In-depth

As students in many countries receive their final degree marks amid perennial concerns about grade inflation, three scholars reflect on their experiences of being pressured to mark more leniently, while one considers how to enhance the fairness of marking outcomes

With institutions reluctant to match soaring prices, per-student income is eroded further

Covid-era terror of a decimation in international income has proved unfounded, but investment yields continue to fluctuate wildly. Ahead of the publication of Australia’s landmark new Universities Accord, John Ross investigates what the financial data really says about the state of the sector

Studying flocks of starlings helped Giorgio Parisi crack some of physics’ deepest mysteries. The Nobelist talks to Matthew Reisz about his unconventional methods, missed eureka moments and being Italy’s most in-demand scientist

Suspicion at all levels of France’s hybrid research system means resources and national influence are closely guarded. Fresh proposals to raise quality and stem brain drain face an uphill struggle as players try to hold hard-won positions

If you want to get promoted in UK academia you will probably need to apply for an Advance HE fellowship. But there is widespread scepticism that this extended ‘box-ticking exercise’ improves pedagogy, says Amanda Goodall, while Martin Rich considers how the programme might be made fit for purpose

Helping students learn is core to universities’ missions, but the buzz phrase ‘student success’ has come to designate something more. Exactly what, though, remains contested, and its pursuit has exposed age-old tensions between academics and administrators. Sara Custer reports 

Biden ends months-long Republican showdown by accepting budgetary freeze that will tighten institutions’ budgets and likely hurt students with the greatest need

When she was BBC Newsnight’s top booker, Sam McAlister persuaded Prince Andrew to give his infamous interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She tells Jack Grove how academics can avoid shooting themselves in the foot and what TV producers want from expert guests

When Rhodes and fees both fell and Africa’s top university appointed its third black leader, hopes were raised that South African higher education was moving into a new era of equality. But several years on, funding pressures and governance failures still abound. Patrick Jack reports from Cape Town 

Controversial move to stop students bringing family members puts UK behind its rivals in international recruitment, but spiralling migration could lead to even more measures further down the line

As his new book on pandemics is published, the UK’s best-known historian tells Matthew Reisz that identity politics is inhibiting history, nationalism only intensifies during global crises, and a refusal to communicate history to the public amounts to mere ‘connoisseurship of the dead’

The ‘teenage’ regulator has a toxic relationship with universities owing to its uncompromising approach and its alleged unwillingness to listen – except to Conservative ministers. But should vice-chancellors agitating against the OfS be careful what they wish for? John Morgan reports 

Powerful new technologies are transforming the way universities operate, even before the impact of ChatGPT is truly felt

Accommodation shortages and spiralling rents are damaging the student experience and limiting universities’ expansion ambitions. But amid political turbulence, rising borrowing costs and a shrinking private rental market, how can universities ensure that housing supply meets demand without mortgaging their futures, asks Patrick Jack

Georgia State’s transformation of student outcomes has been praised by Barack Obama and Bill Gates. Jack Grove talks to its president, M. Brian Blake, about the trailblazing institution’s incredible journey and his own remarkable rise through US academia

Alliances with university colleagues can be inspiring and life-affirming but may also be grounded in little more than ambition or survival instinct. Six writers reflect on the joys and challenges of having friends in academia

Farah Karim-Cooper – one of the UK’s few ethnic minority Shakespeare professors – reflects on being an outsider in a discipline not known for its non-white faces and ponders how diversity can be improved

The UK’s trailblazing marriage of academic study and practical training is billed as a win-win for students and employers. But are universities and companies pulling their weight? Are students getting what they want? And what does it all mean for the future of traditional study, asks Tom Williams 

As AI makes giant strides, threatening to digitise a whole host of graduate careers, the need to ensure that human employees can regularly upskill and retrain is more urgent than ever. An early pioneer of mass lifelong learning, does Singapore point the way forwards? Pola Lem reports from the Lion City

When Purdue biologist David Sanders ran for election to Indiana’s senate last autumn, he assumed a commitment to evidence and personal engagement would give him traction. But while his pitch was well received on doorsteps, the system’s dark arts fended him away from the legislature’s threshold

In the wake of Jacinda Ardern’s and Nicola Sturgeon’s decisions to step down as leaders of their respective nations, university leaders and experts reflect on when is the right time to give up the biggest office on campus

The UK’s ‘rock star historian’ Peter Frankopan talks to Matthew Reisz about his ambitious follow-up to his Silk Roads chronicle and the perils of being seen as a modern-day sage

The AI chatbot may soon kill the undergraduate essay, but its transformation of research could be equally seismic. Jack Grove examines how ChatGPT is already disrupting scholarly practices and where the technology may eventually take researchers – for good or ill

Politicians’ recent marshalling of public institutions for geopolitical, economic and societal ends has narrowed their room to manoeuvre, according to EUA’s autonomy scorecard

Those focused on dissecting pop culture face hostility from politicians, the media and fellow academics, but their work remains vital, ‘Kylie scholar’ Liz Giuffre tells Rosa Ellis

Post-industrial regions the world over are pinning their hopes on universities to reboot them as prosperous innovation economies. But questions remain about the depth and breadth of the high-tech dividend. John Morgan travels to Pennsylvania to examine the acclaimed example of Pittsburgh

Tough new demands requiring institutions to produce world-class research could put some universities’ titles under threat. But is that a good thing?

