Opinion

Students should be encouraged to tackle books, ideas or ways of thinking they may find distressing or offensive – but offering emotional support is important too, says Sussex’s new vice-chancellor, Sasha Roseneil

From threats to the humanities to the future of universities themselves, the risks of misunderstanding what to value seem to be growing

The reaction to James Sweet’s article about presentism – including his own – compromises genuine scholarly debate, says Jonathan Zimmerman

The wider issues raised by the scandal can be particularly acute in the work of academic practitioners in cultural fields, says Ian Pace

Universities should decide their funding needs based on their goals in teaching, research and outreach, say Nicolai Foss, Peter Klein and Phillip Nell  

Studying images, rather than texts, would allow history students to better grasp colonised peoples’ agency, says Apurba Chatterjee

From admissions to outreach and student data collection, the undergraduate journey must be reviewed to narrow unacceptable social and educational inequalities, say Kim Hunter Reed and Ray Belton

Enormous efforts to increase links between research fields have failed to consider how undergraduates can also benefit and contribute, says Stephanie Marshall

The latest A-level data show concerning long-term trends in the popularity of humanities subjects, says Julia Black

Let’s not deprive our students of access to the full range of human experience in the name of protecting them, says Amna Khalid

The regulations can be ambiguous, but the masturbation paper furore is a result of supervisors’ and reviewers’ lack of vigilance, says Michelle Shipworth

The pandemic forced universities to rethink their digital strategies but bolder strategies for IT training and investment are still required, says Liz Bacon

Closing down branch campuses in countries with questionable human rights practices, or restricting student intakes from these nations, would be a grave mistake, says Bashir Makhoul

Academics should not feel uncomfortable when their courses become increasingly focused on improving graduate outcomes, says Patrick Callaghan

Student data must be used more effectively to personalise courses, encourage engagement and identify at-risk undergraduates, says Iain Sloan

Bringing students into departmental conversations on standards safeguarding can reinvigorate a process that has served UK universities well for almost 200 years, says Clare Peddie

Karl Andersson’s ‘appallingly bad’ paper has exposed the insanity of ethnography’s turn towards introspection and other postmodern research methods that place little value on objectivity, says William Matthews

One of UK higher education’s leading data scientists, DataHE’s founder Mark Corver presents the key statistics that will define this year’s turbulent A levels and clearing season

To sustain its world-leading universities and science, the next UK prime minister must listen to Tory heavyweights and move on from ‘sugar-rush’ policymaking

Thousands of applicants missing out on their first-choice university is not a pandemic-era blip but a ‘new normal’ that will force many more to look for excellent courses beyond the Russell Group, says Mary Curnock Cook

Time-honoured standards of professionalism appear to be unravelling. Authors should be entitled to demand better, says Harvey Graff

Yes, in-person interaction has benefits, but ending online accessibility will close the door again on those unable to travel, says Alexandra Ridgway

We need a sector-wide commitment to reforming career structures, funding strategies and publication outlets, says Ryan Truby

Feeding the belief that success depends entirely on external factors discourages students from taking responsibility, says James Wicks

But affordability holds these non-profit innovators back from fully competing with top public institutions, say Philip Altbach and Eldho Mathews

Universities' response to the Russian invasion needs to be embedded in wider policy and practice, says Linda Morrice

Unbounded discussions develop the critical but playful thinking that allows people to safely challenge and be challenged, says Lee Cronin

But rising inflation means that the pension scheme’s recently reported funding position is likely to be over-optimistic, says Bill Galvin

In order to take a deeper look at how universities approach the UN’s SDGs, we are refining and expanding our questions for the THE Impact Rankings 2023.

Unless research culture fundamentally changes, academics will continue to be fixated with journal rankings, says Carl Rhodes

Without a fuller embrace of repositories, the transition with be slow, partial and siloed, says Kathleen Shearer

Corporate tie-ups bring employability benefits but may be fragile and impose academic and reputational risks, says Paul Springer

Teaching English to military professionals who value relationships has been a breath of fresh air, says a former US academic

Comparing students’ writing abilities in subsequent assignments with this yardstick could help combat contract cheating, says Dave Tomar

Marketisation has compromised higher education, leaving it unsure how to rebut criticism like Kemi Badenoch’s, says Steven Jones

Online has its advantages but it doesn’t match the complex social experience of face-to-face meetings, say four historians of science

There will always be a political temptation to charge universities with improving a school system that leaves some students underprepared

The sense of purpose and connection that a busy academic life confers is not easily replaced. You may cry, says Helen Lees

Goldsmiths’ reduction of people to expendable costs corrodes the necessary conditions for learning. I’m leaving, says Les Back

The push for lifelong learning should revive the ‘I can’t decide which of these exciting subjects to study next’ model of learning, says Andy Grayson

As the Indian and the US examples both show, openness and flexibility is easily limited by parochialism and provincialism, says Saikat Majumdar

Enormous surpluses underline the extent to which universities prioritise their own welfare over that of future graduates, says Hannah Forsyth

Graduate careers are long and pay varies by region – so why measure course value on graduate salaries 15 months in, asks Neal Juster

The idea that revisionism is something to be ashamed of harks back to a mythical golden age of classics, canons and objective truth, says Harvey Graff

Giving adjuncts biweekly payments, internal status for permanent vacancies and tenure on promotion would all help, say Lisa Carver and Samantha King

UK government schemes that purport to guarantee disabled applicants an interview are not working, says Becky Alexis-Martin

Food insecurity is evident among both international and domestic students at all types of universities, say four academics

Students get an advantage if they are steeped not just in particular industries but in particular firms, says Nick Isles

The bumper increase in QR funding for England may sound like heaven. But with doubts over the future of Horizon, UK research is stuck in purgatory

To better respond to regional need, England’s higher and further education sectors should be unified and devolved, says Michael Shattock

With UK academics no longer on call, the dispensing of assurance in the small hours has been left to guards, says George Bass

If authors are no longer required to justify their fundamental assumptions, where does that leave referees, asks Martyn Hammersley

If transferable skills must be taught at all, an anxiety-ridden exercise frequently done very poorly is not the way, says Gary Thomas 

University managers’ role in industry collaboration should be that of cheerleader and facilitator – not auditor, says Chani Imbulgoda

Measures on student outcomes, high-quality provision and impartiality could all be wolves in sheep’s clothing, says Jennifer Hastings

Both journals and funders need to do more to support the gold route that authors want and open science needs, says Steven Inchcoombe

We need a vision of how to foster the knowledge base and creative mindsets on which new thinking depends, says Jan Palmowski

Efficient and effective short-cycle higher education programmes could provide students with better outcomes and supply the region with a skilled workforce, says María Marta Ferreyra

Liberation issues and bread-and-butter issues do not sit on opposite ends of an imaginary relevance spectrum, say Ben Vulliamy and Pierrick Roger

As well as supporting societies, tackling loneliness and offering advice, unions have no problem amplifying the student voice, says Ben Ward