Opinion

After a year where universities were buffeted by forces beyond their control, the winter brings time for reflection and appreciation of their vital role

All campus life is here

The residential experience has its attractions for school-leavers, but most US students value low cost and flexibility above all, says Paul LeBlanc

The jury is out on the educational value of recording, but universities prize its ability to project them as accessible and inclusive, says Simon Fokt

The Canadian government’s excessive policing of privacy makes it intolerably onerous to access its datasets, says Karen Robson

UK universities must cover soaring staff visa costs to mitigate the effects of the Home Office’s harmful policies, says Tristan Sturm

With Wales’ Coleg Harlech due to be sold this month, Sam Christie reflects on why ‘second-chance colleges’ have failed to thrive given their role in post-industrial communities

Today’s Office for National Statistics report will make challenging reading for the Augar review panel, but it must not resort to draconian cuts to student numbers, says Greg Walker

Credential verification would allow refugees to access education and the labour market, say Terje Mørland and Stig Arne Skjerven

Universities can help bridge the gap between graduates who stay put and their local communities through targeted outreach programmes for students and staff, says Christopher Birchall

Conceptual artist Bashir Makhoul reflects on the benefits of combining art and higher education leadership

Nada Kakabadse asks if tuition fees, degree standards or teaching methods are contributing to the mismatch in performance data

If anyone should be leading the charge to tackle the world’s biggest issues, it is academics. But toxic debates are derailing them from their original purpose

It is inexcusable that some people graduate from UK universities without a basic command of mathematics or grammar, says John Warren

Tokenistic and irrelevant assessments of research’s social value are holding back progress, say Clarence Tam and three others

Academics should not sneer at Simon Birmingham’s appeal to what ‘most Australians’ would think about projects, says Hannah Forsyth

High-cost meritocracy à la française will cut little ice with discerning international students, says Juliette Torabian

Matthew Flinders thinks this mythical mammalian hybrid could serve as a guide through a complex higher education funding landscape

Part-time education is a driver of economic growth and widening access to higher education, argues David Latchman 

Scientists must push an agenda that is free of ideology and celebrates scientific merit, argues Rick Wilson 

The rise of technical metrics for accountability has managers straitjacketed to best practices and could overlook the human factor in decision-making, argues Alfredo Cumerma

Understanding the barriers female scientists have historically overcome could help to increase women’s participation in scientific fields, argues Claire Jones

Don’t be afraid to reveal that you’re a dyslexic in academia; Ben Marder – a ‘busyness academic’ – explains the benefits of ‘coming out’

New ambitions to increase Pakistan’s higher education capacity and collaborations with the UK are reason enough be hopeful for the country’s future, says Cara Aitchison

As universities are warned of the risks of being politically partisan, Sam Gyimah’s resignation may leave the sector without a champion to defend it

The furore over Brian Wansink’s data handling overlooks the fact that science should above all be about explanation, argues Martin Cohen

Maintaining a breadth of curricular offerings is crucial if subjects outside the sciences are to retain their attraction in the digital age, says Dean Forbes

Overseas programmes are rarely money-spinners, but as power shifts east they will be crucial for Western universities’ continued relevance, says Matt Durnin

Both the rationale and the mechanism for redistributing research activity around the regions are far from clear cut, say Sarah Chaytor and Graeme Reid   

A sobering visit to Auschwitz reminds Giles Carden and Jonathan Grant of the role universities must play in eradicating hate 

The Republic of Ireland’s action plan to accelerate gender equality in higher education is about breaking down the status quo and extending more opportunities to proficient women, says Mary Mitchell O’Connor

The relative lack of flipped learning across Europe compared with the rest of the world could be the result of misconceptions around what it is, say Caroline Fell Kurban and Muhammed Şahin

Participating in the exercise was challenging but worthwhile, says Garrick Fincham

Ronald Barnett offers suggestions on how to conduct journal reviews with integrity

Increasing involvement among the EU13 states requires not just money but fostering leadership capacity among researchers and national determination, argues Jan Palmowski

If institutions are serious about widening participation, they must somehow strike a balance between social engineering and social mobility

Judgement is hard, but limits are appropriate if they ensure the quality of academic engagement with complex, competing ideas, says Sandro Galea

PhDs are becoming more programmatic in many countries, but the German one-on-one model retains considerable influence, says Glen Jones

Take-up of research by business is difficult to catalyse and record. Far better to focus on the impact central to universities’ missions, say Vince Mitchell and William Harvey

Female-only professorships will speed progress to gender equality in the academy, but the pushback shows how far there still is to go, says Clare Kelly

A graduate levy paid by businesses will help keep tuition costs down while still producing the skilled graduates the economy needs, argues Johnny Rich

Ahead of THE’s vice-chancellor question time, Anthony Forster and Lorna Fox O’Mahony reflect on the challenges that keep them up at night

More needs to be done to tackle grade inflation and restore public confidence in the value of degrees, says Andrew Wathey

The case of Matthew Hedges exposes the limits of academic freedom and the internationalisation of UK universities, argues John Nagle

Journal rankings are a poor way to determine if a researcher or their research is worthwhile, argue Cormac Bryce, Michael Dowling and Brian Lucey

The publication of interdisciplinary research has surged in recent decades, but is it commodifying academic research and weakening its rigour? Lakshmi Balachandran Nair asks

Paying attention to language and creating more inclusive social activities are ways universities can support students with mental and physical disabilities, says Christa Bailka

An exhibition at the University of Bristol showcases the achievements of the unsung heroines of the institution, writes Judith Squires

All campus life is here

Recent political interventions in university affairs are symptomatic of the perception that higher education institutions need a firm hand

As winter’s tunnel looms, academics would do well not to retreat into lonely silos, says Alison Newby

A Twitter storm over a remark he made on diversity policy reminds Jeffrey Flier why he was so wary of speaking out while a Harvard dean

Analysis of wage premiums from tertiary education suggests that the system struggles to deliver the changing skills that the economy demands, says Stephen Parker

Mistakenly labelling material as ‘security-sensitive’ has created a space to learn, says Robert Van De Noort

Mike Finn speaks to university leaders and trade unionists to find out what they make of the prime minister’s Brexit deal

The alt-right fear that universities produce liberal, close-minded sheep is comparable to the political satire of Dr. Strangelove, says Ross Cole

Giving students the opportunity to interact directly with business leaders can be life-changing, says Peter Viqueira

Early exposure to an elite university environment could set students on the path towards academic success, says Harry Hortyn 

If not, the country’s single biggest success story could be at risk, says Janet Beer

It’s easy to say academics should be kinder and more giving to students, but they already face myriad other demands and must mind professional boundaries