A utilitarian approach to undergraduate education is leading to disenchantment among students and society. It is time to put ‘play’ at the heart of learning, says Colm O’Shea

Spiking inflation and an accommodation squeeze are eroding students’ already meagre means. As a major review of higher education begins, John Ross examines reforms that would allow students to keep the wolf from the door and still have time to devour their reading lists

Edtech giants and plucky start-ups are vying to create potentially lucrative tools to combat the use of AI in assessments, but will they cause more problems than they solve?

Vocational institutions are winning the right to award PhDs, while professional doctorates are also expanding. But how compatible are academic and vocational focuses in research degree provision – and how easily can status disparities be overcome, asks Ben Upton

Debates rage about the appropriateness of objects displayed in many anthropological exhibitions amid accusations they perpetuate poisonous imperialist narratives. However, Adam Kuper believes institutions should be wary of capitulating to activist demands, he tells Matthew Reisz

Major report seeks to establish true emissions for the whole of the UK sector – and suggest route to net zero

When her broadcasting career took off in her mid-fifties, Mary Beard became one of Britain’s best-known and most-discussed academics. Jack Grove speaks to the retiring Cambridge classicist about her eventful career, including her run-ins with sexist TV critics, Twitter trolls and Boris Johnson

Florida’s Trumpian governor has repeatedly attacked the freedom and expertise of the state’s university sector. With the Yale and Harvard graduate widely tipped as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, should universities nationwide be preparing for more of the same, asks Paul Basken

London’s revered ‘night university’ enters bicentenary year mired in financial crisis

With hostility from the Home Office over international student numbers, membership of Horizon Europe slipping away and heavy demands placed on institutions by regulators, UK university staff will be wondering how 2023 will play out. Patrick McGhee and Emma Rees read the runes

While training courses and complaints bodies have been implemented across the subcontinent, their effectiveness in addressing harassment is widely questioned. Could more be done – or will female students and academics have to wait for a patriarchal generation to retire, asks Pola Lem

With most major players making redundancies and tightening their belts, edtech has faced a difficult year, but could moves into career development save the industry?

The University of Rural England’s wildly popular moggie mascot, Mr Tibbles, has disappeared and suspicion falls on the vice-chancellor. As the frenzy mounts, can our lovelorn hero save his reputation, his job, his relationship and perhaps even his mortal flesh in time for Christmas? John Gilbey tells the tale

For academics trained to plough a narrow, deep, heavily footnoted field, writing for a more general audience can be difficult. But the rewards, both personal and financial, can be considerable. Matthew Reisz picks the brains of publishing professionals for their dos and don’ts

Times Higher Education journalists name the academics and administrators at the heart of the sector’s biggest debates over the past 12 months

Elon Musk’s ‘de facto town square’ is a place where misinformation abounds and where academia is often attacked by culture warriors. But is fighting back effective? Or can it make things worse if academics don’t keep calm and stick to the facts? Tom Williams reports 

Five years on from Cambridge University Press’ controversial compliance with a Chinese government request to make more than 300 articles unavailable to Chinese readers, publishers are increasingly self-censoring content on ‘sensitive’ topics. But is the trade-off justified, asks George Cooper

Failure to expel crackpot social scientists from Russia’s academy has allowed dangerous dogma to dominate public discourse, says Andreas Umland

Rising tensions between the West and China and Russia are being seen as an indication that internationalisation may have passed its peak. But are universities, as pre-eminently international institutions, feeling the tide turn? And how do their leaders feel about the challenge? Rosa Ellis reports

Science and technology investment fund created by universities of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield injects first capital to fuel innovation shift

With a Nobel for nudge theory and growing political interest in ‘choice architecture’, the future of behavioural sciences seemed bright. But its experts were often ignored – even dismissed as ‘charlatans’ – when life-or-death calls on Covid were made. Two professors reflect on where the discipline goes next

Five years ago, a THE poll painted a bleak picture of work-life balance in the academy. Has the subsequent rise of homeworking eased the pressure? Or are ever-increasing workloads outweighing any benefits of flexibility? Tom Williams reports on our survey of 1,200 university staff

A glorious history of anti-fascist protest means anarchy is tolerated on Greek campuses, but some are ready for the repeal of academic asylum to finally be enforced

Nigerian-born Cornell University professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò explains why academia – particularly in Africa – should consider the drawbacks of decolonisation alongside its benefits

Many reacted to Karl Andersson’s autoethnography on cartoon child porn by asking how it could have been allowed to go ahead. But amid doubts about who it harmed and ongoing concerns about research bureaucracy, many are wary of a further ramping-up of ethics procedures. Jack Grove reports

At Times Higher Education's World Academic Summit in New York last week, University of Oxford vice-chancellor Louise Richardson gave a keynote on leadership in higher education. This is the full text of her speech

America’s two-year public colleges are often romanticised as engines of social mobility and the epitome of the educative mission. But one academic has found the reality to be very different, with callous management failing students and staff in equal measure

Are research careers meritocratic? Do universities do enough to support researchers? Is impact more important than publications? Is interdisciplinarity the key to new discoveries? Can internationalisation survive the current global tensions? We present the views of more than 400 future sector leaders

Scholars warn that Tokyo’s cash injection will reward the few over the many, pushing top institutions closer to industry at the expense of basic research, social sciences and humanities

The Italian physicist known for making complex science intelligible explains how radical student politics, hallucinogenic drugs and hitch-hiking around America helped him become one of science’s foremost thinkers

As it emerges from its Covid isolation, Australia is rolling back restrictions on foreign students and graduates in the hope of ushering more of them into its depleted workforce. But amid competitive and political pressures, has it found the best balance between work and migration rights, asks John Ross

Land of the free market outpaces UK’s muted ‘levelling up’ with funding to leverage power of universities in struggling regions