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English regulator to work with students and their unions to increase awareness of its powers

English and Welsh ombudsman willing to admonish universities over Covid-related disruption only if they have not made effort to deliver quality online learning, case summaries reveal

Paper from Social Market Foundation calls on government to either invest more or trust universities on providing information   

Students who suffer financial loss from institutional failures should be compensated by sector scheme, says English ombudsman

Office for Students sets out plans for tougher minimum standards related to student outcomes, including degree completion rates and graduate employment

Academics say Chinese higher education has long been hobbled by the lack of an ‘accurate system of academic evaluation’

Office for the Independent Adjudicator proposes new system as it expects high volume of grievances relating to Covid-19 disruption

The pandemic has underlined the need for student assessment strategies to adapt to extraordinary circumstances, say Alexander Amigud and David J. Pell 

Regional ߣߣÊÓƵn university under cloud as it argues the toss over transparency commitments

Bloomsbury Institute added to English register after Court of Appeal quashed Office for Students’ original refusal

Scant feedback raises transparency concerns over ߣߣÊÓƵn regulator’s compliance activities

As DfE prioritises drive against ‘low-value’ courses, TEF said to be viewed as inadequate while OfS may be reset under new chair

English regulator ordered to pay substantial costs to Bloomsbury Institute after blocking loan access

Falling staff-student ratios and low quality in some graduate programmes are prompting concern that more will mean worse, says Zhang Ruomei

English regulator also says it wants to reduce overall burden on providers

Universities that boost numbers in lucrative courses are unlikely to attract the attention of ߣߣÊÓƵn regulator’s new watchdog

New arm gives ߣߣÊÓƵn regulator a voice in areas already well covered, representative body says

Despite greater focus on students’ learning outcomes, in Europe institutions are still largely assessed on the basis of ‘input’ measures, such as staff-to-student ratios, rather than trickier ‘output‘ measures

New institutions will add nothing unless there is a greater emphasis on quality, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

As Pope Francis urges Catholic HE to change, the Holy See’s quality agency evaluates close to 300 ‘ecclesiastical faculties’ worldwide – with just four staff

As Ireland reports success from ban on advertising, campaigners say UK risks reputation of its degrees by not following suit

Tory manifesto pledge brings questions over Office for Students’ future approach on quality - and whether it is right organisation to judge

English regulator’s chief executive sets out priorities for year ahead, including admissions and recruitment review

Sleepless summer beckons for policy wonks, as Canberra endorses another major review

The plan promises big leaps in innovation, quality assurance and lecturer training, say Youmin Xi and Xiaojun Zhang  

Prominence of gratis services causes ‘uneasiness’ among researchers, as ߣߣÊÓƵ eyes law against contract cheating

TEQSA also promises not to pursue ‘innocent mums and dads’ over contract cheating

The competition among 20 Georgian institutions for international medical students raises a host of quality concerns, says Michèle Wera

ߣߣÊÓƵn Qualifications Framework overhaul also recommends decoupling of knowledge and skills

AQF review also recommends smoother pathways between vocational and higher education

Survey affirms need for boosting human-based concerns in admissions and curricula

OfS rules that Bloomsbury Institute Limited cannot be included on register of providers because of quality and governance concerns

Lord Storey’s private member’s bill would make it illegal to provide or to advertise contract cheating services

Proposed legislation could thwart peer support, universities say

Experts say rules are too unclear in light of rise of online commercial checking services

Struggling minority institutions feel ‘unfair’ assessments a key handicap

Conference on grade inflation told ‘systematic’ change is needed 

Move follows agreement over ‘statement of intent’ on tackling issues linked to rise in firsts and 2:1s in UK

Crucial cash flow in jeopardy as regulator scrutinises bush institutions’ urban partners

Office for Students has sent ‘minded to refuse’ letters to 20 providers

Office of the Independent Adjudicator says some English and Welsh providers did not do enough for students when lecturers walked out over pensions

Spike may be a sign of a more consumerist attitude among students

Signals suggest ߣߣÊÓƵ’s regional universities could face a tough task in maintaining registration

Figures show that thousands of students registered at some universities are taught elsewhere

Ford administration is blind to incompatibility of statistical metrics and quality teaching, academics warn

Study finds evidence of widespread, worldwide corruption in HE and lack of action from quality assurance bodies to stop it

Oslo-based programmes win accreditation after regulator rules there is a "field of work" astrologers can enter after graduation

Some evidence shows international students are more likely to use essay mills, but academics say this reflects wider problems in global higher education

Google and YouTube have removed hundreds of contract cheating advertisements, says Damian Hinds

Debate sparked by criticism of growth of PhDs by publication, and allegations that corruption and nepotism are undermining the reliability of the academic doctorate

Academic autonomy is too often used as an excuse to ignore suggestions from students that could improve their education, says Janadari Wijesinghe 

New standards and guidelines for quality assurance in Africa aim to drive up standards on the continent, but can they overcome divisions in language, national politics and bureaucratic red tape?

Colleges warned their declines in foreign students could worsen if they do not pay more attention to global quality deliberations

Independent colleges ‘defined by what they’re not, not what they are’, Teqsa report says

Seemingly owned by an Oxbridge Essays shareholder, company offers up to 100,000 words of â€˜model writing assistance’

The Pacific nation’s ambitions to harness its universities to drive economic growth face many challenges, says Roger Smyth

Disclosure could have ‘adverse effects’ on institutions’ â€˜commercial interests’, university claims

Questions around quality assurance, regulation and where certificates from courses such as Moocs belong on the qualifications ladder

Putting universities in ‘special measures’ or even abolishing degree classifications altogether should be on the table, says Geoffrey Alderman

Regulator rules against firm over implication students could submit essays as own and claims about writers’ university backgrounds