This week's highlights
In Features, ALYA MISHRA investigates the implications of a slew of impending laws aimed at revolutionising higher education in India, and WAGDY SAWAHEL reports on rapid growth in technology acquisition in Africa, which could support a drive to promote R&D and universities. In Commentary AMANDA GOODALL argues that as organisations characterised by expert knowledge, universities need to be led by top-rated academics. In an Open Letter, professor of sociology ORLANDO ALBORNOZ articulates concern over the potentially severe impact of recent legislation on academic freedom in Venezuela, and JAMIL SALMI outlines common mistakes made in efforts to build world-class universities.
WORLDVIEWS: Media and higher education
GLOBAL: Worldviews - Media and higher education
University World News has teamed up with the US paper Inside Higher Ed and Canada's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations to host an international conference examining the complex relationship between media and higher education. The innovative event will be held in Toronto in June.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
YEMEN: Sana'a campus at centre of protests
Ahmed Mohamoud Elmi
The government has released students and other protestors held after several hundred anti-riot police and soldiers were deployed at Sana'a University - the country's largest campus - to prevent and disperse unauthorised student protests on Sunday 23 January.
Full report on University World News site:
VENEZUELA: Protesters force Chávez to rescind new law
Ricardo Flores
President Hugo Chavez has had a Christmas gift returned by protesters who appear to have forced him to rescind new legislation, including a university law reform, passed just before the holiday. See also the Commentary section
Full report on the University World News site:
IRAN: Islamic universities rating system launched
Wagdy Sawahel
The Iran-based Islamic World Science Citation Center has launched a new classification system for Islamic universities, using the criteria of research and education performance, international cooperation and scientific impact. The first phase of the system has been implemented by ranking Iran's universities and research institutes.
Full report on the University World News site:
ITALY: Drive to stamp out nepotism in universities
Lee Adendorff
The Italian cabinet has ordered the roll-out of a national accreditation scheme for academics to stamp out nepotism. Under the new scheme, commissions of five senior academics appointed in each university will accredit applicants for associate or full professorships on the basis of the quality and quantity of their academic output.
Full report on the University World News site:
SRI LANKA: Delayed foreign universities bill imminent
Santhush Fernando
A much-awaited bill to enable private universities, in particular foreign providers, to set up in Sri Lanka is expected to be presented to the cabinet in February.
Full report on the University World News site:
UK: Universities fear impact of visa and jobs curbs
Brendan O'Malley
The UK government's plans to restrict visas and employment rights for non-EU overseas students could have a 'catastrophic' effect on higher education, a panel of university stakeholders has warned. Speaking at a press conference held by the group in Westminster on Wednesday, Edward Acton, Vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, accused the government of "actively shrinking" the country's capacity to export higher education. See also the Student View section
Full report on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: Fees deter foreign applicants
Jan Petter Myklebust
Universities have experienced a severe drop in the number of international applicants for places on masters programmes and international courses compared to last year, following Sweden's introduction of fees for students from outside the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
Full report on the University World News site:
CANADA: Graduates flocking to US - a good thing?
Elysha Krupp
Canada is having difficulty retaining its PhD graduates, according to a recent report that finds 12% headed to the United States. But what some might fear is a brain drain may actually point to what one leading academic is calling a 'brain chain', where graduates pick up important international research skills.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: Black graduates quadruple in two decades
Sharon Dell
In a country still struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid education, data reflecting a four-fold increase in the number of black African graduates from South African universities since 1991 has been hailed as an indication of a successfully transforming higher education sector.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: Who wants to be a billionaire?
Yojana Sharma
China has a new university ranking - which institutions produce the largest number of billionaires and business tycoons. The annual list compiled by the China University Alumni Association, the CUAA, this month released its analysis of the education of some 2,500 yuan billionaires (worth over US$150 million) who have appeared on five rich lists at home and abroad in the last decade.
Full report on the University World News site:
ZAMBIA: Building and upgrading set to widen access
Zambia has started constructing a science university. This was revealed in the 2011 education policy, which also detailed the establishment of new universities and massive construction and upgrading at institutions across the country aimed at increasing access to higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:
ZIMBABWE: Outcry over lecturer pay increases
Kudzai Mashininga
A 130% salary hike for public university lecturers has sparked an outcry and a notice of strike action by other state employees as government prioritises academics against a background of crippling brain drain.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEFS
KENYA: Government shuts down bogus colleges
Gilbert Nganga
Last week Kenya shut down more than 100 unaccredited colleges, sending shock waves through the country's academic community as the government delivered on its promise of cleaning up the higher education sector.
Full report on the University World News site:
MADAGASCAR: New ICT and business institutions
IT University, a new private institution spec ialising in information technologies, has opened in Andoharanofotsy near the Madagascan capital Antananarivo. And a controversial French businessman has promised to build a business school that will educate young Madagascans free of charge.
Full report on the University World News site:
INDIA: Expanding private and vocational education
Alya Mishra
With a slew of parliamentary bills in the pipeline aimed at revolutionising the higher education sector, and increasing participation from international education providers, 2011 may well turn out to be a watershed year for higher education in India - in particular making the playing field clearer for private players and increasing vocational provision.
Full report on the University World News site:
AFRICA: Technology transfer trends boost universities
Wagdy Sawahel
The Ethiopia-based United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, ECA, has found evidence of rapid growth in the rate of Africa's industrial technology acquisition, which could support the current drive to promote investment in research and development and higher education through enhancing university-industry-government partnerships.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
UK: Academics make the best university leaders
Arguments that university leaders should primarily be good managers and technocrats and do not need to be academics are not supported by research, says AMANDA GOODALL. Universities that fall for this idea are being short-changed. Where expert knowledge is the key factor characterising an organisation's core business, it is expert knowledge that should also be key in the selection of its leader.
Full report on the University World News site:
VENEZUELA: Academic freedom under threat
In an Open Letter to the global academic community and the Venezuelan government, ORLANDO ALBORNOZ from the Universidad Central de Venezuela expresses his concern about recent legislation which he fears could have a severe impact on academic freedom in his country.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Building a new world-class university
Building a world-class institution requires more than knee-jerk reactions and money, argues JAMIL SALMI, coordinator of tertiary education for the World Bank, in the latest edition of International Higher Education. He outlines the most common mistakes made by those seeking to build a university with a global reputation.
Full report on the University World News site:
STUDENT VIEW
UK: Suss ex foreign students slate visa restrictions
Alya Mishra
The International Students' Office at the University of Sussex has been inundated with emails and inquiries from foreign students worried about the proposed clampdown on visas and employment rights for non-EU students.
Full article on the University World News site:
SCIENCE SCENE
ARAB STATES: Camels' milk for treating cancer
Wagdy Sawahel
Arab researchers have developed a new medical formula from camels' milk and urine for treating leukaemia that could also be developed to cure other types of cancer infecting the lung, liver and breast.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: Fossils reveal lost underwater world
A fossil trove in south-west China has thrown new light on an ecosystem recovery after the severest mass extinction of life on earth wiped out 96% of marine species and 70% of land life.
Full report on the University World News site:
UK: Dinosaur-era sex riddle solved
Killed and preserved with her egg, a fossil of a flying reptile shows for the first time how hips and crests can be used to sex pterodactyls. Discovery of an ancient fossil, nicknamed 'Mrs T', has allowed scientists for the first time to determine the gender of the flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs between 220 and 65 million years ago.
Full report on the University World News site:
ASIA-AFRICA: Joint research to improve food security
A £20 million research initiative to exploit science to improve food security in the developing countries of Africa and Asia, has been launched by UK and US research funders working with the governments of the UK and India.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL
AUSTRALIA: LSE leading light becomes an Aussie
Geoff Maslen
A former deputy director of the London School of Economics, Professor Paul Johnson, became an Australian citizen on Wednesday after more than three years as vice-chancellor of Melbourne's La Trobe University. The economic historian says Australia "has become a land of opportunity in so many ways that I have no desire to return to the UK".
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FACEBOOK
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WORLD ROUND-UP
US: Obama throws weight behind higher education
President Barack Obama pledged support to re-establish America as the global leader in higher education in his State of the Union address last week, reports The Huffington Post. The president decried higher education budget cuts, which have become all the more common as states try to balance their coffers. "Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine," he said.
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INDIA: Huge funding hike proposed to meet promises
The human resource development ministry is pitching for a near 100% hike in higher education funding under the 2011-12 union budget to meet a slew of promises it is running out of time to implement, writes Charu Sudan Kasturi for the Hindustan Times.
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NETHERLANDS: Government firm on higher fees
Dutch Prime minister Mark Rutte has no plan to amend the government's decision to cut spending on higher education, he said after a recent cabinet meeting, reports Dutch News. "I am not going to give the impression that the plans will change dramatically," he is quoted as saying in the Telegraaf after a massive demonstration by students in The Hague.
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BELARUS: Varsities fee hike defended as global trend
Universities in Belarus will be raising tuition fees in keeping with the global trend, reports Belarus News. The hike was announced by Education Minister Syarhey Maskevich in Minsk last Tuesday.
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UK: Vice-chancellors' pay hike prompts row
More than 950 university staff, including all vice-chancellors, were paid more than the British prime minister, an 8% increase on the year before, write Tom Rowley and Graeme Paton for The Daily Telegraph.
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EUROPE: EC moves to cut red tape for research funding
The European Commission has taken steps to simplify EU funding for research and innovation to cut costs and attract more participants, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), reports EurActiv.com.
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PAKISTAN: Varsity tensions reflect intractable feuds
Last semester ended ominously on the campus of one of Pakistan's largest universities, with a flurry of clashes involving armed student organisations, a professors' strike against violence, cancelled exams and a lunchtime bombing, writes Karin Brulliard for The Washington Post.
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MALAYSIA: Ministry calls for student parliaments
If the new academic calendar indicated that 2011 would be full of surprises, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin's New Year's address did little to change the notion. The minister's call for universities to establish students' parliaments highlighted the ministry's commitment to come good on last year's amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act, writes Richard Lim for The Star.
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IRELAND: Lecturers protest bid to scrap tenure
Over 200 university and institute of technology lecturers met in Dublin last Saturday to protest against the implementation of the Croke Park agreement in tertiary institutions. The group is seeking to protect the right of academics to permanency and tenure until retirement age. They said this "bedrock on which academic freedom rests" was under threat, reports The Irish Times.
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UGANDA: Nation plots to reap from education export
As Uganda solidifies plans to become a regional education hub, the Uganda Exports Promotion Board (UEPB) has started discussions with 20 universities on how to package and market Uganda's higher education for export, writes David Mugabe for New Vision.
