Higher

Gap Year: Stay put and explore the culture

Perhaps the hardest part of taking a gap year is choosing where to go and what to do. The range of projects on offer is overwhelming. Many people overcome this by booking round-the-world tickets and trying to go everywhere and do everything. It's now common for a gapper to jump from South Africa to Thailand to Australia to Buenos Aires and pass through LA before returning home, having covered six continents in six months.

Inside Higher

Terence Kealey: Why Oxford University had to resist Sir Victor Blank

Thursday, 19 March 2009

In the year 2000, Gordon Brown set out to destroy the 800-year tradition of academic self-government at Oxford and Cambridge. The man he chose to execute his policy was Sir Victor Blank. Sir Victor is the chairman who severely damaged the share price of Lloyds Bank, and on that evidence he is less than competent – as of course is Gordon Brown. So how did those two men position themselves nearly to destroy the governance of two of the greatest universities on the globe?

Leading Article: Can pay, will pay?

Thursday, 19 March 2009

The news that tuition fees could be increased to £5,000 a year without any adverse effect on university applications shows how far we have come from the days when students contributed nothing to their higher education. Moreover, this week's report from Universities UK, which looks at future scenarios for student funding, shows that many higher education bosses – though not all – believe they could increase fees to £7,000 without affecting demand for places at their institution.

Leading Article: Mark of distinction

Thursday, 19 March 2009

Cambridge's decision to make an A* grade at A-level part of its standard offer to applicants is hardly surprising, although it represents a volte face for that institution.

Why stay in UK when you can study abroad in a sunny country offering lower fees?

Thursday, 12 March 2009

As we emerge from a long, cold British winter, it's not difficult to understand why thousands of UK school-leavers are attracted by the idea of studying for their degree abroad in sunnier climes.

Diary of a Fresher: I'm part of the �lite and I feel like I've gone over to the dark side

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Last night, I went on my first ever drinking society swap. In a nutshell, this entails the self-appointed male social �lite from my college going out for a meal and clubbing with the equivalent females from another college.

Leading Article: Hidden treasures

Thursday, 12 March 2009

The new funding allocations for universities following the 2008 research assessment exercise are depressing news for some highly rated institutions, most notably for Cambridge and for Imperial College London, the UK's powerhouse of science and technology. Although very superior, Imperial's high reputation for research was inconsistent across all of its departments, with notable blemishes in some areas of medicine. Research funding was also cut for the London School of Economics, but in its case, it was a victim of the decision to protect investment in science and technology.

VC hopes student adviser will help him get back in touch with his undergraduates

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Most students know nothing about the people who run their university. They probably don't know who the vice-chancellor is and they may never have met the board of governors, or know what it does. At the University of Hertfordshire, however, the top dogs are trying to break down the "them and us" divide and to find out more about student life – through student mentors.

Diary of a Fresher: 'My room epitomises everything bad about the 1970s'

Thursday, 5 March 2009

We're fortunate at my college to be able to "live in" for all our years here, so long as we don't do anything silly like getting a postgrad. What's more, unlike some of the unfortunate individuals who applied to beautiful colleges in the centre of town, only to spend most of their time living in some Beckett-esque wasteland miles away, all our accommodation is near the college itself, and, most importantly, the dining hall. All, you may think, is well.

Leading Article: Degrees of difference

Thursday, 5 March 2009

You may not have known it, but the Government has been having a debate on the future of higher education for the past year. Last week's plea by the Universities Secretary, John Denham, for universities to offer more vocational degrees was part of his contribution to summing up what has been going on.