| TENUOUS | Vague: not centrally accepted by universities in decades |
| HEED | What one pays for being not centrally heated? |
| DIME | Pay phone price, in decades past |
| CLEARING | Open treeless tract in a forest after its been felled; or, a system used by universities to fill remaining spaces (8) |
| DEGREES | Based on the Latin for "steps", a word for gradations on a scale; or, medieval doctorates or masterships attained in stages, later awards conferred by universities (7) |
| PHD | Academic degree that is generally the highest awarded by universities (2,1) |
| SEMESTERS | Of course they're held by universities (9) |
| SKETCHY | Vague, not confident about conclusion of work and so on (7) |
| UNCLEAR | Vague, not certain (7) |
| OFASORT | Vague, not fully deserving the name (2,1,4) |
| INEXACT | Vague, not precise (7) |
| AUNT | Relative vague, not every second (4) |
| NINETIES | Formal wear popular in Tyneside earlier in decade |
| IRAN | Where women watched a football match from the stands for the first time in decades. (4) |
| ARKANSAS | Rafters can cruise a section of this river for the first time in decades this month, after Colorado removed a deteriorating dam |
| NANCYPELOSI | American political leader who visited Taiwan on Aug. 2, the highest-ranking U.S. official to do so in decades |
| IVYLEAGUE | Climber had class in prestigious universities in the US (3,6) |
| YALE | One of the oldest universities in the US, founded in 1701 (4) |
| RECTOR | An official elected by students at some universities in Scotland (6) |
| CAMPUSPROTEST | Demonstration against the war in Gaza held at many universities in 2024 |