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US: Tuition bargains fade at public universities
For bargain-hunting families, state colleges and universities supported by tax money have long been a haven from the high cost of private education. But tuition bargains are fading as the nation's public universities undergo a profound shift, accelerated by the recession. In most states, it is now tuition payments not state appropriations that cover most of the budget, writes Tamar Lewin for The New York Times.
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US: For-profits step up fight against new rules
The association representing for-profit colleges is ratcheting up its campaign against the Obama administration's new regulations on student recruiting and other actions by the colleges, adding a legal push to its already vigorous lobbying and public-relations campaigns, writes Goldie Blumenstyk for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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UK: Employers target schools in search for talent
A report published last week has found that growing numbers of top employers are targeting school leavers instead of limiting vacancies to applicants with a degree, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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JAPAN: Business and academia unite to end global slide
Japan's top university and business leaders have announced they will come together for the first time to reverse a steady slide in the country's global standing, writes David McNeill for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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KENYA: Row brews over admission to varsities
Private universities are stoking a high-voltage controversy after writing to the government seeking the dissolution of the Joint Admissions Board (JAB), calling it an illegal entity, reports The Nation.
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THAILAND: Call to merge universities
Mergers in the university and tertiary research sectors may be the key to increased efficiency in education, according to a proposal introduced during a recent seminar organised by the Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand, Knit, a think-tank under the Office of the Higher Education Commission, to help spur the second decade of education reforms, reports the Bangkok Post.
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Monday 31 January 2011
Sunday 23 January 2011
University World News 0155 - 23rd January 2011
This week's highlights
In Features, SUVENDRINI KAKUCHI writes that joblessness in Japan and changing market needs mean graduates must adapt their expectations, mindset and skills. KARRYN MILLER looks at South Korea's Songdo Global University Campus, where foreign universities are locating in a higher education park, and MUNYARADZI MAKONI reports on South Africa's new National Skills Development Strategy. In Commentary, ERIC WEINBERGER argues that Yale University should proceed with caution in its liberal arts college venture in Singapore, amid concerns over free expression, and ALAIN HASROUNY writes that a new leadership, vision and mobilisiation are needed for higher education in Lebanon. Responding to last week's criticism by Philip G Altbach of international student recruiters, board members of the American International Recruitment Council NORM PETERSON, STEPHEN FOSTER and MITCH LEVENTHAL write that many organisations need to be involved in promoting standards in recruitment, and MATTHEW ULMER of IDP Education argues that it would be more effective to sanction unprofessional agents and encourage best practice than to banish proven businesspeople from the field.
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
FRANCE: City universities 'booming', says evaluation
Jane Marshall
The French higher education landscape is changing as universities assume greater autonomy, according to the first regional analysis of all France's universities, published this month by the Agence d'évaluation de la recherche et de l'enseignement supérieur, Aeres. Institutions are forging new alliances with research organisations and businesses, with those based in and around the biggest cities thriving best.
Full report on the University World News site:
AUSTRALIA: Universities survive record floods
Geoff Maslen
The Queensland floods that have killed at least 20 people and left tens of thousands homeless also caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the University of Queensland's main campus on the Brisbane River. As with the city of Brisbane, the university suffered the worst flooding since 1974 when all of the lower areas of its expansive campus went under water.
Full report on the University World News site:
HAITI: New university to avoid quake devastation
Garry Pierre-Pierre
A completion date of January 2012 for a new university in Haiti has been announced by the Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernández. It will be built in the northern city of Cap Haïtien at a cost of $30 million, and will be fully funded by the neighbouring Dominican Republic government and business community.
Full report on the University World News site:
ASIA: Pakistan and Afghanistan launch 'education diplomacy'
Ameen Amjad Khan
A 15-member delegation of vice-chancellors and professors of Afghan universities arrived in Pakistan last Monday for a 10-day visit to local universities to explore areas of cooperation. Hopes are also high that 'education diplomacy' could reduce tensions between the neighbours strained since 9/11 as both sides accused each other of supporting terrorism, improve diplomatic relations and enhance the political climate in the region.
Full report on the University World News site:
NORWAY: Fears for future of sociology
Jan Petter Myklebust
A high-level panel of sociologists has found that the multidisciplinary research environments in which most PhD students in sociology spend a large part of their training pose a threat of weaker long-term sociological competence in Norway.
Full report on the University World News site:
ISRAEL: University heads condemn Ariel boycott call
Helena Flusfeder
The chair of the Committee of University Presidents has spoken out against a petition signed by 155 Israeli university and college faculty members over the past few weeks calling for an "academic boycott of the Ariel University Centre" in the West Bank. Professor Rivka Carmi, who is also the president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said: "We are totally against academic boycotts."
Full report on the University World News site:
RUSSIA: Falling university quality hits graduate jobs
Eugene Vorotnikov
The prestige of higher education in Russia continues to fall in the face of reduced graduate employment prospects, poor quality of teaching and ever-increasing corruption in many universities.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: Colleges 'need to emphasise global mandate'
Sarah King Head
Most Americans consider international exposure to be an essential part of the student experience, according to a report released last week by NAFSA. The survey by the Washington-based international educators' association, Educating Students for Success in the Global Economy, made several key observations about American attitudes to international education.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEPAL: Spending increase to benefit university women
Anil Giri
Nepal's government this month agreed a new annual education budget with large increases to help more women and poorer students gain a university education, as part of its effort to revamp and reform higher education.
Full report on the University World News site :
AUSTRALIA-INDIA: Partners in scientific discovery
Geoff Maslen
The Australian and Indian governments are equally funding an Australia-India Strategic Research Fund scheme with a total of US$130 million. The money is being used to promote innovation in critical areas such as oncology, marine science, agriculture, water management and nanotechnology.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: First disaster relief training institute
Linda Yeung
China's first-ever national training centre for disaster relief and management is to be set up in Sichuan province, which was devastated by a huge earthquake in 2008.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: Shanghai sinking under weight of buildings
Yojana Sharma
The city of Shanghai, which is preparing to invite a number of foreign universities to set up new branch campuses or collaborations with Chinese institutions, is already sinking under the weight of its existing buildings.
Full report on the University World News site:
UGANDA: International university approved
Wagdy Sawahel
Uganda has approved the setting up of an international university that will partner with institutions from around the world to deliver accredited courses and degree programmes to students in Uganda and other East African countries as well as Southern Sudan and N igeria.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEF
DR CONGO: State calls for calm after campus killings
Jean- René Bompolonga
The government has moved to restore calm to university campuses in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the killing of two students and a riotous campus protest earlier this month.
Full report on the University World News site:
FEATURES
JAPAN: Grim job prospects lead to skills rethink
Suvendrini Kakuchi
Employment rates for Japanese university students have declined for the third consecutive year - a jolting experience for what was once a largely mollycoddled elite group in the country and a trend that some experts believe could be long term. Changing needs in the market also mean that graduates must adapt their job expectations, mindset and skills.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH KOREA: Global campus for foreign universities
Karryn Miller
An innovative foreign higher education park scheme in South Korea is set to proceed, even though the worldwide recession has caused some overseas universities to postpone plans to locate branches at the Songdo Global University Campus, or SGUC.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: New strategy to produce scarce skills
Munyaradzi Makoni
Universities in South Africa have higher enrolment and participation rates than the further education and training sector, and not nearly enough appropriately skilled and qualified people in disciplines central to socio-economic development are being produced by the post-school system, says the country's third National Skills Development Strategy.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
US: Academic freedom and Yale's college in Singapore
Yale University's announcement that it is in discussions to set up a liberal arts college with the National University of Singapore came amid concerns for freedom of expression. Is Yale kidding itself if it thinks that this will not impact on academic freedom? Alumnus ERIC WEINBERGER thinks the university should proceed with caution.
Full report on the University World News site:
LEBANON: Higher education at risk without reform
Alain Hasrouny
If Lebanon is to maintain the reputation of its higher education sector in the Middle East and beyond and meet the requirements of the knowledge economy, a new leadership, vision, and mobilisation are required.
Full report on the University World News site:
OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT STORY
Last week University World News published an article by American professor
Philip G Altbach on the proliferation of third-party recruiters and agents in international higher education. He argued that they have no legitimate role and should be abolished. Here, a standards-promoting non-profit US international recruitment council and a global student recruitment company offer their sides of the story.
US: International higher education needs recruiters
The American International Recruitment Council was founded in 2008 by a group of US colleges and universities to establish and promote high professional standards in international student recruitment. Here, AIRC board members NORM PETERSON, STEPHEN FOSTER and MITCH LEVENTHAL argue that recruitment agencies are firmly established in a global student market where competition is fierce and America is losing market share. Many other US organisations need to be involved in promoting best practices in international recruitment.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Professional vs ethical in student recruitment
The role of recognised international student recruitment companies should be acknowledged, the legality of their compensation affirmed and their practices defined in terms of 'professional' rather than 'ethical' criteria, argues MATTHEW ULMER of the global student placement provider IDP Education. It is more effective to sanction unprofessional agents and to encourage best practice than it is to banish proven businesspeople working in an accepted and effective field.
Full report on the University World News site:
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports from around the world
Roisin Joyce*
In Britain, police have asked universities to pass them intelligence on planned protests, as students continue their vociferous campaign against education cuts and fee hikes. In Tunisia, universities remained closed last week but are expected to open tomorrow. The University of Tartu has sent the Croatian parliament a letter urging that the final version of a bill impacting on its autonomy be changed. President Barack Obama has announced that educational exchanges between Cuba and the US will be eased, while in China police and campus security at Peking University have issued a ban on copying sensitive materials. Egypt's Minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal has confirmed that the government will comply with court rulings to end a police presence on campuses.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL
US: Gay university leaders form advocacy group
Chuck Middleton is bearded, bald, g ay - and the President of Chicago's Roosevelt University. He's among about 30 g ay and l esbian university leaders who have formed the group LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education to advocate for the advancement of gays to leadership positions, writes Kara Spak for the Chicago Sun-Times.
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FACEBOOK
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higher education worldwide. More than 2,500 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
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WORLD ROUND-UP
PUERTO RICO: More violence as student fees imposed
The imposition of student fees is going ahead at the University of Puerto Rico despite violent clashes of striking students with riot police, writes Dr Maritza Stanchich, an associate professor of English at the university, for The Huffington Post. The final date to pay the fee was last Wednesday.
