University World News

University World News 0204 - 15 th January 2012

2012-01-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

This week YOJANA SHARMA unpacks a new report by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education on international branch campuses worldwide. In Features, EILEEN TRAVERS takes a look at the winning bid from Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a cutting-edge sciences and engineering university in New York. WAGDY SAWAHEL reports on university protests by ultra-conservative Muslims in Tunisia and the implications for academic freedom in North Africa, and KACI RACELMA describes plans for higher education reform in Mauritania. In Commentary, SUSAN BUCK SUTTON and DANIEL OBST write that international higher education partnerships are flourishing and transforming the institutions that engage in them. ATLE NYHAGEN warns that importing the American higher education model threatens to undermine the central values of European universities and nations, and DENISE KEENE urges institutions worldwide to visibly welcome students with disabilities.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: International branch campus growth now in Asia
Yojana Sharma
Asia has become the focus of growth in international branch campuses after nearly a decade of rapid expansion in the Middle East, according to a just-released report by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), the UK-based research organisation. It reveals continued growth and interest in establishing international branch campuses, including by developing countries in other developing regions.
Full report on the University World News site:

GREECE: Universities face grave financial threat
Makki Marseilles
Universities and higher education institutions in Greece that have not held elections for the composition of their new management councils are in grave and imminent danger of losing state financial support.
Full report on the University World News site:

TAIWAN: Reelected PM promises more China students
Mimi Leung
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou, who emerged the victor of yesterday's closely-fought elections, has promised to take up a suggestion by local university presidents to open up Taiwan's universities to more students from China. Ma has consistently advocated closer relations with China.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Student access soars, but challenges remain
Alya Mishra
India's efforts to increase higher education participation have paid off, with the gross enrolment ratio (GER) or the proportion of school-leavers aged between 18 and 23 years entering college-level courses, rising from 12.5% in 2007-08 to close to 20%. However, the rise in GER does not necessarily mean an increase in quality or the supply of skilled personnel, academics and policy-makers have warned.
Full report on the University World News site:

SRI LANKA: New wave of student protests
Dinesh De Alwis
Buddhist student monks have joined thousands of other university students in a new wave of protests to hit Sri Lanka in recent weeks, forcing the temporary closure of at least two major universities this week and widespread disruption of classes.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Mother dies in university stampede
The mother of a prospective student was trampled to death and 22 people were injured, two critically, in a stampede for limited slots at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Tuesday. The tragedy highlights flaws in the South African higher education admissions process and the desperation of school-leavers to secure access to a tertiary qualification.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Plan for 1.5 million students by 2030
Karen MacGregor
South Africa's government plans to raise university enrolments from a current 900,000 to 1.5 million by 2030, to achieve a participation rate in higher education of 23%, according to a green paper published on Thursday. The target for colleges and other post-school institutions is a whopping four million students - a six-fold increase over current numbers.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Higher education admissions chaos looms
Michael Gardner
Students in Germany applying for admission-restricted subjects will face chaotic enrolment conditions until at least mid-2013 due to technical problems dogging the introduction of new online national higher education admissions procedures.
Full report on the University World News site:

NETHERLANDS: Germany should pay for student influx
Jan Petter Myklebust
The Dutch junior education minister has demanded compensation from Germany for the large number of its students attending universities in The Netherlands. Halbe Zijlstra claimed in a statement to parliament that foreign students cost Dutch taxpayers EUR90 million (US$116 million).
Full report on the University World News site:

HAITI: US universities help rebuild higher education
Garry Pierre Pierre
Two years after suffering an earthquake that wreaked massive damage on universities, Haiti's higher education sector has benefited from international efforts that have revamped buildings but helped reconstruct curricula.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE: Diamond sales to fund student grants
The Zimbabwean government has relaunched student grants, to be financed from diamond sales, in an effort to resuscitate the tertiary sector. Companies have also pulled resources together to come up with student loans. The country's 2012 national budget has been lauded by lawmakers for prioritising higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAWI: Lecturers resume work, but tensions persist
Lecturers in Malawi have resolved to return to work to end nearly a year of academic freedom protests during a long-running impasse with the government. But with tensions and mistrust persisting, lecturers have been firm about setting out the conditions under which they will resume classes.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

US: New York campus bid to be world innovation capital
Eileen Travers
Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology's winning plan for a $1.5 billion, environmentally-friendly applied sciences and engineering university in New York could thrust the city to the forefront of high-tech development. Silicon Valley has been warned to brace itself.
Full report on the University World News site:

