Sunday 18 December 2011

University World News 0202- 19th December 2011

ANNOUNCEMENT: Festive season break, new website, new sections

University World News is taking a short break over the year-end festive season. Our next weekly edition will be published on Sunday 8 January, although breaking news stories will continue to be posted on the website. We will kick off 2012 with a special report looking ahead at likely developments and challenges facing higher education around the world.

The new year will herald a new look for University World News, with the launch in January of a redesigned website with a newsy feel and a more flexible structure that will lift the Features and Commentary sections higher up the page, among many other things. We will also be launching blogs, which will boost the academic voice in University World News over and above the Commentary section, and a new article series titled "Thoughts and Experiences of African University Leaders", funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This week's highlights

In Commentary, RICHARD HOLMES says the new Leiden Ranking is unlikely to attract much attention because it does not declare a winner, but it contains a wealth of data and other rankers should pay attention. In articles from International Higher Education, RUTH HAYHOE and JUN LI examine how China has balanced support for world-class universities with policies promoting institutional diversity, and MARCELO KNOBEL writes that Brazil's new initiative to send 75,000 students abroad has good intentions but has met with criticisms. In Features, MUNYARADZI MAKONI reports on a controversial bill in South Africa that has been slammed as a threat to academic freedom, and SHELDON G WEEKS writes that after years of delays, Botswana's second public university and a fourth college are set to open next year. AMEEN AMJAD KHAN says concern is growing in Pakistan that most university courses are irrelevant to the country's socio-economic needs, and in Vietnam, HIEP PHAM reports that universities are struggling to attract international students.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

NIGERIA: Striking academics close public universities
Tunde Fatunde
Striking academics have once again shut down Nigeria's public universities, and students have been sent home. Leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, or ASUU, have accused the federal and regional governments of deliberately failing to execute a memorandum of understanding on funding, salaries and conditions signed two years ago.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Block Belarus bid to join HE area - Students
Brendan O'Malley
The European Students Union says Belarus should not be allowed to join the European Higher Education Area because it denies academic freedom.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Living costs and fees deter foreign students
Jan Petter Myklebust
A government survey of the impact of the introduction of tuition fees on international students in Sweden this autumn has revealed that one in three of those accepted into universities did not take up the places because living costs are too high. Only 29% of 4,600 fee-eligible students accepted for a study place actually registered, compared to 79% of Swedish students.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Foreign students need special support
Michael Gardner
The success rate of foreign students who go on to universities in Germany after attending school there is improving, but fewer of them complete higher education than German students and many are faced with problems that require special support, according to a new survey.
Full report on the University World News site:

NORWAY: State to fund more study abroad in BRICs
Jan Petter Myklebust
The Norwegian parliament's committee on education has asked the Ministry of Education to fund more Norwegians to study in Brazil, Russia, India and China - the four original BRIC countries - from 2012. Kyrre Lekve, junior education minister, said funding would be focused on attendance at "good quality" institutions listed in international rankings.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Pan-African University officially launched
Mamadou Mika Lom
The Pan African University was officially launched last Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, headquarters of the African Union, which has been driving the initiative. The event transformed into reality the dream of creating centres of excellence across Africa to conduct research and train the high-level professionals desperately needed for development.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Risks and opportunities for multi-state campuses
Alison Moodie
Creating campuses in multiple US states carries both risks and opportunities for private colleges, according to a report by Moody's Investors Service. Northeastern University in Boston recently opened regional campuses across America. The move reflects a new trend that may well spread to other private not-for-profit universities as enrolment continues to decline and revenues dwindle in a weak economy, says the study.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Plan to grow Arab-South American links
Wagdy Sawahel
A three-year plan to increase higher education cooperation between 12 South American and 22 Arab countries is to start next year. The aim is to improve the quality of education in both regions, enhance cooperation and exchange of experience, and build an educational and scientific database.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Tough challenges face new universities minister
Ashraf Khaled
He is Egypt's fourth higher education minister in 10 months. His predecessor held the post for four months and was forced to quit along with the rest of the government after clashes between pro-democracy protesters and security forces left 45 people dead. When named universities minister this month, Dr Hussein Khaled said he would handle the job regardless of when he might leave it.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Business schools turn to Islamic finance
Leigh Thomas
As unemployment levels remain high in the West, finance students are being encouraged to gain expertise in Islamic banking so that they will be able to work in the Gulf states and in the wider Islamic world.
Full report on the University World News site:

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: President closes universities for 2012
Jane Marshall
A decision by President Alassane Ouattara to close Côte d'Ivoire's two universities until at least September 2012 has caused consternation in the higher education community and provoked condemnation by human rights organisations, according to press reports.
Full report on the University World News site:

KENYA: Universities in talks with private investors
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya is in talks with three South African investors to construct facilities in one of its public universities, as institutions seek private funding to expand facilities against a background of soaring student numbers. Another major university is also seeking private investment in academic and residential infrastructure.
Full report on the University World News site:

