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Diplomas represent a big departure in education, but they raise worrying questions for universities, says John Brooks

Charles Lambert reflects on the struggle of foreign language teachers at Italian universities to attain respect and workers' rights

Peer review lets us reward excellence when we see it; spurious 'absolute' standards do not, says Ron Johnston

We know what must be done to widen access, says Deborah Eyre, who hopes the latest review will finally grasp the nettle

Muscians find it easier than academics to set their egos aside, be generous to their peers and play sidemen for a true great, argues Tara Brabazon

As Gloria Monday settles down to mark essays, she finds it a struggle to keep up with the copycats

The climate in which universities operate presents difficulties and opportunities. We must prepare for both, writes Ron Dearing

Does knowing your personality traits help you lead better? asks Sally Feldman

PGCert courses are valuable, but it is pointless to consider best practice without having practised, says Carrie Dunn

A Bill allowing the creation of interspecies hybrids and reproductive cloning would bring UK science into disrepute, argues David Jones

The young and vulnerable are powerless to resist the overt sexualisation used to sell us 'fun' brands like Virgin, writes Mary Evans

Tara Brabazon challenges her students to break from their reliance on Google and read Poulantzas in the original

The low opinion academics have of the public will not change until scholars open themselves up to debate, says Dennis Hayes

Kevin Fong treasures the scary euphoria of an unexpected home birth

Corporate speak is key to applying for promotion, says Gloria Monday

Florida's not all guns and gators, says Alan Ryan - it funds a liberal arts college

Students request more and better feedback, but focusing only on teachers' written comments is a mistake, says David Nicol

Researchers' drive to discover needs assistance from 'science managers' skilled in economic exploitation, Keith Mason argues

Angie Sandhu and Julia Swindells argue for mutual respect and an end to sex discrimination in the academy's intellectual exchanges

Tara Brabazon on Peter Saville¡¯s remarkable staying power at the edge of fashion

Encouraging children to have higher aspirations will improve GCSE pass rates and help widen participation, says Steve Smith

Many youngsters leave school unfit for university or work. Diplomas can change that, believes Claudio Vignali

Academics' insecurity about their lecturing skills has hit new lows in an age of unrepentantly rude mobile phone users, says Frank Furedi

If we want to find the significance of bluestones to Neolithic society, the Stonehenge diggers should look up, not down, says Lionel Sims

Tara Brabazon takes a listophile¡¯s delight in a celebration of musical progress

Students and employers are increasingly dictating the courses that universities offer, as witnessed by the rise of business-related and TV-inspired subjects such as forensic science. But how far should demand drive the curriculum? Harriet Swain reports

Cardinal O'Brien's intemperate broadside against embryology research buries an opportunity for discussion in invective

Tim Birkhead on the trumpet-blowing and florid fiction of the academic CV

Has-beens, wannabes and lechers wrestle with PowerPoint, bad English and alcohol in a deadly dull German townlet: yes, it¡¯s academic conference season again

Beware digi-evangelists and search engines, says Tara Brabazon. It is still real-life librarians, past and present, who remain the true custodians of human knowledge

Despite their imperfections and controversy, league tables still add more to our understanding of the sector than they subtract

Up in the Andes is a university worth emulating, says Felipe Fern¨¢ndez-Armesto

University rankings must include all relevant institutions and the information users are seeking, argues Joy Carter

In expanding its empire, human resources damages intellectual standards and peddles nonsense, argues David Colquhoun

Free information freely available is the rallying cry of Erik Ringmar, who wants others to join in putting restricted documents on the web

Job fulfilment and job comfort are different and impossible to reflect fully in quality-of-life indices, argues Linda Evans

Violence against females is rooted in our brutal past, but such acts are neither biologically nor culturally immutable, says David Roberts

David Watson argues that for research funding to be distributed equitably, the best way forward is through deeper collaboration

Tara Brabazon is alarmed by people¡¯s growing removal from analogue life, where people are engaged with their mobile screens rather than with each other

Politicians must end their coyness about tuition charges and face facts - they may be unpopular but they are necessary

Outsiders can never grasp the eccentricities of academe, says Sally Feldman

It¡¯s not so much the dropouts who vex Gloria Monday, more the drop-ins who have no business on campus

Commentators have not scrutinised Gordon Brown's role in the battle to topple Saddam. How curious, says Tim Dunne

UK research has been boosted by recent Government investment but academics must still strive to make an impact, says Philip Esler

How Tara Brabazon has learned to appreciate Bob Dylan - the man, his music and what he stands for

Do women miss out on promotion because of prejudice or because they are less committed?

Why, wonders Kevin Fong, do we so quickly forget our illustrious forebears?

Government proposals to redefine and promote innovation mark a major step forward, argues James Wilsdon

Wikipedia reveals not the ¡®wisdom of the crowds¡¯ but the rule of the mob, argues Tara Brabazon

Understanding demographic trends is key to the survival of universities over the next two decades, says Sir Muir Russell

We'll turn up for lectures if you treat us with respect, give us feedback and remember our names, writes a mature first-year student

In an e-savvy world, an anachronistic gentlemen's agreement should not be limiting science reporting, write Claire Bithell and Simon Levey

There is no single recipe for successful cross-disciplinary centres. Lunch, however, seems to be an essential ingredient

Alan Ryan suggests Mr Denham revisit an example of quality and opportunity

The Great Leader is all smiles on the website ¨C Gloria Monday suspects that a rebranding is in the offing

Interactive tools help students most by allowing lecturers to offer them more personal attention, says Jochen Runde

Clinton's toughest battle of all is against a collective mindset that ruthlessly limits the roles female politicians may fulfil, says Mary Evans

Although a believer in books, Tara Brabazon welcomes Amazon¡¯s wireless reading device and its potential to transform reading and researching

UK academic pay has risen significantly. But the disparities between disciplines and genders need to be addressed