Trump turmoil, financial strife and shifts in international student enrolment all feature heavily in annual round-up of stories that most engaged THE readers. Tom Williams reports https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/times-higher-educations-most-read-articles-2025

Leaders of some of the UK’s top universities have continued to receive significant bonuses and other benefits despite the financial challenges facing the sector, reports Patrick Jack #academicsky #edusky https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/oxford-leader-receives-ps666k-package-v-c-bonuses-rise

The rapid growth of some providers operating under franchised arrangements with universities has been revealed in new figures, with experts warning that it will be difficult for the government to “close the floodgates”. Patrick Jack reports #edusky https://ow.ly/Tka150XHoKE

A record 90,000 UK undergraduates are living at home this year, according to new figures from the university admissions service #EduSky #highered

Researchers moving to UK under Global Talent Fund speak out, saying global race for top scientists is hotting up www.timeshighereducation.com/news/talent-... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

In-depth read: Is it time for the UK to expel the boarding school model of HE? asks Patrick Jack https://ow.ly/85zc50Xu3iU

Flat fee or percentage levy divides universities ahead of UK budget. Helen Packer and Patrick Jack report https://ow.ly/RT7C50XuLye

Academics running modules on Donald Trump must grapple with fast-changing dynamics and the fear of provoking the world’s most powerful man https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/courses-studying-trump-proliferate-despite-risk-presidents-ire

Better support systems needed for scholars facing political threats, according to Rutgers historian labelled ‘domestic terrorist professor’ https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academics-forced-flee-us-could-become-new-normal-says-bray

Lessons from Ukraine: ‘no manual for war but it pays to prepare’. Patrick Jack reports from #GoingGlobal https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/lessons-ukraine-no-manual-war-it-pays-prepare

The loss of students from Europe after Brexit is the “elephant in the room” when considering many of the problems UK higher education now faces, according to the authors of a new book. Patrick Jack reports #academicsky https://ow.ly/hqzn50XazBe

Tories’ search for new ideas leads to same HE playbook: ‘Debt trap’ has replaced ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses but Badenoch still kicking universities after being ‘boxed in’ by Labour’s apprenticeship embrace and Reform attacks on elitism. Patrick Jack reports https://ow.ly/yN0X50X9f2U

With levy-funded maintenance grants and 50 per cent target scrapped again, government’s vision for universities becomes clearer. But while rhetoric appears tough, experts see opportunities as education takes centre stage. Patrick Jack reports https://ow.ly/bwXv50X5BgV

Vice-chancellors of UK universities were much less likely to attend private school than other top public servants, with half now coming from a comprehensive school background, according to a report from @suttontrust.bsky.social. @patrickjack.bsky.social writes bit.ly/3KsAIKE

4,000 university courses closed in last academic year, with nearly half of these at 'low-tariff' institutions. 47% of history/philosophy/religion courses at low tariff providers have closed in the last year alone www.timeshighereducation.com/news/almost-... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

Is it time for universities to engage seriously with Reform UK? The party’s annual conference suggests universities have a lot of ground to make up with it. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #ReformUK #academicsky

The UK government has been urged to extend money laundering legislation to the higher education sector to prevent students facing the “horrific consequences” of being used as “money mules”. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #academicsky #edusky

Chinese students view the UK’s university system as “easy in and easy out” but resent “assembly line” teaching that makes them feel like “tinned tomatoes”, according to new research. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #academicsky #edusky

Testing applicants’ open-mindedness ‘could reshape universities’, reports @patrickjack.bsky.social #academicsky #edusky

Donald Trump’s assaults on US science and universities in many ways mirror those previously enacted in Brazil by Jair Bolsonaro. Two years on from the latter’s election defeat, @patrickjack.bsky.social assesses what the state of Brazilian science says about how US institutions might fare post-Trump

A-level results day: Less-selective universities may have to consider new teaching models or mergers, experts have warned, as top institutions continue to “make hay while the sun shines” by recruiting a lion’s share of domestic students. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #academicsky #Alevelresults

Can right-wing US students deliver a ‘death blow’ to the Democratic Party, asks @patrickjack.bsky.social #TPUSA #AcademicSky

THE’s analysis of the National Student Survey 2025 reveals that a former Anglican teaching training college has again beaten the country’s elite universities for student satisfaction. @patrickjack.bsky.social crunches the numbers #AcademicSky #EduSky #NSS

The overhauling of two major graduate earnings surveys has highlighted that existing figures are an uncertain measure of a degree’s value even in narrow economic terms. But by talking up the graduate premium in its promotional material, was the sector already doing itself a disservice?

