Will swine flu end freshers’ week?

The Guardian is reporting that universities may cancel freshers' week because of swine flu concerns: Universities are working on emergency plans to postpone freshers' week activities and shut down parts of their campuses if the swine flu pandemic peaks when students return in September. Contingency plans to slow the spread of the virus, or to …

Ways universities share information using social media

Universities using social media A very interesting set of examples this: 10 Ways Universities Share Information Using Social Media What this really highlights is how many more opportunities there are better to exploit social media for all sorts of useful information-sharing purposes. At Nottingham we use just a few of these methods consistently and therefore …

Mastering rhetoric

New MA in Rhetoric at the University of Central Lancashire BBC News has a report on the new degree which, seems to be the first in the UK. There are many similar courses in US universities and it is perhaps a bit surprising that no-one has pursued this idea before in this country. President Obama …

On ‘The Edgeless University’

The Edgeless University - Demos Available for download: via Demos Publications This is an interesting paper which identifies a range of significant technological challenges for higher education. It is suggested that universities are on the brink of an electronic revolution like the music industry in 1999 but struggling to make sense of the opportunities or …

“Top employers cut graduate jobs”

According to BBC Education, at least But the survey quoted here reports a reduction in the number of vacancies compared to 2008 and a reduction against target: There is further evidence of a tough graduate jobs market with a survey showing vacancies down 13.5% on 2008. Research among the top 100 employers identified by graduates shows …

Report claims rankings can have positive effects

It seems that global rankings might not be entirely terrible The Chronicle carries an item on a report suggesting, somewhat surprisingly, that there are some benefits arising from league tables. The report, “Impact of College Rankings on Institutional Decision Making: Four Country Case Studies,” comments that more than 40 countries have rankings systems, which it …