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Hefce-backed campaign aims to channel funds to social enterprises. David Matthews reports

This image of Manchester's Chinatown by photography student Hannah Mitchell was one of many taken for a project to provide images for 60 bedrooms at a newly opened health facility.

Sally Hunt moves to avoid showdown over reforms at annual conference. Jack Grove reports

By Scott Jaschik, for

More international students cite safety as a factor in their decision to study in the UK than was the case five years ago, despite worldwide coverage of the violence and looting that swept many English cities last August.

Astronomers have welcomed a partial reprieve granted to the UK’s northern hemisphere telescopes, but have described the closure of two major facilities in Hawaii as a “sad day for British astronomy”.

The universities and science minister has said that he expects the number of international students at UK universities to grow.

The US Department of State has been accused of making “ill-informed and misguided” policy statements against the use of international student recruitment agents and “doing significant harm to the higher education industry” in America.

Publishers of humanities and social science journals could go bankrupt if all academic papers became freely available after six months, a report commissioned by publishers has warned.

A senior civil servant in charge of implementing the government’s higher education policies has been named the new vice-chancellor of the University of London.

The government has scrapped plans to cap the amount of tax relief individuals can claim from charitable donations.

Achieving world-class status is a marathon, not a sprint, but notes Jamil Salmi, rapid progress can be made with the right regimen - particularly when starting from scratch

Lowering university offers to reflect social deprivation may be misguided because decisions are being based on unreliable data, the head of the UK's admissions body has warned.

Phil Baty explains how the 100 Under 50 ranking was created and emphasises the dynamism of the table

The sole surviving chick from a pair of peregrine falcons nesting on a Nottingham Trent University building has been cooed over by more than half a million people since its first appearance via the institution's webcam.

The 100 Under 50 table is built on the criteria used for the World University Rankings, but with a twist

A university has defended a senior manager who encouraged staff to improve student-completion rates by resubmitting work, giving "generous" deadline extensions and passing assignments before they had been seen by external examiners.

The 1960s universities rose to prominence on the back of savvy leadership and a firm commitment to research, argues Paul Wellings

UK universities made £1.1 billion through research contracts with businesses and non-commercial organisations in 2010-11, according to Higher Education Statistics Agency data.

Tony Chan discusses the key factors behind HKUST's rapid rise, and adds: you ain't seen nothing yet

Pennywise, brand foolish? Warning that universities could rue loss of control. David Matthews writes

Confidence is the hallmark of Warwick, a habitual innovator that has made a global splash, says Nigel Thrift

Matthew Reisz talks to the researcher who wants to find out if 'slum tourism' has any useful purpose

Marcelo Knobel and Renato H.L. Pedrosa discuss Unicamp's past and what the future has in store

The University of York has always been unafraid to go its own way, Laurie Taylor recalls

David Nutt, the drugs 'scientist who got sacked', tells Matthew Reisz that a less punitive approach is needed

These images are taken from the Bowen Collection, now held by the University of Bath, which was assembled as part of the research for a book on the origins and history of judo in the UK.

Republicans at loggerheads with Democrats and Moody's over retrenchment. Graham Jarvis writes

Open-access advocates have attempted to build up a head of steam in the US by launching a petition on the White House website calling on the Obama administration to require all publicly funded research in the country to be made freely available online.

New league table aims to identify the rising stars of the global academy. John Morgan reports

South Sudan's fledgling universities need money - and educated young people - to survive. Graham Jarvis reports

Rise in non-EU applications masks problem with key market, ɫ��ֱ�� poll finds. John Morgan reports

Phil Baty celebrates the universities that have reached the top of the global academy in decades, not centuries

Introducing a "student premium" to encourage more teenagers from disadvantaged families to attend university may lead to cuts in support for mature or part-time students, sector figures have warned.

Free from tradition and baggage, a wave of upstarts are challenging their elders. Phil Baty investigates

Shocked by price rises, UK students are looking carefully at US universities. Elizabeth Gibney writes

Barriers to entering many professions are being reinforced by employers who recruit from a small cohort of socially exclusive universities, according to the government’s independent reviewer of social mobility.

Agricultural sciences, physics, mathematics and chemistry have been identified as “vulnerable” by Australia’s chief scientist.

Dozens of university chancellors and heads of governing councils have written to the prime minister backing calls for international students to be removed from net migration statistics.

The University of Greenwich has topped the People and Planet Green League 2012, up from joint fifth place last year.

By Libby A. Nelson for

An academic who left school at 15 is one of the winners of the Higher Education Academy’s doctoral programme awards.

Staff at the University of the West of England are considering strike action in a dispute over their workloads.

Imperial College London, University College London and the computer firm Intel have launched a research institute they hope will help to shape the way cities work in the future.

Ed Lester, the Student Loans Company’s chief executive – whose tax arrangements sparked a public outcry – is to step down, it has been announced.

Unions have expressed their disappointment after universities tabled a final pay offer for next year of 1 per cent.

The results of a new method of distributing money for bioscience institutes based on their contribution to strategic programmes and national capacity have been announced by the government.

Crime writers aid Dundee drive by offering donors chance to star as a stiff. David Matthews reports

The government is consulting Goldman Sachs on how to help universities attract private funding to finance overseas ventures.

Further legal challenges possible as court overrules OIA for the first time. Elizabeth Gibney reports

Everyone knows that science is an international profession, but data from the US National Bureau of Economic Research have given a clear picture of which countries export their talent and which have researchers flocking to their shores.

Withdrawing state support for access to higher education courses will stop thousands of prospective mature students from attending university, a report has warned.

Fears that Scottish universities would offer more places to undergraduates from the rest of the UK because they come with more money attached appear to be unfounded, research by Times Higher Education suggests.