More Australian universities are relying on casual academics to teach their students. It’s difficult to estimate the exact proportion of academic staff on casual contracts, but reports suggest up to 80% of undergraduate courses in some Australian universities have been taught by a casual academic. By mid-2018, an estimated 94,500 people were employed at Australian universities on […] … learn more→

“To offer all students a greater openness to entrepreneurship” is one of the wishesexpressed by Minister Frédérique Vidal to the higher education community in January 2019. Would it be a matter of further stimulating more activity creation and systematically spot potential Bill Gates? The flowering of start-ups is certainly crucial for the French economy. But it turns […] … learn more→

As millions of people tune in to watch the Final Four, much of their focus will be on the numbers on the scoreboard. But a March 2019 report from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, calls attention to numbers of a different sort. The report – titled “Madness, Inc.” – details just how […] … learn more→

Before the days of the student loan scam, universities were renowned for their endurance. The oldest university in the world is over a thousand years old, and even “abandoned” universities like in Timbuktu still endure, because they were collections of scholars…not institutions devoted to siphoning off student loan money. Despite the money pouring into higher […] … learn more→

A recent college admissions scandal in the United States, which revealed that wealthy parents had bribed officials at elite universities, exposed the price some people are willing to pay to say, “I went to an Ivy League school.” In a country where the myth of academic meritocracy persists despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, many people were shocked to learn […] … learn more→

In 2018, the publication of a new study on learning a second language made a big splash in the British press. From the BBC to the Daily Mail , via the Guardian , a whole series of headlines have conveyed this depressing message: it would be impossible to be able to speak fluently a foreign language by beginning his apprenticeship after the age of […] … learn more→

When you think about your own school days, you might have had a furry friend to keep you company in the classroom – maybe a school hamster, rabbit or guinea pig. But what about a school dog? That’s what’s being suggested by the vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, Sir Anthony Seldon, who made […] … learn more→

As the school year begins to wind down, high school seniors – and those who care about them – typically have their eyes on two prizes: getting into college and graduating from high school. While both milestones are worthy of celebration, there’s much more that students and parents should do after those two milestones are […] … learn more→

This week saw the closure of Google+, an attempt by the online giant to create a social media community to rival Facebook. If the Australian usage of Google+ is anything to go by – just 45,000 users in March compared to Facebook’s 15 million – it never really caught on. But the Google+ shutdown follows a string of […] … learn more→

When it comes to views about Europe, it’s well known that Germany and England differ sharply. Research after the Brexit vote shows that 68% of Germans are in favour of the European Union and only 11% would support withdrawal. Compare this with 54% of UK respondents who are favourable to the EU. Similarly, during the 2017 general […] … learn more→