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The second part of Times Higher Education’s UK University Redundancy Survey examines the impact that the waves of layoffs have had on those left behind&�Բ�����;– and reveals a sector riven by rock-bottom morale, chronic overwork and deep mistrust. Paul Jump reports

The idea of shortening the duration of degrees has always run into concerns about loss of intellectual depth or infringements on academics’ research time. But amid concerns about universities’ finances and students’ debt levels, has the idea’s time finally come? Juliette Rowsell reports

The Oxford professor’s latest monograph, like her latest novel, focuses on the globe’s culturally neglected southern extremes. An ‘exploration of the condition of being secondary’, it is the realisation of a 40-year ambition, in a literary career with its own two very different poles. Matthew Reisz reports

The results of Times Higher Education’s UK University Redundancy Survey vividly illustrate the deep human impact of the redundancy crisis on those who have lost their jobs. But respondents are torn about whether they want to remain in a sector widely described as ‘toxic’. Paul Jump reports

The LLE is seen as a key part of maintaining employability in rapidly changing employment sectors. Yet with less than six months to go before applications open for the stand-alone modules central to the vision, interest among learners and providers alike appears lukewarm at best. Helen Packer reports

While populists are known for their simplistic narratives, academics are assumed to embrace complexity. Yet a startling number of books claim to have found the key to understanding the movement’s rise in a single idea or study. In the week that Viktor Orbán’s fall has fuelled suggestions that history’s tide has turned again, Matthew Reisz leafs through various forthcoming tomes 

The former education secretary’s throwaway line arguably fired the starting gun for a new era in which scholarly expertise could be dismissed and social media sages exalted. Ten years after the notorious putdown, Patrick Jack caught up with Michael Gove and his critics on the legitimacy and legacy of his infamous barb

With polls predicting defeat for Viktor Orbán in Sunday’s elections there are hopes that controversial governance reforms&�Բ�����;– copied by Donald Trump and other populist politicians – will be abolished. Yet not all scholars are convinced that reversing a decade of contested legislation criticised for restricting academic freedom would be straightforward, says Seher Asaf

The brief launch of an app promising to attend students’ lectures as well as write their assignments caused some academics to despair at a dystopian near-future in which learning becomes a pointless sham. But others believe the abyss can be bypassed. Juliette Rowsell reports

A wave of dismay about student loans has flooded the UK media recently, with graduates complaining that ever-rising debt levels are threatening to capsize their personal finances. How could or should the government bail them out? We ask the experts: Philip Augar, Kate Ogden and Nicholas Barr

Concerns abound that authors who publish on a weekly basis are cutting corners, corrupting authorship norms and overburdening the peer review system&�Բ�����;– with AI likely to make matters worse. But if incentives are misaligned, what can be done? And is the moral panic exaggerated? Jack Grove reports  

In principle, permanent positions are awarded to the most deserving – but perceptions remain that, in reality, many universities value connections over merit. Phillip Haubrock describes his struggles to find a permanent position in Germany, while João Conde recounts how he finally secured one in Portugal

The headcount has expanded significantly over the past decade, but the growth has been concentrated in teaching-only roles and part-time positions with lower pay bands and fewer pathways to seniority for these roles. Fadime Sahin analyses the data

A slew of proposed changes and interim measures around university entry is making student numbers and university incomes difficult to predict. As the legislation paving the way for the new regulator trundles through parliament, many administrators don’t know which way to turn. John Ross reports

Amid backlash from higher-caste groups, the Indian Supreme Court has stayed new rules intended to toughen up universities’ anti-discrimination procedures. But is the move the beginning of a US-style pushback against positive discrimination&�Բ�����;– or just a tidying up of ‘vague’ drafting? Tash Mosheim reports

The Trump administration’s proposals to eviscerate the NIH and NSF have been overturned in Congress after a year of cancelled programmes and legal wrangling. Yet as funding continues only to dribble out of downsized and politicised agencies, few believe that US science is out of the woods yet

Complaints from authors abound about interminable delays, long silences, unfair rejections and shoddy copy-editing. But are standards really slipping? And, if so, where does the blame lie? Matthew Reisz reports

As the geopolitical order shifts, the case for greater collaboration among like-minded nations on research and innovation seems obvious. But will a greater European focus on its own industrial competitiveness dissuade the likes of Canada, Australia and Japan from signing up? Seher Asaf reports

Academics’ concerns are mounting as news drips out of the research councils about cuts and freezes ahead of a major funding restructuring intended to promote interdisciplinarity and transparency. But does the buckets approach even hold water? Jack Grove reports

