York and St Andrews latest to post multimillion-pound deficits Leicester, Surrey, Brunel and Hull also report losses in financial accounts for 2023-24 By Patrick Jack 24 December
UCU members ‘sceptical’ strike ballot will meet turnout threshold Union members fear industrial action is ‘tone deaf’ amid large-scale redundancies across the sector By Juliette Rowsell 23 December
The Gregg Wallace furore shines a light on UK academia’s prejudice Academics are only revealing their own biases if they believe the television presenter’s behaviour represents working-class values, says Joe Baden By Joe Baden 23 December
Students most frequent perpetrators of academic staff harassment Of respondents to Swedish survey who reported experiencing threats or harassment, half said a student was responsible By Emily Dixon 22 December
Speed up international student visas, German rectors urge Improved visa processing among measures proposed by umbrella groups to attract and retain international students By Emily Dixon 21 December
Russell Group ‘not immune’ as King’s, Nottingham post deficits King’s College London reported an operating deficit of ?19 million once the impact from pensions and donations are excluded By Patrick Jack 20 December
Finland downgrades MDPI and Frontiers – will others follow suit? Decision to downgrade 271 journals on quality and operating model concerns sparks debate By Jack Grove 20 December
Migrant students who challenge UK universities deserve a better deal Drawn-out complaints procedures that aren’t resolved before visas expire are unethical – and a poor advertisement for UK HE, says Sanaz Raji By Sanaz Raji 20 December
Bolton and Uclan given regulator clearance to rebrand Renaming approved by Office for Students despite acceptance that proposed new monikers might cause confusion among international students By Jack Grove 19 December
UUK task force to consider mergers as part of efficiency drive Former University of the Arts London vice-chancellor to lead work aimed at finding ways universities can collaborate to secure savings By Tom Williams 19 December
All options are on the table for the UK’s efficiency task force Our evidence-led recommendations will challenge universities – but within the parameters of the possible, says Nigel Carrington By Nigel Carrington 19 December
Banks get tougher as UK universities’ debt issues mount Need to meet commitments on loans taken out in boom years forces institutions to accept worse terms and conditions, or look to non-traditional sources for new funding By Tom Williams 19 December