Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Carl Straumsheim, for Inside Higher Ed. Library directors at 66 liberal arts colleges in the US have called for academic libraries to reject licensing agreements with publishers that impose restrictions on how ebooks can be accessed and shared. In a statement released by the Oberlin Group, a consortium of 80 liberal arts college libraries, the directors point to the “ecosystem of sharing” that academic libraries at small colleges depend on to plug gaps in the resources they offer - services such as interlibrary loans, for example. More...

By Chris Parr. The incoming head of the largest massive open online course provider has pledged to improve the way it communicates with its university partners. Richard Levin, who was president of Yale University between 1993 and 2013, will become chief executive of Coursera in the middle of next month. More...

By Jack Grove. What’s behind the big rises for vice-chancellors? Plus, academic pay across the UK.
Download table of UK vice-chancellors’ remuneration 2012-13
Download table of average salary of full-time staff 2012-13
Anger about the pay rises enjoyed by so-called “academic fat cats” in charge of UK universities has been fiercer than ever this year – and the criticism has come not just from those working within higher education. More...

By David Matthews. IAU study identifies threats and opportunities of internationalisation. Universities across the world fear the “commodification and commercialisation of education”, according to a new survey. The International Association of Universities has polled 1,336 institutions across 131 countries to gauge their views on the internationalisation of higher education – through placements abroad, research collaboration and overseas students. More...

By Avril Olof. Proposals part of raft of measures on the table if education secretary gains HE. Students could be asked to wear gowns and mortarboards on campus in plans by education secretary Michael Gove to “restore rigour” to higher education, the Times Higher Education has learned. According to a leaked memo seen by THE, the minister is looking at introducing the strict dress code across all universities over concerns over the “scruffy” clothes worn on campus. More...

By Jack Grove. The UK has the lowest higher education drop-out rate in Europe, a new study shows. Just 16 per cent of students at universities, colleges and technical training institutions in the UK leave their courses before finishing, according to the analysis by Sylke Schnepf, lecturer in social statistics at the University of Southampton. More...

By David Matthews. Fall is major factor in student numbers from abroad dropping for first time in almost three decades. The number of overseas higher education students studying in England declined in 2012-13 for the first time in 29 years – but students from the European Union have turned their backs on English institutions far more than those from elsewhere in the world. More...

By Holly Else. George Osborne has predicted that 22 new Centres for Doctoral Training will “inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers”. The centres will train 1,100 postgraduates in engineering and science subjects. More...