France wary of fraud as private for-profit institutions boom Proliferation of for-profit providers sparks concerns of ‘abusive practices’ including misrepresentation and tuition fee fraud By Emily Dixon 5 February
Cardiff’s closure of modern languages will tongue-tie its humanities The global examination of culture is not possible without languages at degree level, say Wendy Ayres-Bennett, Charles Burdett and Emma Cayley By Wendy Ayres-Bennett 5 February
‘Existential crisis’: Welsh universities face ?70 million deficit Pressure mounts on Welsh government to intervene as Cardiff posts UK sector’s biggest deficit yet By Patrick Jack 4 February
Reform ‘broken’ medical student support funding, urges BMA Survey finds NHS bursary is not sufficient to cover living costs, with many trainee medics forced to cut back or take on additional work By Juliette Rowsell 4 February
Sector fears ‘attack’ on European Research Council autonomy European Commission-published Competitiveness Compass raises fears of political interference By Emily Dixon 4 February
More cash-strapped universities spare returning students fee rise Legal and regulatory issues push some English institutions into taking financial hit of not increasing fees By Tom Williams 4 February
Union says 270 jobs to go as Queen’s seeks voluntary redundancies Russell Group member says number of roles going yet to be determined, with compulsory departures not on agenda By Chris Havergal 3 February
Consider exempting STEM students from dependants ban, UK told Peers urge rethink as they brand UK’s high visa and healthcare costs ‘act of national self-harm’ By Patrick Jack 3 February
Plan S dumps journal cost comparison tool after publisher boycott Lack of cooperation from publishers blamed for failure of transparency service that many hoped could drive down prices By Jack Grove 3 February
‘Positive signals’ for UK international recruitment in September Early data from UniQuest shows a 38 per cent increase in firm acceptances for autumn intake By Patrick Jack 3 February
Serbia protests ‘about protecting present and future’, students say Prompted by deadly train station collapse, thousands of students are calling for government accountability By Emily Dixon 3 February
Striking over pay amid the UK’s financial crisis is misguided at best The work of lobbying policymakers to make HE a higher priority is undermined by the endless pantomime of UCU’s internal politics, says Dyfrig Jones By Dyfrig Jones 3 February
