Latest news and comment on REF (Research Excellence Framework)
May 2022
Oxford and UCL tipped to win lion’s share of grants in UK research audit
Northumbria soars up research excellence framework ratings of 76,000 academics used to divide up £2bn annual funding
October 2018
UK universities hiring 'superstar' professors to boost research rankings
Study says the government’s research rating framework is distorting university pay
August 2017
Everything must be measured: how mimicking business taints universities
Jonathan Wolff
Research and teaching are suffering as a result of target-setting, casualisation and sharp practices
July 2017
The end of tuition fees is on the horizon – universities must get ready
Peter Scott
Institutions embracing the government’s gold, silver and bronze ratings may find history quickly turning against them
June 2017
Voters should be enraged by higher education profiteering
Stefan Collini
Tuition fees are changing the character of UK universities – the general election is a chance to vote against the commodification of learning
March 2017
How can we tackle the thorny problem of fraudulent research?
Mike Marinetto
Misconduct in academia isn’t rampant but should be taken more seriously: let’s consider independent anti-corruption units
January 2017
Academics anonymous
Unsackable senior staff make life even harder for junior academics
Anonymous Academic
As expectations of early career researchers rise ever higher, some established colleagues are failing to pull their weight
December 2016
Academics anonymous
Academia is now incompatible with family life, thanks to casual contracts
I want to be a good scientist but that means I can’t be anything else, as all my time is taken up trying to find contracts
January 2016
Beware, the central control that grips schools is heading universities’ way
Peter Scott
Communities bound together by a love of inquiry are being turned into fiercely managed ‘knowledge businesses’
November 2015
University reform is coming – get ready for another numbers game
Mike Boxall
The government’s green paper is finally set to see the light of day. But what is it trying to fix, exactly?
August 2015
Political science
The diversity dividend: why interdisciplinarity strengthens research
Steven Hill: New analysis of interdisciplinary collaboration across the UK research landscape highlights important questions about how we organise, fund and assess research
Business schools must not cater to their funders
Nick Butler, Sverre Spoelstra and Helen Delaney
Business schools are so concerned with making organisations function better that they’re neglecting the way this undermines academic values
Research metrics have made rivalry part of higher education’s DNA
Peter Scott
Academics have learned to live with attempts to measure university research, but is this the best way to judge success or failure?
July 2015
Political science
In defence of the Research Excellence Framework
James Wilsdon
James Wilsdon: We need an intelligent, evidence-informed debate about the costs and benefits of research assessment.
December 2014
UK research is getting better all the time – or is it?
Ref 2014 – your reaction in tweets
Ref 2014: which subjects are producing the best research?
REF 2014: why is it such a big deal?
Research excellence framework 2014: the postmortem – live chat
Bullying in universities in focus
Struggle for top research grades fuels bullying among university staff