MAURITIUS: State might cancel 'useless' courses
Guillaume Gouges
The Ministry of Tertiary Education announced last week that it might cancel some humanities and social sciences courses at the University of Mauritius. The news sparked an uproar among students and intellectuals on the Indian Ocean island.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

SOUTH AFRICA: Bill is a threat to democracy, research
Munyaradzi Makoni
The Protection of Information Bill, which was passed by South Africa's national assembly with a majority vote on 22 November, has raised the ire of researchers, who have slammed it as a threat to democracy and academic freedom.
Full report on the University World News site:

BOTSWANA: Two stalled institutions to open in 2012
Sheldon G Weeks
After years of delays, both the Botswana International University of Science and Technology and the Oodi College of Applied Arts and Technology are to open next year. The new institutions will give a major boost to the country's ability to produce high-level skills.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: Universities must tackle national problems
Ameen Amjad Khan
Pakistan has been hit by massive floods many times and once by a severe earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people. These, and numerous other problems the country faces, have raised questions about the role of universities. Concern is growing that most courses taught at universities are irrelevant to Pakistan's social and economic needs.
Full report on the University World News site:

VIETNAM: Struggling to attract international students
Hiep Pham
Vietnam is changing university enrolment requirements to make it easier for foreign students to study at its universities. The new rules are part of a strategic plan to internationalise universities, produced earlier this year, which also includes more courses delivered in English and inviting foreign scholars to Vietnam to conduct research.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Leiden Ranking: Many ways to measure research
The just-published Leiden Ranking adds to the panoply of global university rankings. It is likely to get little attention because no overall winner is declared, argues RICHARD HOLMES. But Leiden contains a wealth of data and other rankers using citations should pay careful attention. The problem is how to choose among all the data and how to combine it.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHINA: World-class universities in a diverse system
China has been able to maintain a certain amount of institutional diversity within its higher education system despite moves to achieve world-class universities, say RUTH HAYHOE and JUN LI. How it has balanced support for world-class universities with policies promoting diversity and national economic redistribution, could provide useful lessons for other developing countries.
Full report on the University World News site:

BRAZIL: Study-abroad initiative needs careful study
Brazil's new initiative to dramatically boost the number of Brazilian students studying abroad has good intentions, but has met with a number of criticisms. The main one is that the programme is not a proper exchange, says MARCELO KNOBEL. In the latest edition of International Higher Education he calls for more careful discussion on the way forward.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet
In Uzbekistan, a female Uzbek student on vacation from studies in Germany has committed suicide after four days of police interrogation. In Turkey, 22 of 28 leftist youths detained for six months over accusations of terrorist links have been released after a court rejected the accusations against them. Professor Nasser bin Gaith of Abu Dhabi's Sorbonne University, along with four others detained for eight months for signing an online pro-reform petition, has been freed after a presidential pardon. In Iran, an imprisoned rights activist has been denied leave to write a graduate admissions test. And in Tunisia, Islamic fundamentalist groups have disrupted university classes and exams and have targeted female professors.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group at www.facebook.com/UniversityWorldNews. Even if you were one of the 2,800 members of the original Facebook community you will need to rejoin, or become a fan once again via this page. That way, you will be able to see our regular updates, post on our wall and communicate with us and other University World News fans. Please take a few minutes to rejoin and to inform your friends about our new Facebook page. You can also follow University World News on Twitter @uniworldnews

WORLD ROUND-UP

UK: Oxford agrees to reprint controversial Indian work
In a bow to pressure from scholars worldwide, Oxford University Press has said it will immediately reprint The Collected Essays of AK Ramanujan, an Indian scholar, poet and translator, and another book containing his work, writes Jennifer Howard for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
More on the University World News site:

INDIA: State funds to help local universities compete
India's national government would give financial support as a protective measure to state universities, as envisaged in the 12th five-year plan, Association of Indian Universities president Prakash T Chande said last week. It would enable Indian universities to withstand competition from foreign universities, writes Sudha Nambudiri for The Times of India.
More on the University World News site:

US: Top Indian students to pay in-state fees
There's good news for meritorious Indian students aspiring to pursue higher education in the US. American institutions have started charging foreigners with top academic records in-state tuition fees - the fees US students pay, which are less than those fixed for international students, writes N Arun Kumar for the Deccan Chronicle.
More on the University World News site:

