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Efforts to promote race equality in higher education have petered out and had "little impact", a conference has heard.

The president of London Metropolitan University students’ union has called for the vice-chancellor to apologise after he suggested the sale of alcohol should be banned from parts of the campus because some Muslim students believed drinking was “immoral”.

The University of Bedfordshire has appointed Bill Rammell, formerly a higher education minister under Labour, as its new vice-chancellor.

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge have joined the campaign against a cap on tax relief for philanthropic donations amid fears that it could cost the sector millions of pounds.

Passion for a subject remains the number one reason for going to university, outpacing the desire to improve job prospects, according to a poll of young people.

An alternative examination to A levels is gaining a foothold in state schools, its creators claim.

Newer universities have criticised the government for delaying the announcement of student number controls in 2013-14.

The University of Wales, Newport, has started “emergency discussions” after the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales confirmed that the number of students entering the institution will be cut by more than a fifth in 2013-14.

Full-time academic staff in US universities continued to receive below-inflation pay rises in 2011-12, a report has found.

Bolder measures are required to ensure students from poorer families have access to information about university courses, a thinktank has said.

The head of England’s funding council has warned that government calculations on student loan repayments “have got to turn out to be robust” if the new higher education system is to be financially sustainable.

Almost eight in ten UK universities will embark on major capital projects worth more than £5 million in the next year as they face up to fiercer competition for students under the new regime.

Richard Descoings, the head of the Paris institution Sciences Po and one of the leading reformers in French higher education, has been found dead in a New York hotel room.

Russell Group universities should determine the content of A-level examinations, the education secretary Michael Gove has told exam regulator Ofqual.

Universities in the US are better at using social media than their UK counterparts, a report has found.

Loughborough University has appointed Robert Allison, geographer and head of research at the University of Sussex, as its new vice-chancellor.

Controversial plans to force Russell Group universities to show they are “in touch with ordinary Brits” have been condemned by academics.

The charity Cancer Research UK has teamed up with a venture capital organisation to launch a £50 million investment fund aimed at boosting the translation of its discoveries into new cancer treatments.

Union leaders have condemned a 0.5 per cent pay offer by universities.

Universities will work to give students “clear and accurate” information about the additional costs of courses following an agreement between the National Union of Students and bodies representing UK institutions.

Glyndŵr University claims that it has been “disadvantaged” for “following government policy” after funding allocations for Welsh universities indicated that it could suffer a 20.3 per cent drop in its income in 2012-13

Almost all Russell Group universities have failed to reach independently set levels for admitting pupils from state schools and poorer backgrounds, new figures show.

The growth in the proportion of young people participating in higher education has stalled after years of steady increases, according to new figures.

Lecturers from post-1992 universities in London are joining school teachers in a walk-out to protest against changes to their pensions.

Plans for students to apply to university after getting their grades have been abandoned in the face of opposition from schools and universities.

Universities have once again seen a rise in philanthropic donations, but there are warnings that a cap on tax relief announced in last week’s Budget could stop this progress “dead in its tracks”.

The National Audit Office has called for tougher action against overseas students who are breaking visa rules, prompting Universities UK to warn that “legitimate concerns about immigration” should not be allowed to cause “irreversible damage” to the nation’s higher education export industry.

Higher fees for UK master’s courses are deterring students from continuing their studies and the deterrent is strongest for those from poorer backgrounds, according to a new study.

Four learned societies have written to the prime minister to protest against plans to reduce the resources of the Lords Science and Technology Committee.

David Willetts has declined to offer any support to a University of Cambridge student who was suspended for two and a half years for heckling him.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced investment worth £100 million for universities in a bid to boost private-sector investment in research.

Almost one-quarter of students in the UK receive less lecture time than they thought they would get before they started university, a new report has revealed.

Removing international students from official immigration figures would reduce government statistics to “nonsense”, the head of a migration pressure group has claimed.

King’s College London has received the largest donation from an individual in its history - a £20 million gift for its School of Law.

The University of Warwick and Queen Mary, University of London, could share lecturers as part of a new programme of research and outreach collaboration.

Students at Cardiff Metropolitan University have voted against plans to merge the institution with the University of Wales, Newport and the University of Glamorgan.

The need for further “university-led research” to track the contribution of design to UK businesses and the economy came up for debate at a forum organised by the Design Council last week.

A group of scientists involved in public discussions about nuclear power have written an open letter to David Willetts protesting about the European commissioner for energy’s “bizarre” talk of an apocalypse in relation to last year’s Fukushima disaster.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is to step down at the end of the year to become the head of a University of Cambridge college, it has been announced.

A government scheme to reward top state-school pupils with a visit to a Russell Group university has been branded “tokenism” by a university mission group.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is to invest a record amount of money into its doctoral training grants in 2012-13.

Researchers are being “strongly encouraged” by state-sponsored funding bodies to consider whether their bids could be strengthened by collaborating with other groups and institutions.

Students are taking part in a national walkout at campuses across the UK today as part of a “week of action” calling on the government and universities to “come clean” on their plans for higher education.

Overseas student numbers are set to rise by 10 per cent over the next decade, a British Council study has said.

The universities of Durham, Exeter, York and Queen Mary, University of London, have joined the Russell Group, it has been announced.

Measures of the financial health of universities are the “best on record” but the sector faces “a large degree of uncertainty” in future, according to England’s funding council.

Only a quarter of parents believe the primary purpose of university is to broaden children’s minds, according to a new survey.

A PhD student at the University of St Andrews has discovered a letter pleading with the institution to allow women to study medicine and written by one of the pioneers of the fight to allow female access to higher education.

The former head of energy firm E.ON UK will become chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council after his appointment was approved by MPs.

Tuition fees and education contracts took over from funding body grants as the most important income source for UK universities in the most recent full academic year, according to the latest statistics.

The maximum tuition fees that can be charged by universities in England are to be frozen at £9,000 for the 2013-14 academic year, the government has announced.

Anglia Ruskin University and London Metropolitan University are the biggest winners in the allocation of 20,000 “margin” student places for next year, but 155 further education colleges have grabbed more than half the pot.

The head of the London College of Communication has resigned after several days of negotiations with senior managers over her future.

Independent candidates have triumphed in the University and College Union elections by snapping up almost three-quarters of the contested places on its national executive committee.

More than one in three recent graduates are working in lower-skilled jobs compared with around one in four a decade ago, according to new data from the Office of National Statistics.

Two-thirds of universities have failed to adequately consult students on their access agreements, the National Union of Students has claimed.

Sally Hunt has been re-elected as general secretary of the University and College Union after defeating her only opponent Mark Campbell by a margin of 6,835 votes and gaining 73 per cent of the ballots cast.

The head of a higher education college criticised for her management style and handling of course cuts has been suspended from her full role, Times Higher Education understands.