Opinions and leaders from THE

Leader: The trust deficit's heavy toll

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The recession and a succession of government cuts and blunders have robbed young people of their future and of hope

Daytime TV: The enemy within

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day is moved by Julie Walters' superb portrayal of Mo Mowlam but finds Hamlet leaves him cold

We've got to focus, people

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Kevin Fong offers a few options for the sector in lieu of a realistic strategy

Embrace an old-timer now

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Cherish the humble professor whose focus is on knowledge - not the latest gimmick - while you can, says Jeffrey Ross

There's nothing difficult or undesirable about sharing scholarship

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Intellectual as well as strategic arguments should lead scholars to welcome research impact assessment, says Robin Hambleton

Have you nothing to say about the cost and value of what you provide?

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Anna Fazackerley wonders why vice-chancellors are so quiet about the future of tuition fees - and what students should expect for their money

Help us help you and them

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

University support for the Teach First scheme will benefit everyone involved in education, asserts James Darley

It's hardly the Dark Ages

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Alan Ryan favours imagination over exaggeration when it comes to cutbacks

Leader: Is survival all that matters?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The financial crisis will force universities to make difficult choices not just about how they operate but to what end

Daytime TV: Shadow lands

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From the Enfield Poltergeist to the most haunted pub in England, Gary Day has still to see proof of ghosts

The carbon challenge

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A collaborative strategy shows that universities are ready to tackle climate change, argues Sir Alan Langlands

Questions of context: low marks for crude admissions policies

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Geoff Lucas describes independent schools' concerns that some efforts to widen access are politicised, unclear and unfit for purpose

The age of entitlement economics is over - the sector must compete

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Just as universities are having to adjust funding models, so they must drop old assumptions about what they should offer and how to deliver it, argues Mike Boxall

Denials must be countered

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This week's Holocaust Memorial Day serves as a timely rebuke against race-hate activism, says Dan Cohn-Sherbok

When B is better than A

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Less money and control, more stress - will anyone flourish? asks Tim Birkhead

Leader: Reiki riles while Rome burns

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The wellbeing of individuals matters, but what matters more is the wellbeing of a sector facing swingeing cuts

Daytime TV: Random beauty

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day finds poetry in the mathematics of the Universe as he sees the chaos in everything

Free speech within reason

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Constantine Sandis is disturbed by a claim that academics have the right to say what they want at all times, in all places

Polar funding policies are closing the gap between East and West

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The downturn has prompted drastic university funding cuts in some nations, but increased investment in others, notes Simon Marginson

Merging institutions involves much more than simply doing the maths

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Michael Thorne is sceptical about media commentary that assumes that a wave of mergers and takeovers is the inevitable result of the recent funding cuts

We must go the distance

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

To maintain the UK's position in distance learning, we have to focus on education, not technology, argues Helen Lentell

Libel law is an ass

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Let's abolish it and nurture scepticism instead, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Leader: Cheap writ buys costly silence

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

English libel law allows all comers from across the globe to chill free speech and still scholarly inquiry. Reform is now essential

Daytime TV: Snow happens

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day is bemused by nationwide reactions to the wintry weather. It is, after all, seasonal for January

We're fine-tuning for clarity

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Thomson Reuters' institutional profiles will help create the most definitive global rankings yet, writes Jonathan Adams

Let's join the debate and stop letting others set our future vision

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jon F. Baldwin says the sector can't afford to leave its fate in the hands of the party that happens to win the next general election

The news industry won't survive if self-censorship gains a foothold

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tim Luckhurst says economic and legal problems are already threatening the journalism profession - any lack of integrity could be fatal for the business

Do the right thing - unite

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Social science bodies must stop professional protectionism and draft a common research ethics code, says Ron Iphofen

Leader: Factor in the human equation

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The liberal arts feel threatened by indifference and the impact agenda. Can we recognise their true worth before they are gone?

Daytime TV: Stuff of legend

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day remains unenlightened about the Turin Shroud, and finds Cupid's arrow wide of the mark

The creative chaos theory

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tidiness and academic work just don't go together, believes Sally Feldman

Go for gold, silver or bronze

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Let's learn from the Olympics and allow departments to pick the areas that feed into rankings, argues Richard Rose

La Triviata: public discourse is trapped in a downward spiral

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dumbing down threatens our culture, yet a managerialised academy can do nothing to arrest the decline, warns Kevin Sharpe

We have a compelling case for investment: it's time to make it

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The academy promises to play a vital role in the UK's economic recovery this year and must demand more financial support, asserts Paul Wellings

Lifelong? Only if life's short

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ian Searle argues that public funding for education focuses too heavily on the young and not enough on older learners