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AUSTRALIA: High scores for internationalisation
The strength of Australia's quality assurance regime and government transparency have seen it placed second in a new index which rates countries on their policies regarding the engagement and promotion of internationalisation in higher education, writes Julie Hare for The Australian. Germany heads the list of 11 nations.
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AUSTRALIA: Ageing academics set university time bomb
Universities face a new crisis: up to 40% of academics and lecturers are expected to retire over the next decade, with no one to replace them, writes Sarah Whyte for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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KOREA: Stiffer measures to verify foreign degrees
The government will adopt stricter measures to verify overseas academic diplomas and tighten its monitoring of universities hiring staff with such qualifications, reports Bae Ji-sook for the Korea Herald.
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MALAYSIA: New rating system for private institutions
The Malaysian Quality Evaluation System (MyQuest) will rate all 402 private colleges in the country beginning this year to ensure quality of the courses offered, reports the official agency Bernama.
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SCOTLAND: University fears over tough new visa rules
Universities warn that Scotland will have one of the most restrictive visa regimes in the world for overseas students under UK government plans to crack down on immigration, writes Andrew Denholm for Herald Scotland.
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UGANDA: 'Study in India' scam exposed
India has been a popular destination for Ugandan students seeking affordable and high quality education in medicine, information technology and business courses. But many of these students end up studying at different institutions from those they set out to join, writes Frederick Womakuyu for Saturday Vision.
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US: 20-year-old programme scrapped after Niger deaths
Boston University has cancelled its study abroad programme in Niger because of the recent abduction and slaying of two Frenchmen, writes Matt Rocheleau for The Boston Globe.
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CHINA: Professors among those expelled for absenteeism
It is not rare for teachers to leave their posts without authorisation and not come back from abroad on time in China's colleges. However Hunan University, according to the Changsha Evening News, is the first to expel a large number of staff members for these reasons, writes Wang Hanlu for People's Daily. Recently, 26 teachers at Hunan University, including six professors, were notified that they had been laid off because they left their posts without authorisation.
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CANADA: 13 arrested in crackdown on illegal textbooks
Thirteen people were arrested last Thursday after the Royal Canadian Mounted Policy raided four photocopy stores in Montreal and seized hundreds of counterfeit university textbooks in what they described as an attempt to put an end to the illegal sale and distribution of the photocopied books, reports CBC News.
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SCOTLAND: Student plagiarism on the rise
Hundreds of cases of academic 'misconduct' are being detected at Scottish higher education institutions every year, writes Judith Duffy for The Express. Most of the incidents are related to plagiarism, which has risen in recent years with essays becoming easily available to purchase online.
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UK: A-level reforms mean results before university
Sixth formers will no longer have to wait for their results before learning if they have secured a place at university under a shake-up of the examination system. Ministers want to move the timing of final school examinations and push the autumn university term back, writes Andrew Hough for The Telegraph.
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INDIA: Firm to set up vocational university
Staffing company TeamLease Services announced last week it is setting up a vocational education university in Gujarat to help plug an increasing skills gap in India's labour force, write Prashant K Nanda and Priyanka Pulla for Live Mint.
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WEST AFRICA: New body to promote university ideals
The University of Ilorin in Nigeria has established the Association of West African Universities, AWAU, as a sub-regional body that will coordinate and promote the ideals of University education in West Africa.
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In Features, SUVENDRINI KAKUCHI writes that joblessness in Japan and changing market needs mean graduates must adapt their expectations, mindset and skills. KARRYN MILLER looks at South Korea's Songdo Global University Campus, where foreign universities are locating in a higher education park, and MUNYARADZI MAKONI reports on South Africa's new National Skills Development Strategy. In Commentary, ERIC WEINBERGER argues that Yale University should proceed with caution in its liberal arts college venture in Singapore, amid concerns over free expression, and ALAIN HASROUNY writes that a new leadership, vision and mobilisiation are needed for higher education in Lebanon. Responding to last week's criticism by Philip G Altbach of international student recruiters, board members of the American International Recruitment Council NORM PETERSON, STEPHEN FOSTER and MITCH LEVENTHAL write that many organisations need to be involved in promoting standards in recruitment, and MATTHEW ULMER of IDP Education argues that it would be more effective to sanction unprofessional agents and encourage best practice than to banish proven businesspeople from the field.
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
FRANCE: City universities 'booming', says evaluation
Jane Marshall
The French higher education landscape is changing as universities assume greater autonomy, according to the first regional analysis of all France's universities, published this month by the Agence d'évaluation de la recherche et de l'enseignement supérieur, Aeres. Institutions are forging new alliances with research organisations and businesses, with those based in and around the biggest cities thriving best.
Full report on the University World News site:
AUSTRALIA: Universities survive record floods
Geoff Maslen
The Queensland floods that have killed at least 20 people and left tens of thousands homeless also caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to the University of Queensland's main campus on the Brisbane River. As with the city of Brisbane, the university suffered the worst flooding since 1974 when all of the lower areas of its expansive campus went under water.
Full report on the University World News site:
HAITI: New university to avoid quake devastation
Garry Pierre-Pierre
A completion date of January 2012 for a new university in Haiti has been announced by the Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernández. It will be built in the northern city of Cap Haïtien at a cost of $30 million, and will be fully funded by the neighbouring Dominican Republic government and business community.
Full report on the University World News site:
ASIA: Pakistan and Afghanistan launch 'education diplomacy'
Ameen Amjad Khan
A 15-member delegation of vice-chancellors and professors of Afghan universities arrived in Pakistan last Monday for a 10-day visit to local universities to explore areas of cooperation. Hopes are also high that 'education diplomacy' could reduce tensions between the neighbours strained since 9/11 as both sides accused each other of supporting terrorism, improve diplomatic relations and enhance the political climate in the region.
Full report on the University World News site:
NORWAY: Fears for future of sociology
Jan Petter Myklebust
A high-level panel of sociologists has found that the multidisciplinary research environments in which most PhD students in sociology spend a large part of their training pose a threat of weaker long-term sociological competence in Norway.
Full report on the University World News site:
ISRAEL: University heads condemn Ariel boycott call
Helena Flusfeder
The chair of the Committee of University Presidents has spoken out against a petition signed by 155 Israeli university and college faculty members over the past few weeks calling for an "academic boycott of the Ariel University Centre" in the West Bank. Professor Rivka Carmi, who is also the president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said: "We are totally against academic boycotts."
Full report on the University World News site:
RUSSIA: Falling university quality hits graduate jobs
Eugene Vorotnikov
The prestige of higher education in Russia continues to fall in the face of reduced graduate employment prospects, poor quality of teaching and ever-increasing corruption in many universities.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: Colleges 'need to emphasise global mandate'
Sarah King Head
Most Americans consider international exposure to be an essential part of the student experience, according to a report released last week by NAFSA. The survey by the Washington-based international educators' association, Educating Students for Success in the Global Economy, made several key observations about American attitudes to international education.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEPAL: Spending increase to benefit university women
Anil Giri
Nepal's government this month agreed a new annual education budget with large increases to help more women and poorer students gain a university education, as part of its effort to revamp and reform higher education.
Full report on the University World News site :
AUSTRALIA-INDIA: Partners in scientific discovery
Geoff Maslen
The Australian and Indian governments are equally funding an Australia-India Strategic Research Fund scheme with a total of US$130 million. The money is being used to promote innovation in critical areas such as oncology, marine science, agriculture, water management and nanotechnology.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: First disaster relief training institute
Linda Yeung
China's first-ever national training centre for disaster relief and management is to be set up in Sichuan province, which was devastated by a huge earthquake in 2008.
Full report on the University World News site:
CHINA: Shanghai sinking under weight of buildings
Yojana Sharma
The city of Shanghai, which is preparing to invite a number of foreign universities to set up new branch campuses or collaborations with Chinese institutions, is already sinking under the weight of its existing buildings.
Full report on the University World News site:
UGANDA: International university approved
Wagdy Sawahel
Uganda has approved the setting up of an international university that will partner with institutions from around the world to deliver accredited courses and degree programmes to students in Uganda and other East African countries as well as Southern Sudan and N igeria.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEF
DR CONGO: State calls for calm after campus killings
Jean- René Bompolonga
The government has moved to restore calm to university campuses in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the killing of two students and a riotous campus protest earlier this month.
Full report on the University World News site:
FEATURES
JAPAN: Grim job prospects lead to skills rethink
Suvendrini Kakuchi
Employment rates for Japanese university students have declined for the third consecutive year - a jolting experience for what was once a largely mollycoddled elite group in the country and a trend that some experts believe could be long term. Changing needs in the market also mean that graduates must adapt their job expectations, mindset and skills.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH KOREA: Global campus for foreign universities
Karryn Miller
An innovative foreign higher education park scheme in South Korea is set to proceed, even though the worldwide recession has caused some overseas universities to postpone plans to locate branches at the Songdo Global University Campus, or SGUC.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: New strategy to produce scarce skills
Munyaradzi Makoni
Universities in South Africa have higher enrolment and participation rates than the further education and training sector, and not nearly enough appropriately skilled and qualified people in disciplines central to socio-economic development are being produced by the post-school system, says the country's third National Skills Development Strategy.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
US: Academic freedom and Yale's college in Singapore
Yale University's announcement that it is in discussions to set up a liberal arts college with the National University of Singapore came amid concerns for freedom of expression. Is Yale kidding itself if it thinks that this will not impact on academic freedom? Alumnus ERIC WEINBERGER thinks the university should proceed with caution.
Full report on the University World News site:
LEBANON: Higher education at risk without reform
Alain Hasrouny
If Lebanon is to maintain the reputation of its higher education sector in the Middle East and beyond and meet the requirements of the knowledge economy, a new leadership, vision, and mobilisation are required.
Full report on the University World News site:
OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT STORY
Last week University World News published an article by American professor
Philip G Altbach on the proliferation of third-party recruiters and agents in international higher education. He argued that they have no legitimate role and should be abolished. Here, a standards-promoting non-profit US international recruitment council and a global student recruitment company offer their sides of the story.
US: International higher education needs recruiters
The American International Recruitment Council was founded in 2008 by a group of US colleges and universities to establish and promote high professional standards in international student recruitment. Here, AIRC board members NORM PETERSON, STEPHEN FOSTER and MITCH LEVENTHAL argue that recruitment agencies are firmly established in a global student market where competition is fierce and America is losing market share. Many other US organisations need to be involved in promoting best practices in international recruitment.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Professional vs ethical in student recruitment
The role of recognised international student recruitment companies should be acknowledged, the legality of their compensation affirmed and their practices defined in terms of 'professional' rather than 'ethical' criteria, argues MATTHEW ULMER of the global student placement provider IDP Education. It is more effective to sanction unprofessional agents and to encourage best practice than it is to banish proven businesspeople working in an accepted and effective field.
