By Holly Else for Times Higher Education. An international survey has found that scholars in Europe are the least confident of finding a permanent research or teaching position. The report, "The Global State of Young Scientists," offers a snapshot of early-career researchers working in 12 countries around the world and found similar stories of long hours, job insecurity and lack of resources. Read more...
By Colleen Flaherty. Visual arts professionals, including art historians, let real and perceived fears about copyright law get in the way of their work, finds a new report from the College Art Association. And while the fundamentally visual nature of their discipline raises particular concerns among scholars of art, artists, editors and museum curators, experts say their fears are shared across academe -- although some disciplines have worked to develop codes to help scholars navigate the murky waters of fair use. Read more...
By Michael Stratford. The drumbeat of support for changing the U.S. accreditation system has played out here in recent months and years in many realms; it’s playing out at Congressional hearings, in the Obama White House, and at think-tank panel discussions. Accreditation, in the eyes of reformers, needs to change to put higher education on a path of booming innovation that will expand access and lower costs. Read more...
By Scott Jaschik. President Obama found common ground with Republican politicians Thursday -- in arguing that some liberal arts degrees offer poor preparation for a job. Obama took on art history, following in the footsteps of Republicans who have in recent years questioned the value of degrees in anthropology, English, philosophy and women's studies. (See chart below to keep track of which politicians have dissed which fields.)
The president's remarks came on a trip to Wisconsin, where he was promoting his proposals on job training and efforts to revitalize American manufacturing. Art history came up as a contrast, and the president's remarks suggest that -- almost as soon as he said the words -- he realized not everyone would appreciate them. Read more...
By Elizabeth Redden. J. Paul Grayson, a professor of sociology at Ontario’s York University, received what he described as an unusual request from a student in his online research methods class last fall. The student requested that he be exempt from an assignment requiring him to meet in-person with a group of his peers, writing to Grayson,
One of the main reasons that I have chosen internet courses to complete my BA is due to my firm religious beliefs, and part of that is the intermingling between men and women... It will not be possible for me to meet in public with a group of women (the majority of my group) to complete some of these tasks. Read more...
By . Queen’s and Ulster can take part in Science Foundation Ireland’s Investigators Programme.
Northern Ireland’s two universities will be able to participate in the Republic of Ireland’s flagship scientific research funding scheme under a new cross-border initiative.
The agreement to permit Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster to participate in Science Foundation Ireland’s Investigators Programme was signed on 22 January by Stephen Farry, Northern Ireland’s employment and learning minister, and Richard Bruton, the Republic’s minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation. More...
By . The number of Americans taking full undergraduate degrees in the UK has risen by almost 30 per cent in the last four years, new figures show.
A record 4,346 US students were registered on UK undergraduate degree courses in 2012-13, according to data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which represents a 4 per cent rise when compared with the previous year.
It means that the number of Americans pursuing their first degree in the UK has risen by 28 per cent since 2008-09, and comes as figures from Ucas show an 8 per cent rise in US applicants for programmes starting in 2014-15. More...
By David Matthews. The budget for universities in Scotland will remain almost exactly the same in cash terms in 2014-15, the Scottish Funding Council has confirmed.
A total of £1,066 million will be split between teaching, research and other projects and grants next academic year, very slightly down on 2013-14, when the overall budget was £1,074 million.
The council said that £18.5 million would be spent on creating 3,300 new university places, the majority for those from poor backgrounds or those articulating from college. More...
By . Find out how academics and professional and support staff feel about working in UK higher education.
Academics love what they do but hate the way that their profession is changing – right? And professional and support staff are more empowered than ever; in fact, they are running the show – correct?
If you were to listen only to the more voluble critics of the state of the higher education workplace in 2014, you could be forgiven for holding such black and white views. The reality, of course, is far more nuanced. More...
By . Commissioner tells academics to ‘get cracking’ on proposals.
The European Commission is expecting UK researchers and businesses to win up to £2 billion in grants over the next two years under its Horizon 2020 funding programme.
Màire Geoghegan-Quinn, European commissioner for research, innovation and science, made the claim at the official launch of the €80 billion (£65.62 billion) research and innovation programme at the Royal Society in London today. More...
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