Opinion

Reflecting on what he gained from university, recording artist Tinchy Stryder recommends the experience to young people, in spite of tuition fees

The sector must stop its Eton-bashing and its discrimination against independent-school students, argues Geoff Lucas

'The insecure scholar', one of THE's online columnists, calls for an academy that offers all scholars dignity and security

Alan Langlands says Hefce's allocations for 2010-11, along with the Browne review, will form a sustainable basis for higher education

Gary Day gets to grips with the Standard Model of the Universe, which explains everything - or does it?

The previous year seems one of plenty in light of the storm ahead, which will test leaders' fortitude and resourcefulness

Kevin Fong on Twitter’s shift from dull celeb-zone to super-fast data source

The global success of Coventry University’s podcasts shows that there is a huge market for intelligent HE-created content, says John Mair

Tara Brabazon muses on a non-graduate’s resentment at ‘taxpayer-funded’ higher education and the academy’s vision of lifelong ‘learner-earners’ buying social mobility

The web is a force for good - or not, learns Gary Day. Are young people distracted or thinking differently?

Higher education's many contributions to the UK are too often missed - we hope to help change that with our campaign

America's gun culture is a symptom of its deep political malaise, says Alan Ryan

Universities nurture the life of the mind, but lack of opportunity and support post-PhD is making UK academe an inhospitable place to be, says Srila Roy

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

In turning away record numbers of applicants, we fail young people. We must provide more places, argues David Green

The Bologna Process covers 46 countries and 30 million students, but fundamental issues remain, says Anne Corbett

Sir Patrick Stewart describes the delights of higher education, the dangers it faces and how Huddersfield lured him home

Landing work provides a little relief, but the long-term future is as unsettled as ever

Launching the Association of Graduate Recruiters’ manifesto for higher education, Carl Gilleard calls for an end to participation targets and the fees cap and for more employer input in courses

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

The CRU stands accused of political manipulation but, says Martin Cohen, this is what scientists have always done

Prevailing dogma could ruin the academy and produce a generation of dependent, unmotivated, risk-averse students, argues Neal Curtis

The academy should be brave enough to seek donations directly from individuals, rather than relying on the fruits of state coercion, says James Stanfield

What do lawyers and Dracula have in common? Gary Day finds little to intrigue beyond the grave

As audit overloads academics, it also undermines their freedoms, impedes their work and damages their public standing

Cato, the feline friend of Dan Cohn-Sherbok, puts the cat among the pigeons and says don’t be a mutt, keep a moggie

Malcolm Gillies on our duty to offer students ethical and intellectual models

The revolutionaries who shook the academy’s foundations allowed the managerialists to take over

In the wake of a grant reduction, says Chris Rust, the easiest cuts to the Academy’s budget could be the hardest to recover from

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online

Poor student attendance and generous exam marking are making a mockery of higher education, reveals a lecturer

In the long run, 150,000 extra students financed by tuition fees alone would damage the quality of higher education, says Steve Smith

The influence of industry on the curriculum has never been greater, says Frazer Mackenzie, but it is far more positive than simply creating a workforce

Our literary culture is threatened by the decline of quality criticism. Kevin Sharpe demands that scholars fight back

EastEnders offered long-awaited revelations, but not everyone could handle the truth, writes Gary Day

Given that A-level success is key to entering higher education, perhaps universities should leave widening participation to schools

Undergraduate examinations drive Tim Birkhead to the therapist's couch

Seemingly insubstantial Sixties chart hits never garnered critical kudos, but their power to move us remains undimmed, says Tara Brabazon

Mentors don’t expect their protégés to pay them back – they want them to pay it forward. But that’s difficult with no one to teach

The French have a habit of entrusting translation to anyone with a bilingual dictionary, complains Michael Bulley

Despite the tales of jiggery-pokery employed to climb in the league tables, there is no need to sacrifice mission to position

Felipe Fernández-Armesto is sceptical about claims cat-owners are smarter

Tom Ford's glossy foray into film has moments to admire, not least its leading man, writes Duncan Wu

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: The bully has landed

Institutions and sector agencies should be more open with data to enable informed choices, says Paul Marshall

The practice of allowing sponsors to control research publication is rife despite being a corrupting 'form of fraud', says David Packham

Longitudinal teaching of the history of science, running from primary to tertiary level, is the key to producing creative scientists, argues Andrew Baker

We may be losing printed materials, but let’s not forget we’re also gaining useful digital resources, says Tara Brabazon

Financial woes make a short-term solution tempting. How desperate must I be to jettison my principles?

Each week, Dr Margot Feelbetter poses a dilemma and offers advice for readers to respond to online. This week: Inappropriate attention from a supervisor

Universities have yet to convince us that a higher level of cap would make a difference, argues Charles Clarke

Aid reforms and state retrenchment have raised demand for Ivy League places, says Amy Gutmann, but private capacity is limited

£1 billion of cuts in the past year have hit the academy hard, but David Willetts explains how the Tories will upgrade the academy without it costing the earth

Institutions must embrace Hefce's costing methodology if they are to get the funding they want, says Stuart Palmer

Gary Day is bewildered by children who don't speak, and finds prairie dogs amusingly conversational