US: Apology and defence at Davis pepper-spray hearing
State lawmakers grilled University of California officials last Wednesday over the controversial pepper-spraying of student protesters at UC Davis, only to be warned by those administrators, however conciliatory, that more protests are inevitable if the legislature keeps cutting funds for higher education, writes Michael J Mishak for the Los Angeles Times.
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US: Berkeley enhances aid for middle-class families
The University of California, Berkeley, is offering a new financial aid programme to help families whose gross annual income is $80,000 to $140,000, amid tuition increases and state funding cuts, writes Janet Lorin for Bloomberg.
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US: For-profit college lobby blitz diluted new rules
Last year, the Barack Obama administration vowed to stop for-profit colleges from luring students with false promises, writes Eric Lichtblau for The New York Times. In an opening volley that shook the $30 billion industry, officials proposed new restrictions to cut off the huge flow of federal aid to unfit programmes. But after a ferocious response, the Education Department produced a much-weakened final plan that almost certainly will have far less impact as it goes into effect next year.
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US: Universities block triple-X domain names
New .xxx addresses became available to the public last week, but some universities did not wait that long to secure important addresses, as a way to prevent adult content providers from profiting off them, writes Mike Snider for USA Today.
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GLOBAL: Africa the loser in medical brain drain
Sub-Saharan African countries that train, and invest in, their doctors end up losing billions of dollars as the clinicians leave to work in developed nations, new research has found, reports IT-Online. South Africa and Zimbabwe have the greatest economic losses in doctors due to emigration, while Australia, Canada, the UK and the US benefit most from the recruitment of physicians educated in other countries.
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AUSTRALIA: Chinese students learn vice of the dice
Chinese student Sai Meng arrived in Australia as a promising young scholar: captain of the best high school in Nanjing, two-time winner of the municipal essay competition and dux of his graduating class, writes Peter Cai for The Age. But Sai Meng (not his real name) did not finish his learning journey on the podium of a sandstone graduation hall. Instead, he spent his last days in Australia in a hospital ward under suicide watch.
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UK: Cambridge University puts Newton papers online
The notebooks in which Sir Isaac Newton worked out the theories on which much classical science is based have been put online by Cambridge University. More than 4,000 pages have been scanned, including his annotated copy of Principia Mathematica, containing Newton's laws of motion and gravity, reports the BBC.
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UK: Reading hopes Malaysia branch will bear fruit
The University of Reading aims to open a campus in Malaysia, becoming the latest in a growing band of UK universities to establish overseas offshoots, writes Sarah Cunnane for Times Higher Education. Reading's plans follow recent announcements from Lancaster University, which will partner with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies to open a campus in China, and the University of Nottingham, which has begun talks on a Shanghai branch that would be its third overseas campus.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Universities risk aggressive marketing
Until recently, Britain's University of Kent prided itself on its friendly image. Not any more. Over the past few months it has been working hard, with the help of media consultants, to downplay its cosy reputation in favour of something more academic and serious, writes Harriet Swain for the Guardian.
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UAE: Institute offers first Islamic endowments masters
Zayed University has launched the world's first masters in charitable endowments, the centuries-old Islamic form of philanthropy, writes Haneen Dajani for The National. As the university launched the Institute for Islamic Higher Studies last week, religious and education officials said the degree was timely, as misconceptions were dogging Islamic transactions and procedures.
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US: How to define disability
A US federal appeals court ruled last week that George Washington University was within its rights in 2003 when its medical school kicked out Carolyn Singh, having determined that she was not meeting academic standards. Singh was diagnosed as having a learning disability shortly before she was dismissed, and she claimed that the university violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accepting her diagnosis and approving adjustments she requested, writes Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed.
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CANADA: Universities form immunology network
A consortium of universities in Canada is setting up a national network to promote and enhance human immune system research with a $600,000 (US$581,500) catalyst grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, writes Peter Mansell for Pharma Times.
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NIGERIA: University urges students to look elsewhere
Overwhelmed by the huge number of candidates seeking admission annually, the University of Lagos has pleaded with parents to patronise other institutions in the country, writes Emmanuel Edukugho for Vanguard.
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UGANDA: Virtual university launched
Uganda launched a virtual university in a low-key event recently, writes Raymond Mpubani for The Monitor. Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo said at the ceremony held at the university's offices in Muyenga, an upmarket suburb in Kampala: "This is a radical move away from the blended learning approach used in many distance learning programmes offered by Uganda's universities."
More on the University World News site:

Monday 12 December 2011

University World News 0201 - 11th December 2011

This week's highlights

In Features, ALYA MISHRA says visa and work restrictions in Britain and America are prompting Indian students to seek out more welcoming destinations such as Canada, Europe and Singapore. WANDA HENNIG looks at local green research projects showcased at the global COP17 climate conference in Durban, and GEOFF MASLEN reports on a major research programme in Australia into mass species extinctions and biodiversity conservation. TUNDE FATUNDE says N igerian universities are responding to an ultimatum for the 61% of academics who do not have a PhD to upgrade their qualifications. In Commentary, TERRI KIM argues that financial turbulence in Europe could undermine higher education participation and encourage mobility and mergers. JEFF L SAMIDE calls for more emphasis on developing students' communication skills to better prepare them to work in a globalised world, and in Australia, LUCIENNE TESSENS, CLAIRE WEB and KATE WHITE argue that senior women in universities need more support and leadership programmes that focus on developing skills such as networking.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: New university ranking aims for objectivity
David Jobbins
A new university ranking seeks to use a sophisticated set of bibliometric indicators to rate scientific performance to establish the world's top 500 research universities.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Top universities in merger talks
Jan Petter Myklebust
Three top Swedish institutions - Stockholm University, the Karolinska Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology-KTH - are discussing a merger which would create the largest university in Northern Europe.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: EU sets 20% student mobility target
Jan Petter Myklebust
At least one in five higher education students should spend three months studying or training abroad by 2020, European Union member governments have agreed. Education ministers from the 27 member states last month adopted conclusions on the modernisation of higher education with a special emphasis on mobility.
Full report on the University World News site:

