Appointment of Toby Young to Office for Students board criticised University and College Union says selection of ‘Tory cheerleader’ raises questions about new regulator’s role in English sector By Chris Havergal 1 January
New Austrian government to bring in university tuition fees Concerns raised over moves to ‘mute’ students’ union and potential for far-Right figures on university boards By David Matthews 30 December
New Year Honours 2018: damehood for Liverpool vice-chancellor University of Strathclyde pollster John Curtice knighted in annual list By Rachael Pells 29 December
Open access in Germany: the best DEAL is no deal An open access deal between German authors in journals published by Elsevier could be problematic, say Alex Holcombe and Björn Brembs By Alex Holcombe 27 December
University of Warwick scraps California branch campus plan UK institution expresses concern about regulatory constraints and ‘global political challenges’ By Chris Havergal 27 December
Have English reforms led to universities fishing in same pool? Latest data from Ucas suggest bulk of institutions are increasingly recruiting students with similar grade profiles By Simon Baker 26 December
Denmark moves from quantity to quality in Nobel prize plan Echoing the UK, government will also seek to measure the impact of research on society and business By David Matthews 24 December
Czech university urged to bar new dean over ‘junk journal’ papers Scholars claim dean-elect is unfit for office after publishing articles in journals found on Jeffrey Beall’s blacklist By Jack Grove 23 December
‘If universities are harassed, culture erodes and tyranny will prevail’ Arshin Adib-Moghaddam looks at restrictions to academic freedom in what he describes as an age of ‘psycho-nationalism’ By Arshin Adib-Moghaddam 22 December
Overseas student numbers surge in Czech Republic Offer of free study appears to have attracted many undergraduates, particularly from Russia By David Matthews 22 December
Journal apologises for review’s ‘lady author’ slur Sussex historian Joanne Paul said she felt she ‘had not been taken seriously’ after reading sexist review of her work By Rachael Pells 22 December
Oxford project’s ‘balance-sheet view’ of colonialism criticised Scholars seek to ‘call out’ workshops they see as far too soft on empire By Matthew Reisz 22 December