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Higher degree graduates going to find work on the continent are more likely to be employed in business, especially in engineering and science than they were five years ago, according to a new report by the Institute of Manpower Studies. Graudates are now less likely to have to teach abroad. Relationships between tutors and students are now regarded as sexual harassment or an abuse of power. A ban on such relationships is now under consideration in many universities.

While the quality and volume of research in the social sciences field in the United Kingdom is second only to that of the United States, much of the work done by sociologists, geographers and economist fail to meet 'real-world' needs, according to the Commission on the Social Sciences, an independent review of the state of the social sciences in the UK chaired by David Rhind, vice-chancellor of City University. The Commission reported that civil servants and government ministers were scathing about some of they work they received from academics, with education secretary Charles Clarke noting that too often research and researchers appear to have little too offer on the key challenges faced in public policy.

Bodington is the name of an open-source virtual learning environment (VLE) software package developed by Andrew Booth and Jon Maber, both academics at Leeds University, nine years ago. While Bodington has many supporters who prefer it to the more expensive commercial systems, which are rigid, hierarchical and use US terminology, the future of the package is uncertain, with even Leeds yet to decide whether to stick with Bodington or invest in a commercial VLE.

An analysis of the Government's plans for the regeneration of the North of England, dubbed 'The Northern Way, of which universities are at the forefront. Under the Government's plans, universities in the region will begin collaborating on an unprecedented scale in areas such as course provision, research and marketing, with joint planning of interactions with industry and the widening of participation in higher education.

The financial benefits of getting an university degree have grown with the expansion of higher education, according to an ongoing study being conducted by Peter Elias of the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick and Kate Purcell of the Employment Studies Research Unit at the University of the West of England. The research reveals that earnings are increasing more quickly for recent graduates - in particular women - than for people who graduated in 1980, despite the proportion of people who have entered higher education having more than doubled.

Two-thirds, 67%, of 16-year-olds in the United Kingdom may be deterred from attending university by plans to introduce top-up fees, according to a poll undertaken by the Liberal Democrat party of almost 2,500 students taking GCSE courses in 311 schools. The survey revealed that for these students, some of whom will be amongst the first to pay top-up fees when they are introduced in 2006, the possibility of running up high levels of debt will affect their decision to go to university.

Issues concerning the fine line between a mother who wants to make sure that her child maximises its chances and an intrusive, 'intensive' mother are examined in relation to parental involvement in the higher education choices made by students. Stephen Ball, professor of the sociology of education at the Institute of Education, notes that it had been assumed that students made autonomous choices about higher education, but it has come to be realised that these choices are in fact composite choices made by the whole family, with the mother being particularly significant in the decision.

A previously unknown cache of letters written by poet T.S. Eliot to his friend Horace Kallen, Jewish-American professor of social thought at New York University, which are to be published soon will add fuel to a literary dispute over whether or not Eliot was an anti-semite. Ronald Schuchard of Emory University in the US argues in a paper to be published in Modernism/Modernity, a journal, that the letters categorically overturn the allegations of anti-semitism, but other experts rebut these claims, accusing Schuchard of omissions and misreadings.

Academic degrees that focus on a vocation may be sneered at by some academics, but they are popular with students and graduates with vocational degrees are more desirable to employers. Related articles on information technology and medical degrees are also included.

Issues concerning the differences between the rich and the poor students in respect of accommodation are discussed. Particular attention is given to ways in which rich students can afford to buy their own properties, rent and make a profit, whilst the poor have to borrow to meet requirements.

Sociology is discussed with emphasis on its history and development. The British Sociological Association was founded in 1951, but it was in the 1960s that the subject took off in universities and in 2001 a changing society presents fresh challenges.

The confederative educational system of the University of Wisconsin is examined on the basis of the assumption that it could be used as a template for higher education in Great Britain. Financial benefits of the confederation system are emphasized.

Higher educational authorities in the UK will benefit from the establishment of Learning and Teaching Support Networks which have been set up to offer advice to teachers in universities and colleges throughout the UK.

The UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is looking at a number of changes to its organisation in order to improve the service it offers to students. The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals Chairman Martin Harris suggests predicted results should have a higher degree of accuracy, an improvement in the availability of entry requirements and an extension to the closing date. It has been acknowledged the system needs to be reorganised but a better system has yet to be devised. The idea of a post-qualification admission system has been discredited.

It is important that university lecturers seek to make the student experience real, according to Susie Whiten, an anatomist at the St Andrews University school of biological and medical sciences and winner of the 1999 Science Teacher of the Year prize from the Times Higher Educational Supplement and the Royal Institution. She believes that lecturers should use stories and humour to make lectures more interesting. She aims to create a supportive teaching environment.

