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The poor research record of US for-profit institutions makes them unworthy of the term "university", UK academics have claimed.

The US Department of Education has emerged as one of the winners in Barack Obama’s 2013 budget request, with a 2.5 per cent increase in funding and promises of support for community colleges.

Les Ebdon will be appointed as the next director of the Office for Fair Access after it emerged that the prime minister has no powers to block the decision of Vince Cable, the business secretary, to appoint him.

Graduates entrepreneurs with “world-class innovative ideas” will be allowed to remain in the UK beyond their university studies, as the government responds to criticisms of its new visa regime for overseas students.

By Mitch Smith, for

University and College Union members in newer universities will be given a “consultative ballot” on whether to reject the government’s latest pensions offer and strike again.

Leading figures from higher education in the UK and US have agreed to serve on a major new independent commission looking at the future of the sector in England.

The organisation charged with promoting British education overseas has rounded on the government over its student-visa changes, calling for an "urgent review" of the policy to avert damage to the economy and the possible closure of university departments.

Head teacher castigates A level and calls for vice-chancellors to back 'tougher' International Baccalaureate. Jack Grove writes

The largest ever donation of material to the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library came, somewhat surprisingly, from a Chicago ragtime pianist.

Links between terrorism and universities have been overstated, a committee of MPs has concluded, but some institutions are guilty of complacency on the issue.

Open-access online journal will speed release of data and encourage feedback. Paul Jump writes

Review of student-place allocations as institutions face cut of up to 14 per cent. Simon Baker reports

Researchers in business and management are much more communicative than those in pure mathematics or foreign languages.

General secretary contenders represent political debate over union's direction. John Morgan reports

Limited support for proposals on elected chairs and gender quotas. David Matthews writes

Non-EU postgraduates to pay same price as home students in sweeping reforms. Jack Grove reports

Coalition desire to expand range of copyright-free material angers academics. Matthew Reisz reports

High-profile debut in the academy holds no fear for Reading's v-c. Interview by Jack Grove

Commissioner accelerates plan to ease flow of EU researchers and funding. Paul Jump reports

The journal publisher Elsevier has hit back after being pilloried for supporting an anti-open-access bill in the US Congress.

Austerity's icy grip may cause permanent damage to sectors in Spain, Italy and Ireland. Jack Grove writes

A political row over the next director of fair access has been sparked after Tory MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee rejected the selection of Les Ebdon as preferred candidate.

Ministers could still have the final say on whether Les Ebdon is appointed as the next director of fair access, even though it looks likely that a committee of MPs has voted against his appointment.

Speculation is rife that the government’s preferred candidate for the post of director of fair access – Les Ebdon – has been blocked from the role by Conservative MPs after a delay in the announcement over the appointment.

The potential takeover of a private higher education college with degree-awarding powers has entered a crucial stage, with education giant Pearson reportedly the front-runner to secure the deal.

By Mitch Smith, for

An independent inquiry has been launched to investigate postgraduate education.

The University of Essex has appointed a senior manager at Durham University as its new vice-chancellor.

Further education colleges are set to receive more student places from the price-based “margin” than universities after the initial allocations were revealed by the government.

Les Ebdon has used his first appearance before MPs as the government’s preferred choice for the post of director of fair access to lay down the gauntlet to highly-selective universities with “patchy” records on access.

Expanding the number of international students in the UK is not necessarily a good thing, immigration minister Damian Green has suggested.

The coalition government must take the tough political decision to make student loans less generous if it wants to fix the "central impediment" to an "efficient, competitive and high-quality" higher education sector, according to a report out this week.

These items form part of Robert Gordon University's Art and Heritage Collections.

Elite astonished as Million+ chief wins Offa role after coalition's wider search. Simon Baker writes

Jack Grove and Sarah Cunnane report on what the 2012 applications figures mean for the sector

Include staff and students in governance to gain public trust, says panel. David Matthews reports

Hepi chief warns that reductions are just the start of cost savings. David Matthews writes

Fee cutting is no guarantee of place allocation; merger opposition persists. David Matthews writes

Reports that the government is to shelve its higher education bill raise the prospect of the coalition sneaking controversial changes through not only by ministerial directives that avoid parliamentary scrutiny, but also in other unrelated bills, an academic has claimed.

South African institution's positive-discrimination policy stirs up fresh debate. Dan Newling reports

V-c's package rose 6% in year when Sheffield targeted lowest paid's pensions. John Morgan writes

Tutors urged to improve assessment and feedback to help students adjust. Sam Creighton writes

The British Sociological Association's next head tells Matthew Reisz about his plans and priorities

With Dream Act faltering, president links federal aid to 'responsible' fees. Sarah Cunnane writes

A project that funds African academics whose careers are "stuck" because they lack the time or money for postgraduate study is asking the World Bank to help it grow tenfold.

The two universities aim to offer global market 'best of both worlds'. John Morgan reports

The head of the Student Loans Company is reported to be being paid through a private firm rather than directly, a mechanism that can be used to reduce income tax liability.

Universities in England will receive an extra £40 million to help fund taught postgraduate students next year but will lose around £30 million due to institutions admitting too many undergraduates last autumn.

Scientists should agree not to publish experiments into increasing the virulence of potentially dangerous microbes such as the bird flu virus until wider society can agree on “the balance that must be struck between academic freedom and protecting the greater good of humankind from potential danger”.