Unions to unite for pay talks
The higher education unions and employers have reached a provisional agreement on the reform of the pay negotiating processes, rescuing national bargaining from the threat of collapse, writes Melanie...
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Sector fails to assist its former pro v-cs
Report urges structured career progression for post holders who find it hard to return to the ranks after the end of their terms. Melanie Newman reports. Universities must make better use of their...
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Who got that cash?
One of the world's leading neuroscientists has been granted £1 million to seek the biological basis for love, beauty and creativity. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, will bring together...
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Loyalty testing
From: The Director of Corporate Affairs (Jamie Targett) To: All Academic Staff As I'm sure you're aware, the Leadership, Governance and Management Strategic Committee of the Higher Education Funding...
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From mid-November, everybody wants everything done before Christmas
Kevin Fong on how to manage a gift list alongside a list of scholarly chores that absolutely have to be done
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Leader: Student power has to go with commitment
A few years ago, we reported on the case of the student who was awarded £200 by his university because he got stuck in a lift and missed a lecture. It wasn't an isolated incident - another student at...
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Democratic debate 2
Angry demonstrators have shown contempt for the sanctity of academic freedom. Nick Griffin and David Irving must be allowed to express their opinions, no matter what they are, and Oxford University,...
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Dreaming in colour
Welcome (back) to the topsy-turvy world of Marxist social and educational theory. Mike Cole ("'Racism' is about more than colour", November 23) and John Preston's argument about the relationship...
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Relative values 1
You report that full-time academics earned an average of £42,620 in April 2007 ("Average academic's pay moves ahead to £42K", November 16) while the "average professional salary" is £38,340. Look...
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Relative values 2
The Higher Education Funding Council for England recently completed its consultation on newspaper university league tables. In our response, we expressed concern about some of the information used in...
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Loyalty, but not blind allegiance 1
Loyalty cuts both ways ("Staff loyalty key to Hefce report", November 30). Look at contract research staff such as myself who are forced to seek employment in other institutions and environments. I...
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Loyalty, but not blind allegiance 2
One can be loyal to the principles and purposes for which an institution claims to stand, but this does not imply loyalty to a particular regime, system or policy. Indeed, many would argue that...
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Loyalty, but not blind allegiance 3
Many years ago, it fell to me to chair Higher Education Funding Council for England teaching-quality inspections of academic departments. At one such event, the head of department confided to me and...
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Cite the difference
Adding to the research excellence framework complexity will be the work involved in making sure that citation counts are accurate. Thomson ISI has two different tools for determining citation numbers...
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Irredeemably evil? 1
Barbara Oakley ("The devil inside", November 30) fails to track the obvious conclusion to her neural theory of evil. If individuals such as Hitler and Oakley's sister were the legatees of a wayward...