Features

Emma Rees investigates research where selfhood and scholarship are intertwined

As a consultation launches, employees consider the impact of the USS reforms

The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey is being abused, according to one former university employee

Yong Zhao believes China doesn’t foster the free thinkers it needs. What is the state of the country’s higher education system?

Vice-chancellors discuss their role and offer advice to aspiring university leaders

How do universities cope in the aftermath of fires, earthquakes and killing sprees?

Jon Nixon asks what Arendt’s work can tell us about the value of universities as places of thinking together

Poring over manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale prompts Nicholas Till to consider the benefits of studying original documents in a digital age

The REF’s formal assessment of the impact of academic work was highly controversial in theory: how did it play out in practice?

Canadian philosopher Clancy Martin tells John Kaag that the liar and the lover are two sides of the same coin

What has been the impact of £9k fees and what is in store when the cap on student numbers is lifted?

For 15 months, social geographer Jane Dyson lived in a mountain village with young Indian workers, bonding over ‘mountain ice cream’

The results show that most people in the sector enjoy their work and their colleagues, but some are happier than others

As he turns 80, the writer discusses the ‘golden age’ of universities and the (imagined) sexual indiscretions of academics

A wide range of essential under-the-radar tasks sustain academic culture, but who will perform them in an increasingly careerist academy?

World University Rankings data reveal the most outward-looking institutions

Jack Grove reports from Moscow on bold plans to revive the country’s ailing higher education sector

Belinda Jack examines the growing field and considers the therapeutic effects of poetry

Donna Yates is tackling the illicit trade in antiquities, and although it can be dangerous, the archaeologist says it’s a world away from Lara Croft

Holly Else examines European efforts to make academic career paths less challenging to navigate

Tim Hall describes staff and student experiences of interdisciplinary mergers, including an awkward departmental ‘speed date’

The literary theorist talks about his 50-year career, the importance of low-minded virtues and the double act of Christianity and communism

Imagine having the power to direct higher education leaders, scholars or policymakers to take - and stick to - a new approach in 2015

How do rankings shift when institutions are compared on research intensity, which takes into account percentage of staff submitted, rather than on standard GPA alone?

The year’s best reads for work and pleasure, chosen by scholars and senior figures in the sector

Communal, high-tech or under lock and key, lavatories reveal more than you think, says the emeritus professor of English literature

Were new research stars born? Who was helped or hurt by impact? Times Higher Education dissects the results by discipline

Landmarks, ‘starchitecture’, green reuse, city-centre strategies: Chris Parr on forces shaping the sector’s bricks and mortar

The flawed research excellence framework is not a process of peer review in any meaningful sense, argues Derek Sayer, who appealed against his inclusion in the exercise

Managerial fundamentalism has taken hold in universities, with scholars viewed as resources that must be controlled, argues the Warwick scholar

After a period of turmoil at Plymouth University, an external review is pending, and the findings may have implications for the sector, writes John Morgan

Student numbers will be uncapped from 2015. Chris Havergal examines arguments for and against expansion

An academic talks about her experience, the impact on her work and the long road to recovery

Massimo Mazzotti on the legacy of the 1964 movement

John Sutherland, Sarah Churchwell and others pick books that capture truths about the sector

Jon Marcus examines the decline of all-female institutions in the West and their rising popularity in the developing world

Without a system for sharing assessment practice, it’s nonsense to assume that a 2:1 is the same everywhere, says Chris Rust

Matthew Reisz talks to academics about their experiences of teaching older learners, while Holly Else analyses the decline in the number of mature students

THE speaks to former UUK president, Sir Steve Smith, four years on from the tuition fee protests

Richard Sugg explores ghoulish stories about things that go bump in the night

Andrew McGettigan visits one institution, using it as a case study to explore concerns about the coalition’s policies

As giving grows in importance, universities need to engage seriously with the topic, says Charles Keidan

As monitoring of scholars’ performance, time and output increases, so do reservations about its value and effectiveness

Martin McQuillan takes a whistle-stop tour of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat events

Scholarship can be a fearsome activity, as Chris Walsh discovered when he set out to investigate the figure of the coward

In his new book, Scott Herring aims to ‘depathologise’ hoarding. He talks to Matthew Reisz

Amanda Goodall and Andrew Oswald examine the state of the disciplines

The academic discipline is invaluable in detecting and debunking myths about the past and future, say Jo Guldi and David Armitage

Four scientists reflect on the perks and drawbacks that go hand in hand with winning the most prized prize

In today’s brave new world of university learning, students aren’t allowed to be shy, says Bruce Macfarlane

Education systems in England are reinforcing divergence in wealth – we must guard against it

Dale Salwak on how he creates a space where students can focus, safe from life’s distractions

Students who want to do master’s degrees are stymied by a lack of state finance. Paul Jump investigates how funding can be fixed

What do students learn at US colleges? Not much, found Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa in Academically Adrift. Their sequel follows the same cohort into adulthood

Students and lecturers no longer seem able fully to engage with each other, writes Tom Palaima

Nicholas Till acknowledges his debt to Margaret Thatcher and explains why he regrets his Cambridge degree

Male and female scholars speak frankly about juggling parenting and research

The economist urges the UK to study a shift to subjects that lead to highly paid jobs

Fred Inglis on the obligation of academics to speak truth to power

Tuition fees are rising for overseas students. If the cap on undergraduate fees is lifted, will they follow suit?