Today's news

Students lose out as tuition fees are used to boost academic pay
Universities plan to spend less than a third of their income from higher tuition fees next year to help poorer students. Almost £430 million will be raised when annual fees rise to £3,000 at most institutions next year. But figures from the Office for Fair Access show that only £132 million, or 29 per cent, is being earmarked for bursaries and outreach work with students from under-represented groups. More than £300 million will be directed into universities’ coffers to support improvements to teaching facilities and academic pay.
The Times, The Times Higher Education Supplement (May 6)

Row deepens over 'racist' business school claims
Relations between the public services union Unison and Manchester Metropolitan University's business school have soured further after a meeting yesterday failed to resolve the row that broke out when the union's regional secretary accused the school of institutional racism. Last month, the union's north-west regional secretary, Paul Foley, provoked the wrath of the school by accusing it of institutional racism. The accusations centred on seven pending race discrimination complaints from staff against Manchester Met and its slow reaction to a controversial "racist" poem displayed around the Aytoun campus.
The Guardian, 1st Reported in The Times Higher Education Supplement (April 22)

Lecturers to reopen debate on Israeli boycott
The Association of University Teachers today announced it is to hold a one-off emergency conference to debate the academic boycott of Israeli universities following intense lobbying from lecturers attempting to overturn the policy. Union bosses received a petition signed by nearly 30 members of the AUT's council calling for the conference, which would discuss motions ruling out the boycott. Twenty five signatures were needed to trigger the conference.
The Guardian, The Times Higher Education Supplement (May 6)

How to escape being pigeon-holed by employers
Nobody likes to be pigeonholed, particularly graduates, according to research by Common Purpose. The leadership development organisation has found that one in five high-fliers feel they have been forced to specialise too early in their careers by their employers. Global HR consultancy DDI agrees that graduates should gain a good mix of experience when trying to reach the top. Today's university-leavers need a "360-degree vision", insists Lucy McGee, director of DDI UK.
The Independent

Student debt rises
Students in England graduating this year will owe a combined £2.46 billion, according to new figures. A report by Barclays shows that the average graduate debt is £13,501, an increase of more than 10 per cent in the past year. But the number of graduates with debts has fallen from 80 per cent to just under 75 per cent in the same period of time.
The Independent

'Competitive parasites' make malaria so deadly
It is the competitive nature of malaria parasites that makes the disease so deadly, scientists revealed today. A new study by the University of Edinburgh into their behaviour has uncovered a “dog-eat-dog world”, where the most ruthless parasites fight off weaker rivals to ensure their survival. They go on to cause misery for millions of malaria victims, around one million of whom die each year.
The Scotsman

Oil skills could help solve life on Mars riddle
Techniques normally used to find oil and gas in the North Sea could help scientists establish whether life could survive on Mars, it emerged today. A research team including Professor John Parnell from Aberdeen University has recently returned from the Arctic, where experts studied a meteor crater using methods normally used for detecting oil and gas underground. The 23-million-year-old Haughton meteorite impact site had retained microbes of organic life from millions of years ago.
The Scotsman

Letter
Regarding the fact that many 18 year olds do not wish to attend university.
The Independent

Letters
Regarding the stupidity of Oxford University students in relation to their May day celebrations.
The Sun