The complete shutdown of UK universities due to Covid-19 ‘impossible’   University vice-chancellors have told the government they cannot completely shut down if the coronavirus outbreak worsens because thousands of students would be left with nowhere to go.   The higher education regulator for England, the Office for Students (OfS),…

Most International Universities in the World Explore the most international universities in the world using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings Prospective students looking to study in the most international environments in the world should look to apply to universities in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore or the…

Government proposes law against contract cheating, as it clears the decks for coming election Contract cheating vendors could be jailed for two years under draft legislation proposed by the Australian government. People who profit by taking exams or writing essays on behalf of university students also face fines of up…

Jean-Eric Paquet tells university heads that there is now a ‘consensus’ that research must help deliver sustainable development goals One of the European Union’s top policymakers has warned universities that the bloc’s research priority is now tackling current-day economic and environmental challenges rather than funding curiosity-driven enquiry. Jean-Eric Paquet, director…

Foreign faculty’s dissatisfaction adds to the lure of Chinese recruitment push Western university sectors could regret employment practices that handicap academics from Asian backgrounds, as China ramps up its efforts to lure expatriates and foreigners to feed its burgeoning need for faculty. Push factors, such as seemingly discriminatory employment arrangements…

Personal and pragmatic factors often keep Chinese academics in the West Academic freedom concerns may not deter a generation of expatriate Chinese academics from returning to the motherland, lured by lavishly funded recruitment schemes such as the Thousand Talents Plan. But pragmatic matters such as pricey rents and smog-choked cities might…

Survey finds that European institutions have open access policies in place – but far fewer have specific targets systems to check their progress Less than a third of European universities are monitoring how much they spend on open access publishing, a new survey has found. The costs of article processing charges fees…

Controversial course proposals a test for governance, opponents say Plans for lavishly funded “great books” courses are under a cloud, amid academic revolts at two Australian universities. The executive and the governing council of the University of Wollongong have closed ranks over vice-chancellor Paul Wellings’ approval of a degree bankrolled by the…