World news

Students are lobbying for extensions to the pass-fail grading system that was widely adopted earlier this year, but most universities are proving less lenient than they were in spring

Survey finds Australia and other destinations are losing ground to the UK, with health management becoming ‘less of a differentiator’

Proposal is first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region for the world’s largest academic publisher

The government points to a decade of funding guarantees, but critics have taken aim at draconian punishments for campus protests and the rushed scrapping of a PhD vetting body

Change may come from unexpected quarters, analysts warn, as crisis and Canberra upset the apple cart

Experts say the crisis should have been used as a good opportunity to rethink a notoriously stressful assessment system

While reservations remain, the pandemic has smoothed acceptance of virtual delivery

Analysts say industrial solutions must be adopted to wean universities off their dependence on casual staff

Australian officials mute as exasperated foreigners watch study and career opportunities evaporate

Picking winners at random helps back risky research, boosts niche subjects and curbs nepotism, recipients say

French scholars, accused of fostering terrorism, fear escalating rhetoric could curtail freedom of research

As Australia’s Kylie Moore-Gilbert prepares to come home, UN human rights observers express grave fears for Iranian-Swedish academic

Some students have been stuck on campus for months despite no local cases being reported

Unpublished Australian data show that number of regular support staff positions has shrunk while executive roles have expanded massively

Snowballing international earnings buttressed universities’ wealth ahead of this year’s crisis while relegating federal government to minority funder status

Victorian budget also confirms hardship packages for universities and foreign students and recovery strategy for international education

Pandemic hardship has helped make domestic students aware of their overseas peers, study finds

Scientists ask why major journal published findings that female mentors may be bad for your career, even after reviewers pointed out flaws in the paper’s methodology

Premier offers latest on-again, off-again signal about resumption of student flows

Stalled research driving students into poverty and bleak career prospects, paper warns

Words and their interpretations assume significance when lives are at stake, Australian research shows

Despite a pandemic-induced pause in March, research funders have concluded that submissions are ‘broadly on track’ and will not push deadline back again

Expert views conflict on humanities graduates’ employment prospects, and whether Australian funding changes will make arts the preserve of the elite

Young researchers have been locked out of labs and clinics for 10 months because of Covid

Australian report also advocates expansion of online counselling

Rare opportunities arise in a country with a small population and a big regard for science

Both top-ranked Tsinghua and lesser-known institutions lauded for excellence in difficult times

Australian report tracks shift to vocationally oriented courses ahead of the recession and tuition fee changes

Analysis of publication data since break-up of Soviet Union suggests collaboration could be making up for a lack of domestic resources

Academics say Chinese higher education has long been hobbled by the lack of an ‘accurate system of academic evaluation’

Businessman accused of aiding false charity and buying coach’s house to win sons entry

Pre-approved grants referred to security agencies as another front opens up in debate over research risks

Half of regional governors’ dissertations contained copied text, and these plagiarists went on to perform worse in government, research suggests

Island nation’s pandemic management has been the envy of the world, but academics are still paying a price

Foreign student flows will bounce back even better, Australian strategist says, and sector should put profits aside to help visitors in need

Astrophysicists in Hong Kong and France say that public perceptions of gender should change and that more should be done to support women in science

Academics urge governments to set up frameworks for ethical use of technology and reaffirm the need for greater multidisciplinarity 

Pre-crisis gripes must be addressed as sector yearns for a more understanding community

Denise Bradley’s instrumental target has easily been reached, reshaping the populace in the process

Sydney sociologist says universities should go further than merely notifying government about overseas ties

As appointment panels seek leaders with more diverse backgrounds, non-academics can expect more of a hearing

Opposition dissatisfied with ‘drafting’ of controversial bill, but vows not to oppose it

Staff serving on campus during lockdown are 50 per cent more likely than their housebound peers to be at ‘high risk’ for health problems

After cutbacks to the programme in July, lawmakers have managed to pad out the budget slightly, but universities remain disappointed

While the pandemic may force an end to open-plan academic spaces, Australian forum hears that ‘empty glass boxes’ are not the answer

Australian study-abroad alumni mull improvements as ‘enforced immobility’ leaves mobility programmes in limbo

Covid is no reason to ease off on demands for open knowledge, Australian forum hears

Suzanne Rivera receives both praise and abuse on social media in response to offer but says she will continue to defend rights to assembly and free speech

Socio-economic disadvantages are most prominent in the first two years of university, study finds

Huge survey finds majority of academics have adapted to shutdowns, but many fear ‘Covid-isation’ of grants

With digital devices generating data from the world at an unprecedented rate, what it means to be a scientist has changed, conference hears

Red tape and institutional autonomy arguments fail to sway committee scrutinising law that affects universities’ overseas partnerships

Nation opts for strength in depth across the country instead of topping global rankings, argues sector head

Australian surveys, focused on Melbourne in lockdown, uncover surprisingly upbeat findings

Shift reflects growing acceptance of online education

Liberty University thinktank pushes boundaries on political advertising with posts appearing to endorse Trump and champion right-wing issues

Regional Australian university under cloud as it argues the toss over transparency commitments

Less academically inclined students should not spread their net too widely, Australian research suggests

But president Alexander Lukashenko has been forced to replace rectors, and some university managers have refused to expel students – suggesting regime control is not complete

Belinda Robinson leaves to focus on board roles