World news

Smaller rooms, repurposed golf courses, refurbished government buildings among the suggestions to tackle the ‘wicked problem’ of accommodating students in Australia

A convincing veneer of academic integrity can help bring about the real thing, finds literature review

Removing ‘speed bumps’ and abolishing the ‘bamboo ceiling’ would help to overcome Australia’s ‘self-inflicted brain drain’, forum hears

Commentators predict renewed emphasis on international education and change of ‘tone’ around indigenous issues

Committee also wants ‘Team Australia’ approach, bankrolled by a levy, to ‘open doors’ in Africa, Asia and Latin America

‘Fail rule’ iced and indigenous opportunities extended despite Senate battle

Australia’s proposed international education levy is replete with policy contradictions, new paper argues

Key group endorses amalgamation but recommends ‘additional risk management measures’

With opposition senators seeking retention of unpopular ‘fail rule’, bill’s passage appears far from assured

Growth rates run counter to government policy objectives, Australian conference hears

While Britain has gained ground as top-choice destination, it is being pipped by a resurgent Australia

Only a small fraction of casual academics are lecturers, Australian employer association says, but union challenges data

While universities bankroll more research from their own pockets they exercise less discretion about the things they study

Australian university to ‘review’ court’s dismissal of its appeal, as union urges it to abandon ‘stalling tactics’

With tuition fees no longer an issue of contention, higher education reverts to bit-part role in forthcoming election

While universities have their work cut out for them, skills forecasting agency says more graduates is not always the answer

Observers welcome efforts to tackle visa fraud but say new compliance efforts must be ‘robust’

With deadlines rushed and then missed, even the straightforward work of Australia’s major higher education review is looking anything but

Accord panel should take note that fee changes ‘don’t change behaviour’, researcher urges

Universities must focus on the student experience, but they also must clarify what students want that experience to be

Students want to be on campus but they still need a reason to go there, summit hears

While the process to replace Excellence in Research for Australia is a ‘black box’ exercise, new evaluation mechanisms hold promise

Research ecosystems need some ‘apoptosis’ as some cells emerge and others fade away, summit hears

‘The real world doesn’t come neatly compartmentalised,’ summit hears, in exploration of the ‘unique’ strengths of multidisciplinary research

Admission and retention of under-represented students must not rest on the goodwill of a few ‘teachers and role models’, Sydney summit hears

While councils might expect a response ‘after first tweet’, universities ‘lose credibility’ when they vacillate, THE World Academic Summit hears

Representative body backs collaboration between tertiary education sectors but questions TAFEs’ ‘instrumental’ role in degree-level apprenticeships

We support the idea but it needs funding, New Zealand universities say

Small windfalls and ‘passionate advocacy’ spare several dozen more redundancies at Victoria

As a parliamentary committee inquires into a proposed merger of two universities, institutional accounts suggest they coasted through the last big scare

Strong staffing increase in research-intensive institutions points to an uneven post-Covid recovery

Rhetorical ambition for a ‘more sustainable’ workforce not reflected in negotiations, union says

The gulf is growing between self-perpetuating middle management and the people who ‘produce the value’, Australian symposium hears

If Australia proceeds with a levy on international students’ fees, the money should only be used for students’ benefit, representative body argues

‘Engine of social mobility’ outlines recipe for success: timely, personalised support delivered at scale

Allocate funds, don’t allocate funds, not now, not forever: accord’s spikiest idea elicits multiple perspectives

Australian sector denies accusations of inadequate support, but says it can never do ‘enough’

‘Punitive’ requirements could make admissions from under-represented groups too risky, Australian university representatives warn

Proposed research priorities focus more on broad societal goals than on the mechanisms for achieving them

Analysis of university employment since Dawkins ‘massification’ raises questions over where the staff will come from this time around

Student numbers at all-time high after nine record months of visa grants

People were remotely studying for higher degrees long before Covid, researchers say, and universities should pay them more attention

Anger at some universities, exultation at others, as enterprise negotiations drag on

Action against RMIT service comes as institutions support ‘yes’ vote in forthcoming Australian referendum

Things go from bad to worse for student-starved sector, with unexpended funds recycled one month and repossessed the next

More people need degrees just to keep up with the crowd, analysis of Australian census data suggests

One in five waiting more than a year for doctoral visas despite claims processing times have been speeded up

Australian rule changes, like UK clampdown and mooted Canadian cap, coincide with exploding enrolments from South Asia

National Bureau of Statistics suspends release of figures, leaving universities in the dark over how situation is developing

Figure emerges as Intergenerational Report highlights research’s role in arresting productivity plunge

University one of the few to avoid pushing an institutional line on the forthcoming Australian referendum

While the removal of opportunities for political ‘meddling’ has drawn widespread approval, research advocates want more funding

Canberra may have chosen the right time to revisit university funding, as institutional accounts suggest a widening divide between the haves and have-nots

Union blames ‘recalcitrant’ executives for walkout but university says it has bargained ‘in good faith’ and negotiations have been slow elsewhere

While sector welcomes changes to be rolled out ‘imminently’, subsequent reforms could prove less popular

A domestic university ranking system could hold universities to account for all aspects of their performance, says shadow education minister

Canberra also confirms plans to overhaul research assessment exercise and ‘take the politics out’ of grant decisions

Rampant discounting blunts income being made from steep increase in overseas students, as regulator plans action on recruitment

Analysis of 862 scientific projects – paid for with 131 million yuan of public funding – identifies no knowledge-transfer outcomes

Institutions face stiff fines and worse for breaches in student support policies, as government courts sceptical opposition