The Institute for Learning and Teaching (ILT) is being created with the aim of establishing good practice standards for teachers, enhancing learning quality and heightening the profile of university teaching, but the initiative is being threatened by objections to criteria for membership. Many teachers object to the requirement that they must demonstrate 24 specified teaching outcomes to obtain membership, claiming the requirement has no scholarly foundation. Membership of the ILT could become a factor in university funding calculations and a condition of promotion.

Sociologists from the United Kingdom will meet at the British Sociological Association conference in Glasgow, Scotland, to discuss the aims of the discipline. Other related subjects such as media studies are becoming increasingly popular, while there is fear that sociology itself may be hampered by jargon and an overemphasis on methodology. Critics argue that the discipline has become too inward looking. There has been a fragmentation within sociology which some academics see as moving away from important notions such as objective truth.

Higher education funding councils have proposed a 30 million pounds sterling scheme aimed at creating specialist subject centres for university teaching. Some supporters believe the scheme must receive appropriate funding and recognition in order to succeed. Others claim the plan will fail because pedagogic research is not recognized by the research assessment exercise (RAE). Some department heads are concerned that use of the subject centres will deter staff from RAE work, which is perceived as more important.

It is becoming increasingly common for students at UK universities to take legal action against the university or its employees. In many cases, the legal action involves the student claiming that he or she was unfairly denied a degree. Against this background, it is vital that universities have transparent monitoring systems in place, thus attempting to ensure that there can be no question about teaching standards. However, the interpretation of teaching standards will inevitably always be subjective.

Mixed views have been expressed about the 13 third-year fine art students from Leeds University, England, who obtained a grant of 1,000 pounds sterling from their students' union, along with a considerable sum in sponsorship, apparently for an artistic expedition to Spain. In fact, they did not go to Spain at all, but to Scarborough, England. Some observers believe that this was a very commendable example of performance art, while others claim that the exercise lacked intrinsic interest.

United Kingdom universities have been given 76 million pounds sterling in grants through 90 awards from a number of bodies, with funds raised from the National Lottery. Projects have to benefit communities, and public access should be allowed. Funds also have to be matched by recipients. The University of Cambridge has been given 13 million pounds to buy Winston Churchill's papers from before 1945. Grants have also been awarded for sports and medical research.

Lecturer in international law Asif Qureshi has won a five-year battle for justice against his employer of 11 years, the law faculty at Manchester University, England. A tribunal decided in Feb. 1997 that the university had unlawfully discriminated against Qureshi, a Pakistani with degrees from the University of London and the LSE, during promotion rounds in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and that he had been victimized on a number of occasions. Qureshi's victory is particularly significant since Manchester University's law faculty is a leading centre for anti-discrimination law.

Perceptions of child abuse are affected by culture, as sis shown by a study at Nottingham University, England. Social work students from different cultures rate the same episodes with different degrees of seriousness. Boys and a girl swimming naked in a pool, and a child smacked after she ran into the road were two examples that elicited different reactions. Physical punishment was also common for older people when they were children. Consensus is important in assessing what constitutes abuse, and there is confusion due to a lack of consensus.

Universities in the Northeast of England are collaborating on projects in order to obtain an international profile. Joint ventures offer a number of advantages, such as lowering research costs and removing competition. Universities are interdependent on their locality, but vice chancellors of some universities, such as Leeds Metropolitan University, believe regionality should not automatically lead to collaboration as other universities could prove better partners. National funding councils should not focus on regional funding while promoting regional co-operation, say some vice chancellors.

Higher education is a key element in efforts to boost the economy of north-west England, a region adversely affected by the decline in traditional manufacturing. Education and business leaders are working together in an umbrella group, the North West Partnership. The Northwest has 18 higher education institutions and 65 further and higher education colleges and is the third most popular area in which to study in the UK. However universities complain that the graduates they produce are lured away from the region by better wages and career opportunities in the south.

A survey of 1,000 Year 11 pupils reveals that much marketing of further education colleges at 16-year-olds may be misplaced. A majority of 83% of students plan to remain in full-time training or education after the end of compulsory education. Almost half will remain at their school, while around a third will go to further education college or sixth-form college. College open days are regarded as useful in choosing further education for 39% of students, while 57% use brochures and prospectuses.

A survey of PhD students and supervisors in England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, reports that some supervisors fail to offer enough encouragement to students. The survey, funded by the Belgian ministry of education, also finds that means of financing PhD courses varies markedly across the four countries, with students in England very much poorer than their European counterparts. The research looks at the reasons some students fail to finish their courses on time, styles of supervision and the frequency of meetings with supervisors.