NORTH AFRICA: Democracy versus academic freedom?
Wagdy Sawahel
On 5 January Tunisian Salafists, ultra-conservative Muslims, ended a weeks-long protest at Manouba University's faculty of letters, arts and humanities that had forced the institution to close. It is expected to reopen next week. The case has highlighted the implications of democratic changes in the Arab world for academic freedom in universities.
Full report on the University World News site:

MAURITANIA: University reforms to bridge deep divides
Kaci Racelma
A government commission has been created in Mauritania with the aim of reforming the country's higher education system, which has been riven by poor quality and splits between its French- and Arabic-speaking teaching and students. The divide mirrors the country's linguistic and social make-up with an Arabised north and a black African Francophone south.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Dynamic moment for international partnerships
We are in an era of flourishing international partnerships, say SUSAN BUCK SUTTON and DANIEL OBST. Yes, there may be challenges, but such partnerships enhance and even transform the institutions that engage in them.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: US model threatens European traditions
The American model of higher education is being used for Europe, says ATLE NYHAGEN. But policy-makers are paying little attention to the different historical paths the two regions have followed and application of the US model threatens to undermine the central values of most of the nation states of Europe.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Universities need to be vocal about inclusion
Universities and colleges around the world may welcome students with disabilities and learning disorders, but unless they are upfront about this and make it clear on their websites that they are inclusive, they may put some students off applying, says DENISE KEENE.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
In Iran, another scientist has died in a bomb attack strongly resembling earlier assassinations of those involved in the country's controversial nuclear programme. In Sudan, peaceful student protests across the country have been violently suppressed by security forces. Academics and students at Israel's Tel Aviv University have condemned the institution's security services for acting like a "secret police on campus" in pressuring lecturers to help them spy on students. And in Sri Lanka, thousands of students protesting a range of grievances have been evicted from their campus following a court order.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group:
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

INDIA: Lawyers to protest higher education bill
The Bar Council of India has strongly opposed the inclusion of legal education under the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) and urged the government to remove the legal profession and education from the ambit of the Higher Education and Research Bill 2011, reports The Hindu.
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INDIA: Bills spark fears of 'police raj' on education
Three bills the Indian government has lined up to regulate higher education have been described as "draconian" by private institutions, which fear their enactment will bring the segment under a "police raj", writes GC Shekhar for The Telegraph.
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UK: University research misconduct 'alive and well'
Research misconduct is "alive and well" at UK universities, the British Medical Journal has claimed, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education. Findings from a survey by the journal published last week found that 13% of UK-based scientists and doctors had witnessed colleagues fabricating or altering research data ahead of publication in peer-reviewed journals.
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UK: Universities collect millions in library fines
UK universities have raised almost £50 million (US$77 million) from fining students for overdue library books in the past six years, reports the Guardian.
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US: New disclosure rules for economics scholars
Following heavy scrutiny of economists' conflicts of interest before the financial crash of 2008, the American Economic Association has adopted new guidelines at its annual meeting that require scholars to divulge who supports the research they publish in the association's journals, writes Dan Berrett for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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INDIA: Desperate students turn to high-tech cheating
What do you get when you combine Indian technical wizardry with a desperate shortage of spots in higher education? Some really fancy examination cheating, writes Stephanie Nolen for The Globe and Mail.
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VIETNAM: Universities grapple with course ban
Ho Chi Minh City's University of the Food Industry has complained that it has no clue how to deal with the spec ialised tools and personnel of its vocational courses after the Ministry of Education and Training prohibited universities from running occupational courses alongside traditional academic programmes from the next academic year, reports Tuoi Tre News.
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SRI LANKA: University ragging rages on despite law
Although it is a punishable offence under a 1998 law, ragging incidents varying from verbal to s exual abuse are on the increase at higher education institutions in Sri Lanka, with some students even dropping out due to its serious nature, writes Nadia Fazlulhaq for The Sunday Times.
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KENYA: Professions roped in to run universities
Professional associations and industry lobbies are to be roped in to the running of universities as the government moves to bridge the gap between training and the skills employers want. The proposal is contained in a draft Universities Bill prepared by a team that the Ministry of Higher Education appointed to align training with the constitution, writes David Herbling for Business Daily.
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GHANA: Board issues honorary degree warning
Ghana's National Accreditation Board has warned that it will not recognise honorary and professorial degrees awarded by institutions that do not have the mandate to do so, reports the Daily Graphic.
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UK: £11m distributed to cut university emissions
Nearly £11 million (US$17 million) in interest-free loans has been distributed to fund projects that will reduce universities' carbon emissions, writes David Matthews for Times Higher Education.
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UK: University to open Thailand campus
The University of Central Lancashire is to open a campus in Bangkok, in what is claimed as the first such UK branch university to be established in Thailand, reports Sean Coughlan for BBC News. The university has signed a deal with a Thai-based entrepreneur to open the campus in 2014. Degrees will be taught in English and validated by the UK university.
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US: Yale to provide tax relief for same-s ex couples
Beginning this month, Yale will join the small number of United States colleges and universities that help offset a federal tax g ay and l esbian employees pay on health coverage received by their partners, writes Gavan Gideon for Yale Daily News.
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US: College sports reform: Now? Never?
Virtually no matter where you turn for news and commentary, from sophisticated publications like The Atlantic to rants on sports radio for the lowbrow, you're likely to have been left in recent months with the overwhelming impression that big-time college sports is in crisis, and that momentum is building for some kind of radical action that would result in a wholesale transformation of the enterprise. Don't hold your breath, writes Doug Lederman for Inside Higher Ed.
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CUBA: Iranian president receives honorary doctorate
The Iranian president has been granted an honorary doctorate because of his incomparable efforts in defence of the establishment of a just international system as well as nations' rights against capitalist powers, Havana University declared, reports the Islamic Republic News Agency.
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US: Man accused of starting fake college from prison
A lifelong con man accused of starting a fake university and churning out fake diplomas - while in prison in Wisconsin - appeared in court last Tuesday to face a fraud charge, years after the complex scheme was uncovered, reports Carrie Antlfinger for the Huffington Post.
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US: University suspects fraud by wine researcher
A charge of widespread scientific fraud, involving 26 articles published in 11 journals, was levelled by the University of Connecticut last week against Dipak K Das, one of its researchers whose work reported health benefits of red wine, writes Nicholas Wade for The New York Times.
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University World News 0202- 19th December 2011