Authoritarian regimes from the US to China and India perceive many humanities and social sciences as both useless and dangerous. But while their truths might be inconvenient, they are vital to preventing technological developments from tearing already frayed social fabrics, says Saikat Majumdar 

Debates around graduate debt have exploded in recent weeks amid concern about balances that continue to inflate even as graduates seek to pay them down. Has the system become a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ that politicians will rush to slay? Juliette Rowsell reports

Cass Sunstein’s new book – his 87th&�Բ�����;– deliberately prizes long-term currency over short-term appeal. But at a moment when some fear that American liberalism is under threat, is the Obama-era official right not to address the elephant in the room? Matthew Reisz reports

Three years after the launch of the UK’s big-money agency for ‘high-risk, high-reward research’, political expectations around the impact of public science funding are higher than ever. As UKRI funding streams are curtailed and redirected, how can Aria prove its worth, asks Jack Grove

Yes, the political climate is extremely difficult, but all the evidence on applications, enrolments and completions suggests that Americans still value what universities have to offer, says Eileen Strempel

Argentina’s emboldened president Javier Milei declared in Davos that ‘the rebirth of the ideas of liberty’ in the Americas was spreading globally. With Chilean voters taking a similarly hard-right turn and Brazilians threatening to do likewise, how bad might it get for universities? Helen Packer reports

King’s vice-chancellor Shitij Kapur made waves last month when he said that a degree is no longer a passport to professional success. But was it ever? Could it ever be? And what does it mean for universities if it is not? Patrick Jack reports

Formal complaints have shot up in recent years, albeit from a low base. But where some see the inevitable effects of redundancies, hybrid working and an overdue crackdown on poor conduct, others perceive the abuse of the system by managers to force out awkward characters. Jack Grove reports

The territory has recently raised its cap on non-local students twice, with it set to reach 50 per cent next year. But amid geopolitical tensions and Western concerns about freedom, is it realistic for Hong Kong to loosen its international cohort’s domination by students from the mainland? Tash Mosheim reports 

Critics allege that Australian universities have developed a bad habit of secrecy around severance agreements even when it serves no reasonable purpose&�Բ�����;– or, worse, prevents an important wider issue from being highlighted. But is there more to the issue than meets the eye? John Ross reports  

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was partly justified with reference to the urgency of improving women’s rights. But as the US winds up its reconstruction efforts and the restored Taliban blocks the internet and bans female-authored books, all hope for women’s education is being extinguished

Speakers’ bureaux are largely designed to promote celebrity after-dinner entertainers, but they are also being adopted by some academic publishers as a way to boost their authors’ long-term profiles. Matthew Reisz asks whether others should be grabbing the microphone 

The £2 million recently awarded to a whistleblower by a US court is a rare reward for the volunteers who trawl the scientific literature for error and fraud. Yet their numbers continue to grow. So what drives them? And can their efforts ever cleanse more than a drop in a troubled ocean? Jack Grove reports 

Many of the business schools that prop up universities, in both China and the West, are bankrolled by Chinese families’ ambition. But amid economic slowdown and a growing recognition of the limits of Western practices, the return on investment is now being questioned, as three academics explain

Students’ recent firebombing of Nelson Mandela’s alma mater has raised more questions about whether the country’s universities can break out of a cycle of corruption, underfunding and violent protest. They can – but only with strong leadership and political will, hears Juliette Rowsell 

The UK government’s recent skills White Paper announced a review of ‘the merits of the sector continuing to use the external examining system for ensuring rigorous standards in assessments’. Four academics offer their views on whether it passes or fails that test

Last month’s deadly car bombing at Delhi’s Red Fort, allegedly planned and perpetrated by academics and doctors, has left observers asking what such an outrage says about the nature, quality and future of the country’s universities, writes Saikat Majumdar

Times Higher Education journalists name the change-makers at the heart of the sector’s biggest debates over the past 12 months

Cardiff’s January announcement of plans to cut 400 academic jobs and close several departments prompted a media firestorm that heaped opprobrium on its vice-chancellor. But she also received lots of quiet support for her efforts to put the university back on an even financial keel, she tells Chris Havergal

Chinese science’s meteoric rise has long prompted questions about whether it will ultimately eclipse the US. Many now see that as inevitable, as Donald Trump wreaks havoc on US science. But might wariness about collaboration hold China back? Tash Mosheim gauged the mood among Shaw Prize laureates in Hong Kong