NETHERLANDS: 'Halve foreign students', right says
Robert Visscher
A right-wing political party has called for the number of foreign students allowed into The Netherlands to be halved, to ease a shortage of student housing.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Shortage of science graduates alarming
Michael Gardner
German industry still lacks spec ialists in mathematics, informatics, the natural sciences and engineering, according to a survey recently published by the country's leading industrial organisations. It stressed that the shortage of graduates in these key fields had grown dramatically since the beginning of the year.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Local academics excluded from policy-making
Munyaradzi Makoni
Crafting of policies in Africa largely excludes African academics, with over-reliance on donor agencies and foreign consultancies. But universities can play a key role by building stronger linkages with facilitative institutions to ensure that adequate skills are developed in policy research.
Full report on the University World News site:

ISLAMIC STATES: Central Asia university links to grow
Ameen Amjad Khan
A representative body of the ministers of higher education and research from Islamic countries agreed, during a meeting held in the last week of November in Azerbaijan, to expand higher education cooperation with Central Asian countries.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Prioritise higher education for refugees - UN
A study commissioned by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has stressed the need to prioritise access to higher education for refugees, as a tool to rebuild lives and for post-conflict reconstruction.
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB STATES: New centre to tackle genetic disorders
Wagdy Sawahel
In an effort to boost the development of education and research in inherited diseases and genetic disorders in the Arab world, a molecular medicine centre has opened in Bahrain.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

INDIA: New destinations for students heading abroad
Alya Mishra
For many years Indian students, the world's largest group of overseas students after the Chinese, rarely looked beyond Britain, the US and Australia for higher education. But changes in visa rules, fraudulent institutions that prey on unsuspecting foreign students and lack of opportunities to work after graduation in the UK and US have prompted students to seek newer, more welcoming destinations including Canada, Europe and Singapore.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Local green research showcased at COP17
Wanda Hennig
You only had to attend a few events at COP17 to know that this mammoth annual climate-focused happening is in effect a great big academic gathering, all the way from the scientists who provide climate impact facts and figures to students protesting the tardiness and vested interests of government negotiators and researchers called on to provide the data NGOs need to raise sustainable project funding.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Major research into mass species extinction
Geoff Maslen
Of the six great mass extinctions of species on Earth, five involved catastrophic events such as collisions with huge meteorites, geological upheavals or the advent of ice ages whose effects lasted for millennia. The sixth mass extinction is occurring now but it is the behaviour of humans over the past few hundred years rather than nature that has resulted in the ever-increasing loss of thousands of animal and plant species from the planet.
Full report on the University World News site:

N IGERIA: Urgent need for more academics with PhDs
Tunde Fatunde
Professor Julius Okojie, executive secretary of N igeria's regulatory agency the National Universities Commission, has again reminded universities of the urgent need to upgrade the qualifications of academics. He said there were 35,000 lecturers in N igeria and 21,350 of them - 61% - still did not have a doctoral degree.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

EUROPE: Higher education amid financial meltdown
What will be the impact on higher education of the current financial turbulence in Europe? TERRI KIM argues that widening participation is likely to suffer, and that there will be greater mobility among students and academics, and more mergers and restructuring of public universities. She argues, however, that this is the perfect time to revisit accepted truths about higher education and to question its purpose.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: The changing role of academic career development
Increasing globalisation means students need to be prepared better for the working world they will face. This includes understanding cultural and linguistic nuances, says JEFF L SAMIDE, as he calls for more emphasis to be placed on developing students' communication skills at university.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: How to increase women university leaders?
The number of women leaders in Australian universities is still low, despite various initiatives aimed at boosting it. LUCIENNE TESSENS, CLAIRE WEB and KATE WHITE argue that support needs to be strengthened and leadership programmes need to focus more on developing skills such as networking.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

UK: Creating nanoporous materials
A new method of creating nanoporous materials, with potential applications from water purification to chemical sensors, has been developed by scientists at the University of Cambridge. To produce a porous material it is necessary to have multiple components, so that when the minor component is removed, small pores are left in its place.


