Social Science Space

The higher education system rests on the principle of meritocracy, with entry into the ‘top’ Russell Group universities supposedly the product of ability. This is despite growing attention to the over-representation of independent school students studying at the ‘top’ universities, with state school students and disadvantaged groups less likely to secure admission.

I had no reservations about conducting research in the UAE. And I underwent a rigorous ethical and fieldwork assessment and was sure to follow established protocols before and during my trip. Yet I was imprisoned for nearly seven months …

New bans and restrictions of research and teaching on topics such as constitutionalism and civil society have impeded independent scholarship in China. How should universities and academics outside of China react?

The Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success project examines student success from the perspectives of the students themselves, the challenges they face in achieving it, and the services they think might effectively support them in their attainment of success. Given that three quarters of students surveyed also have jobs, when students’ needs aren’t met in their everyday lives, their academic performances suffer.

University rankings might claim to provide an index through which students, faculty, and the general public might ascertain a number of things: the quality of education provided by an institution, the potential for networking at an institution, the breadth and depth of research being performed at an institution, and more. The institutional quest towards topping the university rankings can, however, derail efforts towards the improvement of society and higher education at large.

[We’re pleased to reproduce Journal of Management Inquiry‘s “Out of Whack” by Charles M. Vance.] Read “Out of Whack” for […]

Dr. Sanjay Sharma, of the University of Vermont, discusses the ways a Dean can provide support for sustainability research and initiatives […]

As even liberal arts colleges continue to turn their back on the liberal arts, where will the technocrats produced by higher education hone their thinking skills to address the current crisis in governing?

The authors of “Why Does College Cost So Much?” take a look at the root causes and determine that we can reduce the price of higher education, but not dramatically.

Recently, The Independent published a brief piece on the ‘slave-like’ working conditions of PhD students at UK universities. This sounds dramatic, but it’s hardly news – the problem has been around for years. The question arises why dissent did not emerge earlier and more forcefully.

The Guardian yesterday published a set of worrying facts. Even though consumers of higher education pay almost three times as much in tuition fees than they did six years ago, face-to-face with lecturers in class has barely increased

A document drops into my inbox that purports to be a draft Concordat between the major UK funders and university managements on research integrity – a publication that has already been set for July 2012, but someone belatedly thought that it might be a good idea to get disciplinary associations on board.