Dark tales abound of various UK universities being at risk of breaching agreements with their banks. But what exactly are covenants? Why have they come to play such a prominent role in the conversation about sector health? And would breaking one really lead to institutional ruin? Helen Packer reports  

Political battles over a planned New Zealand medical school illustrate how the subject of where doctors are trained excites public passions like no other in higher education, explains John Ross

There have been more winners than losers since domestic student recruitment was uncapped in England. But without better stewardship, all institutions must do what they can to swing the market in their favour, regardless of national priorities or local needs, say David Maguire and Alex Bols

Last month, the Australian Academy of Science condemned the country’s ongoing review of research for ignoring a long-term funding decline that has left basic research at ‘breaking point’. Was that a rhetorical overstatement or a sober statement of fact? Five researchers offer their own perspectives

The provision of accommodation, recreation and even welfare services remains a central part of the UK university model even in an era of massification. But as cost pressures eat into both students’ and universities’ budgets, there is a growing sense that something has to give. Patrick Jack reports

While submitting to authority comes naturally to Asian universities, their Western counterparts have traditionally resisted coercion. But Donald Trump’s compact could change the game with the illusion of a freedom-restricting deal that is freely entered into, writes Saikat Majumdar

Africa’s flagship university may have escaped the arson that has blighted some South African campuses but its research prowess could have gone up in smoke earlier this year when Donald Trump began slashing research funding, Cape Town’s vice-chancellor tells Jack Grove

The recent skills White Paper foreshadows the shuttering of some or all research in certain UK universities. But what will the effects of that be on teaching&�Բ�����;– and on research itself? How could it be enacted? And will it even happen at all? Jack Grove reports

An early adopter of transnational education, Singapore has been curiously inactive recently, even as other Asian countries ramp up their own internationalisation efforts. Will local sensitivities about immigration levels trump the city state’s need for foreign talent, asks Helen Packer

The Teaching Excellence Framework’s reliance on existing outcomes and satisfaction data, as proxies for teaching quality, has always invited criticism. But with the OfS now proposing to use it to assess compliance with regulatory conditions, the TEF might have finally found its niche. Juliette Rowsell reports

Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University was founded only 15 years ago but it is already the region’s leading higher education institution. But that is far from the limit of its ambitions, its new president, Waqar Ahmad, tells Chris Havergal

Covid, inflation and immigration crackdowns in the anglophone ‘big four’ have fuelled speculation that Asian students will switch to cheaper, safer and friendlier options closer to home. But are we really about to see a major redrawing of student migration routes? Tash Mosheim and Paul Jump report

The European Research Area was first proposed 25 years ago in the hope of levelling up Europe’s national research systems and challenging global rivals. Implementing that vision has been achingly slow, but with legislation pending, is serious progress now realistic? Emily Dixon reports

In the digital era, inserting a reference into a text is as easy as pressing control-K. So why do universities still insist on troubling students with the minutiae of traditional referencing styles that will be of no use to them in the professional world, ask Vivek Pundir and Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera

The Trump administration is trying to extort universities to submit to its control. To defend the university against such overreach is to affirm a broad constitutional tradition that limits state power over institutions devoted to truth and justice, writes Adam Sitze

The quasi-merger of the universities of Kent and Greenwich has raised questions about how many other higher education institutions might see an opportunity – or a necessity&�Բ�����;– to team up as financial pressures bite ever harder. Six experts share their views

Georgiann Davis’ gripping account of growing up intersex and obese in a dysfunctional provincial family is a ‘queer’ response to J. D. Vance’s celebrated Hillbilly Elegy. But will the Trump administration’s opposition to gender studies spoil her happy ending? Matthew Reisz reports 

The panel’s overriding concern is to ensure that research is used productively. But observers worry that pushing universities to specialise in centrally determined ‘focus areas’ risks inadvertently turning them, in effect, into government agencies. John Ross reports

The Research Excellence Framework has been postponed for three months ‘to take stock and ensure alignment with the UK government’s priorities and vision for higher education’. But how radical should the changes be? Should there be any at all? Is it time to start again? We present five very different views

Hopes were high that the end of the far-right Law and Justice Party’s eight years in power would herald a new dawn, after needed reforms to research assessment were undermined by politicisation. But, two years in, scholars are getting restless. Emily Dixon reports

PQA has been repeatedly rejected in recent decades, but with this year seeing another record number of students placed via the clearing system, is it being adopted by default? And would a wholesale switch address equity concerns or lower-tariff institutions’ recruitment woes? Juliette Rowsell reports