Policy

A new Euro-Mediterranean University has been launched with courses that will focus on issues of importance to European, African and Levantine countries bordering the sea.

Peter Williams, chief executive of the Quality Assurance Agency has spoken out against the current system of classifying degrees. He told the Commons Universities select committee that degree inflation is now rife due to smaller, research-led universities giving out too many firsts and 2:1s.

A £9.84 million five-year project to safeguard UK research journals and allow easier access to them for academics was recently announced by the HEFCE. The project is being led by Imperial College London and follows a successful 18-month pilot.

Elevation Networks (EN), a student-led social enterprise, held their official launch event last night at Barclay's PLC headquarters in Canary Wharf.

The University and College Union is campaigning against the increasing trend of universities forming partnerships with private education companies. Britain’s main lecturers’ union is opposing what it views as a leaning towards the privatisation of higher education.

A new agreement outlining clear expectations for researchers, research managers, research institutions, and funders of research was recently launched.

Professors Jean-Marc Rapp (Switzerland) and Sijbolt Noorda (Netherlands) have been officially nominated by the Council of the European University Association (EUA) as candidates for the election of the next EUA President which is due to take place at the Autumn Conference in Rotterdam (October 23-25, 2008).

In order to bolster the number of school pupils interested in attending university, a proposal has been made for higher education institutions to partner with primary schools.

Pressure has been put on ministers to intervene in a row that has erupted over Imperial College London’s decision to withdraw the offer to a straight A-grade student from an extremely poor area in the country, because of a past criminal conviction.

A leaked email has highlighted how university staff are being encouraged to increase the number of top degree grades in order to keep pace with competing universities.