Poppletonian coverage

Out of the closet There is, of course, no greater honour than to receive a mention in the august organ that is the Poppletonian. Following a piece on 'the people below stairs' in the Times Higher, this important matter was followed up on the back page: Louise Bimpson, the corporate director of our ever-expanding human …

The Strategic Plan: a tool for administrative power?

Questioning the purpose of the strategic plan The Chronicle of Higher Education carries an extract from a new book by Benjamin Ginsberg on the 'all-administrative university' which apparently argues that: that the explosive growth in administration, the decline in faculty influence, and the institutional corporatization of American universities contributes to a loss of intellectual rigor. …

Honorary degree anyone?

More graduation fun The Guardian invites us to consider this year's honorary degree recipients: It's about this time of year that academics start digging out their robes and dusting off their mortar boards, as thousands of students prepare to receive their degrees at graduation ceremonies across the country. Accompanying them will be a hand-selected elite …

Global Graduation Ceremonies

Graduation - anytime, anywhere It is, in the UK at least, near the end of the season for graduation ceremonies. But as Nigel Thrift observed in a recent piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education there are likely to be ceremonies taking place across the globe, year round. Thrift notes that the globalization of higher …

Intelligent gaming?

"The Game Designer's Tale" The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on an English lecturer's novel creation of a boardgame based on the Canterbury Tales. Learning through play? In The Road to Canterbury, each player functions as the character of the Pardoner, traveling with seven of Chaucer's pilgrims, each of whom is afflicted with one of …

Administrators cannot offer ‘enlightened management’

Some views on administrators and academics as university leaders Geoffrey Williams has recently argued that administrators cannot deliver enlightened management in universities. According to Williams only academics can do so: Administration, like death and taxes, has always been here. Universities need enlightened management; the reality is that only faculty can provide this. Universities also require …

Should you shake hands at graduation?

University staff living on the edge? Topical issue this in graduation season. A researcher at Johns Hopkins University has been studying the health risks associated with shaking hands at graduation: Bishai got the idea for the project after years of attending the Bloomberg School’s graduations and wondering what would be growing on the dean’s hand …

True crime on campus §12: Just another day

Yet more true crime on campus This time it is a selection of reports from just one day at the University of Nottingham. Perhaps not an entirely typical day, there is something of an end of term feel about some of the events. Nevertheless, our terrific Security staff have to be ready to deal with …

British students flocking to the US Ivy League. Or not?

An untrained brain drain? In a recent post I commented on the press reports on the modest flow of English students to universities in continental Europe and the reverse flow of other EU students to the UK. The media seems extremely keen to report any international movement by students from the UK as evidence of …

University of the People v College for the Few

For the many or the few? A previous post commented on the Fantasy institution that is the New College of the Humanities. This story rumbles on in the UK and is continuing source of interest for many. But whatever one might think of the merits or otherwise of the project, no-one would seek to suggest …

Agonising over International Student Recruitment

Squeamish or purist? US universities debating use of recruitment agents The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on what sounds like a lively debate on the use of agents for international student recruitment. The practice of paying overseas agents for the students they recruit has become more contentious as it has grown more common among American …