By Julie Hare for The Australian. The University of Sydney has pledged to create a fairer and more diverse institution if the Australian government’s higher education reforms succeed, using extra money gen­erated by higher tuition fees to vastly expand its scholarship program to give one-third of undergraduates financial aid. Read more...

By Chris Havergal for Times Higher Education. More harmonization of higher education systems across the European Union may be needed if its universities are to continue to compete on the global stage, speakers said at a recent conference. Read more...

By Kaitlin Mulhere, Michael Stratford and Ry Rivard. Battles over funding and college costs are being fought in races for governor across the country. These state races are likelier to have a more immediate effect than much of what Congress or the Obama administration may do. States, after all, are spending about $72 billion a year on higher education. Read more...

By Ry Rivard. In Massachusetts, Harvard was there first. For years, the state relied on it and other private colleges to educate the state’s population. So much so that former Governor Michael Dukakis once said, “We aren't California.... And I don't think it makes sense for us to duplicate that" state's expansive public college systems, thanks to all the private colleges in Massachusetts. Read more...

By Paul Fain. Competency-based education is going upmarket. Three brand-name, Big Ten-affiliated institutions are now offering degrees in this emerging form of higher education. Read more...

By Paul Fain. The U.S. Department of Education today will release what is likely the Obama administration’s last chance to set regulations to clamp down on for-profit colleges. But this second iteration of “gainful employment” rules will fail to please either advocates for the for-profit sector or its critics. Read more...

By Colleen Flaherty. Service Employees International Union launched its Adjunct Action campaign less than two years ago, with an ambitious goal: take SEIU's metro-wide adjunct organizing effort in Washington, D.C. -- which took years to establish -- national, and fast. Drives were soon happening from Boston to San Francisco, leading to a dozen new unions. Read more...

By Colleen Flaherty. A college can’t fire an adjunct professor for criticizing it, so long as the issues raised are matters of public concern and the adjunct has reasonable expectation of continued employment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled Thursday in a decision regarding Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois. Read more...

By Colleen Flaherty. The “Delicious Women's Phd [sic] Darling Sexy Costume,” sold by Amazon, received a lot of virtual eye rolls from academics on social media on Halloween. The costume, including a short, low-cut gown, cap and stole, is similar in style to other “racy” profession costumes that many critics have panned as sexist, offensive and absurd. Read more...