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The government expected price sensitivity and consumer choice to drive down degree costs, but that's not happening

In dark days, the academy must dare to look beyond arguments for economic impact and restate the case for its intrinsic value

With immigration and university standards hot issues, any impropriety involving recruiters abroad could tar the sector

The move to open access should not mean cuts to research: the government and industry could pitch in to cover the transition

Private growth in the sector is a tender subject, but the reality is more complex than ideologues on both sides would have it

The Finch group's open-access task is tricky, but has it missed a trick by not investigating publishers' profit margins?

An every-university-for-itself stance in the face of more austerity could leave higher education worse off as a sector

Funding bodies set the impact agenda, but university managers made it into a song and dance that everyone had to follow

The dearth of funds to invest in teaching today makes the Cetls' meagre legacy all the more disappointing

The government has told students to expect more, while it has given universities less. This could be unpleasant for all

The immigration minister's aversion to the evidence for the value of foreign students sadly sums up É«ºÐÖ±²¥ Office attitudes

Mr Willetts' professed love for the arts and humanities disciplines looks rather like discipline of another stripe entirely

With the government poised to shelve its HE bill, opponents of pro-market plans have scored a victory, however partial or fleeting

In a reformed sector, marketers should play a role in the creation of degrees - but academics must remain in charge of the process

Why is it that when young people express frustration at the bleak future they see ahead, we respond with another kick in the shins?

In its reckless rush for change, the government is endangering the charitable public-interest mission at the sector's core

By favouring grandstanding over academics' worries for the profession and their future, the UCU risks irrelevance

So the UK tells foreign students with its visa regime. Australia once did too, but it has changed its tune to hang on to a rich trade

It is folly to emulate a US higher education system that, according to OECD figures, is failing so many of its young citizens

As poor steering threatens to cut off the supply of homegrown STEM graduates, coalition policy looks set to crash and burn

We need a way to archive the web for the future while ensuring that people are not lost in 'data shadows' or digital doppelgängers

In the scrum for AABs, elite institutions risk putting themselves beyond the reach of disadvantaged students

Universities cannot be truly competitive unless they can set pay locally. Like it or not, national bargaining is a dead duck

The government's proposals promise radicalism. But, born of compromise and fudge, they betray a disturbing lack of vision

Scrapping degree classifications for US-style GPAs represents a long-overdue step to modernise accounts of student achievement

Recipe for success: take a pinch of existing material, sprinkle a little academic stardust and charge punters £18,000 a year

When bad news goes global and even good news is inconvenient, the government faces a huge challenge in pushing for reform

David Willetts is getting flak for voicing controversial policy ideas. But universities could suffer too if debate is stifled

But the pursuit of money can be a zero-sum game, and one nation's loss may be another's gain - as the UK could learn to its cost

Science alone cannot get to the heart of what makes us human, which is why the humanities and social sciences matter so much

We must not let the high-stakes political game being played by ministers and v-cs overshadow the human toll change can exact

This year looks to be one in which divisions in the sector widen, leaving no one representing the needs of the academy as a whole

UUK's readiness to toe the government line ignores the troubling questions at the heart of the coalition's proposals

Lord Browne's rhetoric is all about freeing universities, but his plans could result in 'a state-controlled and regulated industry'

Lord Browne's review could herald a bloody shake-out and damage the fabric of a sector that 'matters' to all of society

Changes ahead on the higher education horizon may prove the making of some institutions and the breaking of others

The government is mistaken to continue arguing that science graduates alone are the key to delivering economic growth

The UK and California both face a shortfall of university places, but at least snobbery isn't making things worse across the pond

Universities must serve up pedagogy fit for the 21st century or suffer the consequences in reputational terms

In a competitive global market, the UK academy must be price-sensitive when it comes to overseas fees or pay the price

To restore faith after Climategate, researchers must be clearer about the limits of peer review and transparent in their workings

The academy needs to cast off its exclusionary conventions and make its publications accessible to non-specialists and the public

Rankings aren't perfect, but they give users, especially students, a broad view of the global sector that's impossible to get otherwise

Every institution aspiring to be a great university shares a set of values that link multifarious activities to a common purpose

Reform of the sector's pension scheme may be essential, but no single option will please everyone - not least students

Moaning about cuts won't win the sector friends or spare it pain. Its leaders must step up and make a positive case for its value

'Upskilling' is a noble aim of the main parties, but to achieve it, we must remove the financial barriers to part-time study

As universities are being forced into the commercial world, academics shouldn't be shy of launching a charm offensive

Universities' lack of new-media savvy can leave reputations exposed, but popularity was never wholly within their control

David Willetts has the intellect to deal with his universities and science briefs. How that will feed into policy is as yet unknown

Academics chafe at being forced into open-plan offices, often with good reason. Can their home-working solutions be supported?

Academics prize their freedom of enquiry, but where do we draw the line when lives are at stake, and how can we enforce it?

The heritage industry puts flesh on the past to flog it. History sits less easily on the impact agenda but is vital nonetheless

Exploiting foreign students may briefly bolster balance sheets, but such disrespectful treatment will cause long-term damage

As London Met cleans itself up, it deserves to be given another chance to succeed - for that is what it affords its students

The government now wants even postgraduate education to serve industry by inculcating business awareness and skills training

The importance of balancing reward and responsibility is highlighted by the sums paid out when things go wrong at the top

Administrators may lack a career structure, but they are essential to universities and do not deserve to be disparaged

The previous year seems one of plenty in light of the storm ahead, which will test leaders' fortitude and resourcefulness