As Phil Baty’s recent blog makes clear, there is huge range of opinion in the UK higher education sector about the government’s wish to see more universities offering accelerated degrees. To their proponents, they provide students, particularly mature students with existing work experience, with an opportunity to save on living costs and enter the labour market […] … learn more→

Our “leaders” in higher ed have focused on growth over all things, and many of our colleges have student bases to rival small towns. Now, concentrating tens of thousands of young people into a small area, funding them through the student loan scam, and not providing any sort of discipline or structure (since doing so […] … learn more→

When colleges and universities began to make the SAT an optional part of the admissions process, the hope was that it would expand access to the nation’s most selective institutions to groups that had historically been shut out. The reality is – at least at selective liberal arts colleges – the decision by a growing number of […] … learn more→

Making publication criteria a key requirement for academic promotion in Pakistan was always going to throw up problems. First, it took its inevitable toll on teaching, with ambitious scholars becoming more intent on churning out papers. The biggest rewards are reserved for those who publish in so-called high-impact international journals. Such a policy has well-known […] … learn more→

Imagine making one of the biggest purchases in your life and having no idea what the price is. You walk into a car dealership, for example, excited to purchase a new car. You test drive a few cars and select the one that you think is the best fit, but instead of then being told […] … learn more→

Students are normally considered to be among the most politically active sectors of society, often campaigning for such idealistic goals as equality and social justice. At the other end of the spectrum are the autocrats who sustain their regimes with the mantra of stability, whether that be linked to conservatism or modernisation. One of the […] … learn more→

How often do you, outside the requirements of an assignment, ponder things like the workings of a distant star, the innards of your phone camera, or the number and layout of petals on a flower? Maybe a little bit, maybe never. Too often, people regard science as sitting outside the general culture: A specialized, difficult […] … learn more→

Eugenics has been science’s toxic brand since the end of World War II. The point was driven home yet again recently when Toby Young, appointee to the UK’s newly established Office of Students, was denounced in the House of Commons for having written favourably of “progressive eugenics”. Young resigned from the post the following day amid complaints […] … learn more→

An important role of being an academic is personal tutoring. Almost daily, a student knocks on my door and we discuss issues that are associated with life at university. Each is ambitious, hard-working and diligent. But if, like me, you’ve noticed an increase in students presenting psychological difficulties, then you are not alone. Student mental […] … learn more→

We need to understand Generation Z better. These young people, born after the mid- to late-1990s, have lived with technology as an embedded part of life. Their experiences have defined what they perceive as “normal”. They are of the digital age. They have made assumptions about how they will engage with learning and life at […] … learn more→