Sheffield warned about quality control
SHEFFIELD University has been criticised by quality watchdogs for relying too heavily on outside assessors. Auditors have told the university that although they approve of its internal independent...
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Steel city plans the full monty for Britain's sports
CELEBRATIONS were at full tilt in Sheffield last week with the announcement that the UK Sports Institute is to be based there. The two-year long bid was strongly supported by the city's two...
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Going modular means more work
THE MOVE to modular courses is helping to clarify academic standards, but the price is a heavier workload for students, staff and external examiners, warns a report published this week. A study...
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University chiefs call for agency subscription cut
VICE CHANCELLORS are urging the Quality Assurance Agency to set its subscription levels as low as possible. The agency has been holding talks with partner organisations to thrash out the details of a...
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Scots fight for political traditions
THE SCOTS may have voted for their own parliament, but many are unhappy with the plan for elected representatives to be called members of the Scottish parliament. Alan McDonald of St Andrews...
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Medics fear narrow clinical assessment
MEDICAL academics are concerned that hospital- and community-based clinical teaching will not be fully assessed in the subject reviews due to start in England next autumn. A meeting of the...
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Folding chairs
The many teachers who are not fortunate enough to be full-time, permanent members of institutions' academic staff should think themselves lucky they do not live in The Netherlands. The oh so witty...
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Nobel accountancy
Glasgow University's staff newsletter has uncovered what is possibly the earliest recorded example of a university moving funds from one budget to another. Alan Cooper, in an article celebrating 250...
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Nice one Cyril
Admirable political scientist though David Lane of Emmanuel College, Cambridge is, one suspects he will receive few, if any, Christmas cards from librarians, archivists or anyone who classifies names...
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Age concern
So much for new blood schemes. The image of universities dominated by an increasingly ageing workforce still remains, if the latest Royal Commission is anything to go by. Health secretary Frank...
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Road sage
A voice from the Jurassic in this month's Geoscientist, in the shape of a letter from Graham Cannon of Burnley. He says there is only one thing wrong with British motorways - they have too few...
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Cape crusader
The year's last alumnus to be proud of No 153 is a possible leader of one of the few countries where communism is still felt to be good, and whose entry in the International Who's Who frankly lists "...
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Freezing days numbered
ANYONE dreaming of a white Christmas is likely to be disappointed in the next few decades. Scientists at the University of East Anglia's climatic research unit say the number of below-zero winter...
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Jobs go as pay rises and cuts kick in
AUSTRALIAN universities are facing a 10 per cent staff cut with a possible loss of 8,000 jobs. Federal government budget cuts and a hefty pay rise for academics and general staff have already led to...
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Graduation to democracy
(Photograph) - Graduation to democracy: Edinburgh University's McEwan Hall, used for graduations, could be the temporary home of Scotland's parliament. It is one of the sites being considered by the...