The UK Department of Employment has initiated a scheme called Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) to bring students skills which will be useful in their working lives. Initial funding from the department was matched by funds from employers and universities, the project began in 1987 and was to run for five years. The skills acquired included good communication, making decisions and solving problems and planning a career.

The e-portfolios and other interactive records help students and universities to monitor their progress and employers can judge their capacities.

Humanities, arts and social science scholarship is suffering financially as a result of being seen as lightweight in comparison with science research, according to a British Academy review. The review claims that the social sciences and humanities are marginalised by the Government because the product of their research is harder to quantify in economic terms.

Academic leaders have warned that newly unveiled proposals designed to create a fairer, more transparent university admissions systems will only have a limited impact on attempts to widen access. The recommendations, from an admissions task-force led by Steven Schwartz, vice-chancellor of Brunel University, suggest that universities should, on a case-by-case basis, make offers of lower-grade entry requirements to state school pupils who show academic potential.

Alan Gilbert, who is due to take over as president of the newly expanded Manchester University on 01 October 2004, argues that the preoccupation with the introduction of variable tuition fees is actually a damaging distraction from a wider debate over the future of higher education in the UK. Gilbert, who has experience of education systems around the world, contends that universities in the UK have to change, and that they do not have a lot of time to do it if they are to continue to be competitive in the global market.

The results of the two-year 'Access to What?' study conducted by the Open University's Centre for Higher Education Research reveal that once they leave university, students from working-class backgrounds are more likely to not find a job, are likely to find it more difficult to find a graduate-level job or will earn less than other students who come from what would be perceived as a 'better' background. This is despite government efforts to widen participation in higher education with the promise of improved prospects once qualifications have been gained.

A survey has revealed that young people rely more on the advice of their friends than on the opinions of teachers and parents when it comes to choose which university to attend. Susan McGrath, project leader for the survey, which quizzed 500 sixth form students in Manchester, UK, and education liaison officer at Manchester Metropolitan University, described the results of the survey as surprising and very worrying. Of those surveyed, 45% stated that they rely on the advice of friends to help inform their university choice, while 36% stated that the preferred to talk to form tutors.

As head of Liverpool University's new Centre for Complexity Science, Dr Robert Geyer has the job of overturning the belief that humans can hope to impose order and control the events that go on around them. Geyer argues that the time has come to recognise that the endless pursuit of predictability is pointless, and possibly dangerous, and that the time has come to try and learn to manage uncertainty. Liverpool University is the only university in the UK to try to coordinate complexity initiatives, which attempt to come up with solutions for dealing with uncertainty, and it leads complexity research in the UK.

Students who mentor disadvantaged young people frequently suffer from feelings of personal failure, loss of confidence and demoralisation as a result of their efforts, according to the 'Mentoring for Social Inclusion: A Critical Approach to Nurturing Mentor Relationships' report produced by Helen Colley, a senior research fellow in the department of lifelong learning at Leeds University. While mentoring is promoted in many of the Labour government's educational and social policies and is usually presented as a solution to a number of social ills, things can quickly go wrong as mentors quickly get out of their depth, having a damaging impact on both the mentors and the disadvantaged youngsters, according to Colley's research.

Carol Fitz-Gibbon, a professor of education at Durham University, has accused administrators of withholding UKPd1.6 mil worth of research income given to her research centre - the Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre - by primary and secondary schools across the UK in order to reduce the university's financial debt. Fitz-Gibbon claims that the university is conning schools because the money is not going where they intended it to go. A spokesman for Durham claims that the money is being held on the same basis as income from other university departments, in reserve for approved spending. The centre earns UKPd5.5 mil/yr in research income, making it one of the largest educational research groups.

Foundation degrees are proving successful with institutions and students, according to figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. The figures, which show that acceptances in England onto full-time foundation degree courses are up 75% to 5,155 from 2,964, will help bolster the government's attempts to expand higher education through two-year vocational courses. Higher education minister Alan Johnson, who announced the figures, revealed that funding will be made available for an additional 10,000 foundation degree places next year, along with UKPd5.5 mil for the development of new foundation degrees.

Many new university undergraduates were victims of accommodation shortages in autumn 2003, with hundreds having to take rooms in hotels, according to the National Union of Students. In Liverpool almost 200 students had to stay in hotels as a result of delays in the completion of a student accommodation block while at the University of Hertfordshire 350 students had to be placed in hotel accommodation.

