A new ranking for China’s universities

According to a recent report on a ranking by the China University Alumni Association, Shanghai's universities rank second in the country behind Beijing in educating future billionaires: The ranking analyzed the educational background of nearly 2,500 of China's billionaire based on five domestic and overseas rich lists between 1999 and 2010. "The report aims to …

Universities ‘must be vigilant’ on campus extremism

Promoting academic freedom and tackling extremism A new report from UUK is concerned with issues around freedom of speech, academic freedom and extreme views on campus. It's a good report (but I was on the working group so perhaps biased) and received some straightforward coverage from the BBC News: The updated guidance from Universities UK …

MP challenges ‘free’ MA degrees

Proposal to eliminate the 'free' Oxbridge MA Entertaining attempt this by Chris Leslie (my local MP). He recently introduced a short ‘ten minute rule Bill’ in the Commons (the Master’s Degree (Minimum Standards) Bill). The Bill seeks to prohibit Oxford and Cambridge Universities from automatically awarding a ‘free’ postgraduate Master’s degree to anyone who left …

Tuition fees: Minister warns universities

More than just sabre-rattling? The BBC reports on a warning from the Universities Minister concerning fee setting plans. Speaking at the Dearing Conference at the University of Nottingham on 17 February he warned that, because the government had assumed that the average fee would be £7,500, if most universities charged higher than this the additional …

Replacing Textbooks With iPads

Another interesting experiment Story in the Chronicle of Higher Education about an interesting experiment at University of Notre Dame where they have tried replacing textbooks with iPads: It was quieter this past fall in Corey Angst’s project-management course at the University of Notre Dame, but it wasn’t because he and his students were talking less. …

Do academics make the best university leaders?

Academics DO make the best university leaders Amanda Goodall has published a brief piece on why academics make the best university leaders. It's a powerful argument and it is difficult to disagree with Goodall's thesis - top universities do need top academics to lead them. Goodall's recent book, Socrates in the Boardroom, makes this compelling …

Valentine’s special: “Top 10 Most Loved Schools”

A top 10 of colleges with the highest percentages of alumni donors according to US News and World Report: Webb Institute 70.9 Carleton College 61.3 Princeton University 60.3 Middlebury College 60.1 Amherst College 59.5 Williams College 57.6 Centre College 56.7 4 Indiana Institute of Technology 55.1 Davidson College 54 Thomas Aquinas College 52.5 Although these …

First Liverpool Beatles graduate

Exciting graduation news A previous posting noted the launch of an MA in Beatles Studies. Rather than being one of those slightly bonkers courses this is a more serious proposition and it now has at least one graduate as this BBC report notes: A Canadian singer has become the first person in the world to …

True Crime on Campus §6

True Crime on Campus §6 More extracts from real Security reports. The fun continues for our hard working Security staff: 2040 Patrol Security Officers stopped a motorcyclist outside DHL Building and warned the rider not to ride the vehicle on pavements around the Building. 2220 Emergency room alarm activated in Newark Hall. Security attended. The …

More on ‘groundbreaking’ partnership

"Midlands mutuality breaks new ground" Excellent article in Times Higher Education about the new collaborative agreement between the University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham Two competing Russell Group universities are launching a groundbreaking partnership that will feature joint academic appointments, research, degrees and overseas ventures. The universities of Birmingham and Nottingham, which collectively …

Online plagiarism crackdown “catches thousands”

Tackling plagiarism It seems that it is still difficult for newspapers to report intelligent steps to tackle plagiarism in a non-sensationalist way. See for example an earlier post on the Sun's coverage of cheating by students. The Scotsman is the latest offender in reporting steps taken by universities to tackle plagiarism: THE number of Scottish …