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Student loans chief Ed Lester to stand down

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:04:22 GMT

Student Loans Company head Ed Lester will stand down when his contract expires next year in the wake of controversy over his tax arrangements.

Michael Farthing: 'The 1994 Group represents the sane middle'

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Michael Farthing insists his organisation is the "voice of sanity" in the increasingly volatile world of higher education. The vice-chancellor of Sussex University has this year gained the chairmanship of the 1994 Group of universities.

Chalk Talk: Too many famous lecturers – and not enough time for checking out gigs

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:00:01 GMT

It will be interesting to see how Professor AC Grayling's New College for the Humanities (NCH) beds down when it opens its doors to students for the first time this autumn – particularly over the "celebrity" lectures it puts on for them.

Universities still missing state school admission targets

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:25:33 GMT

Britain's leading universities are still failing to attract enough state school pupils and students from disadvantaged homes, according to figures published today.

Universities miss state school admission targets

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:22:33 GMT

More than two-fifths of UK universities are still admitting fewer state school pupils than expected, official figures show.

Chalk Talk: The green chancellor who's planning to make his voice heard

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Jonathan Porritt is determined to put his time as Chancellor of Keele University to good use. After all, he could be some time in the post – the university has only had three Chancellors since it was granted university status in 1962.

'Today, Rita could have signed up to Open University on Facebook'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

When Willy Russell first wrote Educating Rita, the award-winning play that centres on the relationship between an Open University student and her tutor, he set the entire action in the latter's office. The celebrated Liverpool playwright would have to rethink the drama, were he to contemplate a revival depicting a 2012 student, rather than one from the era of the original 1980 script.

Universities set to lose £5.6bn as overseas applications plummet

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Britain is gaining a reputation abroad for being a "no-go" zone to international students – risking the loss of billions of pounds both to the economy and to universities reliant on foreign students for the higher fees they pay.

Bad behaviour that's all in a good cause: Students are carrying on the RAG tradition

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

If you've ever been approached on the street by a group of young people in fancy dress thrusting buckets into your face and requesting loose change, then you've probably witnessed a "RAG raid", one of hundreds of activities that students get involved with to raise money for their "RAG" (or "raising and giving") committees.

University places to be cut by 15,000

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

The Government announced last night that university student numbers would be slashed by 15,000 this autumn.

Student sends Oxford University rejection letter for 'taking itself too seriously'

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:36:22 GMT

A student has sent her own rejection letter to a prestigious university criticising it for "intimidating" pupils from comprehensive school backgrounds during the interview process.

LSE investigates Nazi card game that ended in Jewish student's broken nose

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:21:37 GMT

An investigation has been launched at the London School of Economics as to why a Jewish student on a skiing trip organised by the university’s students’ union had his nose broken after objecting to fellow students playing a card game called 'Nazi Ring of Fire'.

Chalk Talk: Students can't pay their course fees? Then let's have a whip-round

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

A sign of the times, I fear – lecturers at the Open University have been asked to dip into their pockets and help pay their students' fees. The money will go towards students opting for the OU's "Openings" courses, designed to prepare those without the necessary qualifications for a degree or further education course – whose fees are rising from £195 to £625 next September.

A clearer picture of foreign study

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:07 GMT

‘Not to know is bad. Not to wish to know is worse’, runs an African proverb. For those considering a university education, it’s advice worth heeding – and suitably international advice at that. “ A degree has become a commodity,” believes David Plummer from Solihull. “There’s a significant price tag. If you’re spending that sort of money, it makes sense to shop around.” By which he means: get online, get on the phone, and seek out the best product for the best value.

A clearer picture of foreign study

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:07 GMT

A clearer picture of foreign study

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:07 GMT

Professor Gerald Pillay: 'England needs places like this'

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

What does the future hold for a small, self-styled liberal arts college in a higher education world where next year virtually all state funding for teaching in the arts, humanities and social sciences is set to disappear?

Salford University's digital campus: 'This is not a place you come to read books'

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Anyone in doubt as to where Salford University's vision of the future lies should pay a visit to the library at its new digital facility at MediaCity. Up on the second floor, set among the gleaming glass and break-out pods that echo the BBC's hi-tech headquarters just across the quayside, a handful of shelves house a few lonely tomes.

Baroness Blackstone: 'I want a world-class system of higher education'

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:00:01 GMT

One thing is certain – you will not find Tessa Blackstone tending to her allotment this week after standing down as vice-chancellor of Greenwich University. For a start, she does not have one. "Even if I did, it would be full of thistles six feet high," she says.

Education cuts 'threaten Oxford's global prestige'

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:00:01 GMT

Oxford University's reputation as a world leader in higher education is being threatened by funding cuts and restrictions on international students, its vice-chancellor has warned.

A world of university opportunities: The benefits of studying abroad

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:00:01 GMT

The UK higher-education landscape is changing rapidly. With universities able to charge up to £9,000 for tuition from 2012 and some 200,000 students missing out on a place this year, prospective students could be forgiven for thinking the terrain is simply too hostile and abandoning their plans for higher education.

Freshers' Week: Playing away from home

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:00:01 GMT

For those lucky enough to go to university, Freshers' Week – and all that goes with it – can be life-altering. A mixture of first-day nerves and a lack of authority, multiplied by a wallet full of student loan money; it's a chance for provincial dweebs to reinvent themselves as urban raconteurs as they meet new friends.

Freshers' Week: Playing away from home

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:00:01 GMT

Freshers' Week: Playing away from home

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:00:01 GMT

Will university courses pay their way?

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 23:00:01 GMT

How much will it cost in fees to study full-time at university from 2012? And will it be money well spent? Most readers of The Independent will know that the figure in most cases will probably be something less than £9,000 a year and that the most sensible answer to the second question is probably "it depends". It will also be evident that without a clear answer to the first question, it is difficult to answer the second.