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The publisher of Nature is to merge with the world’s second largest science publisher, Springer

The number of students awarded a first-class degree soared by 14 per cent last year.

Part-time student numbers have continued a dramatic decline after falling by 8 per cent last year, new figures show

Most admissions staff believe achievements outside the classroom are more important to gaining a university place than 10 years ago, a new study says

The vice-chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, Philip Jones, has announced that he is to retire next spring

University settles Adrian Graves’ employment tribunal claim after vice-chancellor leaves

Researchers argue that nature of teaching in subjects means that they cannot score highly in survey

People of working age with a master’s or PhD earn on average £9,000 a year more than those with only a bachelor’s degree, according to data from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Incoming Case president Sue Cunningham says that move would herald ‘real engagement’ and help to drive success

The UK synchrotron seeks more university groups to set up second homes at the site to create a genuine research campus

Theresa May criticised after 51�Թ� Office proposes new rules for overseas cohort

American universities review exchange programmes as 50-year embargo ends

Nanyang Technological University president’s claim that tenure dispute was ‘not political’ contested by ex-faculty member Cherian George

Scrutiny of Swansea dean’s communications follows latest email furore

UK universities claim 10 spots in annual survey of gay-friendly workplaces

Majority of workplace slights informed by your place in the academic pecking order, study finds

Three-year programmes challenge the supremacy of Scotland’s ‘gold standard’

Women on academic contracts earn £8,400 less than men, according to Equal Pay Review 2014, but the gap has closed by £110 since 2012

Report advises young academics to foster personal and research independence to advance their careers. Plus the latest higher education appointments

FoI request reveals former vice-chancellor returned after suspension on full pay despite diminished powers

Lawyer says government condemns terror attack on Charlie Hebdo but legislation could have a ‘chilling effect’ on campus debate

Skills of business students on internships in low-income nations do not develop as much as those in other regions

The National Union of Students has accused universities of being ‘prepared to ignore’ incidents of sexual assault and harassment on campus

Freedom of speech has become a “sexual fetish” in the West in light of the Charlie Hebdo terror atrocity, according to academic and writer Will Self

Student groups are holding a series of protests this month against pay inequality in universities

By Colleen Flaherty,

The British Library has announced an ambitious “vision for its future development” over the next eight years

Government plans to tackle “extremism” will have a “seriously inhibiting effect on bona fide academic debate in universities”, MPs and peers warn

Graduate recruitment is set to reach its highest level in more than a decade, according to new research

Sutton Trust scheme sends UK applicants to Harvard, Yale and others

A petition has been set up calling for Nigel Thrift, the University of Warwick vice-chancellor, to be stripped of his knighthood.

The University of Huddersfield vice-chancellor Bob Cryan has defended the Duke of York, its patron, in the face of “ridiculous” sex allegations

Government fixated with education departments being ‘Marxist hotbeds’, says Reading v-c

David Cameron and George Osborne have trumpeted universities’ involvement in plans to boost the economy of the North West

Hefce to fund participation after DfE agency pulled plug on money

The University of Ulster has appointed Paddy Nixon as its new vice-chancellor

A national group of collaborative outreach networks working with schools and colleges has launched, four years after a similar project was scrapped

Students’ union objects to change that will make thousands ineligible for extra weeks of support via ‘long courses loans’

Members of the Independent Universities Group want to distinguish themselves from ‘dodgy’ for-profit colleges

Junior scholars urged to develop robust profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to boost their careers and ward off risk of ‘shadow self’

Funding council installs overseer after permitting University of Northampton to borrow £300m for Waterside campus

Academic inbreeding is not considered unusual or problematic in many countries, according to study

Aston business school dean prizes feedback from alumni and employers as institutions begin to work like corporations

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

REF analysis suggests that new system for allocating funds has ‘no correspondence with excellence in research impact’

New professors in digital history and digital humanities are examples of institution performing its ‘national role’

Research finds no correlation between publications’ impact factor and economics scholars’ perceived career payoffs. Plus the latest higher education appointments

Email reveals that a third of accommodation payments is spent on capital and borrowing expenditure

Jonathan Shepherd, Cardiff medical scholar and ‘What Works’ pioneer, urges researchers to keep it brief and abandon obfuscation

Universities claim releasing information would harm commercial interests or breach staff privacy

Institutions ‘unbending’ on fee-free demand as talks with Elsevier resume

Study finds variations by seniority, subject and institutional mission in scholars’ published opinions on the research excellence framework

Plan to force overseas students to leave the UK after graduation appears to have been blocked by George Osborne