Leader: Not such a superpower after all
It is folly to emulate a US higher education system that, according to OECD figures, is failing so many of its young citizens
It is folly to emulate a US higher education system that, according to OECD figures, is failing so many of its young citizens
OK. I shall be the one to raise the question that cries out to be asked of my country's university staff, administrators and government financiers. Why do we enrol so many PhDs? Why do we entice so...
University of LeedsTheo RaynorIt was the white coats of the pharmacists at his local Boots store in Skegness that inspired Theo Raynor to pursue a degree in the field. Now Professor Raynor, currently...

US public servants badly need union support, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto
The provocative 'Blue Labour' and 'Red Tory' visions for renewal put forth by two academics have the ears of their respective party leaders - and a good deal in common, says A.W. Purdue

When Jorge Cham adapted his hugely popular PhD cartoon for film, he eschewed animation and hired real Caltech students and academics for his comically true-to-life doctoral tales. Paul Jump reports
Here is a little puzzle. Picture two groups. In one, place those blogs that you have read about academic, cultural or political matters that interest you. In the other, put the newspapers most often...
I fear you have fallen victim to identity fraud. Surely the Tim Luckhurst who pontificates at such length about the decline in newspaper readership cannot be the same man who, I am certain, would...
Does Tim Luckhurst take a pessimistic view of the future of print journalism in the world of blogging, tweeting and people's vastly expanded ability to comment online untrammelled by restrictions?...
I may be the last person you would expect to rally to the defence of David Willetts, but if his recent comments on differential tariffs for A levels are interpreted in a certain way, they open a...
So vice-chancellors could not bring sense to bear on fees and funding policy reforms because universities are autonomous institutions and they knew that charges were going to rise anyway? ("Be ready...
Regarding "Speedier alternative to 'obsolete' OIA unveiled" (1 September) and "OIA remains the final refuge" (Letters, 8 September): we feel we should clarify the Centre for Justice's role.What is...
It is astonishing that the issue of how to use student feedback is still so problematic ("Efforts to secure student feedback 'missing the mark'", www.timeshighereducation.co.uk, 4 September).It was...
The Library of Congress isn't the only organisation interested in Twitter preservation ("Memory failure detected", 1 September).Last year, Jisc funded developments to the TwapperKeeper Twitter...
What is this "decline" in the numbers taking GCSE history that keeps cropping up in your and others' pages (Letters, 8 September)? History's share of GCSE entries has remained stable for the past 10...