When I left the US for Berlin 10 years ago, I was already contemplating leaving higher education behind me. I had enjoyed teaching at Montana State University for a dozen years, but the employment conditions seemed to deteriorate with each passing year. Pay rates stagnated while the eligibility bar for benefits was raised. A recent […] … learn more→

When we at the University for the Creative Arts opened the Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Xiamen, China this autumn, we weren’t expecting headlines. After all, new overseas campuses have become a familiar story as the UK’s renowned universities do everything they can to protect and enhance their income streams. Except that, for me, […] … learn more→

If you take classes online, chances are you probably procrastinate from time to time. Research shows that more than 70% of college students procrastinate, with about 20% consistently doing it all the time. Procrastination is putting off starting or finishing a task despite knowing that it will seriously compromise the quality of your work – for instance, […] … learn more→

Academic librarians are helpers. Facilitating access to learning resources, campus facilities and research materials is the core of what we do. Therefore, not being able to help people is a source of endless frustration to us. We don’t like having to say “no, I’m sorry, I can’t do that” – but that is increasingly what […] … learn more→

Australian universities have come to rely heavily on revenue from onshore international students. Numbers more than doubled in the decade to 2018. But the proposition that Australia’s public universities should step back 50 years, retreat from international education and focus wholly or largely on domestic students is naively nostalgic. Such a move would be a backward step […] … learn more→

When COVID-19 hit the U.S., many experts warned that America’s colleges and universities could be devastated. Some of them predicted enrollment declines of up to 20%. So far, those initial forecasts were worse than what has actually taken place. One month into the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year, overall enrollment was only 3% lower than at […] … learn more→

Soon after universities across the UK started classes in September, many reported coronavirus outbreaks – some involving hundreds of students in their halls of residence. This sparked recrimination and controversy about the best strategy as governments and universities strove to ensure education continued while preventing a full-blown wave of infections and deaths. Many UK universities […] … learn more→

A recent amendment adopted within the framework of the Research Programming Law (LPR) calls into question the national framework for the recruitment of teacher-researchers by reverting to the obligation of qualification by the National Council of Universities of candidates for positions of university professor. Through petitions, open letters, press releases, academics are mobilizing . The amendment intends to “strengthen the […] … learn more→

An estimated 17,500 casual and fixed-term academic staff at Australian universities are projected to lose their jobs over the next six months. Most of them will be early career researchers (ECRs). ECRs are junior academics who face increasing workloads and expectations, and insecure employment. This combination of factors makes them susceptible to termination, exploitation and burnout as they pursue a permanent […] … learn more→

This time four years ago, I was interviewing applicants for a joint undergraduate degree in history and literature. This was a job I’d come to treasure over the years; new thinkers are always interesting, and joint honours students often particularly so. But something was different. The interviews took place about a week after Donald Trump’s […] … learn more→