On balance, it's time for parity - no matter how it may move things

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Financial discrimination against part-time students must end even if we can't say how it will affect gender imbalance, argues Tom Schuller

Leader: Get used to life on the edge

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As we bid farewell to the old unit of resource and usher in a new reduced one, we anticipate a year of fear, uncertainty and pain

Recipe for disaster

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Post-Copenhagen, it's clear that logic alone won't save us, writes Kevin Fong

Bend me over ...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

backwards on me Hostess trolley, writes Gary Day, who waxes lyrical about Victoria Wood and Botticelli

Fertile territory

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Reproductive technologies offer older women more choice, but who gains the most benefit, asks Rachel Bowlby

Leader: First, let's find out if it will fly

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Before we commit to linking funding to impact, we should wait for the results of pilots to determine its feasibility

Daytime TV: Game for anything

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It was Professor Plum with the candlestick, says Gary Day, who is fascinated by a history of board games

Offing the cap

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alan Ryan says Labour would be best off abrogating all responsibility for fees

Conversational gambit

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is 'high-quality' feedback? Frank Furedi says it is an ongoing, interactive process where it's always good to talk

Unwrapping Christmas: familiar traditions that surprise us every year

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A.W. Purdue welcomes the festive season when all the favourites reappear, despite unnerving visits from the ghosts of interviews past

The future of the UK academy? It's as easy as Oxbridge 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ..

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A radical rebranding programme would please politicians, obviate the need for the QAA and bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the sector. Michael Thorne writes

All apologies

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Britons' use of 'sorry' evinces a culture scared of doing the wrong thing. A bit of positivity would help, says Robert Segal

Leader: Fight it out with the facts alone

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If climate research is seen as 'tribal' and unable to bear scrutiny, the whole scientific edifice is weakened

Information overload

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The main parties' desire for students to be 'better informed' is dangerous, futile and immoral, warns Roger Brown

The interview X factor: the elusive 'potential' that dictates success

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The admissions process seeks applicants with indefinable qualities, deemed able to develop critical, questioning minds, writes Mary Evans

Daytime TV: Lives remembered

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day is moved by the stories of those close to death and fascinated by a preserved pachyderm

More contact? When?

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simplify grant applications and release time for teaching, says Tim Birkhead

Climate research data release does not go far enough: more is needed

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One way to resolve the dispute at UEA would be for climate-change scientists to enable others to replicate their work, says Darrel Ince

Leader: Autonomy must be the goal

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Universities need to be free from government control if they are to succeed in providing the education demanded of them

Daytime TV: Of loss and longing

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

No one on The X Factor compares to Gracie Fields, who brought her art to millions, says Gary Day

Poisonous impact

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A latter-day Socrates wouldn't stand a chance, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

The worst of all worlds

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hefce's impact plans threaten the very basis of innovation in knowledge and must be resisted, argues Sally Hunt

Go find those marrows

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sally Feldman mourns the demise of local papers and regional television

Leader: Competing is fine but make it fair

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As private providers make inroads into the sector, it's only right that all institutions are subject to the same rules

Daytime TV: The beauty in art

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day is transfixed by the intensity of Coptic art but finds the avant-garde more prosaic

They're not unreasonable

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Impact statements are intended ultimately to benefit society, argues Dave Delpy, not interfere with funding

How to take a financial crisis and turn it to your advantage

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

John Ashworth's method of coping with massive cuts at Salford in the early 1980s will be a useful model for universities in the future

Ode to a Promethean: the late starter whose star burnt brightest

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Keats, the upstart who overcame all the odds to join the pantheon of literary greats, is an inspiration to Robert Mighall

Leader: Sing with one voice to be heard

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Competing mission groups risk undermining the message that all universities are valuable and deserve continued support

Daytime TV: Of Hell and hounds

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Gary Day is inspired by the language and imagery of Beowulf, but is brought back to earth by a dogs' tale

It's dangerous to ignore it

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Discarding 'unsuitable' proof in policymaking is foolhardy, warns Kevin Fong

It's time to set fees free

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is the best way to maintain standards while at the same time serving public benefit, argues Aldwyn Cooper

Leader: Put all the results out in the open

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers, government and society benefit when research is made freely available, so the sooner it is mandated, the better

Infinity and beyond

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Black holes are a source of mystery for Gary Day, who finds that some TV is far from dumbed down

Future present in the US

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We should learn from the American experience with fees, says Alan Ryan

Reefer madness

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Home Secretary's decision to sack David Nutt for his remarks about cannabis was misjudged, insists Lord Krebs

Misguided philistines in a relationship that is doomed to failure

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

While its aim to widen access is welcome, the strategy document Higher Ambitions is based on a fallacy, says Vernon Bogdanor