Soul-searching is required by institutions if they want to survive the alarming decline in student numbers that will leave many classrooms empty, says Jayden Kim
Stanley Andrisse, a formerly incarcerated person, says removing the criminal history question from the Common Application is a good step but more needs to be done to give people with a criminal record a second chance
If elite institutions admitted 10 per cent of high school classes there’d be improved university access and social mobility for under-represented students, argues David Orentlicher
Ilana Akresh says ending Steven Salaita’s employment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on the grounds of hate speech was overly simplified
Dahl before Dostoevsky? Harry Potter before Proust? It’s time to acknowledge the texts that really constitute the modern literary canon, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto
New furore over a steep rise in unconditional offers and concerns over student mental health underlines why reform of the UK’s unique admissions system is long overdue, says Julie Kelly
Discussions with students about how marijuana can affect studies and health and talks about its place on campus are needed before the drug becomes legal in Canada, say Alexandra Burnett, Rodney A. Clifton and Gabor Csepregi
Giving students the time and space to make informed decisions about where to study will set them up for success on their educational journey, says Christina Edgar
Perilous drops in student recruitment at UK universities during A-level clearing raise the likelihood of institutional failures, a prospect that remains as politically unpalatable as ever, says Nick Hillman
Nurturing students’ enthusiasm for a subject during their time at university will give them a solid grounding to respond to a lifetime of career changes, says Trevor McMillan
Threats to cut all postgraduate funding from 2019 in Brazil were thankfully scuppered, says Justin Axel-Berg, but signalled that a long-term strategy for Brazilian higher education is sorely needed
Real-life experience in hospitality operations is vital for a career in this field, but so are courses in psychology, languages and theatre, says Georgette Davey
The high cost and visa complexity associated with Western higher education is driving a mushrooming number of African students east, says Kuyok Abol Kuyok
He may once have disdained older scholars, but, having reached seniority in a managerialist age, John Brinnamoor now values their ability to say what others can’t
A guaranteed offer of a place on a degree course gives students peace of mind, but it also means they are unlikely to make considered decisions about their most appropriate future path, argues Jane Baker
Academics must be able to walk among colleagues in the ivory tower and distil their thoughts to the non-technical masses in order to protect democratic norms, says Alex de Ruyter
There’s a collegial obligation to recognise that although we’re writing and speaking in English, it’s not the same language for everyone, says Richard Kerley
The risk-taking and coping with rejection needed to find love are very similar to the skills that PhDs will also find useful in their job hunt, says Alfredo Cumerma
In developing digital teaching and learning environments, institutions must maintain focus on the essential task of connecting students with their teachers and each other, says Rebecca Galley
Hybrid journals can extend open-access publishing to authors in journals with a strong reputation and that still have a stable subscription model, says Steven Inchcoombe
The benefits of active learning may be backed by numerous empirical studies, but it’s no replacement for the lecture and should not be the dominant teaching method in higher education, argue James C. Conroy and Robert A. Davis
Gavin Maggs reflects on why philanthropy must mean more than money, and how institutions can find their voice when building long-term relationships with alumni
Developing an open-access policy for long-form scholarly works that allows for flexibility and a wide range of exceptions will be a slow and steady process, says Helen Snaith
In their enthusiasm for faculty to engage on social networks and have online brands, universities need to prepare academics for the toxicity that can come with it, argues Philip Moriarty
There’s no better way for the UK to show its collegial spirit to the EU than through a commitment to student mobility, similar to what Australia and New Zealand enjoy, says David Phoenix
Telling opponents of liberal values to ‘jog on’ may be tempting, but it risks confirming opponents’ claims that universities are aloof bastions of leftism, says Julie Odams
Seekers of dispassionate truth may be irritated by the moral passion of the likes of Dostoevsky, Zola and Chekhov, but it is a much stronger influence on public opinion, says David Aberbach
Pakistani lecturers and students tend to be similar in age, which makes romances inevitable. Universities must do more to raise awareness of the potential fallout of such relationships, say Abur Rehman Cheema and Mehvish Riaz
Promoting active learning is nothing close to ‘religious fervour’, but rather follows the findings of robust, evidence-based research, says Carl Wieman
Educators accusing students of not working hard enough is simply a shirking of their responsibility to actually meet learners’ needs, says Katherine Gould
The accounting magic the UK government performs to handle outstanding student loans has once again been questioned, but the timing couldn’t be worse for universities, says Andy Westwood
Don’t believe the hype; Finnish universities face just as many problems with professional mismanagement and staff morale as those in other countries, says Gareth Rice
Changing the language we use for student loans while increasing student maintenance will not improve access to higher education as the Money Saving Expert suggests, argues Amatey Doku
A plan outlining the zombie excellence framework was found on the laptop of estranged academic Jolliest Vendettas of the University of Neoliberalia, who believes it is 2044 and she now works for the Office for Zombies
In furthering technological leaps, how close should institutions be to Silicon Valley and how can they ensure that everyone, not just business, benefits?
