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Last month’s presidential decree demanding the closure of Istanbul’s liberal Bilgi University seemed to mirror the academic purges that followed 2016’s failed coup. But then it was cancelled. What happened â€“ and what does it say about the current state of academic freedom in Turkey? Seher Asaf reports

Campaigners highlight concerns around way university handled student protests ahead of complaints scheme launching

Skills minister says regulator could have handled Sussex investigation better but ‘lessons have been identified’

Updates to UK counter-terror monitoring scheme incoming despite concern Prevent not built to deal with growing problem of extreme right-wing views

University chancellor says both academic freedom and legitimate protest must be upheld on campus

Academic debates should embrace political neutrality, professional judgement and the plurality of possible interpretations. The campaign against Ivan Katchanovski does not, say Dmitry Dubrovskiy and Matthew Blackburn

Formal Prevent referrals increase by almost half year-on-year, while more universities report cancelling events owing to extremist views

Country’s efforts to satisfy EU demands on academic freedom need to go beyond legal changes, experts say

Open University scholars call for more self-governance on free speech issues, warning conflicts often ‘improperly’ dealt with

Ursula von der Leyen and Peter Magyar hail ‘great progress’ as leaders agree to unlock EU funds after Orbán defeat

Immigration, transgender issues and race among the topics many students avoid talking about on campus, OfS survey suggests

Istanbul Bilgi University handed reprieve after authorities abandon attempts to close it over concerns about parent company

Without correction by a higher court, the likely result will be confusion about what the Freedom of Speech Act requires, says Abhishek Saha

The verdict wrongly overlooks the Equality Act’s role in determining what universities can be expected to do to protect free speech, says Maya Forstater 

Campaigners suggest refusing to take a stance on contentious issues may be the best way to navigate new free speech requirements

Landmark legal ruling has exposed shortcomings of Office for Students’ approach but also inadequacy of regulatory tools, experts argue

As the University of Sussex celebrates legal victory against the Office for Students, we discuss what the ruling means for the future of the regulator

University leader questions Arif Ahmed’s position after landmark court case highlights conflict of interest, as others cast doubt on future of regulator’s incoming free speech complaints scheme

The OfS’ approach was opaque, highly discretionary and appeared to lack basic procedural safeguards, says Smita Jamdar

The legal tools given to the OfS since the Sussex case occurred should make it better able to conduct the vital task of protecting free speech, says Ian Pace

Record fine overturned after landmark High Court case sparked by resignation of gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock

European alliances support institution’s rector after he called action a ‘crackdown on freedom of thought’

Documentary tracks evolution of culture wars on US and UK campuses, with subjects often â€˜petrified’ to speak out

Long-delayed grievance process will allow scholars who feel free speech rights have been impinged by universities to seek redress

After Péter Magyar’s landslide election victory, we discuss why it might not be easy for him to restore independence and academic freedom to Hungarian higher education

New vision for higher education in Hungary needed after defeat of populist leader, says head of Central European University

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 â€“ 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

Campuses in the Middle East viewed as ‘legitimate targets’ by Tehran after its institutions damaged in airstrikes

Regulator steps in to outline free speech and academic freedom obligations for English universities that work with states overseas

Political statements by management may appear to be viewpoint of institution, warns university free speech tsar

Staff and students protest after controversial scholar Nathan Cofnas moves to Ghent following free speech row at Cambridge

Leaders more qualified now than decade ago, with many boasting international experience, study finds

Drop in institutional autonomy of 50 per cent since 2015 means country is now only rated as â€˜moderate’ by experts

We need greater openness among scholars on both the left and right to revise their views in light of counter-argument, says Martyn Hammersley 

Funding pressures and bureaucratic demands are undermining the credibility of scientists, says Maria Leptin

Islamic student groups in the UK say statements calling Iranian supreme leader a ‘martyr’ were ‘free speech’ and deny inciting violence

Lengthy wait for legislation to introduce an amended Office for Students-run grievance process is unnecessary, claim campaigners

Mega university’s first foray back into overseas education since branch campus failures proves controversial

Universities worst affected as lawyers collate database of incidents of ‘repression’

Universities ‘should be the gathering place where the tribes come together’ in a fraying democracy, Canberra conference hears

Forcing institutions to remain neutral on contentious issues will stifle – not protect – academic freedom, argues Gavin Schwartz-Leeper

Conservatoire accepts academic’s beliefs protected after he faced student boycotts owing to email questioning structural racism

The UK’s new Academic Interference Reporting Route is welcome, but senior university leaders have significant blind spots, says Michelle Shipworth

Raft of new policies in wake of terrorist tragedy leaves institutions struggling to balance obligations to well-being and free expression

Scholars still inside the country describe administrative purges, censorship, exclusion and fear as merit-based systems collapse under Taliban ideological controls

Court documents show Kathleen Stock feared ‘chilling effect’ of university trans policy as she was â€˜never assured’ she would not face disciplinary action as a result of contravening it

Having witnessed widespread death and destruction during brutal regime crackdown, students struggling to adjust describe feeling abandoned by their universities

University argues regulator’s record fine was ‘unfair’, in case being closely watched across the sector

Concerns persist despite eleventh-hour watering down of legislative response to Bondi massacre

Teaching and research central to any hopes of rebuilding country, according to academics, as pressure grows for political change

Universities facing ‘ongoing repression’ as regime responds to demonstrations with force

New book argues it is a ‘myth’ that universities can stay silent on social and political issues

Campuses closed in attempt to quell unrest, with experts warning of risk of further brain drain unless protests deliver meaningful political change

Publisher acknowledges ‘unverified statements’ in controversial text by American academic that led to long-running legal battles

Collapse of higher education system under Maduro unlikely to be reversed without a complete change in leadership, warn experts

Failure to stop intimidation from trans right activists during visiting lecture breached free speech rights, says sociologist Alice Sullivan

New analysis shows complete takeover of senior administrative positions since 2021, turning universities into ‘highly authoritarian institutions’

Two universities explain how they facilitate open discussion on contentious issues between researchers and the broader public

The targeting of a Netherlands-based online Persian university represents a state grappling with limits on its control of knowledge circulation, says Roohola Ramezani