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Institutions seek competitive alternative to bank loans for facility upgrades, writes Simon Baker

Students who repay their tuition fees early may simply be making an unnecessary "gift to the government", an economist has warned.

A row about a redefinition of academic freedom has escalated in Canada, with the head of the representative body for academics condemning the document as "a full-scale attack on academic freedom like no other we have seen".

With novel credentials being developed and employers seeing the value of low-cost study based on open courseware, Jon Marcus asks if the bricks-and-mortar elite will end up on the wrong side of history

'The young have fewer preconceptions' - Will Self talks to Jack Grove about his new professorship

Expanding into the Big Apple provides a platform for high-tech start-ups. John Morgan reports

Unease with internationalisation echoes growing concerns in other Nordic nations. Ed Dutton reports

The quality of US physics has been surpassed by that of both Canada and the UK over the past decade, new analysis commissioned by the Institute of Physics suggests.

Universities must foster in their students the ¡°benevolent and amiable temper of mind¡± defined by the novelist Henry Fielding, a leading international peacekeeper told the Association of International Education Administrators¡¯ annual conference, this year held in Washington DC.

By Steve Kolowich, for Inside Higher Ed

Les Ebdon has been formally appointed as the new director of fair access, with business secretary Vince Cable telling the parliamentary committee that rejected him there were no ¡°new, relevant facts¡± preventing his selection.

A private company that specialises in long-term multi-million pound deals to build and run student facilities has extended its reach in the sector with a new ?57.2 million contract with Nottingham Trent University.

The government has rejected calls for an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act that would specifically exempt pre-publication research data from release.

Two teenagers have lost their legal battle against the increase in tuition fees this year.

The UK Research Integrity Office has welcomed calls for it to be placed at the centre of a toughened research integrity oversight regime in the UK.

Students will not be penalised for paying back their tuition fees early, the government has indicated.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has deferred until the end of March more decisions on which areas of mathematics and physical sciences will grow or shrink.

The poor research record of US for-profit institutions makes them unworthy of the term "university", UK academics have claimed.

Business secretary overrules committee on Ebdon in a politically charged process. Simon Baker writes

Ebdon's Iceland holiday may have facilitated BIS panel's cold shouldering, reports Simon Baker

Blueprint will address tension between standards and participation levels. Matthew Reisz reports

A "cultural shift" is needed to embed "student-centred teaching" in universities, a new report claims.

John Gill has been appointed the new editor of Times Higher Education following the promotion of Ann Mroz to a new position within its parent company, TSL Education.

The Broadlands Archives at the University of Southampton include a huge quantity of material from Broadlands in Hampshire, the country residence of the 19th-century prime minister Lord Palmerston and later of Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India.

Survey finds course suitability is still the overriding factor influencing applicants. Simon Baker writes

Lecturer's agreement with publisher gives first-years core psychology texts for free. Matthew Reisz writes

Jon Marcus examines the trend for basing US university budgets on outcomes, not enrolments

Studentships will be restricted to 20 centres as council keeps numbers steady. Paul Jump reports

A legal battle over IRA interview tapes held by a US college is nearing its climax. Jon Marcus reports

Small gains for colleges may come at cost of university collaborations. David Matthews reports

Stiff fines await over-recruiters, with London Met facing a possible ?6m bill. John Morgan reports

The US Department of Education has emerged as one of the winners in Barack Obama¡¯s 2013 budget request, with a 2.5 per cent increase in funding and promises of support for community colleges.

Les Ebdon will be appointed as the next director of the Office for Fair Access after it emerged that the prime minister has no powers to block the decision of Vince Cable, the business secretary, to appoint him.

Graduates entrepreneurs with ¡°world-class innovative ideas¡± will be allowed to remain in the UK beyond their university studies, as the government responds to criticisms of its new visa regime for overseas students.

By Mitch Smith, for

University and College Union members in newer universities will be given a ¡°consultative ballot¡± on whether to reject the government¡¯s latest pensions offer and strike again.

Leading figures from higher education in the UK and US have agreed to serve on a major new independent commission looking at the future of the sector in England.

The journal publisher Elsevier has hit back after being pilloried for supporting an anti-open-access bill in the US Congress.

Austerity's icy grip may cause permanent damage to sectors in Spain, Italy and Ireland. Jack Grove writes

The organisation charged with promoting British education overseas has rounded on the government over its student-visa changes, calling for an "urgent review" of the policy to avert damage to the economy and the possible closure of university departments.

Head teacher castigates A level and calls for vice-chancellors to back 'tougher' International Baccalaureate. Jack Grove writes

The largest ever donation of material to the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library came, somewhat surprisingly, from a Chicago ragtime pianist.

Links between terrorism and universities have been overstated, a committee of MPs has concluded, but some institutions are guilty of complacency on the issue.

Open-access online journal will speed release of data and encourage feedback. Paul Jump writes

Review of student-place allocations as institutions face cut of up to 14 per cent. Simon Baker reports

Researchers in business and management are much more communicative than those in pure mathematics or foreign languages.

General secretary contenders represent political debate over union's direction. John Morgan reports

Limited support for proposals on elected chairs and gender quotas. David Matthews writes

Non-EU postgraduates to pay same price as home students in sweeping reforms. Jack Grove reports

Coalition desire to expand range of copyright-free material angers academics. Matthew Reisz reports