By Matt Dickson. Ever since John Major declared his shock at the dominance of the privately educated throughout Britain’s “upper echelons of power”, there has been a brighter spotlight shone on the way top professions in society are dominated by a selective elite. More...

By Vikki Boliver. A brief analysis published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) appears to explain the stark differences in offer rates for different ethnic groups that apply to highly selective universities. UCAS says these differences in offer rates – which are up to 15 percentage points lower on average for ethnic minority applicants than for white applicants – can be attributed almost entirely to differences in applicants’ predicted A-level grades and the popularity of their chosen degree course and institution. More...

By Dennis Hayes. The proposal for a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) announced by universities and science minister Jo Johnson in early July that would recognise “excellent teaching” and “make good teaching better” has been met with consternation among some in the higher education sector. More...

By Jacqueline Baxter. As children head back to class this week, another school will be opening its doors for the autumn term as an academy – in spite of opposition from parents and the community. From early September the Hewett School, a secondary school in Norwich, will form part of The Inspiration Trust, a not-for-profit charity which runs a chain of academies. More...

By Andrew Norton and David Carroll. Last year’s graduate labour market was the toughest on record. More people completing degrees and fewer jobs meant lower rates of full-time employment. A third of recent graduates seeking full-time work in 2014 were still looking four months after completing their studies. More...

By Emmaline Bexley. When the Academic Ranking of World Universities was released last week, more than half of Australia’s universities appeared in the highly prestigious top 500. That’s quite an extraordinary achievement for a country as small as ours, but might leave future students scratching their heads and wondering, well, was there something wrong with the others. More...

By Duncan Ivison. How do you choose the right university, or the right degree? The whole process can seem daunting. What should you focus on? How do you weigh up the different elements involved? So much seems to be at stake. More...

By Glenn C. Savage. The Victorian government has announced a $747 million “funding boost” to allow schools to better meet the needs of disadvantaged students. More...

By Anne Fishel. As a young child, I loved to imagine myself as a pioneer girl in Little House in the Big Woods, eating fresh snow drizzled with maple syrup. I even pestered my mother to make this treat with the dirty snow that fell on our Manhattan sidewalk. Not a chance. More...

By Johannes Cronje. There is a growing discussion about the role of libraries in Africa and how the internet may threaten their continued existence.
I am among those who no longer uses libraries to do my work as a researcher and academic. This journey started 20 years ago and was one I embarked on thanks to the hard work of good librarians whose innovations convinced me I’d do just fine without them. More...