An examination of research conducted by Clare Holdsworth, a senior lecturer at Liverpool University, which reveals that students who are based at home miss out on many of the important elements of undergraduate life and tend to make fewer friends, but they do not tend to suffer academically. Holdsworth argues that universities need to find ways to tackle the marked differences in the social experiences of students who move away from home to attend university and those that opt to go to their local university.

Issues relating to the impact that the University of Leeds has on the local environment and social life of Leeds, UK, are examined, as are efforts by the University to deal with the complaints that have arisen about student behaviour. The number of students in Leeds has risen by 125% over the past 10 years, giving the city the third largest student population in the UK after London and Birmingham.

The furore that has arisen from the apparent explosion of plagiarism in academic circles has yet to produce a consensus on the best way to prevent or detect copying and collusion in higher education. The Netskills Plagiarism one-day workshop, run by Dave Hartland of Newcastle University, is being launched in autumn 2003 in an attempt to help academics understand where the boundaries lie with regard to these issues.

The latest league table of the best university and college providers in the United Kingdom, published by the Teacher Training Agency, has revealed a number of surprises. Bradford College is shown to have jumped 53 places up the table, which the college puts down to partnerships with local schools and higher entry requirements, while Staffordshire University has taken the number one place on the table, knocking long-time leader Oxford University in second place. The University of Cambridge came third on the table, followed by the Central School of Speech and Drama. London Metropolitan University came 74th and last on the table, followed by the College of St Mark and St John in 73rd, the University of Greenwich in 72nd and the University of Portsmouth in 71st.

Research psychologists Marianne Quick of Sheffield Hallam University and John Maltby of Leicester University have been conducting work which they hope will help people generate a 'measure of infidelity', which will enable people to predict whether or not their partner is likely to cheat on them. The research, which has over 70 respondents, has found that there is a definite correlation between infidelity and risk-taking personality types, combined with an extrovert tendency. The research also revealed that the higher a person scored on measures of extroversion or psychoticism, the more acts of infidelity they committed.

Association of University Teachers (AUT) members at the University of Hull have unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in David Drewry, vice-chancellor of the university, claiming that planned job losses at Hull will leave the celebrated library of poet Philip Larkin 'decimated'. The AUT has called for an inquiry into the finances and management of the university, stating that budgets are in disarray and senior managers are quitting. Jane McAdoo, national AUT president, claims that Hull is being crippled by incompetent management, with world-renowned and previously dedicated staff now fighting to get out.

The higher education sector in the United Kingdom was back in the black in 2001-2002, generating a surplus of UKPd64.3 mil, vs a deficit of more than UKPd50 mil in 2000-2001, however the financial health of individual universities varied significantly, according to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The biggest change was recorded by King's College, London, which posted a surplus of UKPd2,634,000 in 2001-2002, vs a deficit of UKPd18,325,000 in 2000-2001. The Open University had the biggest deficit in 2001-2002, with UKPd8,968,000, while the University of Oxford, with UKPd16,561,000 had the biggest surplus.

Issues relating to the growth of new-age spirituality and the contention that there is now more holistic, body-mind spirituality at large in contemporary culture than there is theistic religion are examined in the light of the Asanas, Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies conference, which is to be held at the Open University in May 2003. It is argued that all spiritualities share a number of universal traits and that the ability to reconnect with the universe and God and disengage from human affairs is more important than any religious dogma.

Concern has grown to such a level amongst employers that degrees have been 'watered-down' by the UK's widening participation agenda that one major firm - AstraZeneca - is contemplating hiring talented school-leavers rather than graduates. David Lathbury, head of process chemistry at AstraZeneca, told delegates at a conference held at Loughborough University that businesses were becoming increasingly frustrated by add-ons to degree programmes, such as foreign languages and computing skills, which aim to broaden the appeal of courses but which distract from the study of the core subjects.

Students begin their degree courses with the intention of budgeting carefully but become debt blind by the time they reach their final year and are unable to specify exactly how much money they owe, according to new research conducted by Sue Eccles of Lancaster University management school. The study, which tracked a sample of students aged between 17 and 21, identified what was classed as a 'worrying shift in behaviours', as none of those studied appeared to show an undue level of concern about how debts totaling thousands of pounds could affect their future choices and lifestyle.

The Privy Council has ruled that Hull University's moves to make up to 90 staff redundant were illegal, finding that the governing council of the university had wrongly delegated powers to the vice-chancellor to deal with staff cuts. The Privy Council asked the university to reconsider the remit of the vice-chancellor with regard to staff redundancies and to decide how best to maintain a proper quorum at meetings of the council while ensuring transparency.