The Higher Education Authority has concluded a series of performance agreements with each of the state’s universities, institutes of technology and other third-level colleges. Under these ‘compacts’, each college is required to set out its plans for the future, and how it intends to differentiate itself from other higher education institutions, writes Carl O’Brien for The Irish Times. Read more...

The prime minister’s office has instructed the human resource development ministry to fast-track a plan to set up 10 private autonomous universities for research and innovation. The move could pave the way for world-class private institutions for higher studies to come up in the country, writes Brajesh Kumar for Hindustan Times. Read more...

The Finnish parliament has decided to impose tuition fees for non-European university-level students. The ruling, passed by a vote of 137-46 in December, will affect students from outside the European Union or European Economic Area, reports Yle. Read more...

By Mary Beth Marklein. In his inaugural speech as president of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Benjamin Akande spoke of a world that is "rapidly shifting", a world that is "harsh and competitive" and a world that is "empowering and liberating". As he encouraged the campus community he now leads to move toward what he calls a "Yes World", his message was ultimately one of hope and possibility on a global scale. Read more...

By Hans de Wit. 2015 was an intense year for higher education. What were some of the key issues that dominated the higher education agenda? How much are they related to other global developments? And will they continue to drive the agenda in 2016. Read more...

By Craig Jeffrey. India is facing a crisis around access to good college and university education.
Although there has been an enormous expansion in higher education in India over the past 30 years – the proportion of those attending college or university has increased from 6% in 1983 to 18% in 2014 – there is still a huge problem around quality. Read more...

By Paul Ashwin. The OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes, or AHELO, project seeks to compare the quality of what students learn in different institutions and countries. AHELO is attempting to respond to a genuine problem in the measurement of higher education quality. Read more...

By Anne Corbett. There are a few surprises about the European Union policy scene in higher education and research. Out of the limelight of European Council and leaders’ summits, these are domains where the trend of the past decade has been to closer and almost uncontested European integration – linked to the European Research Area managed by the EU, and to the European Higher Education Area as a platform for best practice and capacity building, which is managed by the intergovernmental Bologna Process and supported by the European Commission. Read more...

By Tianlong Lawrence Hu. In one week at the end of 2015, five presidents or senior vice-presidents of four of Beijing’s most prestigious universities were punished or penalised for violating laws and Communist Party regulations on embezzlement and corruption. Read more...

By Michael Gardner. Research and policy communities need to work together to address the “complex, politically charged and emotive issue” of the refugee crisis, academic experts agreed at a meeting in Amsterdam last month. The sense of urgency has since been underlined by the linking of mass sexual assaults and gang rapes in Cologne on New Year’s Eve to the refugee influx. Read more...