Australia-China research collaboration nosedives Funding council statistics lend weight to anecdotal accounts that academics are self-censoring scholarship on superpower By John Ross 17 February
Record numbers of school-leavers seek UK university places Drop in mature applications means total pool has shrunk slightly, with continuing European downturn offset by Indian and Chinese growth By Chris Havergal 17 February
Happiness course ‘protected’ student well-being during pandemic Running Bristol programme online still helped with student well-being compared with control group, study suggests By Simon Baker 17 February
Bongai Munguni: I escaped poverty, and now I’m studying it Mozambique PhD candidate explains how she overcame extreme poverty, bereavement and daily beatings to study in the UK By Jack Grove 17 February
Need a citation? Then make your paper harder to read Study analysing readability and citations suggests academics may have an incentive to keep their abstracts complex By Simon Baker 17 February
The week in higher education – 17 February 2022 The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media By THE reporters 17 February
Red tape warning for research projects over national security law ‘Seemingly small regulatory requirements readily spawn large bureaucratic responses,’ says City president By John Morgan 17 February
Berkeley bracing for deep enrolment cut after court ruling City residents fighting student overcrowding win order that would slice planned freshmen class by a third By Paul Basken 16 February
Academics ‘reluctant’ to recommend Japan as borders stay shut Tokyo’s tight border controls could undo decades of education exchanges, say scholars By Pola Lem 16 February
Half-empty campuses and segregation as Afghan universities reopen Students and staff voice concerns over slipping quality of education as Taliban members are tapped for teacher posts By Pola Lem 16 February
Russia-Ukraine tensions mar rectoral poll with stolen ballot box Prime minister upholds reselection of reformist rector after masked, dye-wielding men try to spoil and steal vote By Ben Upton 16 February
Attempts to tackle casualisation in Australia ‘have failed’ University casuals less likely to win permanent employment than cleaners or bank workers, Senate inquiry finds By John Ross 15 February
Go now, Imperial staff tell Gast after bullying report published No confidence motion also calls for radical overhaul of university’s governance By Jack Grove 15 February
Harvard abuse case lays bare power inequality in academia Retracted support for star professor demonstrates deep persistence of faculty attitudes that perpetuate harassment, plaintiffs claim By Paul Basken 15 February
Research council head veto ‘will make vacancies harder to fill’ Ministerial intervention in research council appointment highlights growing politicisation of British science, experts warn By Jack Grove 15 February
Australian universities head back to campus after shutdowns It’s a balancing act, as some crave company and others isolation, but most vice-chancellors want their people back ‘as often as possible’ By John Ross 14 February
Union clashes with managers on turnout as USS strikes resume UCU claims ‘huge’ support but employers’ association reports ‘low levels’ of disruption By Chris Havergal 14 February
Don’t stop listening to students when pandemic ends, v-cs told Partnership and co-creation should be a permanent part of UK campus life, says report By Chris Havergal 14 February
Liberate teaching materials from paywalls, urges professor Open access champion also proposes an IB for universities, as competition gives way to collaboration By John Ross 14 February
Fulbright board member condemns Afghanistan pullout State Department ‘circumvented Fulbright board’ to shutter programme, putting applicants in ‘danger’, says Heather Nauert By Pola Lem 14 February
Cut deep, cut early: Covid’s toll on Australian casuals revealed Belated data show that inexperienced, untenured and non-academic staff shouldered the lion’s share of job losses By John Ross 13 February
US companies boosting their free college commitments Growing use of third-party services seen aiding employee-students find their options, although with suspicions of hidden costs By Paul Basken 12 February
Post-qualification admissions plan ‘abandoned’ in England Sector sources suggest PQA plan dropped after Williamson exit, although others think alternative changes still under consideration By John Morgan 11 February
Italy’s lettori divided on £36 million plan to end epic dispute Mistreated foreign lecturers welcome ‘endgame’ of marathon dispute but some say strings attached to a proposed deal are unacceptable By Jack Grove 11 February
Buckingham yet to file accounts for last two years Private university’s last financial statement was for 2018, despite English regulators requirement for all institutions to file annually By John Morgan 11 February
University of Iceland ‘addicted to slot machine income’ Institution faces mounting pressure internally and externally to keeping Vegas-style betting machines switched off for good By Ben Upton 11 February
Extra £20 million to offset UK overseas research cuts Impact of cuts to in-flight research mitigated by additional money but future budgets for aid-funded projects still uncertain, says UK science funder By Jack Grove 10 February
Rafael Reif to step down as MIT president Venezuelan’s decade-long tenure at global research leader marked by huge scientific and economic growth, as well as Epstein scandal By Paul Basken 10 February
College Board leader quits after criticism of race legislation Todd Huston, while senior vice-president at SAT creator, led Indiana lawmakers in trying to restrict classroom teaching By Paul Basken 10 February
Ministers ‘tightening financial screws’ on English sector IFS briefing says high inflation seemingly being used ‘as a cover’ to claw back taxpayer costs of higher education system By Simon Baker 10 February
