Blog

Creative partnerships between institutions can contribute to NHS training needs, research excellence and regional levelling up, say Brian Webster-Henderson and Martin Lupton

Universities must agree on sector-wide expectations and support for the growing number teaching-focused academics, says Christine Cassar

Reliance on student reviews of university teaching has led to a warped understanding of quality, says Sally Patfield

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fracturing audiences and commercial priorities are diverting resources for science communication and leaving expertise unrewarded, says Helen Jamison

The doctorate must remain an apprenticeship. Better to cut PhD students’ teaching load by hiring more teaching staff, says Ruth Machen

Agency and incomplete information imperil data-driven assumptions about how to personalise teaching and learning, say Kate Ames and Colin Beer

The perception of technicians as non-intellectual workers contributes to the undervaluing of technical career paths, says Urszula Pawlicka-Deger

Boosting individual academics' awareness of the risks of collaboration in certain areas is also crucial, says Fiona Quimbre

Emphasising the value for money offered by a vibrant learning community is a much better pitch to potential students, says Aaron Basko

Working with just one company to deliver a service belies the variety of international students’ needs, says Tony Gao

A new scheme will see West African and Australian universities co-create courses that can be replicated across the region, says Joanna Newman

A two-year hiatus in educational activities following the military coup is threatening the country's post-conflict future, says a professor in Yangon

If the balance of the £300 million promised by the UK government is not delivered, a broad swathe of research will suffer, says Ulrike Tillmann

As Pride Month draws to a close, Nick Braisby reflects on what it means to him 

We distract from the debate on the importance of the arts if we don’t review and re-energise our humanities offerings, says Chris Husbands

The higher their performance, the more interdisciplinary scientists are penalised by colleagues as a threat to the status quo, find four researchers

When employers and governments state preferences for particular universities, it further overheats entry competition, says Hiroshi Ono

While the results may be difficult to hear, they might provide some pointers on how universities can improve their image, says Zachary Michael Jack

Ad-hoc modules that bear little relation to a student’s degree are too easily forgotten – especially if they aren’t road-tested, says Boris Walbaum

Academics rejected by university presses may turn to hybrid or self-publishers. But Harvey Graff’s experience suggests they should tread very carefully

It matters that non-donating alumni are missing out on much of the aftercare value they could be receiving, say Andy Shaindlin and David Williams

Researchers need to be confident enough to lift the veil on the debate that is at the heart of scientific progress, says Rebecca Lawrence

Barring collaboration with 236 Russian universities raises more questions than it answers, says Ararat Osipian

The myths underlying politicians’ insistence on a blanket return to face-to-face teaching must be busted carefully, says Alistair Jarvis

Humanities benefit individuals, societies and economies. They should be accessible to students from all backgrounds, says Neal Juster