Full report on the University World News site:
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports from around the world
Roisin Joyce*
In Britain, police have asked universities to pass them intelligence on planned protests, as students continue their vociferous campaign against education cuts and fee hikes. In Tunisia, universities remained closed last week but are expected to open tomorrow. The University of Tartu has sent the Croatian parliament a letter urging that the final version of a bill impacting on its autonomy be changed. President Barack Obama has announced that educational exchanges between Cuba and the US will be eased, while in China police and campus security at Peking University have issued a ban on copying sensitive materials. Egypt's Minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal has confirmed that the government will comply with court rulings to end a police presence on campuses.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL
US: Gay university leaders form advocacy group
Chuck Middleton is bearded, bald, g ay - and the President of Chicago's Roosevelt University. He's among about 30 g ay and l esbian university leaders who have formed the group LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education to advocate for the advancement of gays to leadership positions, writes Kara Spak for the Chicago Sun-Times.
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WORLD ROUND-UP
PUERTO RICO: More violence as student fees imposed
The imposition of student fees is going ahead at the University of Puerto Rico despite violent clashes of striking students with riot police, writes Dr Maritza Stanchich, an associate professor of English at the university, for The Huffington Post. The final date to pay the fee was last Wednesday.
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AUSTRALIA: High scores for internationalisation
The strength of Australia's quality assurance regime and government transparency have seen it placed second in a new index which rates countries on their policies regarding the engagement and promotion of internationalisation in higher education, writes Julie Hare for The Australian. Germany heads the list of 11 nations.
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AUSTRALIA: Ageing academics set university time bomb
Universities face a new crisis: up to 40% of academics and lecturers are expected to retire over the next decade, with no one to replace them, writes Sarah Whyte for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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KOREA: Stiffer measures to verify foreign degrees
The government will adopt stricter measures to verify overseas academic diplomas and tighten its monitoring of universities hiring staff with such qualifications, reports Bae Ji-sook for the Korea Herald.
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MALAYSIA: New rating system for private institutions
The Malaysian Quality Evaluation System (MyQuest) will rate all 402 private colleges in the country beginning this year to ensure quality of the courses offered, reports the official agency Bernama.
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SCOTLAND: University fears over tough new visa rules
Universities warn that Scotland will have one of the most restrictive visa regimes in the world for overseas students under UK government plans to crack down on immigration, writes Andrew Denholm for Herald Scotland.
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UGANDA: 'Study in India' scam exposed
India has been a popular destination for Ugandan students seeking affordable and high quality education in medicine, information technology and business courses. But many of these students end up studying at different institutions from those they set out to join, writes Frederick Womakuyu for Saturday Vision.
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US: 20-year-old programme scrapped after Niger deaths
Boston University has cancelled its study abroad programme in Niger because of the recent abduction and slaying of two Frenchmen, writes Matt Rocheleau for The Boston Globe.
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CHINA: Professors among those expelled for absenteeism
It is not rare for teachers to leave their posts without authorisation and not come back from abroad on time in China's colleges. However Hunan University, according to the Changsha Evening News, is the first to expel a large number of staff members for these reasons, writes Wang Hanlu for People's Daily. Recently, 26 teachers at Hunan University, including six professors, were notified that they had been laid off because they left their posts without authorisation.
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CANADA: 13 arrested in crackdown on illegal textbooks
Thirteen people were arrested last Thursday after the Royal Canadian Mounted Policy raided four photocopy stores in Montreal and seized hundreds of counterfeit university textbooks in what they described as an attempt to put an end to the illegal sale and distribution of the photocopied books, reports CBC News.
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SCOTLAND: Student plagiarism on the rise
Hundreds of cases of academic 'misconduct' are being detected at Scottish higher education institutions every year, writes Judith Duffy for The Express. Most of the incidents are related to plagiarism, which has risen in recent years with essays becoming easily available to purchase online.
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UK: A-level reforms mean results before university
Sixth formers will no longer have to wait for their results before learning if they have secured a place at university under a shake-up of the examination system. Ministers want to move the timing of final school examinations and push the autumn university term back, writes Andrew Hough for The Telegraph.
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INDIA: Firm to set up vocational university
Staffing company TeamLease Services announced last week it is setting up a vocational education university in Gujarat to help plug an increasing skills gap in India's labour force, write Prashant K Nanda and Priyanka Pulla for Live Mint.
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WEST AFRICA: New body to promote university ideals
The University of Ilorin in Nigeria has established the Association of West African Universities, AWAU, as a sub-regional body that will coordinate and promote the ideals of University education in West Africa.
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Monday 17 January 2011
University World News 0154 - 16th January 2011
AMEEN AMJAD KHAN covers a scientific meeting in Pakistan of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, where key decisions were made affecting higher education. In Features, LINDA YEUNG interviews reformist Xiong Bingqi about problems facing universities in China, MUNYARADZI MAKONI looks at a global initiative to encourage business schools to promote responsible practices, and KATE ASHCROFT reports on progress towards a new funding formula for universities in Ethiopia. In Commentary, PHILIP G ALTBACH argues that there is no legitimate role in higher education for agents and third-party recruiters of international students and they should be abolished, ERIK BEERKENS contends that the 'McDonalisation' of global university models is not always a bad thing, and JANA FISEROVA and JOHN ANCHOR suggest that students' perceptions on the returns of going to university - rather than the actual returns - will be vital for future predictions of demand for higher education.
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
EUROPE: EUA warns over impact of economic crisis
Brendan O'Malley
The economic crisis has affected European higher education systems in different ways and at different stages of the crisis, but the ensuing cuts are likely to lead to sweeping changes to higher education systems around Europe, according to a report by the European University Association.
Full report on the University World News site:
GERMANY: Student mobility rising fast, study shows
Michael Gardner
The number of German students studying abroad doubled in 2000-08. A survey suggests that they are much more mobile than students from most other countries, with only China, India and South Korea sending more students abroad. At the same time, the number of students from other countries coming to Germany to study rose by around 250% in 11 years.
Full report on the University World News site:
TAIWAN: Bid to attract more overseas students
Yojana Sharma
In a major speech last week Taiwan's President Ma Ying-Jeou outlined the country's bid to become a higher education hub, and said some universities could begin to teach in English - a move that could draw students from mainland China and elsewhere in Asia away from universities in Britain, Australia and the US.
Full report on the University World News site:
INDIA: Long wait ahead for foreign universities
Alya Mishra
Foreign universities keen on setting up in India have a long wait ahead. The Foreign Education Providers Bill to allow foreign educational institutions to open up branch campuses in India remains stuck in parliament.
Full report on the University World News site:
MALAYSIA: New term dates to aid internationalisation
Honey Singh Virdee
The start of the term at all public universities in Malaysia will be changed from this year to coincide with the academic calendar of universities in the West and neighbouring countries in Asia, as part of the internationalisation of the higher education sector, the education ministry said this month.
Full report on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: More investment favours older universities
Jan Petter Myklebust
Sweden is bucking the trend for austerity measures in higher education by increasing investment. But the older, more established universities will get a greater share of the extra spending at the expense of newer universities, especially in research.
Full report on the University World News site:
MAGHREB: Student, jobless graduate protests spread
Wagdy Sawahel
While the five states of the Arab Maghreb Union in North Africa approved a plan to enhance cooperation and academic integration among universities, violence, rioting and strikes by students and jobless graduates spread across the region from Tunisia to Algeria and Mauritania.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: Massive growth in post-school places
Karen MacGregor
In its push to expand participation in tertiary education, the government announced last week that opportunities for South Africans who passed school-leaving examinations in December would grow by 56% this year. And under political pressure to provide free higher education, President Jacob Zuma promised students on state loans a free final year if they graduate.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: More student lab time as programme extended
Alison Moodie
The University of California, Berkeley, has received a four-year, $1 million grant to extend a programme that gives undergraduate students from across the country more hands-on laboratory experience.
Full report on the University World News site:
IRELAND: Race to be technological first
John Walshe
Ireland's institutes of technology are scrambling to hold merger discussions to become the country's first technological university. This follows a long awaited and much leaked national strategy report which ruled out upgrading existing institutes but held out the prospect of merged institutes, over time, applying for designation as technological universities.
Full story on the University World News site:
ZIMBABWE: Mugabe supporters grab university land
Kudzai Mashininga
Three supporters of President Robert Mugabe have moved to grab huge chunks of land belonging to a state-run university in a matter that has since spilled into the courts. This comes a decade after the African dictator launched a ruinous agrarian reform exercise.
Full report on the University World News site:
ALGERIA: Problems of corruption and Bologna process
Jane Marshall
As a national conference of university managers was starting last week, La Tribune of Algiers questioned the state of affairs in "a sector corrupted by scandal". The paper also reported continuing disruption, and opposition from students and lecturers, over introduction of the Bologna process to the country's universities.
Full report on the University World News site:
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
University World News covered the 14th meeting of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference's Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, held in Pakistan's capital Islamabad last week.
ISLAMIC WORLD: Nations continue focus on Africa
Ameen Amjad Khan The 36 resolutions passed by the Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting in Islamabad last week stressed the critical and catalytic role of science, technology and higher education for development in OIC states in general and African member countries in particular.
Full report on the University World News site :
ISLAMIC WORLD: More science in higher education
Ameen Amjad Khan
Higher education and science and technology ministers from member countries of the Jeddah-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have decided unanimously to make curricula in universities of member states more science-oriented.
Full report on the University World News site:
ISLAMIC WORLD: New network of virtual universities
Ameen Amjad Khan
Ministers of higher education, science and technology from member countries of Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) last week announced that they will set up a network of virtual universities, based in Iran and financially supported by the Islamabad-based OIC and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEFS
GLOBAL: Australians top world student debating champs
Some 1,200 tertiary students from more than 60 countries and 200 universities converged on the University of Botswana for the 31st World Universities Debating Championships. Students from Australia dominated the top positions.
Full report on the University World News site:
MADAGASCAR: University lecturers' strike ends
The long strike in Madagascar by university lecturers and researchers ended on Monday, following negotiations between their union, SECES, and the Minister of Higher Education, Athanase Tongavelo.
