Quality assurance

Australian Qualifications Framework overhaul also recommends decoupling of knowledge and skills

AQF review also recommends smoother pathways between vocational and higher education

Survey affirms need for boosting human-based concerns in admissions and curricula

OfS rules that Bloomsbury Institute Limited cannot be included on register of providers because of quality and governance concerns

Lord Storey’s private member’s bill would make it illegal to provide or to advertise contract cheating services

Proposed legislation could thwart peer support, universities say

Experts say rules are too unclear in light of rise of online commercial checking services

Struggling minority institutions feel ‘unfair’ assessments a key handicap

Conference on grade inflation told ‘systematic’ change is needed 

Move follows agreement over ‘statement of intent’ on tackling issues linked to rise in firsts and 2:1s in UK

Crucial cash flow in jeopardy as regulator scrutinises bush institutions’ urban partners

Office for Students has sent ‘minded to refuse’ letters to 20 providers

Office of the Independent Adjudicator says some English and Welsh providers did not do enough for students when lecturers walked out over pensions

Spike may be a sign of a more consumerist attitude among students

Signals suggest Australia’s regional universities could face a tough task in maintaining registration

Figures show that thousands of students registered at some universities are taught elsewhere

Ford administration is blind to incompatibility of statistical metrics and quality teaching, academics warn

Study finds evidence of widespread, worldwide corruption in HE and lack of action from quality assurance bodies to stop it

Oslo-based programmes win accreditation after regulator rules there is a "field of work" astrologers can enter after graduation

Some evidence shows international students are more likely to use essay mills, but academics say this reflects wider problems in global higher education

Google and YouTube have removed hundreds of contract cheating advertisements, says Damian Hinds

Debate sparked by criticism of growth of PhDs by publication, and allegations that corruption and nepotism are undermining the reliability of the academic doctorate

Academic autonomy is too often used as an excuse to ignore suggestions from students that could improve their education, says Janadari Wijesinghe 

New standards and guidelines for quality assurance in Africa aim to drive up standards on the continent, but can they overcome divisions in language, national politics and bureaucratic red tape?

Colleges warned their declines in foreign students could worsen if they do not pay more attention to global quality deliberations

Independent colleges ‘defined by what they’re not, not what they are’, Teqsa report says

Seemingly owned by an Oxbridge Essays shareholder, company offers up to 100,000 words of ‘model writing assistance’

The Pacific nation’s ambitions to harness its universities to drive economic growth face many challenges, says Roger Smyth

Disclosure could have ‘adverse effects’ on institutions’ ‘commercial interests’, university claims

Questions around quality assurance, regulation and where certificates from courses such as Moocs belong on the qualifications ladder

Putting universities in ‘special measures’ or even abolishing degree classifications altogether should be on the table, says Geoffrey Alderman

Regulator rules against firm over implication students could submit essays as own and claims about writers’ university backgrounds

Australia’s move to performance-based funding must be better thought through than England’s TEF, say Gwilym Croucher and Kenneth Moore

One of two men accused of killing Gregory Kamwendo is a former colleague at the University of Zululand

With one more year to go until the end of a decade that is transforming universities worldwide, Times Higher Education looks at the trends that have shaped the past 12 months

Essay mills ‘possibly our biggest reputational risk’, advisory panel says

Office for Students head says ‘spiralling grade inflation’ must be tackled after latest figures show universities with most explaining to do on issue

Expert panel given six months to design new system

Academic who has advocated new band of top degree marks now being considered by sector says system still needs ‘fundamental’ reform

More than 40 per cent of firsts last year were ‘unexplained’, finds UUK-commissioned report

Data analysis by THE looks at three disciplines where the rise in firsts has been particularly high

Some grades increased at Teesside using standard formula in case that could be smoking gun on reasons for wider grade inflation

Trump administration plans to allow universities to attract federal funding for students based not on the amount of time they spend studying but on measurements of their ability

Accusations of academic malpractice have forced two resignations and reached the prime minister

Regulator’s figures reveal intensive student ‘churn’ and heavy concentration in business courses

India’s downsized Institutes of Eminence programme has dashed the hopes of those keen to see an improvement in higher education quality, says Pushkar

Government to check state employees’ credentials after forgeries exposed

Tightly defined learning levels are inappropriate in an age of stackable credentials, report suggests

Ministry of Education says concerns were raised over ‘poor teaching standards’ of some joint initiatives

Some commentators have urged the UK to replicate German universities of applied science. It’s not that simple, says Neil Shirtcliffe

Three-quarters of students in the UK now receive ‘good’ degrees, compared with just half 20 years ago. Is grade inflation an inevitable result of the marketisation of higher education and is the picture the same worldwide? Simon Baker examines the evidence

If the Australian government wants to link university funding to student satisfaction, it must ensure that scores reflect more than students’ gender, wealth or ease of passage, says Julie Hare

Concerns about whether internationalisation and English usage has gone too far should be addressed from the perspective of quality assurance, says Michèle Wera

The initial botched attempt to draw up a shortlist of institutions eligible for extra funding does not augur well, writes Pushkar

The new remit for the Higher Education Standards Panel flags up various regulatory issues that the minister wants to see addressed, says Gavin Moodie

Felicity Mitchell and Ben Elger to lead Office of the Independent Adjudicator

New software to identify ghostwritten essays welcomed, but experts say it is not a panacea

Institutions operating without full university degree-awarding accreditation also to be targeted

Provincial government has also announced funding for aboriginal institutions to expand their capacity 

Focus on rankings risks neglecting the genuine quality improvements that could propel Indian institutions into the global league, says Amarnath Bose