Politics

Greg Clark’s portfolio will benefit institutions by recognising the vital role they play in local communities, Lord Heseltine argues

A flat-cash settlement for research in the next spending review could cause a “slowly gathering storm” to hit the sector, a group of peers has heard.

BIS committee also criticises plans to sell loan book

Vince Cable has reportedly announced plans to scrap a planned sale of student loans, raising questions over the uncapping of student numbers

Two influential bodies call for free tuition as Tennessee unveils lottery-funded college study

Former universities and science minister reflects on his decisions and the challenges for his successor

Greg Clark will split the position with his current role in charge of cities and growth

Universities have proposed wide-ranging changes to modern languages A levels as “serious deficiencies” mean they are seen as “dull and uninspiring”.

Greg Clark has been unveiled as the new minister for universities and science

Departure announced as Prime Minister carries out cabinet reshuffle

Minister keen to reform archaic system, including consolidation of institutions, end to two-track admissions

Their democratic structures undermined and autonomy rescinded, the bodies face a quiet, deadly crisis, says Michael Chessum

But Vince Cable did not accept Christian Brodie’s resignation

The Labour Party will introduce new “technical degrees” if it is elected at next May’s general election.

Survey of university chiefs reveals smouldering anger and ‘black swan’ event predictions

Warwick sociologist urges scholars to let go of their ‘sense of injury’ if they want to resist marketisation

A Labour government should set a science and research budget for the entire Parliament, and give universities a bigger role in driving local growth.

Eight out of 10 prospective Tory MPs think the government should not target international students in the drive to reduce net migration.

Richard Lloyd to call for universities to be judged on graduate employment

Lebanon is failing to enable displaced scholars and students to continue their work and education, says report

University Alliance says repayment period of 15 years under HELP UK system could plug black hole in funding system

Fears of further reputational damage after licence suspensions

Labour will use a long-term plan for research funding to help create high-wage jobs, ending “uncertainty” in science policy created by the coalition.

The value of outstanding student loans owed by graduates will rise to £330 billion in the 2040s

An adviser to David Cameron has urged the government to rank universities’ courses based on their employment rates and graduate earnings.

Jon Marcus reports on the Chicago institutions battling it out for the Barack Obama presidential library and museum

A raft of short-sighted policies are causing harm, says Sir Roderick Floud

Vice-chancellor claims that removing the cap on fees and subsidising poorer students would work but is a ‘toxic issue politically’

Sir Roderick Floud, former UUK president, criticises duplication and waste in ‘muddled non-system’

Panel speakers fear v-cs’ silence presages a lack of pre-election policy debate

Tales of activism and optimism and an eminent scholar’s defence of the humanities aired at Living With the Cuts conference

Scotland’s academics should be concerned about the impact of a ‘yes’ vote, says Jill Stephenson

Whatever the result of the referendum, the impact on Scottish higher education will be considerable. David Matthews talks to advocates for both sides

Libby Hackett is to leave the University Alliance after five years as its chief executive

Brazil will aim to be spend 10 per cent of GDP on education within a decade after a national plan was passed by the country’s main legislature.

Rightward lurches at the polls means migration studies are more essential than ever, says Mette Louise Berg

Call from Labour shadow universities minister follows series of revelations

Alan Ryan on a recent US wave of student protests over high-profile guests

UK government urged to assess financial fallout before embracing similar system

Bright Blue modernisers warn Conservatives to differentiate their university agenda to avoid possible inroads by the UK Independence Party

Open letter from UUK board members points to research funding and mobility as being ‘central’ to success

A committee of MPs has written to David Willetts over the potential risks to UK science of the proposed takeover of AstraZeneca by US giant Pfizer.

Too many policy experts look to the US and Australia as “some higher education funding nirvana”, according to the vice-chancellor who chairs Million+.

University’s 10-week project featured talk by Michael Berlin on First World War conscientious objectors

Lecturer’s contract not renewed after he set up out-of-hours module to broaden curriculum

The UK’s social mobility debate is too narrowly focused on a “small number of elite universities” and needs to be “dragged out of the 1970s”.

But Cable warns that intervention options are constrained by law

Australia is to remove all caps on tuition fees, a move billed as allowing its universities to compete with “the best in the world”.

A vice-chancellor has made an impassioned defence of the benefits to universities of European Union membership amid the rise in popularity of Ukip.

Union seeks court clearance to bill lecturer in failed anti‑Semitism claim

Bright Blue campaign challenges coalition policy

Book examines the effects of ‘modernisation agenda’ on the Continent’s public universities in a time of austerity

Look to Ireland, not Australia, to see the damage caused by unfettered recruitment, says Bahram Bekhradnia

Universities’ zeal for student feedback centres on NSS surveys and best-practice audits; those expressing critical views are increasingly unwelcome

Leaving the Union will help a world-renowned sector to further extend its reach, argues Michael Russell

Racist government policies hurt the higher education sector, says Kevin Fong, but the harm doesn’t stop there

Recommendation to extend demand-driven route likely to get green light

All members of research council grant awarding boards and panels should have training to avoid unconscious bias.

A committee of MPs has slammed a new government “horizon scanning” programme for not sufficiently utilising the Government Office for Science.

Lovers in Time, directed by Agnieszka Piotrowska, is being shown at Harare International Festival of the Arts