University teaching chiefs ‘rarely have education background’ Study finds general management skills are valued more in education pro vice-chancellors than pedagogic expertise By Jack Grove 12 June
Top universities’ journal subscriptions ‘average £4 million’ Average spending has increased by 19 per cent in four years, Freedom of Information requests reveal By Rachael Pells 12 June
Students ‘support tougher action’ against campus drug use New survey finds barely a quarter of undergraduates have used illegal drugs during their degrees By Jack Grove 12 June
Lords criticise England’s ‘deeply unfair’ student loan system Slash interest rates and reintroduce maintenance loans, says critical report By Jack Grove 11 June
TEF 2018: improved performance, or a more favourable methodology? While the latest results of the teaching excellence framework brought joy for a number of institutions, they also throw up new questions about the validity of the exercise By Anna McKie 11 June
Safety fears could force university to close engineering facility University of Chester refused retrospective planning permission over proximity to oil refinery By Rachael Pells 11 June
Regulation of academics ‘has undermined public trust’ Public suspect researchers are performing ‘impact’ and hitting targets for the benefit of government regulators, not them, European academies argue By David Matthews 9 June
Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018: knighthood for Les Ebdon Former director of fair access tops list alongside Sheffield Hallam vice-chancellor Chris Husbands By Chris Havergal 8 June
Mandelson: left’s opposition to fees hijacked by elitist right Architect of Browne review says he is yet to hear ‘wholly convincing’ case for reducing fees By Chris Havergal 8 June
Cardiff plans review after suicide of ‘overworked’ lecturer Malcolm Anderson, a lecturer in accounting, was said to be ‘struggling silently’ with new work responsibilities By Rachael Pells 8 June
‘Moonshot’ science trumps basic research in EU budget proposals University representatives disappointed by lower than expected budget increase for European Research Council By David Matthews 7 June
Minister attacks ‘threadbare’ courses at English universities Sam Gyimah criticises institutions for trying to get ‘bums on seats’, as graduate earnings analysis reveals wide variation in performance By Anna McKie 7 June