The number of private school students admitted into the University of Oxford has increased, with state school students less likely to receive an offer from the institution, figures show. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

The proportion of state school pupils accepted into the University of Cambridge has fallen by a record amount, following the institution’s decision to scrap admissions targets in this area, analysis reveals. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

The number of cases referred to the UK government’s anti-extremism programme from within universities has doubled over the past three years and reached a record high, figures reveal. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #highered

Watershed settlement that paves the way for US colleges to pay student-athletes directly represents a “tipping point” for higher education #highered #EduSky

Top leaders ‘won’t touch Florida’ after Ono’s public rejection #highered #EduSky

The UK’s hostile atmosphere, visa refusal rates and unwavering support for Ukraine amounts to a de facto ban on Russian students, scholars have said, after numbers tumbled to record low levels. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #Intled

A sector-wide financial crisis and increased regulatory scrutiny appear to have done little to temper the “exorbitant” salaries of the leaders of private providers, who continue to enjoy some of the highest pay packages in the UK sector. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

The UK government’s proposed levy on international student fees could cost English universities £620 million per year, with some institutions facing bills of more than £20 million each, analysis shows. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #internationalstudents

Last year, US campuses were engulfed by vigorous protests against Israel’s military action in Gaza. Yet now, as the war rages on and the Trump administration cracks down on universities’ freedoms and funding, students are largely silent. What has changed, asks @patrickjack.bsky.social #AcademicSky

Does the US really need a Department of Education? @patrickjack.bsky.social examines Donald Trump’s attempt to end federal involvement in education #AcademicSky #highered

The number of UK students getting top-class degree awards has dropped for the third year in a row, new figures show, with the proportion falling by a fifth at some universities. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

Irish applicants now make up the largest contingent of European Union students in the UK, with numbers having grown steadily since Brexit #highered #AcademicSky

University of Cambridge has been criticised for allowing bullying and harassment to become “entrenched and normalised” #highered #EduSky

Record number of US students apply to study undergraduate degrees in UK next year www.timeshighereducation.com/news/record-... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

The number of international students enrolling in the English higher education sector has fallen by more than a tenth this year, according to early indications that highlight a 17 per cent drop in overseas master’s recruitment. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports

More than 10,000 displaced people applied for UK higher education courses this year, according to new data that experts say “sends a clear message to both universities and politicians”. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports

Chinese students once again made up the largest cohort of international enrolments in the UK last year despite demand falling 6 per cent, with the country seeing even an steeper drop in numbers coming from India #inlted #highered

The number of applicants to UK universities by the main January deadline has increased for the first time in three years, though the application rate among British 18-year-olds continues to fall. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky

The number of UK academics on zero-hours contracts has risen, as experts warned that the sector’s dire financial state means that the “unjust” practice will continue. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

UK universities have made their lowest number of unconditional offers for a decade, but they remain “one of the few recruitment levers still left to pull” for some less selective institutions. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky #EduSky

Average pay packages for vice-chancellors at UK universities have increased by £40,000 – to over £340,000 – in just three years, according to Times Higher Education analysis #AcademicSky #EduSky

Five years on since the UK officially left the European Union, @patrickjack.bsky.social examines whether the consequences for universities have been as drastic as many feared at the time #AcademicSky #EduSky

UK universities’ annual spending on severance payments has skyrocketed past £200 million, with more than 10,000 staff losing their jobs last year www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

Elite UK universities hoovered up a significant share of undergraduate students – including a record proportion from overseas – for the current academic year, according to new figures, but not all of them were so successful, reports @patrickjack.bsky.social #AcademicSky #EduSky

The number of UK academic staff from countries outside the European Union has almost doubled in the past decade, new figures have revealed #AcademicSky #EduSky

Trudeau was widely welcomed by researchers as something of a knight in shining armour after Stephen Harper’s ‘anti-science’ administration. But his international student caps have made him look more like a horseman of the apocalypse to many observers. Patrick Jack reports #highered #EduSky