“Unnamed specialist institutions thinking of going private, vice-chancellors’ survey shows, as experts predict emergence of a ‘super league’ of British universities …” (more)
[Jeevan Vasagar, Guardian, 30 June]
“Slasher vice-chancellors tend to use the same tactic to get their way. First they announce some departmental massacre … all the jobs in the Sociology Department are to go; there will be two positions in the History Department that the 30 Sociologists can compete for, the others will be made redundant … oh, and also there is to be no consultation, it is going to the University Council tomorrow. Panic all round, of course, and screams of anguish …” (more)
[Mary Beard, A Don's Life, 30 June]
“Matthew Robb, senior principal with the Parthenon Group’s global education consultancy division, says many UK HEIs will have to remodel themselves into local businesses to survive …” (more)
[Kim Catcheside, Guardian Professional, 30 June]
“… This is not a minor issue. Many institutions in these islands derive a considerable income from teaching English as a foreign language, and people coming to Britain and Ireland often do so to learn the language …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 June]
“The next Framework Programme will be worth €80.2 billion if the European Commission gets its way, the proposal for the 2014-2020 Commission budget has shown. This would signify a 46% increase on the budget of Framework 7, which runs from 2007 to 2013 and is worth about €56bn …” (more)
[Inga Vesper, Research Blogs, 30 June]
“Declining literacy standards among school-leavers have prompted a Dublin university to allocate more time to the teaching of basic writing skills to first-year journalism students …” (more)
[Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Irish Times, 30 June]
“Recent events in England have created an issue for Scottish higher education. While in Scotland the principle of free access to universities is a central part of public policy, English higher education institutions can now charge tuition fees of up to £9,000, and most as we know have chosen to set fees at or near that level …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 29 June]
“The ‘methodologically indefensible’ peer-review element of the research excellence framework should be scrapped and replaced by citation data drawn from a free internet application. This is the view of Patrick Dunleavy, professor of political science and public policy at the London School of Economics. He told Times Higher Education that the Publish or Perish app, created last year by Anne-Wil Harzing, professor of international management at the University of Melbourne, offered a much easier, cheaper and more robust way to assess research …” (more)
[Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 30 June]
“I have previously pointed out in this blog that I have been asked by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP, to chair a review of university governance in Scotland. The remit of this review was published by the government on Wednesday …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 29 June]
“The BBC’s New Generation Thinkers have been announced but could the public have been better served by looking outside academia? …” (more)
[Eliza Anyangwe, Guardian Professional, 29 June]
