‘Free college’ movement builds ahead of 2020 US presidential poll Even if tuition-free or ‘debt-free’ higher education cannot be achieved at national level, local reforms are having a big impact By Paul Basken 20 December
There is nothing impersonal about online learning The residential experience has its attractions for school-leavers, but most US students value low cost and flexibility above all, says Paul LeBlanc By Paul LeBlanc 20 December
Academic researchers are not statistical Bond villains The Canadian government’s excessive policing of privacy makes it intolerably onerous to access its datasets, says Karen Robson By Karen Robson 20 December
Indigenous academic leaders in Canada ‘need allies’ on top team Latest Indigenous scholar to leave post urges universities to focus on student support, not ‘tokenistic’ senior positions By Ellie Bothwell 19 December
US researchers see EU privacy rules as brake on collaboration New European rule on protecting data from human research subjects being found so complicated as to slow medical science By Paul Basken 15 December
Study debunks link between student ‘grit’ and retention Study raises doubts over value of ‘character education’ in universities By Jack Grove 15 December
University of California in subscription showdown with Elsevier System urges researchers to consider boycotting academic publisher as negotiations go to the wire By Paul Basken 14 December
US universities challenge government warnings on China After US government officials escalate warnings against Chinese espionage, university presidents challenge idea that it’s a major campus activity By Paul Basken 14 December
Create ‘rebuttal’ unit to counteract fake news, scientists told Paper calls for scientific organisations to monitor platforms ‘known to spread false and misleading’ information about research and ‘respond quickly’ By Ellie Bothwell 12 December
Half of US scientists drop out of academia within five years Study based on fields of astronomy, ecology and robotics suggests huge drop in duration of scholarly careers By Paul Basken 11 December
Porn star talk exposes role of funding in free speech debate Managers’ first reaction is usually to ‘look at the bottom line’, but ‘they’re just usually not as crass and as crude as this’ By Jon Marcus 10 December
Warning over impact of Indigenous discrimination case in Canada Legal battle between aboriginal former dean and university could halt institutions’ progress on indigenisation, scholars say By Ellie Bothwell 10 December
