In education, every decision and every delay comes with a cost that students have to pay, writes The Herald's Education Correspondent Garrett Baylor Stell.

Higher education is at a crossroads. Scottish universities are not unique in the challenges they face, but they are in the middle of a uniquely defining moment compared to institutions elsewhere. As this column goes to print, strike action is planned or already underway at multiple institutions. Union members are battling proposed job cuts that could result in anywhere from a dozen to thousands of staff losing their positions or having their hours significantly reduced.

This is all happening against the backdrop of universities chasing hundreds of millions of pounds in savings to close a series of deficits, while an ambitious project is simultaneously underway that could transform the sector into one better able to ride the waves that have rocked it in recent years.  

It is not the job of a reporter to say which side is right or who has the moral high ground, and I am very glad that is the case. Not only is it nearly impossible to make that kind of judgment objectively, but every day it feels like the emotional and logistical tide turns.

On the staff side, I have had many conversations with university employees at various levels of seniority — veterans, early-career academics, and PhD students who are just about to begin their career journey. Each has raised problems that impact them, their........

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