Full report on the University World News site:

JAPAN: Low friction along fault lines
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have uncovered the physical interactions between water and minerals that might explain why some fault lines slip without causing catastrophic earthquakes.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Indian Ocean seamounts mystery solved
Scientists have unexpectedly found traces of the supercontinent Gondwana in the Indian Ocean - in the process solving a mystery behind a large group of ocean 'mountains' known as seamounts that include Christmas Island.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UniversityWorldNews. Even if you were one of the 2,800 members of the original Facebook community you will need to rejoin, or become a fan once again via this page. That way, you will be able to see our regular updates, post on our wall and communicate with us and other University World News fans. Please take a few minutes to rejoin and to inform your friends about our new Facebook page. You can also follow University World News on Twitter @uniworldnews

WORLD ROUND-UP

EUROPE: EC head urges restraint in R&D funding cuts
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has warned that innovation and research funding should be spared from austerity, in a speech at the 2011 Innovation Convention, a gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators sponsored by the commission, writes Jordan Shapiro for New Europe.
More on the University World News site:

CANADA: Universities fare poorly on free speech index
A new report contends that a "disconcerting" number of Canadian universities have failed in their mission to protect free speech and in the process are helping to erode open debate in the larger society, writes Charles Lewis for the National Post.
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THAILAND: Cabinet backs one university per province
Anticipating a drop in the number of students studying at universities in future, the Thai cabinet has approved in principle an education ministry proposal to merge state-run institutions into one university per province, write Samatcha Hoonsara and Wannapa Khaopa for The Nation.
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ITALY: Nepotism in universities may fuel brain drain
One reason for the poor performance of Italian institutions in world league tables may be nepotism, it has been suggested. The practice has been blamed for a brain drain that has seen many of the country's best researchers move to the US or the UK after failing to progress at home because of their lack of connections, writes Frank Nowikowski for Times Higher Education.
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AUSTRALIA: Gillard urged to lift some university fees
Fees for some university courses will soar if Julia Gillard's government accepts the recommendations of a major review of higher education funding. The review has proposed a controversial overhaul that would eventually lead to all students paying 40% of the cost of their courses, writes Dan Harrison for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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WALES: More universities 'at risk' - Review
The number of universities in Wales at 'moderate risk' of collapse has risen in the past year. An Institutional Risk Review unearthed long-term sustainability issues with seven of the nation's 10 campus-based universities, writes Gareth Evans for Wales Online.
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SCOTLAND: Student vandals cost universities £600,000
The Young Ones made undergraduate excess an art form, but it seems they have nothing on Scotland's students. Universities north of the border have suffered damage worth more than £600,000 (US$942,000) at the hands of students in the past five years, reports The Scotsman.
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UK: University fees lowered to fill degree courses
Figures show that 24 new universities and former polytechnics and one further education college in England have lowered their tuition fees to below £7,500 (US$11,700) a year, writes Tim Ross for The Telegraph. Most elite institutions and red-brick universities will still charge the maximum £9,000.
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UK: Cures for killer diseases 'at risk' from cuts
Academics have warned that scientific breakthroughs with the potential to cure Parkinson's disease, provide vaccines for global killers such as HIV-Aids and malaria, and deliver solutions to curtail the environmental costs of building homes could be delayed by "ruinous" cuts to the development of research facilities at the country's leading universities, writes Daniel Boffey for the Guardian.
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UK: Professors issue warning on private universities
Coalition government plans to expand the number of private universities in the UK risks leading to higher dropout rates and lower academic standards, according to a powerful lobby of almost 500 professors, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph. It is claimed that giving profit-making companies access to state funding will create a system in which institutions pursue short-term financial gains at the expense of a decent education.
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AUSTRALIA: New journal for private higher education
A peer-reviewed journal for the study of private higher education is part of a plan to foster research in this growing part of the sector, writes Bernard Lane for The Australian.
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US: On private campuses, income gap widens at the top
Within the world of American private higher education, there are a handful of college presidents who earn considerably more than professors on their campuses, or gobble up a notable share of their institutions' budgetary pie, write Jack Stripling and Andrea Fuller for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: For-profit breaks mould of part-time staff
Professors at online colleges in the US can be an anonymous, itinerant bunch, moonlighting as adjuncts from far-flung locales and often struggling to cobble together a teaching load that can pay the bills, writes Paul Fain for Inside Higher Ed. Breaking this mould are 98 newly minted online faculty members at Grand Canyon University. The for-profit Christian university hired them as full-time employees, and they get standard benefits packages that are not available to part-timers.
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US: Guidelines given to promote campus diversity
The Obama administration has released new guidelines aimed at encouraging school districts and colleges to keep and pursue policies that promote racial diversity. In the process, they withdrew directives put forward during the administration of George W Bush, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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US: Masters degrees no guarantee of higher income
Laura Sayer, unsure of what she wanted to do after graduating from college in 2006, figured a masters degree was "a safe bet". With $5,000 in loans from her time at the University of Cincinnati, Sayer was set back $50,000 more after completing the interdisciplinary masters programme in humanities and social thought at New York University. The 27-year-old now makes about $45,000 a year as an administrative assistant for a non-profit group, a job that didn't require her advanced degree, writes Janet Lorin for Bloomberg Businessweek.
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US-INDIA: Harvard drops Indian party leader's courses
Harvard University has cancelled Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's summer courses over his controversial article in a Mumbai newspaper advocating destruction of hundreds of Indian mosques and disenfranchisement of non-Hindus in India, reports The Economic Times.
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PAKISTAN: PhD courses peter out
PhD courses that had flowered in Pakistan's universities during the last decade with encouragement from the Higher Education Commission have been petering out, according to academic sources, writes Ikram Junaidi for Dawn.