Full report on the University World News site:
FEATURES
CHINA: Universities still have problems
Linda Yeung
A staunch advocate for higher education reform in China, Xiong Bingqi drew widespread attention in 2004 with the publication of his first book Universities Have Problems. Now China wants to build world-class universities and attract foreign faculty. But universities still have problems, particularly with party officials intervening in academic affairs, Xiong said in a frank interview.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Business schools promote responsible leaders
Munyaradzi Makoni
'Social responsibility' has assumed new meaning in the international business vocabulary: it is now about corporations moving from being the best in the world, to being best for the world. There is also growing implementation of the notion, thanks to a UN-sponsored global initiative to encourage business schools to promote responsible commercial practices.
Full report on the University World News site:
ETHIOPIA: Final steps to a funding formula
Kate Ashcroft
Ethiopia came a major step closer to implementing a fully functioning funding formula for teaching and learning in higher education, at a conference held in Addis Ababa last month. Participants overwhelmingly endorsed the principles of a funding formula and recommended that the Ethiopian government give it the go-ahead very soon.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
GLOBAL: Abolish agents and third-party recruiters
Agents and third-party recruiters are one of the results of the commerc ialisation of international higher education. In this article published in the latest edition of International Higher Education, PHILIP G ALTBACH argues that they have no legitimate role in higher education, are unnecessary and sometimes less than honest and should be abolished.
Full report on the University World News site:
ASIA: The global university - McDonaldisation?
Universities are becoming part of a global community, not just of students, but also of leaders, managers and administrators. The diffusion of global university models is sometimes seen as Westernisation or even the McDonaldisation of institutions. With reference to universities in Malaysia and Indonesia, ERIC BEERKENS looks at how the notion of the global service-oriented research university has spread and whether it is a bad thing.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Perceived returns of higher education
Jana Fiserova and John Anchor*
Will students be put off applying to university if tuition fees are raised? Most research has focused on what the actual returns of going to university are for students, rather than on their perceptions of those returns. The latter will be vital for future predictions of demand for higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:
SCIENCE SCENE
GLOBAL: Largest image of sky ever made
Astronomers at the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society released the largest digital image of the sky ever made last week. A mosaic created from millions of 2.8 megapixel images recorded over the past decade, the images were produced by the giant Sloan Digital Sky Survey and map the universe in more detail than any others ever achieved.
Full report on the University World News site:
AFRICA: Fruit farmers to use ants for pest control
Munyaradzi Makoni
Three universities will spearhead the training of African fruit and nut growers to use weaver ants to control pests. Farmers incur huge financial losses as their crops are attacked by insects, and this form of pest control will reduce losses while opening doors to world organic food markets.
Full report on the University World News site:
UK: Seeing the body from within and without
A new study led by Dr Manos Tsakiris from Royal Holloway, University of London, suggests that the way we experience the internal state of our body may also influence how we perceive our body from the outside, as for example in the mirror.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: International Year of Chemistry
Eminent scientists from the world of chemistry, including several Nobel Prize winners, will participate in a colloquium on 27-28 January at the Unesco headquarters in Paris to launch a year-long programme of events celebrating chemistry and the vital role it plays in human and social development.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL
INDIA: 'Working class' university on the cards
There may soon be a university for artisans and craftsmen where they get formal degrees - from bachelors to doctorate - to show for their skills, reports The Times of India.
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UK: Obesity linked to insecurity in rich nations
People in wealthy countries with 'free market' economies are more likely to become obese, an Oxford University study says, reports the BBC. Money stresses in countries like the UK and US could explain their higher obesity levels, compared with countries such as Norway and Sweden.
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FACEBOOK
The Facebook group of University World News is the fastest growing in
higher education worldwide. More than 2,500 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
Visit the University World News group on Facebook:
WORLD ROUND-UP
ISRAEL: Academics boycott settlement university
Some 155 university and college faculty members have signed a petition calling for an academic boycott of the Ariel University Centre, writes Or Kashti for Haaretz. In the petition, the lecturers state their "unwillingness to take part in any type of academic activity taking place in the college operating in the settlement of Ariel".
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VENEZEULA: Government scraps university law
Venezuela's national assembly has officially scrapped a controversial education reform law that would have increased government control over universities, reports the BBC.
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US: Far from border, foreign students detained
Six miles north of the University of Maine's flagship campus, on the only real highway in these parts, students and professors traveling south might encounter a surprise: a roadblock manned by armed Border Patrol agents, backed by drug-sniffing dogs, state policemen, and county sheriff's deputies, writes Colin Woodard for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Universities shift focus away from Japan
More and more US universities are apparently giving up on Japan as a target for recruiting students, as a survey showed that the number of US universities taking part in publicity events in Japan has sharply dropped in recent years, reports Yuji Yoshikata and for The Daily Yomiuri.
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CANADA: Professor's lecture prompts FBI call
A University of Victoria professor of indigenous studies says the FBI called her after she gave a lecture in the United States about Native American land rights, reports CBC News.
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TAIWAN: Some courses off-limits to Chinese students
The Ministry of Education last week published a set of guidelines stipulating that Chinese students are prohibited from enrolling in university departments related to national security, reports Focus Taiwan.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Free State wins global award
The University of the Free State has won the World Universities' Forum award for best practice in higher education during 2010, reports Sipho Masondo for The Times.
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AUSTRALIA: New body to rank rankers
University rankings are likely to proliferate and become more spec ialised, creating the need for a new kind of meta-ranking service that sorts and rates comparative data, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.
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IRELAND: Students face hefty debts under loan plan
College graduates would have to repay a debt of at least -25,000 (US$32,825) under a student loan scheme being considered by the Department of Education, writes Seán Flynn for The Irish Times.
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SCOTLAND: EU students 'exploit' local universities
Scottish ministers claim that thousands of European students are exploiting Scotland's free university system to avoid paying escalating fees in their home countries. Latest admissions figures show the number of students from other EU countries taking up places at Scottish universities has nearly doubled in a decade to almost 16,000 last year, at a cost of nearly £75 million (US$118,83), writes Severin Carrell for The Guardian.
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INDIA: Women engineering student numbers soar
Women have more than doubled their number across the country's engineering colleges over the past decade, pushing against one of the most resilient glass ceilings in Indian academia, writes Charu Sudan Kasturi for The Hindustan Times.
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US: California cuts 'imperil culture of innovation'
California's culture of innovation, which propelled the growth of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, was built on a public higher-education system that spawned 56 Nobel Prize winners and is home to one campus that produces 1,000 engineers a year, writes Oliver Staley for Bloomberg. Now, Governor Jerry Brown's proposed 16% cut in the higher education budget means that the elite University of California system may no longer be able to guarantee admission to the top 12.5% of the state's high school seniors.
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US: University takes aim at campus gun law
The University of Utah's president asked school trustees last Tuesday to help thwart possible legislation allowing the open display of firearms on campus, a move that could reopen a contentious debate between educators and lawmakers over gun policies, writes Brian Maffly for The Salt Lake Tribune.
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NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
EUROPE: EUA warns over impact of economic crisis
Brendan O'Malley
The economic crisis has affected European higher education systems in different ways and at different stages of the crisis, but the ensuing cuts are likely to lead to sweeping changes to higher education systems around Europe, according to a report by the European University Association.
Full report on the University World News site:
GERMANY: Student mobility rising fast, study shows
Michael Gardner
The number of German students studying abroad doubled in 2000-08. A survey suggests that they are much more mobile than students from most other countries, with only China, India and South Korea sending more students abroad. At the same time, the number of students from other countries coming to Germany to study rose by around 250% in 11 years.
Full report on the University World News site:
TAIWAN: Bid to attract more overseas students
Yojana Sharma
In a major speech last week Taiwan's President Ma Ying-Jeou outlined the country's bid to become a higher education hub, and said some universities could begin to teach in English - a move that could draw students from mainland China and elsewhere in Asia away from universities in Britain, Australia and the US.
Full report on the University World News site:
INDIA: Long wait ahead for foreign universities
Alya Mishra
Foreign universities keen on setting up in India have a long wait ahead. The Foreign Education Providers Bill to allow foreign educational institutions to open up branch campuses in India remains stuck in parliament.
Full report on the University World News site:
MALAYSIA: New term dates to aid internationalisation
Honey Singh Virdee
The start of the term at all public universities in Malaysia will be changed from this year to coincide with the academic calendar of universities in the West and neighbouring countries in Asia, as part of the internationalisation of the higher education sector, the education ministry said this month.
Full report on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: More investment favours older universities
Jan Petter Myklebust
Sweden is bucking the trend for austerity measures in higher education by increasing investment. But the older, more established universities will get a greater share of the extra spending at the expense of newer universities, especially in research.
Full report on the University World News site:
MAGHREB: Student, jobless graduate protests spread
Wagdy Sawahel
While the five states of the Arab Maghreb Union in North Africa approved a plan to enhance cooperation and academic integration among universities, violence, rioting and strikes by students and jobless graduates spread across the region from Tunisia to Algeria and Mauritania.
Full report on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: Massive growth in post-school places
Karen MacGregor
In its push to expand participation in tertiary education, the government announced last week that opportunities for South Africans who passed school-leaving examinations in December would grow by 56% this year. And under political pressure to provide free higher education, President Jacob Zuma promised students on state loans a free final year if they graduate.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: More student lab time as programme extended
Alison Moodie
The University of California, Berkeley, has received a four-year, $1 million grant to extend a programme that gives undergraduate students from across the country more hands-on laboratory experience.
Full report on the University World News site:
IRELAND: Race to be technological first
John Walshe
Ireland's institutes of technology are scrambling to hold merger discussions to become the country's first technological university. This follows a long awaited and much leaked national strategy report which ruled out upgrading existing institutes but held out the prospect of merged institutes, over time, applying for designation as technological universities.
Full story on the University World News site:
ZIMBABWE: Mugabe supporters grab university land
Kudzai Mashininga
Three supporters of President Robert Mugabe have moved to grab huge chunks of land belonging to a state-run university in a matter that has since spilled into the courts. This comes a decade after the African dictator launched a ruinous agrarian reform exercise.
Full report on the University World News site:
ALGERIA: Problems of corruption and Bologna process
Jane Marshall
As a national conference of university managers was starting last week, La Tribune of Algiers questioned the state of affairs in "a sector corrupted by scandal". The paper also reported continuing disruption, and opposition from students and lecturers, over introduction of the Bologna process to the country's universities.
Full report on the University World News site:
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
University World News covered the 14th meeting of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference's Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, held in Pakistan's capital Islamabad last week.
