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More than one in three young people in the UK are put off post-secondary training or education because of the perceived cost, a report has found.

Prospective students from independent schools are much more likely to submit good personal statements to back up their applications to university, a study has found.

Gandhi is the inspiration for a rail-based college. Joanna Sugden reports from New Delhi

The value of a traditional, campus-based degree is being eroded by rising confidence in online courses, a US survey has revealed.

Personal experience can drive scholars to push the boundaries in their chosen field, writes Jon Marcus

A second stab at reforming path to dismissal draws UCU counter-attack. Elizabeth Gibney writes

Manifesto calls for university rankings to take gender gap into account. David Matthews writes

Spring is dawning in the Gulf and the UK academy’s links with the region’s repressive, anachronistic autocracies look increasingly questionable, says Christopher Davidson

UCU study suggests flaws in student-to-staff ratios may mask true class sizes. Jack Grove reports

Taxpayer-backed funding for students at private colleges rose by 138 per cent to £100 million last year, with a private equity-owned institution that did not meet all quality standards accounting for more than a fifth of that total.

David Matthews on growing signs of cross-party accord as BIS recasts education as an export

A Tory MP has warned that there is opposition on his party’s front bench to Les Ebdon, following criticism of his comments on the “snobbery” surrounding university education.

The government has agreed to introduce an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act to prevent the premature disclosure of research data.

NUS survey shows higher rates of work, worry and withdrawal among worse-off. Chris Parr reports

Scholar’s use of company document elicits legal letters and ‘cave-in’ by OU. David Matthews writes

Access, engagement and rankings too: ex-minister turned v-c sees bright future. John Morgan writes

Academics at the University of Sussex say they were left stunned at a meeting of the institution’s senate when management refused to discuss motions put forward by union members of 17 departments over the closure of a childcare scheme.

Report draws US notice but experts say journals will not ‘play RCUK game’. Paul Jump reports

St Mary’s fails to transform into university following QAA critique of hypnosis course. Jack Grove writes

Holyrood seeks power over admissions, governance and, via the SFC, courses. David Matthews reports

The Bergman Österberg Union

The chancellor has used his Autumn Statement to announce £600 million in extra investment for science infrastructure to support "technologies of the future".

By Colleen Flaherty, for

The number of students taking their own lives rose by 50 per cent in four years, figures have shown.

The UK needs to double the annual number of graduates in engineering by 2020 if it is to meet the expected demand for such skills, the government was told today.

Research Councils UK has insisted it will not punish universities that publish a lower proportion of gold open access papers than it envisaged in its allocation of block grants for article fees – provided the block grants are not misused.

A PhD student and a pharmacology professor have been named the joint winners of a national competition to honour the best science bloggers in the country

The University of Strathclyde has been named University of the Year at the ̽����Ƶ Awards 2012.

More than 150,000 students who may have been staying in the UK illegally were not investigated by the UK Border Agency, according to a new report.

Ghana tunes in for British Council’s Apprentice-style reality TV show. David Matthews reports

A dean’s legal battle has wider implications for Tunisia’s universities. Matthew Reisz writes

GuildHE chief reassures sector as Willetts hails removal of size restrictions. John Morgan reports

Claims that overseas and private ventures may have added to financial woes. John Morgan reports

A national strategy on improving university access is set to be published by next autumn.

Astrid Wissenburg helped set the policies she will be bound by in her new OU role. Paul Jump writes

Legal expert identifies ‘unclear’ structure of landmark in coalition policy. John Morgan reports

NUS march ends amid boos, grumbling and confusion in sodden outfield. John Morgan reports

Jack Grove speaks to the former president of Ireland who will lead an EU inquiry into higher education

No traditional partner needed for new foundation degree-level qualification. David Matthews writes

Sir John O’Reilly will soon become the sector’s most powerful civil servant. He talks to Elizabeth Gibney

Council’s chair ditches ‘misleading’ wording on strategic importance of research. Paul Jump writes

Graphene discoverer takes aim at applied bias and short-term thinking. Paul Jump reports

The Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, has been granted royal title by the Queen.

The number of people applying to universities in the UK as part of the main applications cycle has fallen by 14 per cent compared with last year, new figures show.

The government is looking for one or more academic partners for the National Physical Laboratory, potentially turning the government-owned facility into a postgraduate institute.

David Willetts is to recommend that 10 small specialist colleges be granted university title, in what he describes as "the biggest creation of universities since 1992".

Finland and South Korea boast the most effective education systems, an assessment of 50 countries has found.