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The highest levels of graduate debt in key English-speaking countries are faced by English university graduates, a report revealed today.

Even compared with graduates of private universities in the US, on average English university students, who now pay tuition fees of £9,000 a year, carry the heaviest burden of debt upon graduation – more than £44,000.

More than half of UK millennial students – so-called Generation Z – are uncertain about their post-university plans, with many choosing further study over paid work.

Worryingly, women are additionally nervous about the impact of their gender on their future careers and salaries, despite generally feeling confident in their own ability to succeed.

The findings were revealed in a Think Future Study survey of 20,652 students in the UK and Ireland, 82 per cent of whom were full-time undergraduates.

South Africa dominates a pilot ranking of the top 15 universities in Africa for 2016.

Six of the best African universities are in South Africa, including the top three universities overall: Stellenbosch University.

Universities in Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria also feature in the ranking, which is determined using the World University Rankings methodology.

Graduates in the UK with degrees in medicine and economics earn significantly higher salaries 10 years on than graduates of other subjects.

After correcting for differences arising from a disparity in entry standards for different subjects, medical graduates earn about £14,000 more at median salary levels than both engineering and technology graduates and law graduates.

The forced removal of international students in the UK accused of cheating on English language tests will be investigated by the Home Affairs Committee in a formal inquiry.

The National Union of Students welcomed the decision, which came after they submitted evidence to the committee on Monday outlining concerns with the Home Office’s response to cheating revelations.

What if you could land your first graduate job just by playing a game on your mobile phone?

That possibility is, as of March 2016, a reality. On UK campuses, students are connecting with employers through a new app that uses custom games to help employers identify top talent.

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Browse the full list of the world's top 150 universities under 50 years old

Young universities offer more opportunities for interdisciplinary studies and innovative teaching, according to students and staff at the world’s best young universities in the Times Higher Education 150 Under 50 Rankings 2016 released today.

I’m a bit late to the party for watching the 2014 documentary The Ivory Tower, on higher education, but the documentary itself is only becoming more and more relevant. As a fourth-year student getting ready for the transition from post-secondary education to the “real world”, it’s no news for me to hear about rising tuition costs or the pre-graduation anxiety felt over whether what we’ve learned during the academic grind will make us competitive in the job market.

Claim a free copy of the full data set in the Student Experience Survey 2016 digital supplement

The best universities in the UK for student experience have been revealed, according to a Times Higher Education survey of current students.

Loughborough University in the East Midlands tops the list, up one place from second position last year.

View the full results of the Student Experience Survey 2016

Shift in sixth-former attitudes

I was reminded recently of the famous Labour pre-election broadcast of 1987. With a backcloth of coastal landscapes, a soaring seagull and a rambling pair of Kinnocks, to the rousing strains of Beethoven’s 9th, the then leader of the party reflected in his voice-over on how he had been the first Kinnock “in a thousand generations” to get the opportunity to go to university.