ISLAMIC WORLD: Nations continue focus on Africa
Ameen Amjad Khan The 36 resolutions passed by the Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting in Islamabad last week stressed the critical and catalytic role of science, technology and higher education for development in OIC states in general and African member countries in particular.
Full report on the University World News site :
ISLAMIC WORLD: More science in higher education
Ameen Amjad Khan
Higher education and science and technology ministers from member countries of the Jeddah-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have decided unanimously to make curricula in universities of member states more science-oriented.
Full report on the University World News site:
ISLAMIC WORLD: New network of virtual universities
Ameen Amjad Khan
Ministers of higher education, science and technology from member countries of Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) last week announced that they will set up a network of virtual universities, based in Iran and financially supported by the Islamabad-based OIC and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEFS
GLOBAL: Australians top world student debating champs
Some 1,200 tertiary students from more than 60 countries and 200 universities converged on the University of Botswana for the 31st World Universities Debating Championships. Students from Australia dominated the top positions.
Full report on the University World News site:
MADAGASCAR: University lecturers' strike ends
The long strike in Madagascar by university lecturers and researchers ended on Monday, following negotiations between their union, SECES, and the Minister of Higher Education, Athanase Tongavelo.
Full report on the University World News site:
FEATURES
CHINA: Universities still have problems
Linda Yeung
A staunch advocate for higher education reform in China, Xiong Bingqi drew widespread attention in 2004 with the publication of his first book Universities Have Problems. Now China wants to build world-class universities and attract foreign faculty. But universities still have problems, particularly with party officials intervening in academic affairs, Xiong said in a frank interview.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Business schools promote responsible leaders
Munyaradzi Makoni
'Social responsibility' has assumed new meaning in the international business vocabulary: it is now about corporations moving from being the best in the world, to being best for the world. There is also growing implementation of the notion, thanks to a UN-sponsored global initiative to encourage business schools to promote responsible commercial practices.
Full report on the University World News site:
ETHIOPIA: Final steps to a funding formula
Kate Ashcroft
Ethiopia came a major step closer to implementing a fully functioning funding formula for teaching and learning in higher education, at a conference held in Addis Ababa last month. Participants overwhelmingly endorsed the principles of a funding formula and recommended that the Ethiopian government give it the go-ahead very soon.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
GLOBAL: Abolish agents and third-party recruiters
Agents and third-party recruiters are one of the results of the commerc ialisation of international higher education. In this article published in the latest edition of International Higher Education, PHILIP G ALTBACH argues that they have no legitimate role in higher education, are unnecessary and sometimes less than honest and should be abolished.
Full report on the University World News site:
ASIA: The global university - McDonaldisation?
Universities are becoming part of a global community, not just of students, but also of leaders, managers and administrators. The diffusion of global university models is sometimes seen as Westernisation or even the McDonaldisation of institutions. With reference to universities in Malaysia and Indonesia, ERIC BEERKENS looks at how the notion of the global service-oriented research university has spread and whether it is a bad thing.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: Perceived returns of higher education
Jana Fiserova and John Anchor*
Will students be put off applying to university if tuition fees are raised? Most research has focused on what the actual returns of going to university are for students, rather than on their perceptions of those returns. The latter will be vital for future predictions of demand for higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:
SCIENCE SCENE
GLOBAL: Largest image of sky ever made
Astronomers at the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society released the largest digital image of the sky ever made last week. A mosaic created from millions of 2.8 megapixel images recorded over the past decade, the images were produced by the giant Sloan Digital Sky Survey and map the universe in more detail than any others ever achieved.
Full report on the University World News site:
AFRICA: Fruit farmers to use ants for pest control
Munyaradzi Makoni
Three universities will spearhead the training of African fruit and nut growers to use weaver ants to control pests. Farmers incur huge financial losses as their crops are attacked by insects, and this form of pest control will reduce losses while opening doors to world organic food markets.
Full report on the University World News site:
UK: Seeing the body from within and without
A new study led by Dr Manos Tsakiris from Royal Holloway, University of London, suggests that the way we experience the internal state of our body may also influence how we perceive our body from the outside, as for example in the mirror.
Full report on the University World News site:
GLOBAL: International Year of Chemistry
Eminent scientists from the world of chemistry, including several Nobel Prize winners, will participate in a colloquium on 27-28 January at the Unesco headquarters in Paris to launch a year-long programme of events celebrating chemistry and the vital role it plays in human and social development.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL
INDIA: 'Working class' university on the cards
There may soon be a university for artisans and craftsmen where they get formal degrees - from bachelors to doctorate - to show for their skills, reports The Times of India.
More on the University World News site:
UK: Obesity linked to insecurity in rich nations
People in wealthy countries with 'free market' economies are more likely to become obese, an Oxford University study says, reports the BBC. Money stresses in countries like the UK and US could explain their higher obesity levels, compared with countries such as Norway and Sweden.
More on the University World News site:
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higher education worldwide. More than 2,500 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
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WORLD ROUND-UP
ISRAEL: Academics boycott settlement university
Some 155 university and college faculty members have signed a petition calling for an academic boycott of the Ariel University Centre, writes Or Kashti for Haaretz. In the petition, the lecturers state their "unwillingness to take part in any type of academic activity taking place in the college operating in the settlement of Ariel".
More on the University World News site:
VENEZEULA: Government scraps university law
Venezuela's national assembly has officially scrapped a controversial education reform law that would have increased government control over universities, reports the BBC.
More on the University World News site:
US: Far from border, foreign students detained
Six miles north of the University of Maine's flagship campus, on the only real highway in these parts, students and professors traveling south might encounter a surprise: a roadblock manned by armed Border Patrol agents, backed by drug-sniffing dogs, state policemen, and county sheriff's deputies, writes Colin Woodard for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
More on the University World News site:
US: Universities shift focus away from Japan
More and more US universities are apparently giving up on Japan as a target for recruiting students, as a survey showed that the number of US universities taking part in publicity events in Japan has sharply dropped in recent years, reports Yuji Yoshikata and for The Daily Yomiuri.
More on the University World News site:
CANADA: Professor's lecture prompts FBI call
A University of Victoria professor of indigenous studies says the FBI called her after she gave a lecture in the United States about Native American land rights, reports CBC News.
More on the University World News site:
TAIWAN: Some courses off-limits to Chinese students
The Ministry of Education last week published a set of guidelines stipulating that Chinese students are prohibited from enrolling in university departments related to national security, reports Focus Taiwan.
More on the University World News site:
SOUTH AFRICA: Free State wins global award
The University of the Free State has won the World Universities' Forum award for best practice in higher education during 2010, reports Sipho Masondo for The Times.
More on the University World News site:
AUSTRALIA: New body to rank rankers
University rankings are likely to proliferate and become more spec ialised, creating the need for a new kind of meta-ranking service that sorts and rates comparative data, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.
More on the University World News site:
IRELAND: Students face hefty debts under loan plan
College graduates would have to repay a debt of at least -25,000 (US$32,825) under a student loan scheme being considered by the Department of Education, writes Seán Flynn for The Irish Times.
More on the University World News site:
SCOTLAND: EU students 'exploit' local universities
Scottish ministers claim that thousands of European students are exploiting Scotland's free university system to avoid paying escalating fees in their home countries. Latest admissions figures show the number of students from other EU countries taking up places at Scottish universities has nearly doubled in a decade to almost 16,000 last year, at a cost of nearly £75 million (US$118,83), writes Severin Carrell for The Guardian.
More on the University World News site:
INDIA: Women engineering student numbers soar
Women have more than doubled their number across the country's engineering colleges over the past decade, pushing against one of the most resilient glass ceilings in Indian academia, writes Charu Sudan Kasturi for The Hindustan Times.
More on the University World News site:
US: California cuts 'imperil culture of innovation'
California's culture of innovation, which propelled the growth of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, was built on a public higher-education system that spawned 56 Nobel Prize winners and is home to one campus that produces 1,000 engineers a year, writes Oliver Staley for Bloomberg. Now, Governor Jerry Brown's proposed 16% cut in the higher education budget means that the elite University of California system may no longer be able to guarantee admission to the top 12.5% of the state's high school seniors.
More on the University World News site:
US: University takes aim at campus gun law
The University of Utah's president asked school trustees last Tuesday to help thwart possible legislation allowing the open display of firearms on campus, a move that could reopen a contentious debate between educators and lawmakers over gun policies, writes Brian Maffly for The Salt Lake Tribune.
More on the University World News site:
Sunday 9 January 2011
University World News 0153 - 9th January 2011
SPECIAL REPORT: Challenges in the year ahead
Welcome back to the second decade of the 21st century. As universities in numerous countries around the world open after the New Year break, many face a year of changes and some, as in parts of Europe and the UK, are likely to find 2011 even more conflict-ridden and challenging than ever.
Government-imposed reductions in grants to universities following the global financial crisis will affect thousands of higher education institutions in the western world while many Asian governments are increasing their allocations to universities in the belief this will help boost their already strong economies. In the following series of articles, University World News correspondents report on the prospects for higher education this year in their countries and regions.
EUROPE: Spending cuts hit university budgets
Alan Osborn The familiar challenges of funding and mobility - particularly in research - will dominate the agenda for higher education in Europe in 2011. But this year will probably be much worse as public sector spending cuts bite into higher education budgets across the region.
Full story on University World News site:
AFRICA: Continental university initiatives take shape
Karen MacGregor
After several years in the planning, new continental university initiatives are set to take shape in Africa during 2011. One is the creation of an African higher education 'space' using regional university associations as the building blocks. Another is the Pan-African University and a third is a continental quality rating system.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: Stretching higher education's limits
Sarah King Head
In a world challenged by persistent economic trials and struggling to keep up with a veritable tower of Babel of innovation and change, 2011 looks poised to stretch the limits of US higher education even further. But most pundits are reluctant to spell out doom and gloom, looking instead to hopeful legislative changes designed to ensure future talent continues to be fostered in its great institutions.
Full story on University World News site:
UK: Cuts will bite in a year of transition
Brendan O'Malley
This will be a year of transition as universities prepare for radical changes. Cuts and protests lie in store for universities in England as they prepare for reforms in 2012 that will bring a 40% cut in the universities' teaching budget, permit universities to double or - exceptionally - triple fees and encourage the introduction of flexible degrees and new providers.
Full report on the University World News site:
FRANCE: More universities gain autonomy
Jane Marshall
French higher education starts 2011 with a new team at the head of the university presidents conference and a third wave of newly autonomous universities. Meanwhile, the selective grandes écoles are adopting new rules designed to make entry more accessible to less privileged young people.
