Opinion

Public funding in these subjects would be better spent on teaching, argues David Oldfield

Institutions splashed the cash to stay competitive, resulting in a REF price tag that may be far higher than the official estimate

American football is a contemporary moral equivalent of war, says Alan Ryan

Has the Chinese government’s sophisticated message to its higher education sector come at the cost of clarity? asks Mike Gow

A report on university course changes by the consumer watchdog caused a stir this week

Their lack of protest over reforms means that universities have lost the chance to transform the sector, laments Anthony Kelly

Attempts to shut down debate highlight a worrying trend on UK campuses, writes Yiftah Curiel

Liz Marr on the role social partnerships can play in extending educational opportunities and giving adult learners a ‘second chance’

Academics’ tendency to feel they have not ‘done enough’ needs to be tempered by an appreciation of colleagues’ achievements

A professor giving students one-on-one help to understand their subject raises questions about the nature of university teaching, says Brian Bloch

The standards of research and teaching would be best protected by department-based reviews, argues Roger Brown

Is the sector placing too little trust in academics and too much in performance management techniques?

Excellent teaching shouldn’t cost the earth, even in a market where price is used as a proxy for quality, argues Carl Lygo

Foreign flavours enrich the English tongue, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Efforts to trumpet the value of social science can misrepresent important controversies and subtleties, says Martyn Hammersley

David Phoenix explains why his institution is moving away from the model of big multidisciplinary departments

Financing options fail to live up to the promises made by politicians, says Alan Ruby

A Dutch-born scholar and research administrator wonders if the British class system plays a role in views about division of labour

Enrichment of university life by academics’ ancillary activities is threatened as the workforce is pushed towards casualisation

A rift will always separate digital natives from others, Shahidha Bari believes

An academic’s conviction as a paedophile was kept under wraps in the 1990s. Would a cover-up happen today, asks Geoffrey Alderman

Why are today’s students so preoccupied with protecting themselves from potentially ‘harmful’ ideas, asks Tom Slater

A vague policy on higher education could help the party win the next election, argues Nick Hillman

Anthony Forster explains why university leaders have strong concerns about the proposals

John Holmwood and Stephen McKay examine the results for the social sciences and identify some anomalies

Some early career scholars feel there is not enough support for academics who reach out, say Richard Watermeyer and Jamie Lewis

Institutions must cater for the reality that graduates of arts-based courses are likely to work in ‘arts in the community’, says Judith Hills

Calls to sack Robert Lambert would deprive us of academic expertise, argues Stefano Bonino

In the debate over EU membership universities need to remind us of the ideal value of transnational knowledge, says Anna Notaro

Is the tide about to turn on the college sport?, ask Daniel Goldberg and Robert Lee Maril

Countries worldwide are investing to get ahead in the global game of research. Not doing so will cost the UK dear

Kevin Fong examines his responses to £35,000 a year degree

Marnie Hughes-Warrington on the case for re-thinking academic career progression

A professor with two decades of experience reviews his career highs and lows

Institutions are using pictures of glamorous students to tart up their marketing, but not everyone approves of the trend, says Hong Bing

Fictional journalists show more principle than their BBC counterparts, says Sally Feldman

South America’s neoliberal pioneer is taking higher education out of the market. The UK should take heed, says Bahram Bekhradnia

Consultants often boost the number of shortlisted women, but universities must fight their own ‘people like us’ mindset, says Sue Shepherd

Building an academic career is hard, but high initial hurdles and a lack of clear progression paths make it unnecessarily daunting

A perverse focus on research cash and high-impact publications threatens academics’ careers and the aims of science itself, says Dorothy Bishop

Laurence Grove on the role of bandes dessinées and satirical cartoons in France’s commitment to liberty

Students searching for the perfect university must value the diversity on offer and be aware of the complexity it brings, says Alan Ruby

Christopher Bigsby on those who take a creative approach to academic rigour

Universities must have at heart a public ethos counterbalance to weigh against commercial interests and state diktat

Things to say, and things to not say, in a campus biography

The counter-terrorism bill will co-opt academics into the ‘securocrat’ and chill debate on campus - it must be fought, says Martin Hall

Jenny Pickerill offers some advice on some common mistakes and how to stand out from the pack

Philip Cowley and Robert Ford describe a step change in their discipline’s engagement with the electorate

Three achievements are underestimated in current political debates, says Anne Corbett