Education Resources

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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'.

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.

‘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.

‘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.

‘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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.