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PALESTINE: Online university opens in West Bank
An American online university started by an Israeli entrepreneur has opened an operations centre in the West Bank, writes DD Guttenplan for The New York Times. Shai Reshef, the founder of University of the People, a non-profit institution that offers free online education to students in more than 120 countries, said his agreement with ASAL Technologies, a Palestinian software and information technology services company based in Ramallah, was just the first stage of a plan to move the university's entire back office to the West Bank.
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US: Virginia Tech shooting tests emergency plans
In the chaotic minutes following a fatal shooting at Virginia Tech last Thursday, school officials were forced to test emergency procedures put in place following the 2007 campus rampage that resulted in 33 deaths, writes Mark Guarino for The Christian Science Monitor.
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US: Penn State rethinks role of football programme
In his first extensive interview since taking office last month, Penn State President Rodney Erickson said last week that he seeks to transform the university's public face from a football factory to a "world-class research institution", write Kevin Johnson and Kelly Whiteside for USA Today.
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Sunday 4 December 2011

University World News 0200 - 4th December 2011

This week's highlights

In Features, AMEEN AMJAD KHAN says United States aid to higher education has assumed a greater role in its foreign policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan. ARD JONGSMA describes the launch in Senegal of the European Commission, Association of African Universities and African Union's first Tuning initiative involving 60 universities across Africa, and PACIFICA GODDARD says Venezuela's 'autonomous' public universities are claiming they are being singled out for devastating funding cuts. In a special report NICO CLOETE, NASIMA BADSHA and MALEGAPURU MAKGOBA unpack the higher education challenges and strategies highlighted in South Africa's new national development plan. And in Commentary, VICTOR FIGUEROA-CLARK says the internationalisation of student protests in Chile shows there are many similarities between what is happening there and elsewhere. CLAIR CALLENDER explains why the UK government's white paper on higher education will decrease social mobility, JAN PETTER MYKLEBUST investigates the European Commission's bold plans for its next research programme, and JEHONA SERHATI bemoans lack of interest in higher education among think-tanks in post-conflict Kosovo.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

EUROPE: EU plans historic rise in research funding
Peter da Costa
The European Commission has proposed an historic adjustment to its research and innovation policies with a view to stimulating economic growth and shoring up the competitiveness of the European Union. The plans include a EUR30 billion (US$40 billion) increase in funding and a 16-fold rise in the number of higher education students being supported in their training.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Campus buzz at 'people's' COP17
Wanda Hennig
The University of KwaZulu-Natal's Howard College campus in Durban, South Africa, is ground zero for C17, the civil society 'People's Space' alternative to COP17-CMP7, the global climate change gathering that kicked off on Monday.
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ISLAMIC STATES: Ministers approve universities network
Ameen Amjad Khan
A high-profile meeting of ministers of higher education and research from member countries of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has approved setting up a higher education cooperation forum for developing nations including Islamic states during a meeting in Azerbaijan.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: Job rules 'may send foreign students to Australia'
Brendan O'Malley
The UK is seen as less welcoming to international students following the imposition of visa restrictions, according to the UK Council for International Student Affairs. Significant numbers of foreign students may instead choose to study in Australia due to Britain's abolition of the Post Study Work scheme, it said.
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RUSSIA: Duma simplifies foreign degree recognition
Eugene Vorotnikov
The Russian parliament, the State Duma, has adopted a bill which will make it easier for foreign scientists and other academics to work or study in the country by recognising the diplomas of leading foreign universities.
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FRANCE: PM backs tough rules for foreign students
Jane Marshall
France's Prime Minister François Fillon has defended the controversial tightening up of residence and employment rules for non-European students and graduates in the face of concerns expressed by higher education leaders.
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NETHERLANDS: Merger of three top universities opposed
Robert Visscher
Plans for three major Dutch universities to merge are opposed by more than half of their academics and students, according to a survey published on Thursday.
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VIETNAM: Higher education quality poor, says minister
Hiep Pham
The massification of Vietnam's higher education sector in the last two decades has led to quality problems that do not "match the demands of society and of the nation's development", Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan has admitted to the National Assembly.
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MALAWI: Commission ordered to cease inquiry
The Malawi high court has ordered a presidential commission of inquiry probing upheavals in the country's higher education sector to halt its proceedings following an application lodged by lecturers opposing the commission's operations.
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PAKISTAN: British Council forges university links
Ameen Amjad Khan
Pakistan's Higher Education Commission and the British Council have signed an agreement to expand university links between the two countries, with a new vision to help Pakistani universities get research out of laboratories to the service of communities and upliftment of the economy.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