Union clashes with managers over pay deductions ahead of strike Universities legally entitled to make deductions, but UCU attacks ‘unfair and unprofessional response’ By Chris Havergal 10 February
Indian Institutes of Technology set to open UK branches University of Birmingham chancellor ‘very open’ to partnership By Pola Lem 10 February
Which countries have the most unequal access to higher education? OECD data show that there are nations that have achieved more balance between major cities and other regions By Simon Baker 10 February
Australian Senate committee to scrutinise grant veto powers Furore over political interference shows no sign of abating, as government presses ahead with research commercialisation agenda By John Ross 9 February
Canadian campuses battle labour uprisings and political meddling Covid lockdowns, provincial budget cuts and political interference driving strike activity among faculty feeling disrespect By Paul Basken 9 February
Top German universities fear exclusion from innovation funding All types of institution must be welcome if new funder is to achieve its true potential, sector groups say By Ben Upton 9 February
New London engineering school ‘will dare to be different’ TEDI-London will strive not to conform to teaching orthodoxies despite pressures from founders and regulators, says its dean By Jack Grove 9 February
UK universities seek ‘common approach’ on tackling drug abuse Task force to draw up sector guidelines once survey results are collated By Chris Havergal 9 February
Access tsar sets out plans to implement school-university focus John Blake details planned changes to access agreements and defends focus on graduate outcomes in terms of ‘high-status jobs’ By John Morgan 8 February
Nobelists back petition for Swiss and UK Horizon association Stick to Science campaign launches with more than 200 signatories covering industry, charities and academia By Ben Upton 8 February
White House science adviser Lander quits over bullying claims White House tried to keep MIT-Harvard professor in top post after he apologised for belittling female colleagues By Paul Basken 8 February
Social scientists’ abandonment of book publishing laid bare Losses perceived for holistic views as communications modes show humanists embracing data-heavy styles of the hard sciences By Paul Basken 8 February
‘Put shoulder to the wheel’ on school standards, says access tsar John Blake rejects suggestions that it is not universities’ place to help close attainment gaps, in first speech in new role By Chris Havergal 8 February
Gender quotas for research grants ‘risk unintended consequences’ There is no simple answer to entrenched inequities in research funding, Australian agency finds By John Ross 7 February
$350 billion science legislation advances in US Measure to expand NSF and retain foreign scholars with scientific expertise faces showdown over Senate’s even tougher approach to China By Paul Basken 7 February
Kwarteng ‘vetoed appointment of Oxford college head to lead ESRC’ Business secretary reportedly concerned by Jonathan Michie’s ‘left-wing’ associations By Chris Havergal 7 February
Schmidt: take politics out of Australian research grant decisions Vice-chancellor criticises ‘bipartisan support’ for rules enabling ministers to intervene in grant awards By John Ross 7 February
Ex-Bedfordshire v-c wants to put Kurdistan on ‘global HE map’ In new role, Bill Rammell seeks to boost international ties, resist nepotism and push beyond pockets of excellence By Pola Lem 7 February
Debate as California State bans caste discrimination Amid support for policy shift, some professors question why South Asians are being singled out By Maria Carrasco for Inside Higher Ed 7 February
Poor German pushing international students towards dropping out Eager recruiters, lenient testers and delusional students must all share the blame for dire retention, studies suggest By Ben Upton 7 February
Single funding bodies would heal UK’s HE-FE divide, says report Paper says ‘too often colleges and universities have been pitted against each other’ By Simon Baker 7 February
Oxford college dean at centre of lengthy dispute to step down Martyn Percy to leave Christ Church in April, reportedly with a substantial settlement By Chris Havergal 4 February
Library sorry as student Twitter saga turns out to be tall tale Story of student borrowing two books to share them with their mother ‘drew on genuine experiences’ but was ‘imagined’ By Chris Havergal 4 February
Journals to reward peer reviewers with publishing discounts PeerJ will give contributors ‘tokens’ to be redeemed against article processing charges By Chris Havergal 4 February
Plan to ‘level up’ UK research funding ‘unambitious’ Comparison with current data suggests government proposals are ‘not exactly a revolution in the funding balance’, say experts By Jack Grove 4 February
Women top Japanese medical admissions after discrimination row Experts say expectation of long work hours and ‘old boys club’ culture among doctors still pose barriers By Pola Lem 4 February
For-profit college conversions get new scrutiny in US Top congressional Democrat urges Biden to reverse Keiser University’s decade-old conversion to non-profit status By Paul Basken 4 February
Gast oversaw ‘favouritism’ and ‘exclusion’ at Imperial – report College forced to release bullying investigation by Information Commissioner’s Office By Chris Havergal 3 February
US science prizes overlooking Asian researchers Professor counts Asian Americans as winning 3 per cent of nation’s major biomedical prizes, prompting promises to do better By Paul Basken 3 February
New Zealand reopens borders, but many students face long wait While 5,000 students could arrive in April, the rest will not be admitted until October, effectively ruling out campus-based studies before 2023 By John Ross 3 February
