In order for  performance based funding (PBF) to work, institutions must be incentivized to adhere to the model, and improve their results on key metrics. In Michigan, a relatively small share of funding that only applies to annual budget increases does little to hold institutions accountable for several state goals. What’s more, the PBF formula is […] … learn more→

When the universities minister, Sam Gyimah, came online with the Open University earlier this month, he was able to successfully use the Westminster wi-fi to connect first with a group of students and their tutor in an online tutorial, and then to move pretty much seamlessly to our OpenSTEM Labs to set lab-bench experiments and […] … learn more→

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) released a report on Australian students’ sense of belonging in school in May. It described as “disturbing” some of the differences in Australian students’ sense of belonging between male and female students, students from high and low socio-economic backgrounds, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. ACER stated: While the majority of Australian students feel […] … learn more→

When it comes to great schools in Higher Ed, everyone can name a few schools in the Northeast (Hi Princeton! Hi MIT! Begrudingly hello Harvard!), but past that? Things get hazy. One of the few that people can name not in that region is University of Chicago, established in 1890. Part of what made this […] … learn more→

In an effort to find a more engaging way to present child development to new psychology students, I decided to use a book about a little orphan boy who later discovers he is a wizard. As the course evolved over the years, I found another benefit of using J.K. Rowling’s famous books: The story of […] … learn more→

In the run-up to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018, many universities and colleges are still in a wait-and-see position concerning marijuana use on campus. One university in British Columbia, however — Thompson Rivers University (TRU) — has taken a firm and proactive stance. TRU’s 20-person Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC), of […] … learn more→

At this year’s EuroScience Open Forum conference in Toulouse, Carlos Moedas, the European Union commissioner for research, science and innovation, called for a new social contract between citizens, governments and science. After the announcement on Horizon Europe, Mr Moedas said that if “you receive public money, you must publish with open access. We cannot continue […] … learn more→

In May 2016, I saved this list of 33 examples of the ridiculous things that Donald Trump had said to that point. I am not sure why I did not post it. I suspect that I felt that it was basically impossible to keep up with the avalanche of statements that, intentionally or impulsively, were […] … learn more→

At 2.24pm on 6th June 2016, after a morning filled with panic, I plonked myself down at my kitchen table and wrote this: I’ve got PhD Fear. I’ve had it for three days now, and there’s no sign it’s toddling off to find someone else to haunt. It’s always there, like a software programme quietly running […] … learn more→

Studies have shown that scholars in the global South are under represented in top international peer-reviewed social and medicalsciences journals. The global South refers to African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries who are also members of the Group of 77. The intergovernmental organisation of mainly developing countries is used to identify countries in the South. The global […] … learn more→