PAKISTAN: US higher education aid to improve ties
Ameen Amjad Khan
United States aid to higher education has assumed a greater role in its foreign policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan this year, with experts saying that this form of soft diplomacy could help patch up the rocky relationship between the US and the two countries since the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and the attack on NATO headquarters in Kabul in September.
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AFRICA: Continent-wide Tuning project launched
Ard Jongsma
At a double meeting last week in Dakar, Senegal, the European Commission, the Association of African Universities and the African Union Council launched their first Tuning initiative in Africa. Sixty universities across the continent will participate in five pilot projects.
Full report on the University World News site:

VENEZUELA: Autonomous universities stripped of funds
Pacifica Goddard
Venezuela's public universities are claiming they will receive only a fraction of the state funding they require in 2012 under a new government budget. The 'autonomous' universities complain that they are being singled out because they do not fall under the control of President Hugo Chavez' leftist government.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: National Development Plan

South Africa's National Planning Commission published its National
Development Plan: Vision for 2030 last month. Higher education was barely mentioned in the previous plan, but this time it is afforded a prominent role. Here, three of the academics who shaped the new vision's higher education input describe the research, thinking and goals behind it, which will inform higher education policy in the years to come.

SOUTH AFRICA: Radical new plan for higher education

Hidden in the text of the education section of South Africa's new National Development Plan is an intention that is much more radical than any previous higher education policy, says NICO CLOETE. While previously higher education was regarded as an equity instrument, now for the first time it is acknowledged as a major development driver in the information-knowledge system. Knowledge production and equity are linked within a more differentiated system. Two major policy goals are to double the participation rate and expand private higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Emerging consensus on differentiation
There appears to be an emerging consensus in South Africa on the principles that should shape the future differentiation of the system, write NASIMA BADSHA and NICO CLOETE in a background paper for the new National Development Plan: Vision for 2030. There is acknowledgement that the country needs a variety of institutions to meet the different needs of students and for knowledge production and development. The key proposition is to strengthen coordination and steering of an expanded and diverse system.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Universities must build a winning nation
South Africa's education system is pulling it back. The capacity, quality and productivity of its higher education and innovation systems need urgent attention, argues MALEGAPURU MAKGOBA. The new National Development Plan sets ambitious targets to raise the production of doctoral graduates, participation rates and graduation rates. And, most importantly for universities to be 'fit for purpose', it calls for the proportion of academics with PhDs to be increased from a measly 34% to 75% over the next 20 years.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

CHILE: Student protest movement goes global
The Chilean student protests need to be understood in their recent historical context. However, the fact that they have become internationalised shows that there are many similarities between what is happening in higher education in Chile and other countries. They could also mark the beginning of the end of the neo-liberal period in Latin America, argues VICTOR FIGUEROA-CLARK.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: Government reforms will decrease social mobility
The UK government's recent white paper on higher education will decrease social mobility by focusing more on fairness than on widening participation, and by cutting entry routes into higher education for more disadvantaged students and channelling them towards lower cost, lower quality institutions, argues CLAIRE CALLENDER.
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EUROPE: A bold attempt to streamline research
The European Commission has adopted bold plans for its next research framework programme, Horizon 2020. But wrangling still remains to be done over the budget and some countries are still not happy to transfer research activities from the national to the European level, says JAN PETTER MYKLEBUST.
Full report on the University World News site:

KOSOVO: Need for experts to tackle higher education
Post-conflict countries like Kosovo need both financial and expert support to negotiate a peaceful transition and build a sustainable civil society. One of the aims of outside experts should be to promote local capacity and identify local experts, says JEHONA SERHATI. In Kosovo, however, few national think-tanks have shown any interest in higher education. This makes devising good evidence-based policy difficult.
Full report on the University World News site:

