By Tunde Fatunde. A recent series of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or EFCC into allegations of corruption against high-level university staff is challenging the traditional autonomy of university governing councils. Read more...

By Sharon Dell – Africa Editor. In this first edition of 2017, Jens Jungblut argues that South African students should push for both free higher education and matching increases in public spending, or risk incentivising government to take the easy way out and compromise higher education quality.
In Africa Features Wagdy Sawahel interviews higher education experts in North Africa and the Arab world about expected trends for 2017.
In our Africa Special Report on the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa, HERANA, meeting held in Franschhoek near Cape Town from 20-24 November 2016, Karen MacGregor reports on indications that Africa’s flagship universities are showing upward trends in a number of areas. In a blog forming part of the special report, Robert Tijssen and Erika Kraemer-Mbula argue that African science “can and should take the concept of excellence more literally”, while Sharon Dell reports on the challenges of planned institutional reform from a European perspective and provides some impressions of a Festschrift written for Norwegian higher education expert Peter Maassen and launched at the HERANA meeting. Seven university presentations made at the meeting containing comprehensive research-related institutional data are also part of the report.
In Africa News, Tunde Fatunde writes about a string of recent investigations led by a state agency against high-level university administrators and the implications for governing council autonomy, while Tonderayi Mukeredzi reports on the lack of adequate funding to support the Zimbabwean government’s ambitious plans for university sector expansion.
The Global Special Report examines the usefulness and accuracy of global university rankings. Among other articles, Philip G Altbach and Ellen Hazelkorn suggest that rankings are a losing game for most mid-range universities as they are not worth the resources required nor the changes in mission. Ranking experts counter some of the arguments, including Ben Sowter of QS who says criticism should be evidence-based and take the positive and negative into account.
This is the first Africa edition since my editorship became official on 1 January 2017. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor Karen MacGregor for her exceptional editorial leadership of University World News, and the Africa edition in particular. We wish her well in her new role as director of University World News – Africa. Read more...

By Brendan O’Malley – Managing Editor. In a Special Report examining the usefulness and accuracy of global university rankings, Philip G Altbach and Ellen Hazelkorn suggest that rankings are a losing game for most mid-range universities as they are not worth the resources required nor the changes in mission, while Bahram Bekhradnia of the Higher Education Policy Institute criticises rankings for being based on data which is unaudited and of doubtful quality and hopes that governments and potential students understand that they are essentially measures of research activity. Ranking experts counter these criticisms, including Ben Sowter of QS who says criticisms should be evidence-based and take the positive and negative into account, and Phil Baty of the Times Higher Education ranking who says the rankings provide useful analysis and are here to stay.
In our World Blog, Hans de Wit says there is still cause for optimism with regard to the internationalisation of higher education despite the political shocks of 2016 but this is likely to come from different regions than in the past.
In Features, Jens Jungblut says governments can always only reach two of three politically desirable goals in higher education – low public costs, low tuition fees and mass access – and this trilemma may see them cutting corners and sacrificing quality. Nic Mitchell reports on the European University Association’s call for the European Commission to simplify the Erasmus+ mobility programme and increase funding, following a recent survey.
In our Special Report on the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa, or HERANA, meeting held in Franschhoek near Cape Town towards the end of 2016, Karen MacGregor reports on indications that Africa’s flagship universities are showing upward trends in a number of areas, and Robert Tijssen and Erika Kraemer-Mbula argue that African science “can and should take the concept of excellence more literally”. Read more...