Full report on the University World News site:
CANADA: Higher education faces many challenges
Philip Fine
Canada's higher education sector this year will contend with granting councils diminished by their contributions to basic research but offering increased overtures to corporate-sector partnerships. Universities will push for a more flexible research environment to help develop bilateral agreements with university researchers in emerging countries, such as India, Brazil and China, while student debt, already hovering at an average of C$26,000 (US$26,130) per student, is on the rise.
Full report on the University World News site:
SCANDINAVIA: Reforms to university governance
Jan Petter Myklebust
In the year ahead, universities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are experiencing extensive reforms, notably in governance which includes changes to their executive boards and their relations with governments.
Full story on University World News site:
AUSTRALIA: Uncertain times ahead for universities
Geoff Maslen
Higher education institutions will be looking forward this year with increasing uncertainty to 2012 when a previously untried system of open enrolments begins. The government will then lift restrictions on enrolment numbers and universities will be able to enrol however many students they believe they can cope with. Not that 2011 doesn't present its own numerous challenges, with declining numbers of full-fee paying foreigners near the top of the list of concerns.
Full story on University World News site:
IRELAND: Expansion plans could see fees return
John Walshe
The Irish government has been warned that it cannot meet its projected expansion in higher education without the re-introduction of tuition fees backed by a new system of loans which would be re-paid by graduates once they start earning.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
QATAR: Excellence quest lures foreign universities
Ashraf Khaled
As Qatar strives to be a hub for academic excellence in the Arab world, Western universities are increasingly showing interest in opening branches in the tiny-but-wealthy Gulf emirate. Six US universities have already established campuses there, and the latest arrival is a French graduate school of management.
Full report on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: Women locked out of research
Jan Petter Myklebust
Sweden's investment in research deemed to be of strategic 'excellence' has favoured male researchers over female researchers by a ratio of nearly 9:1 over the past decade, according to a government report released last month. The authors say a "catastrophic bias" has kept women out of research and has contributed to an attitude that "only men are capable of delivering top-class research results".
Full story on University World News site:
TUNISIA: Graduate joblessness sparks violent protests
Wagdy Sawahel
Jobless university graduate Mohammed Bouazizi, forced to sell fruit and vegetables on the Tunisian streets to make ends meet, last month doused himself in petrol and set himself alight in an attempted suicide. The incident sparked days of violent protest and rioting by mostly unemployed and frustrated young people.
Full report on the University World News site:
GERMANY: Fears for degree muddle
Michael Gardner
The dispute over Germany's retention of its old Diplom degree in the engineering sciences, despite the Bologna process, has been given further impetus by the adoption of new legislation introduced in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the announcement by a leading university spec ialising in engineering sciences that it will introduce new Diplom courses this year.
Full report on the University World News site :
ISLAMIC STATES: E-networking among universities
Wagdy Sawahel
Heads of university central libraries have recommended the establishment of a strategic alliance between the central libraries of universities in Islamic countries to help promote scientific research and teaching, and improve computer literacy among students and teachers. The alliance would be created through electronic networking of members of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, FUIW.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEFS
GLOBAL: New UN platform for biodiversity
The United Nations General Assembly has approved the creation of an Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, aimed at harnessing scientific knowledge in fighting the destruction of the ecosystem.
Full report on the University World News site:
CANADA: Students value internationalisation
Canadian students are convinced of the benefits of studying abroad and of the value of having international students on their campuses. A survey of nearly 3,000 students looked at their attitudes to the internationalisation of Canadian campuses as well as their own opportunities to pursue studies abroad.
Full report on the University World News site:
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
UKRAINE: Government interference in rector election
Roisin Joyce*
Election of a new rector at Donetsk National University in Ukraine led to allegations of government interference and violence from university staff, according to reports received from the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. During the election on 10 December, university staff were allegedly told they could vote for their preferred candidate, but that the "last word was with the Ministry".
More Academic Freedom reports on the University World News site:
FEATURES
AUSTRALIA: Van Gogh the collector
Geoff Maslen
Few people know that Vincent van Gogh, one of the founders of modern art, was an avid collector. More than that, Melbourne researcher Dr Vincent Alessi has discovered van Gogh learnt to draw by studying his collection of 19th century English black and white illustrations and that they influenced his own style.
Full story on University World News site:
AFRICA: Leaders trained abroad attract investment
Alison Moodie
African leaders who attend universities abroad attract more sustained foreign investment to their home countries than those locally trained, according to a study of 40 African countries released last month. It found that foreign study had a major impact on economic development.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
UK: Silence as a battle for survival begins
Philip Garrahan*
A self-inflicted storm is engulfing universities in England in the name of deficit reduction. The British government, launched on the promise of revitalised politics, has put increased tuition fees into the centre of a maelstrom. But the bigger picture is that, with an 80% cut in government funding for teaching, the grant for the majority of courses is being abolished. Many universities face financial instability yet university leaders have put up little public resistance.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL: Off-beat university stories
AUSTRALIA: University opens doors to flood victims
Priscilla Crighton*
As flood waters continue to cover a bigger proportion of the state of Queensland than the entire area of France and Germany combined, for John Price and his cattle dog cross Tike, the evacuation centre based at CQUniversity in flood-bound Rockhampton has been a real blessing.
Full report on the University World News site:
FACEBOOK
The Facebook group of University World News is the fastest growing in
higher education worldwide. More than 2,500 readers have joined. Sign up to the University World News Facebook group to meet and communicate directly with academics and researchers informed by the world's first truly global higher education publication. Click on the link below to visit and join the group.
Visit the University World News group on Facebook:
WORLD ROUND-UP
INDIA: New rules open doors to private universities
The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to recognise private universities set up through Acts of parliament for the first time under new regulations that remove a statutory obstruction to setting up private universities nationally, writes Charu Sudan Kasturi for The Hindustan Times.
More on the University World News site:
UK: Dumbing down of grades
Degree results obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show six out of 10 students were handed either a first or an upper second in 2010, compared with just one in three graduates in 1970, writes David Barrett for The Telegraph.
More on the University World News site:
KASHMIR: 'Seditious' literature lecturer freed
Kashmir University lecturer Noor Muhammad Bhat, arrested on charges of sedition on 9 December, was released from police custody on New Year's Day after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court granted Bhat interim bail on a surety bond of 25,000 Rupees (US$551), writes Naseer Ganai for India Today.
More on the University World News site:
IRAN: Overhaul to purge Western influences
Iran is overhauling its education system to rid it of Western influence, the latest attempt by the government to fortify Islamic values and counter the clout of the country's increasingly secularised middle class, writes Thomas Erdbrink for The Washington Post.
More on the University World News site:
NIGERIA: University leaders drawn from diaspora
Four of the nine vice-chancellors to be appointed to the new universities that will be established this year are expected to come from the Nigerian diaspora, reports Elizabeth Archibong for Next.
More on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: New fees may weaken universities
From the autumn semester, students from countries outside Europe will have to pay for university education in Sweden, leading to fears of a decrease in foreign students and a drop in the number of courses and programmes, writes Mats Ã-hlén for The Stockholm News.
More on the University World News site:
INDIA: Higher education IT plan stalls
The digital highway is ready but it is snaking into a black hole in 5,000 colleges in a country that has staked its future on information technology, writes Basant Kumar Mohanty for The Telegraph.
More on the University World News site:
WALES: Cuts threaten low-demand courses
Financial pressures could see university courses in low demand being discontinued at a time of cuts to higher education, writes Claire Miller for The Western Mail.
More on the University World News site:
US: Professors accept retirement buyouts
Darrell Fasching planned to keep teaching religious studies at the University of South Florida until he was offered a year's salary of about $90,000 to retire and give up tenure rights earned over almost three decades at the school, write David Mildenberg and Janet Lorin for Bloomberg.
More on the University World News site:
IRELAND: Rethink of honorary degrees
Universities have been criticised for spending almost £300,000 (US$465,180) on "questionable" honorary degrees that "devalue" the academic achievements of students, writes Elaine Loughlin for The Belfast Telegraph.
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EUROPE: Wave of university mergers
In Finland, the creation of the new Aalto University, the product of a merger of three institutions, is a cornerstone of a new national higher education strategy. It is also part of a wave of university mergers happening across Europe in recent years, driven by concerns over economic competitiveness, research quality, and international reputation, writes Aisha Labi for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
More on the University World News site:
UK: Applications rise ahead of fee hike
University candidates are racing to submit their applications ahead of the tripling of tuition fees from autumn 2012, writes Jeevan Vasagar for The Guardian. Figures released recently show that applications received before Christmas rose by 2.5% compared with the same period the year before, to reach a record high - with 335,795 candidates chasing places for 2011 entry.
More on the University World News site:
CANADA: Tribute to historian David F Noble
Critical historian of science and technology David F Noble died suddenly on 27 December within a few days of being admitted to hospital, writes Denis G Rancourt for Pacific Free Press.
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SINGAPORE: Record donation for NTU's medical school
The yet-to-open medical school of Nanyang Technological University has received a record donation of S$400 million (US$309 million), the largest contribution yet made to a tertiary institution here, writes Amelia Tan for The Straits Times.
More on the University World News site:
UK: Open University offers model for others
Forty years ago this month a radical innovation arrived in higher education. The new Open University (OU) began to admit students who did not have the qualifications to get into other institutions, reports The Economist.
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JORDAN: Headgear ban to curb violence
The widening phenomenon of brawls between members of rival Jordanian tribes on university campuses has prompted one university to take an extreme step: banning of the traditional Jordanian headdress, the shemagh, inside university confines, writes David E Miller for The Media Line.
More on the University World News site:
Welcome back to the second decade of the 21st century. As universities in numerous countries around the world open after the New Year break, many face a year of changes and some, as in parts of Europe and the UK, are likely to find 2011 even more conflict-ridden and challenging than ever.
Government-imposed reductions in grants to universities following the global financial crisis will affect thousands of higher education institutions in the western world while many Asian governments are increasing their allocations to universities in the belief this will help boost their already strong economies. In the following series of articles, University World News correspondents report on the prospects for higher education this year in their countries and regions.
EUROPE: Spending cuts hit university budgets
Alan Osborn The familiar challenges of funding and mobility - particularly in research - will dominate the agenda for higher education in Europe in 2011. But this year will probably be much worse as public sector spending cuts bite into higher education budgets across the region.
