Academic Victoria Fontan has borne witness to Iraq’s unfolding tragedy. She discusses encounters with Islamic State and US troops and her fears for the country’s future
Amid concerns about the growing use – and abuse – of quantitative measures in universities, a major new review examines the role of metrics in the assessment of research, from the REF to performance management
Even centuries ago, student misconduct and violence vexed townspeople and authorities. The behaviour, says one scholar, highlights negative stereotypes and socio-political tensions
With Hungary accused of ‘undermining democratic values’, Malcolm Gillies considers to what extent universities with a liberal mission can flourish in ‘illiberal’ societies
What are the key issues local union branches are dealing with, and how do they manage relationships with institutions in what many activists argue is an increasingly confrontational environment?
Did rises for vice-chancellors outpace those of academic staff, and did the REF swell the salaries of star researchers? Jack Grove rings up the benefits accrued
Thirty years after Clifford Geertz assessed the state of thinking in the academy, the duty of academics to render the unspeakable unspeakable is imperative
How do rankings shift when institutions are compared on research intensity, which takes into account percentage of staff submitted, rather than on standard GPA alone?
