NO MYSTERY HERE The cultural bias against serious study of science and technology is rarely recognized as a reason for American students' poor performance, Peter Wood points out.
WHEN A SYLLABUS IS NOT YOUR OWN Is it plagiarism when a colleague borrows your syllabus and then uses it in its entirety for his own course?
IT'LL END IN TEARS Conflict between the inventor of a medicine for dry eyes and the university where she worked highlights the pitfalls in commercialization of academic discoveries.
'JUST LIKE REAL LIFE' The University of Phoenix imports real-world scenarios, flaws and all, into many of its courses.
Report sets out new vetting system for research staff A new integrity office detecting misconduct could be on the horizon
Artistic licence The rise of digital and conceptual art, and a declining interest in traditional craft skills, is forcing art departments to reinvent themselves. Hannah Fearn investigates
Lecturers' feedback efforts 'misguided' Students need to play a more active role in assessment, an expert claims. Olga Wojtas reports
NEW ZEALAND: Women-only scholarships challenged /John Gerritsen*In a case that could have repercussions around the world, a Victoria University of Wellington academic has queried the legality of tertiary education scholarships for women. Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow and acting deputy director, Dr Paul Callister, created a storm of debate in New Zealand when it emerged he had written to the country's Human Rights Commission about the issue.
EUROPE: Researchers told: be less nationalistic / Alan OsbornResearch in European Union countries is too national in focus to be fully effective, says the European Commission. The commission says this poses a major obstacle to the ambitious Lisbon strategy for giving the EU a global lead in technology by 2010.
EU: Legal status for major research projects /Keith NuthallThe European Commission has proposed the creation of a new legally distinct organisation for incorporating major research projects so they could operate without paying sales tax. Under proposals from EU research commissioner Janes Poto_nik, the special bodies - called European Research Infrastructures - would have the authority to conclude agreements with universities and other higher education organisations outside the EU.
BRUSSELS: Report on reforming Europe's universities Since the introduction of the Shanghai ranking of world universities it has been clear that European institutions are under-performing. A new report by the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel - titled Higher Aspirations: An agenda for reforming European universities and written by senior scholars from Belgium, the US and Spain - recommends gradual raising of spending on higher education by 1% of European Union GDP over the next 10 years to approach American funding levels, increasing university autonomy, fostering greater student and faculty mobility, improving success rates and developing competitive graduate schools.
Court Strikes Down ‘Overbroad’ Harassment Policy Ruling by U.S. appeals panel, in case involving Temple U., could make it much easier to challenge public colleges’ nondiscrimination policies.
Keys to Hiring Women in ScienceCampuses are full of both success stories and horror stories about the recruitment of women to positions in science and engineering departments. There are search committee chairs convinced that they know what worked — and would-be professors who never bothered applying for positions because they didn’t feel welcome.
Satisfied Academics Study that anticipated professors' satisfaction levels might sink to those of industry scientists gets surprising result: Academe is seen as a good place to work