Full story on University World News site:
AFRICA: Continental university initiatives take shape
Karen MacGregor
After several years in the planning, new continental university initiatives are set to take shape in Africa during 2011. One is the creation of an African higher education 'space' using regional university associations as the building blocks. Another is the Pan-African University and a third is a continental quality rating system.
Full report on the University World News site:
US: Stretching higher education's limits
Sarah King Head
In a world challenged by persistent economic trials and struggling to keep up with a veritable tower of Babel of innovation and change, 2011 looks poised to stretch the limits of US higher education even further. But most pundits are reluctant to spell out doom and gloom, looking instead to hopeful legislative changes designed to ensure future talent continues to be fostered in its great institutions.
Full story on University World News site:
UK: Cuts will bite in a year of transition
Brendan O'Malley
This will be a year of transition as universities prepare for radical changes. Cuts and protests lie in store for universities in England as they prepare for reforms in 2012 that will bring a 40% cut in the universities' teaching budget, permit universities to double or - exceptionally - triple fees and encourage the introduction of flexible degrees and new providers.
Full report on the University World News site:
FRANCE: More universities gain autonomy
Jane Marshall
French higher education starts 2011 with a new team at the head of the university presidents conference and a third wave of newly autonomous universities. Meanwhile, the selective grandes écoles are adopting new rules designed to make entry more accessible to less privileged young people.
Full report on the University World News site:
CANADA: Higher education faces many challenges
Philip Fine
Canada's higher education sector this year will contend with granting councils diminished by their contributions to basic research but offering increased overtures to corporate-sector partnerships. Universities will push for a more flexible research environment to help develop bilateral agreements with university researchers in emerging countries, such as India, Brazil and China, while student debt, already hovering at an average of C$26,000 (US$26,130) per student, is on the rise.
Full report on the University World News site:
SCANDINAVIA: Reforms to university governance
Jan Petter Myklebust
In the year ahead, universities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are experiencing extensive reforms, notably in governance which includes changes to their executive boards and their relations with governments.
Full story on University World News site:
AUSTRALIA: Uncertain times ahead for universities
Geoff Maslen
Higher education institutions will be looking forward this year with increasing uncertainty to 2012 when a previously untried system of open enrolments begins. The government will then lift restrictions on enrolment numbers and universities will be able to enrol however many students they believe they can cope with. Not that 2011 doesn't present its own numerous challenges, with declining numbers of full-fee paying foreigners near the top of the list of concerns.
Full story on University World News site:
IRELAND: Expansion plans could see fees return
John Walshe
The Irish government has been warned that it cannot meet its projected expansion in higher education without the re-introduction of tuition fees backed by a new system of loans which would be re-paid by graduates once they start earning.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report
QATAR: Excellence quest lures foreign universities
Ashraf Khaled
As Qatar strives to be a hub for academic excellence in the Arab world, Western universities are increasingly showing interest in opening branches in the tiny-but-wealthy Gulf emirate. Six US universities have already established campuses there, and the latest arrival is a French graduate school of management.
Full report on the University World News site:
SWEDEN: Women locked out of research
Jan Petter Myklebust
Sweden's investment in research deemed to be of strategic 'excellence' has favoured male researchers over female researchers by a ratio of nearly 9:1 over the past decade, according to a government report released last month. The authors say a "catastrophic bias" has kept women out of research and has contributed to an attitude that "only men are capable of delivering top-class research results".
Full story on University World News site:
TUNISIA: Graduate joblessness sparks violent protests
Wagdy Sawahel
Jobless university graduate Mohammed Bouazizi, forced to sell fruit and vegetables on the Tunisian streets to make ends meet, last month doused himself in petrol and set himself alight in an attempted suicide. The incident sparked days of violent protest and rioting by mostly unemployed and frustrated young people.
Full report on the University World News site:
GERMANY: Fears for degree muddle
Michael Gardner
The dispute over Germany's retention of its old Diplom degree in the engineering sciences, despite the Bologna process, has been given further impetus by the adoption of new legislation introduced in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the announcement by a leading university spec ialising in engineering sciences that it will introduce new Diplom courses this year.
Full report on the University World News site :
ISLAMIC STATES: E-networking among universities
Wagdy Sawahel
Heads of university central libraries have recommended the establishment of a strategic alliance between the central libraries of universities in Islamic countries to help promote scientific research and teaching, and improve computer literacy among students and teachers. The alliance would be created through electronic networking of members of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, FUIW.
Full report on the University World News site:
NEWSBRIEFS
GLOBAL: New UN platform for biodiversity
The United Nations General Assembly has approved the creation of an Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, aimed at harnessing scientific knowledge in fighting the destruction of the ecosystem.
Full report on the University World News site:
CANADA: Students value internationalisation
Canadian students are convinced of the benefits of studying abroad and of the value of having international students on their campuses. A survey of nearly 3,000 students looked at their attitudes to the internationalisation of Canadian campuses as well as their own opportunities to pursue studies abroad.
Full report on the University World News site:
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
UKRAINE: Government interference in rector election
Roisin Joyce*
Election of a new rector at Donetsk National University in Ukraine led to allegations of government interference and violence from university staff, according to reports received from the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. During the election on 10 December, university staff were allegedly told they could vote for their preferred candidate, but that the "last word was with the Ministry".
More Academic Freedom reports on the University World News site:
FEATURES
AUSTRALIA: Van Gogh the collector
Geoff Maslen
Few people know that Vincent van Gogh, one of the founders of modern art, was an avid collector. More than that, Melbourne researcher Dr Vincent Alessi has discovered van Gogh learnt to draw by studying his collection of 19th century English black and white illustrations and that they influenced his own style.
Full story on University World News site:
AFRICA: Leaders trained abroad attract investment
Alison Moodie
African leaders who attend universities abroad attract more sustained foreign investment to their home countries than those locally trained, according to a study of 40 African countries released last month. It found that foreign study had a major impact on economic development.
Full report on the University World News site:
COMMENTARY
UK: Silence as a battle for survival begins
Philip Garrahan*
A self-inflicted storm is engulfing universities in England in the name of deficit reduction. The British government, launched on the promise of revitalised politics, has put increased tuition fees into the centre of a maelstrom. But the bigger picture is that, with an 80% cut in government funding for teaching, the grant for the majority of courses is being abolished. Many universities face financial instability yet university leaders have put up little public resistance.
Full report on the University World News site:
UNI-LATERAL: Off-beat university stories
AUSTRALIA: University opens doors to flood victims
Priscilla Crighton*
As flood waters continue to cover a bigger proportion of the state of Queensland than the entire area of France and Germany combined, for John Price and his cattle dog cross Tike, the evacuation centre based at CQUniversity in flood-bound Rockhampton has been a real blessing.
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WORLD ROUND-UP
INDIA: New rules open doors to private universities
The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to recognise private universities set up through Acts of parliament for the first time under new regulations that remove a statutory obstruction to setting up private universities nationally, writes Charu Sudan Kasturi for The Hindustan Times.
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UK: Dumbing down of grades
Degree results obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show six out of 10 students were handed either a first or an upper second in 2010, compared with just one in three graduates in 1970, writes David Barrett for The Telegraph.
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KASHMIR: 'Seditious' literature lecturer freed
Kashmir University lecturer Noor Muhammad Bhat, arrested on charges of sedition on 9 December, was released from police custody on New Year's Day after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court granted Bhat interim bail on a surety bond of 25,000 Rupees (US$551), writes Naseer Ganai for India Today.
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IRAN: Overhaul to purge Western influences
Iran is overhauling its education system to rid it of Western influence, the latest attempt by the government to fortify Islamic values and counter the clout of the country's increasingly secularised middle class, writes Thomas Erdbrink for The Washington Post.
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NIGERIA: University leaders drawn from diaspora
Four of the nine vice-chancellors to be appointed to the new universities that will be established this year are expected to come from the Nigerian diaspora, reports Elizabeth Archibong for Next.
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SWEDEN: New fees may weaken universities
From the autumn semester, students from countries outside Europe will have to pay for university education in Sweden, leading to fears of a decrease in foreign students and a drop in the number of courses and programmes, writes Mats Ã-hlén for The Stockholm News.
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INDIA: Higher education IT plan stalls
The digital highway is ready but it is snaking into a black hole in 5,000 colleges in a country that has staked its future on information technology, writes Basant Kumar Mohanty for The Telegraph.
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WALES: Cuts threaten low-demand courses
Financial pressures could see university courses in low demand being discontinued at a time of cuts to higher education, writes Claire Miller for The Western Mail.
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US: Professors accept retirement buyouts
Darrell Fasching planned to keep teaching religious studies at the University of South Florida until he was offered a year's salary of about $90,000 to retire and give up tenure rights earned over almost three decades at the school, write David Mildenberg and Janet Lorin for Bloomberg.
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IRELAND: Rethink of honorary degrees
Universities have been criticised for spending almost £300,000 (US$465,180) on "questionable" honorary degrees that "devalue" the academic achievements of students, writes Elaine Loughlin for The Belfast Telegraph.
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EUROPE: Wave of university mergers
In Finland, the creation of the new Aalto University, the product of a merger of three institutions, is a cornerstone of a new national higher education strategy. It is also part of a wave of university mergers happening across Europe in recent years, driven by concerns over economic competitiveness, research quality, and international reputation, writes Aisha Labi for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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UK: Applications rise ahead of fee hike
University candidates are racing to submit their applications ahead of the tripling of tuition fees from autumn 2012, writes Jeevan Vasagar for The Guardian. Figures released recently show that applications received before Christmas rose by 2.5% compared with the same period the year before, to reach a record high - with 335,795 candidates chasing places for 2011 entry.
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CANADA: Tribute to historian David F Noble
Critical historian of science and technology David F Noble died suddenly on 27 December within a few days of being admitted to hospital, writes Denis G Rancourt for Pacific Free Press.
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SINGAPORE: Record donation for NTU's medical school
The yet-to-open medical school of Nanyang Technological University has received a record donation of S$400 million (US$309 million), the largest contribution yet made to a tertiary institution here, writes Amelia Tan for The Straits Times.
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UK: Open University offers model for others
Forty years ago this month a radical innovation arrived in higher education. The new Open University (OU) began to admit students who did not have the qualifications to get into other institutions, reports The Economist.
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JORDAN: Headgear ban to curb violence
The widening phenomenon of brawls between members of rival Jordanian tribes on university campuses has prompted one university to take an extreme step: banning of the traditional Jordanian headdress, the shemagh, inside university confines, writes David E Miller for The Media Line.
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