Policy watch

With part-time student numbers through the floor, the time has come for reform, says David Latchman

Diana Beech on an HE-light Budget that nonetheless has some implications for university staff and students

Stephanie Marshall looks at the common features exhibited by universities that successfully achieved a TEF rating upgrade

David Robinson looks at what Philip Hammond might have in store for universities

A single, comprehensive policy and funding infrastructure for UK tertiary education would empower learners and encourage innovation, say Paul Woodgates and Mike Boxall

European staff have helped make the UK higher education system a world leader, says Sarah Stevens, and we need to ensure that they continue to do so

Hepi’s exposure of the degree to which teaching subsidises research should provoke a new approach to funding, says Phil Ward

King’s College London principal Ed Byrne on increasing participation in higher education while also driving improvements in quality

Commission’s final report calls for an Office for Strategic Economic Management to ensure sound regional economic policy, writes Andy Westwood

Rob Johns offers advice on making sure your teaching is not all pro-remain, in the wake of the Heaton-Harris letter

Universities will continue to provide a place where academic freedom can flourish, says Janet Beer

Publication of the OfS regulatory framework consultation is a ‘significant milestone’ on the road to a new regulatory regime, says OfS chief executive Nicola Dandridge

As the Treasury Committee inquiry into tuition fees starts today, David Richardson warns that any reforms must ensure that universities remain properly funded

Labour MP Chris Elmore believes the most generous student maintenance package in the UK should not be confined to Wales

Universities are very much at the forefront of efforts to extract the most value from artificial intelligence, writes Dame Wendy Hall

Helen Carasso on the inconsistencies of England's fees system, ahead of her appearance at the Treasury Committee's investigation into student loan systems

Paul Ashwin sees reasons for concern in the government's latest teaching excellence framework guidelines

Initiatives by the mayor of London and the Department for International Trade are welcome as the UK HE sector seeks reassurance on Brexit, writes Sarah Stevens

Transcript of the speech delivered by Jo Johnson, universities and science minister, at the 2017 annual conference of the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Removing university status from post-92 institutions would disproportionately impact already marginalised and vulnerable social groups, says Ben Whitham

In the past six years, the number of new part-time students in England has fallen by 56 per cent, writes Peter Horrocks

The research excellence framework’s panels will look at factors including adventurousness, disciplinary diversity and methodological clarity, predicts Martin Willis

John Morgan looks at how an old argument may become pressing in future funding debates

Lord Hunt on how to ensure the higher education sector retains its competitive edge post-Brexit

Pam Tatlow returns from the 2017 Conservative Party conference with food for thought (and beer to drink)

Universities were never far from the top of the agenda at this year’s Conservative Party conference, writes Diana Beech

Fringe events debate funding, Brexit and the social capital of knowing Jo Johnson, John Morgan reports

Andy Green weighs up the three main parties’ higher education policies and suggests his own solution to the funding question

As speculation mounts over a Conservative announcement, Gerard Dominguez-Reig runs the numbers

Universities must support those responsible for the impact case studies that will carry so much weight in the next research excellence framework, says Jonathan Grant

Pam Tatlow finds a lively political conference buoyed by talk of abolishing tuition fees

Education debate at the Labour conference in Brighton has gone beyond the easy headlines, says Andy Westwood – but important questions remain unanswered

Nick Hillman writes from the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, where – happily – he finds fewer lobbyists and more activists

The loss of Supporting Professionalism in Admissions would be bad news for students, says Les Ebdon

The whole Science and Technology Committee should be disbanded, and the process of establishing it restarted, says Dame Athene Donald

Critics of vice-chancellor pay levels have a point, and universities need to acknowledge that, says Gordon McKenzie

John Last believes that UK schools policy risks damaging the flow of creative students into universities and jobs

A national postgraduate admissions system would allow universities to improve planning, enhance student satisfaction and widen participation, says Michelle Morgan

Edward Peck looks at the findings of UUK’s Review of the Teaching Excellence Framework

Universities should play a key role in teaching Canadians about their nation’s racist past and the possible ways to redress it, says Glen Jones

The battle is not over for universities, but this week’s figures on international students are vindication for an embattled HE sector, says Sir Keith Burnett 

Don’t blame vice-chancellors for their salaries – we need to rethink where power lies in universities, says Tom Cutterham

Remuneration committees should pay less attention to other institutions when setting their leaders’ pay, says Nick Hillman

Together, FE and HE can become a dynamic force for skills development in the UK, writes Alison Whittle

Australian legislation proposes to lower the country’s generous loan repayment threshold – but some argue that it should rise even higher, says Andrew Norton

Without more research funding, senior Indonesian academics are unlikely to be able to meet new government-imposed publication standards, says Martin Surya Mulyadi

Financial issues are not the central barriers to increased university access in Canada. It is cultural factors that must be tackled, say Ross Finne, Athur Sweetman and Richard Mueller

Andy Westwood gives his verdict on Jo Johnson's big HE speech

University leaders dismayed by factual holes in the revived debate over tuition fees should respond with some broad brush strokes of their own, says Andy Westwood

Current fees system ‘isn’t perfect’, but it does a decent job of balancing the interests of universities, students and taxpayers, says Tim Bradshaw

Should we be talking about Ofcoll and the ‘degree experience framework’? Diana Beech thinks so

Shadow HE minister Gordon Marsden believes that the current approach to tuition fees could end up punishing not only students, but whole communities

The western provinces’ French-speaking universities reinforce a Canadian identity that is bilingual and multicultural, say Gabor Csepregi and Rodney Clifton

It is time to revisit the idea of a graduate tax, argues Andy Green

Vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Worcester, David Green, offers his thoughts on the HE landscape post-election, and what needs to change

UK universities’ complacency in the good times has left them ill-equipped to respond to falling postgraduate master’s enrolment, says Michelle Morgan

Demand-driven funding in higher education but not vocational education will distort both provision and student choice, says Peter Noonan

Sir Keith Burnett on the reaction of scholars and students in America as the US president pulls out of the Paris Agreement

Nick Hillman looks at the implications of the election result for the university sector, and finds a small slither of silver lining