By Angel Calderon. The fanfare that preceded the QS and Times Higher Education or THE world university rankings has paid off. Among ranking fanatics, journalists, university planners and presidents, speculation of what surprises (or lack of) each ranking schema contained runs high for days. Read more...

By Jan Petter Myklebust. University rectors should be elected by the university board and not by university staff, according to a report commissioned by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise – an association of 60,000 private companies with 1.5 million employees. Read more...

By Michael Gardner. The German Student Welfare Service or DSW (Deutsches Studentenwerk) remains critical of the federal government reform of the equality act to promote the integration of people with disabilities. It claims that the new law, which has now received parliamentary approval, would hamper access to higher education for many students. Read more...

By Yojana Sharma. Concerns over Chinese ‘soft power’ influence on Australian universities has led to the resignation of a well-connected Chinese donor as chair of a China-Australia think tank at the University of Technology Sydney or UTS. Read more...

By Brendan O'Malley. The University of Oxford has become the first United Kingdom university and first institution outside the United States to top the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the 13-year history of the table. It has pushed five-times champion, the California Institute of Technology, into second place. Read more...

By Jeffrey R Young, The Chronicle of Higher Education. The 'micro-masters' online degree is gaining momentum, and the biggest challenge to colleges in running the programmes may be preventing cheating and fraud. Read more...

The University of New Hampshire is facing criticism for the way it has chosen to spend a US$4 million donation left by a long-time university librarian in his will, writes Katie Reilly for Time. Read more...

Germany and Sweden have been named the cheapest places to attend university with a combined cost of £6,700 (US$8,760) per year – a fraction of the £18,000 needed to study at an institution in the United Kingdom – writes Aftab Ali for the Independent. Read more...

The commission of inquiry into higher education fees, established by President Jacob Zuma, has its sights on finding a long-term solution, not the current turbulence rocking the sector, chairperson of the inquiry, Judge Jonathan Arthur Heher, said on Wednesday, reports eNCA. Read more...

The Netherlands must spend an extra €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) a year to maintain the excellence of Dutch scientific research, its universities have argued, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education. Read more...