News

Imperial College London on 30 April announced that is to create two leadership roles of “president and rector” and “provost” in a shift to a US-style senior structure.

By Libby A. Nelson for Inside Higher Ed

Former prime minister Tony Blair has called for UK higher education to be seen as “a major export” – but warned that universities risk being “left behind” if they do not adjust to change, including public-private partnerships.

A committee of senior Harvard academics has urged the university’s staff to publish in open access journals amid concern that the cost of journal subscriptions is becoming “untenable”.

The government has announced that uncapped recruitment of the highest-achieving students at A-level will be extended to the ABB threshold in 2013-14, while a further 5,000 places will be allocated to cheaper institutions through the margin system.

The Million+ group of post-1992 universities has appointed Patrick McGhee, the vice-chancellor of the University of East London, as its new chair.

Academics at the Rothamsted Research laboratory have launched a direct appeal to protesters not to trash a trial crop of genetically modified wheat at a protest planned for later this month.

Higher education MBA fetes 10th year as sector's need for 'strategy' rises. David Matthews writes

Wi-fiand en-suite facilities are a must, but so is a sense of community - and universities are working hard to accommodate students' needs, finds Olga Wojtas

The countdown to the eighth annual Times Higher Education Awards begins this week, with a call for entries from universities across the UK.

In trying to attract students, institutions must be clear about what they are offering - and careful not to make promises they can't keep. Jack Grove reports

Suzanne Bearne examines the reasons for a split between arts and science students

The overreaction of university managers to the impact agenda is narrowing the kinds of research scholars feel able to carry out, academics have warned.

BIS/Treasury face-off over AAB policy is near an end, report David Matthews and Rachel Williams

More traditional US institutions are playing for-profits at their own game by offering short professional courses. Jon Marcus reports

Higher education may become a prime target for government cuts unless the sector presents a compelling case for its importance within the wider economy, the head of England's funding council has warned.

Dense, wordy, wooden, Foucault-flaunting prose? There is another way, scholar tells Matthew Reisz

Universities may be forced to use swipe cards that monitor student attendance to comply with tough new immigration rules, a vice-chancellor has warned.

This photograph features a scene from the 1904 revival at the Moscow Arts Theatre of Maxim Gorky's play The Lower Depths, about a group of impoverished Russians living together in a shelter by the Volga river.

As the internationalisation of higher education increases competition between institutions, universities risk losing sight of their true academic values, according to a report by the International Association of Universities.

Critics decry plans for an alternative medicine chair funded by 'holistic' clinic. Paul Jump writes

Many universities are improving the experience for their students, as our survey shows. And they are achieving it by making the effort to understand their students’ particular needs. Zoë Corbyn reports

The proposed "concordat" on research integrity will impose more burdensome regulation on social science, even though the disciplines show no evidence of misconduct problems, according to the Academy of Social Sciences.

QAA agrees that degree-awarding powers will move with institution. John Morgan reports

Only one in five offers by the New College of Humanities has gone to a person from a state school so far, according to A.C. Grayling, the master of the new institution.

Staff don't see that sector needs initiative and funds, says Charles Clarke. David Matthews writes

Cengage's plans to digitise the 19th century could open up a whole new world, finds Matthew Reisz

As annual tuition fees treble to a maximum of £9,000, Jack Grove looks at the elements that affect prospective students' choices

Liam Burns has been re-elected as president of the National Union of Students

Two Islamic societies at London Metropolitan University have launched a scathing attack on “undemocratic, ill devised and misleading remarks” by the vice-chancellor, who proposed banning alcohol from parts of the campus in case it offended Muslims.

The Northern Ireland government has issued the region’s two universities with a checklist of targets as part of its higher education strategy.

The University and College Union has called on the governors of London Metropolitan University to “intervene and re-direct” the institution after a survey returned a 91 per cent vote of no confidence in the vice-chancellor.

The National Union of Students has called on university heads to donate their tax savings to its new programme for student-led outreach.

The head of a new Australian research centre says the institution is not prepared to stand idly by as a new energy source is developed. Susan Woodward reports

Universities have pitched their latest pay offer for next year well short of the 7 per cent claim from the unions, tabling a 0.8 per cent offer that was quickly rejected.

By Mitch Smith, for Inside Higher Ed

The Arts and Humanities Research Council has insisted that the appointment of more than 200 new members to its peer review college is unrelated to a spate of resignations last year.

The president of the National Union of Students will face a strong challenge for his job at next week’s annual elections.

“My revenge is just begun,” proclaimed Count Dracula in the original 1897 novel. “I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side.”

But while mergers boost competitiveness, campus commutes leave some cold. Ed Dutton writes

The Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards 2012 celebrate the talented and dedicated staff working to steer universities and colleges through a time of unprecedented change. The awards feature 15 categories crowned by the top honour, the Outstanding Leadership and Management Team. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London on 21 June.

Devolved governments are constricting autonomy of universities, Hepi says. David Matthews writes

Master's course offers expert oversight from 'spa with strippers' tour operator. Jack Grove reports

Concerns have been raised over fair access to internships after the publisher of The Guardian became the latest firm to express an interest in providing higher education.

Group says philanthropists are already shutting their chequebooks. David Matthews writes

A study into the costs of answering Freedom of Information enquiries suggests that less than £10 million was spent across the sector last year.

Queen Mary job cuts may lead to sliding standards and debased teaching. Paul Jump reports

New Bedfordshire v-c voices concerns but says role won't be platform for politics. John Morgan reports

A transatlantic wrangle over whether material collected in an oral history project can be used as evidence in a criminal investigation has moved to a US appeals court.

This sample comes from the laboratory where Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) left a number of glass plates coated with bacteria overnight in 1928. It was this that led him to stumble upon the antibiotic powers of "mould juice" - later known as penicillin - and so make the breakthrough that formed the basis for one of the great revolutions in modern medicine.

Spending on the highest-paid staff at Russell Group universities has doubled in less than a decade, according to a report.

The vice-chancellor of a Ugandan university opened in collaboration with the University of Buckingham resigned less than two months into its first term, it has emerged.

Ancient mores met modern times at a conference exploring 'Romosexuality'. Matthew Reisz writes

Paper sprouts fresh charges against Thai official found to have plagiarised PhD. Paul Jump writes