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Synthetic organic chemists and mathematicians appeal to Cameron over cuts. Paul Jump writes

The number of researchers employed on fixed-term contracts is declining - but the average length of the contracts is also getting shorter.

The unflagging quality and innovation evident in universities across the UK shows the sector's resolute commitment to excellence in the face of a difficult and unpredictable climate. Our shortlist for the 2011 Times Higher Education Awards showcases the sector's standouts. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London on Thursday 24 November. For full details, including information on how to book tickets, visit:

How to get lost in the crowd: Matthew Reisz hears about the downsides of the supersized academy

Scholars say 'gold' model will cost research elites dear while others hitch a ride. Andy Wright reports

Matthew Reisz follows the trail of a fictional scholar¡¯s deadly solution to negative criticism

Geographers look at queer lavatories, GPS, urban food production and humour, writes Matthew Reisz

Universities in Somalia's capital are surviving against the odds, as David Matthews reports

HEA doesn't need subject centres, advocates argue, but critics disagree. Jack Grove reports

The council's latest grant application figures raise questions about its future. Paul Jump reports

Renewed warnings have been voiced about the impact of funding changes on science and engineering departments amid fears that some will become loss-makers.

Proposed cuts threaten university's place among elite, pro v-c claims. David Matthews reports

Proposed vows are said to be status anxiety-driven and inimical to free thought. Jack Grove reports

Vice-chancellors agree on need to downsize from existing 10 institutions, writes David Matthews

Universities will reap commercial and academic benefits by tapping into the skills of older people on lifelong learning courses, an academic has argued.

A major survey of online marketing to prospective international students has found that a ¡°one size fits all¡± approach is unlikely to succeed, and that, for universities, a web presence is not a substitute for face to face interaction.

By Serena Golden, for

The vice-chancellor of the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Northampton has been accused of ¡°dismissing¡± the work of administrative and support staff after redundancy plans were announced.

Most pupils planning to attend university from 2012 onwards are reconsidering their options due to the increase in tuition fees, according to a new poll.

The 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Aberdeen has become the first Scottish university to announce its tuition fees for undergraduates from the rest of the UK from 2012-13, charging ?9,000.

Imperial College London has announced it is reviewing the award of a PhD to a former student after it emerged that the paper that formed the basis of his thesis is to be retracted.

Less than a third of British adults think a university education is worth ?9,000 a year, while 59 per cent think two-year degrees are a good money-saving solution, according to an opinion poll.

The 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham is offering financial incentives to UK students to jet abroad to study at its overseas campuses, raising the prospect of a potential new growth area for British institutions.

Curnock Cook calls Willetts' proposed premium for some subjects 'unworkable', writes Jack Grove

In the gruesome or grimly comic medieval Dance of Death, skeletons or decaying corpses are depicted rounding up the living.

Undergraduates studying at a private business school have been offered a partial refund of their tuition fees if they fail to land a job within six months of graduation.

Celebrity support is building behind the fight to save a Classics course. Jack Grove reports

Fear of litigation has left some scholars unwilling to criticise students' work. David Matthews reports

Harper Adams typifies the uncertain financial future faced by specialist institutions. John Morgan writes

Analysis reveals higher rates of withdrawn research papers for top science journals. Paul Jump reports

Top students' preference for 'cheaper' courses could jeopardise lab-based subjects. John Morgan reports

Institutions face uncertainty over Libyan students' payments as regime collapses. John Morgan writes

Experience of knowledge transfer and links with business have become increasingly important to academics trying to win promotion, according to a new survey.

Pundit's Newsnight performance gave history a bad name, scholars write. Jack Grove reports

Popular Scots universities face the biggest drop in rest-of-UK applications, reports David Matthews

Universities employ expensive pro vice-chancellors to oversee the ¡°student experience¡± and spend hundreds of hours poring over survey results on student satisfaction.

One in five graduates earn less than the average worker educated to A-level standard, new figures show.

They are the internet generation that only remember the presidency of one George Bush and consider dial-up internet ¡°sooooooo last century¡±.

The institutions that are set to lose the most student places as a result of plans to auction off 20,000 to cheaper institutions have been identified in a new analysis.

By Kevin Kiley, for

Lecturers at Middlesex 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ are to be balloted for strike action in a row over jobs.

A human rights lawyer is planning to launch a legal challenge to the tuition fee arrangements in Scotland, where students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland will pay more than Scots and students from elsewhere in the European Union.

A scheme which recognises efforts to support women in science has granted accreditation to 10 universities and academic departments in its latest round of awards.

A university has abandoned a bid to expand its estate in the face of a backlash from locals.

A-level pass rates have risen for the 29th successive year to 97.8 per cent, up from 97.6 per cent in 2010.

Swelling ranks of non-academic staff decried by US political scientist. David Matthews reports

These instruments (see image, right) - inhaler, ether mask, bedpan, a syringe made by Philip Harris and Company and a device used during anaesthesia that contains a Sparklets bulb similar to those in soda siphons - are all held by the Seacole Library at Birmingham City 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ.

Scenes of riots and looting beamed around the world last week could affect the recruitment of overseas students to UK universities, experts have said.