By Peter Scott. The English higher education system is going through a counter-revolution, writes Peter Scott. There is a revolution under way in English higher education. But it is not the sort of revolution that has captured the headlines. It is not the triumph of a market. More...

By Stephen Jackson. Most private colleges provide a quality student experience, QAA reports, but 100 institutions failed to progress or pass review. Private providers are the subject of heated debate in the UK higher education sector. It's in this context that QAA (the Quality Assurance Agency for higher education) carried out 'educational oversight' reviews of 209 private colleges over the course of 2012. Overall, our review judged 86% of them to be providing a quality student experience, publishing honest and accurate information, and delivering courses that meet the academic standards laid down by their awarding organisations. More...

By Rebecca Ratcliffe. Good news for students: chances of getting a job are rising. But some sectors are hiring more people – and paying higher salaries – than others. There hasn't been much good news for university-leavers over the past four years, but it looks like things might be about to change. A survey released last week found that nine in 10 graduates of the class of 2008-09 have found work, despite graduating at the onset of the economic crisis. And, this summer, a survey of the 100 largest graduate employers also suggested that recruitment is on the mend. The number of vacancies being advertised is up 4.6% according to the survey, which – although below pre-recession levels – is the highest rate seen since 2008. More...

Editors blog: We know students are worried about finding a job - so we're focusing on how you can use your time at uni to make sure you're employed when you leave. More...

Notre Dame University has announced that it will start admitting undocumented immigrants and will provide them with financial aid, to strengthen the student body. Should other universities follow suit? More...

By Habiba Khanom. More than a quarter of students in the UK now stay at home while they study. It's economical, but is it a good choice? Parents: what's it like to have a student living at home? More...

By Richard Taylor. The Workers' Educational Association was set up to bring the joy of learning to the masses. Never has it been more relevant. The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) formally came into existence in 1903 and soon became a strong national presence. To understand whether it is still relevant in the 21st century, it is, as always, important to look at some aspects of the WEA's early history and some of the contrasting strands of thinking which characterise it still. More...

By Carrie Dunn. Lack of job security and extra non-contracted workload traps early career academics in a vicious cycle, says Carrie Dunn. I was interested to see the research by the Universities and Colleges Union that found that universities are twice as likely to use zero-hours contracts as other industries. Well, I say interested – I was more surprised: surprised that it was only twice as likely. The casualisation of teaching staff in higher education has been a problem for years. When I first began teaching, shortly after I'd begun my PhD, I was asked to take on the entire teaching load of one of the department's senior members of staff, who was off on a research sabbatical. Of course, being young and wanting the money, I agreed. More...

By Martin Paul Eve. To sell or not to sell? The University of London row asks stickier questions of academia and its funders, says Martin Paul Eve. To sell or not to sell? That is only the smaller question. In the past week there has been uproar among the academic humanities community over the plan by Senate House library, the University of London to sell its first folio edition of Shakespeare's work. As a lecturer in literature and somebody who cares deeply about the future of academic libraries, the prospect of these irreplaceable volumes falling into private hands fills me with dread (in writing for the Higher Education Network, I have consistently opposed the privatisation of higher education and cultural assets). Conversely though, many voices in this debate are ignoring the economic realities faced by research libraries in favour of an idealised model that avoids thinking about the causes of library budget shortfalls. More...