,000 paid to v-c on abrupt exit Canterbury Christ Church University declines to disclose reasons for departure to Robin Baker upon ‘loss of office’ By Jack Grove 27 March
‘Disengagement pacts’ keep peace on campus Study claims lecturers go easy on workload and grading in unspoken agreement with students who give them a high teaching rating By Jack Grove 27 March
Foreign students: a belated welcome James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, said that he wanted to ‘underline’ a ‘message of welcome’ to international students By David Matthews 27 March
Former Leeds student loses appeal against removal of PhD scholarship Sanaz Raji criticises eight-month wait for decision from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator By Paul Jump 27 March
Cinematic deconstruction: Derrida gets a close-up Film draws on 1980 work to expose philosopher’s ideas to general audience By Matthew Reisz 27 March
Campus close-up: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London Theatre practice and a funded research base make Central more oversubscribed than Oxbridge By Matthew Reisz 27 March
Universities build golden dreams at Olympic Park An East London innovation and education quarter is arising with the help of several institutions By Holly Else 27 March
Geographical distribution of degree holders The five local authorities with the highest percentage of residents holding a degree are in London By Holly Else 27 March
Network to help end ‘isolation’ of black PhD students National group would be the UK’s first to target help for minority ethnic doctoral students By Holly Else 27 March
Universities warned over ‘sleepwalking’ into Ofsted-style regime Higher education may be “sleepwalking” towards a new quality control system based on Ofsted-style inspections, a leading sector figure has warned. By Jack Grove 25 March
Ed Miliband talks of ‘radical offer’ on fees Could remark be hint of policy shift towards graduate tax? By David Matthews 25 March
Marking boycott plea by Dundee students Letters asks UCU and Ucea to resolve differences By David Matthews 25 March
Willetts does not rule out fees rise Labour on the attack as RAB nears ‘break-even point’ By Jack Grove 24 March
FutureLearn Mooc to offer route to accountancy credit Exeter offering to start this September By Chris Parr 23 March
