Will rich ideas tackle a very poor show?
With a new strategy for HE imminent, Geoff Layer kicks off four pages on issues it will address with a look at efforts to recruit more working-class students. Forty years on from the Robbins report,...
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All human life under one roof
In its 250th year, the British Museum faces cash worries, accusations of complacency and questions about its use of its remarkable collections, but its director tells Huw Richards that it remains one...
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They're called dumb, materialistic sexual predators - but millions are dyeing to join them
Blonde women have been stereotyped for decades - centuries even - but their numbers have been rising, says Faye Hammill. "Roger said he had gone to a cocktail party and, when he walked in, there were...
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A tale of two students
The government is keen to get more students from "non-traditional" backgrounds into university but what happens once they are there? Is their experience equal to that of those from more affluent...
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How do a rhino and a professor reverse a life of underachievement?
Universities are being told to improve their social mix, but what can they do when early years exert such influence on life chances, Chris Bunting asks. Education secretary Charles Clarke has had...
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Modernise academics? Ministers can go to blazes
First it was firefighters, now it's academia's turn - a pay rise with strings. But will the army be sent in to take on teaching and research if the deal is rejected, wonders Valerie Atkinson....
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In the perfect system, only those who reap the benefits should have to pick up the tab
Politicians may be squeamish about taxing the population but, argues Richard Whiting, an earnings-related graduate levy is the logical solution to HE's funding crisis. At the heart of the funding...
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Don't ditch 'trust' for 'service' 1
I am interested in the differing views of the function of higher education (Soapbox, THES , December 20/; Letters, THES , January 3). I studied for my bachelor and master of arts degrees as a mature...
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Don't ditch 'trust' for 'service' 2
How refreshing in its clarity was sixth-former Ryan Butler's comment: "Can't people be trained on the job, with companies paying for them to go to university, rather than government?" (Analysis, THES...
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Don't ditch 'trust' for 'service' 3
Ian Jamieson's reported definition of lecturing as "emptying your head" ("Students rail at cuts in lectures", THES , January 3) is one for the world dictionary of ugly aphorisms. If institutions...
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Illiberal conduct
Andrew J. Morgan (Letters, THES , January 3) confuses two separate activities. The protection of academics against governments, employers and sponsors is a matter for the unions and bodies such as...
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Let's not play lottery
Americans do indeed "get what they pay for", as Peter Andras and Bruce Charlton state with regard to elite teaching colleges ("The student purse can save us from the mediocre", THES , January 3). The...
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The art of progress
Offering progression from further to higher is presented as the latest thinking, yet it is nothing new for art and design institutes ("Access-driven Hodge eases way for mergers", THES , December 13...
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No stats, no show
Showing the University of Gloucestershire as having the second worst record for recruiting disabled students is misleading ("Who falls behind in the pursuit of justice", THES , December 20/). We did...
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Spot the difference 1
Why do academics, when discussing the nexus between research and teaching, seem unable to distinguish between different academic subjects and their emphasis on understanding or factual knowledge,...