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WORLD ROUND-UP

IRELAND: Higher education at 'breaking point'
Student places in Irish universities and other third-level colleges will have to be capped or fees will urgently have to increase to address the major funding crisis in the sector, writes Daniel McConnell for the Sunday Independent.
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US: Top official calls for urgency on college costs
As Occupy movement protests helped push spiralling college costs into the national spotlight, Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged higher education officials last week to "think more creatively - and with much greater urgency" about ways to contain costs and reduce student debt, writes Tamar Lewin for The New York Times.
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UK: Industrial action halts some university classes
Teaching was called off at some universities during Britain's biggest industrial action for a generation, as support staff and academics mounted strikes over pension cuts, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.
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ASIA: New deal reached on degree recognition
A student who completes a three-year undergraduate course in China or Australia will be recognised as a holder of a bachelors degree in Korea under a recently revised agreement on academic recognition in Asia-Pacific countries, writes Lee Woo-young for the Korea Herald.
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US-CHINA: Academic freedom ends at the classroom door
In the 25 years Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University have run a joint campus in China, it has never published an academic journal. When American student Brendon Stewart (27) tried last year, he found out why, write Oliver Staley and Daniel Golden for Bloomberg.
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INDONESIA: New audit for state universities
In an attempt to evaluate their effectiveness, Indonesia's education and culture ministry will implement an audit of programmes at state universities next year. Deputy Education Minister Musliar Kasim told The Jakarta Post recently that the audit would determine whether programmes at state universities were really needed and efficiently implemented.
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UK: LSE criticised for links with Gaddafi regime
Britain's London School of Economics has been heavily criticised for a "chapter of failures" in its links with the former Muammar Gaddafi regime in Libya, reports Stuart Hughes for BBC News. A report by former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, says mistakes and errors of judgement damaged the LSE's reputation.
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INDIA: Oxford denies 'censorship' in essay row
Oxford University Press last week said that its decision to discontinue publishing and selling AK Ramanujan's essay, "Three Hundred Ramayanas", was based on "commercial considerations". It denied acting under pressure from right-wing protesters who had claimed that the essay hurt Hindu sensitivities, writes Hasan Suroor for The Hindu.
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US: Better data may mean better pass rates - report
American colleges may be able to improve their graduation rates by gaining a better understanding of the students they enroll, according to a report released last week, writes Kaustuv Basu for Inside Higher Ed.
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US: More colleges offer four-year degree guarantees
More colleges in the US are offering four-year degree guarantees, where parents do not pay extra if their child's education spills over into additional semesters, writes Emily Glazer for The Wall Street Journal.
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EGYPT: Science city to spawn national research network
Egypt is to establish a network of universities and research centres that will collaborate with the country's planned US$2 billion science city, which is scheduled to open its doors to students in September 2012, writes Mohamed El-Sayed for SciDev.Net.
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SCOTLAND: Top universities slated for £36,000 fees
Scotland's Education Secretary Mike Russell has criticised the universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews for failing to show restraint after setting tuition fees at the highest level possible for UK students from outside Scotland, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.
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UK: University applications drop after fees hike
The number of British students applying to university has slumped by more than 15% amid a public backlash over a sharp hike in tuition fees, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph. Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service also reveals a rapid decline in demand from European students who pay the same fees as their British peers.
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UK: Top classicist quits in row over university cuts
One of Britain's most respected classicists, Professor Edith Hall, has resigned as head of a leading academic department in protest against impending budget cuts. Despite winning the support of well-known classics enthusiasts such as Boris Johnson, Stephen Fry and the literary theorist Terry Eagleton, Hall said she had been pushed to "tipping point" by management, write Vanessa Thorpe and Daniel Boffey for the Guardian.
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US: Push for independent board at Oregon university
The University of Oregon must push for its own governing board, said many angry professors and students rallying on campus in the wake of the firing of President Richard Lariviere, writes Bill Graves for The Oregonian.
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US: Three knocked out of New York university bid
Three of the seven elite universities vying to build a 'genius school' in New York City have been knocked out of the highly competitive contest, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week. The city has promised to give free land and up to US$100 million in taxpayer funds to a university or a group of universities willing to build an engineering or technology campus within the five boroughs, writes Erin Einhorn for New York Daily News.
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AUSTRALIA: University intake to follow demand
University entry cut-offs for 2012 will fall, experts say, making it easier for students who have just finished year 12 to enrol in popular degrees, writes Natalie Craig for The Age. Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks are expected to fall under a new system that allows universities to decide how many places they offer, based on student demand.
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NEW ZEALAND: Deficit looms as insurance cost doubles
Canterbury University in New Zealand's insurance premiums have more than doubled since the February earthquake and it now expects to operate with a $15 million (US$15.3 million) deficit next year. The deficit has jumped from the $10.2 million forecast less than two months ago after additional advertising and property costs, and the rise in insurance premiums, writes Tina Law for The Press.
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YEMEN: Questions remain for Sana'a students
Students of Sana'a University are worried about resuming study at the headquarters of the institution, where protesters have been demanding an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime, writes Malak Shaher for Yemen Times.
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SOUTH AFRICA: First Oprah Winfrey class graduates
The first graduating pupils at Oprah Winfrey's school for South African girls have finished their exams, with all of them set for university studies, reports Associated Press. Results of their final exams will only be released in January, but all 72 pupils at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls are set for further studies either in South Africa or abroad, Academy head, Anne van Zyl, said in a statement.
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