2011-12-18T02:10:00.000-08:00

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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University World News 0201 - 11th December 2011

2011-12-12T01:07:00.000-08:00

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.
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FACEBOOK

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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.
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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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University World News 0200 - 4th December 2011

2011-12-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

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.
Full report on University World News site:

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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FACEBOOK

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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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University World News 0199 - 27th November 2011

2011-11-27T02:21:00.000-08:00

This week's highlights

On Friday University World News published a Special Africa Edition on HERANA, the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa. Read all about this major research initiative on the UWN Africa Edition. In Features, ALYA MISHRA says good higher education qualifications in India are starting to overtake dowries in the marriage market. ERIN MILLAR reports on the Teacher Education in Sub-Sarahan Africa initiative, which is providing solutions to daunting education challenges, and BILL HOLDSWORTH outlines environmental initiatives driven by students and graduates in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Commentary, panellists at the recent WISE conference in Qatar describe their debate on the opportunities and challenges of global online education. BJORN BREMBS argues that for-profit scholarly publishing should be abolished, and JOHN AKEC reports on a heated debate in South Sudan over the need to expand access and rethink the policy of free higher education for all.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

EUROPE: Drive to double EU study-abroad numbers
Alan Osborn
The European Commission has announced a drive to double the number of students undertaking cross-border education and training throughout the 27 EU member countries in the seven-year period to 2020. Officials said this would allow up to five million people to study abroad.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Students join protests against military rule
Ashraf Khaled
Saad Abbas, a law student at Cairo University, believes it is "unethical" to attend classes while security forces crack down on pro-democracy protesters in the Egyptian capital and around the country. He and many other students joined demonstrations that have plunged Egypt into turmoil again and have deteriorated into violence.
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CHINA: Cutbacks in courses with poor job prospects
Yojana Sharma
China's Ministry of Education is reining in uncontrolled expansion of universities by urging institutions around the country to reduce student intakes in courses with low levels of graduate employment. Courses will be 'downsized' or even cancelled if less than 60% of their graduating students in two successive years fail to find work, the ministry said.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAYSIA: Repressive university law to be amended - PM
Yojana Sharma and Honey Singh Virdee
A repressive law that forbids students from becoming members of political parties and restricts political activity in universities will be amended, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak announced last week. But rights groups said the government was adopting a 'carrot and stick' approach by tightening up in other areas related to public assembly.
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BAHRAIN: Reinstate expelled students, says inquiry
Brendan O'Malley
An independent inquiry has concluded that hundreds of students in Bahrain were expelled from universities purely on the basis of pictures showing them standing in crowds at political demonstrations earlier this year. It has recommended that all students who have not been criminally charged with an act of violence should be reinstated.
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LIBYA: Overseas students to be paid stipend
Geoff Maslen
Thousands of Libyan students enrolled in overseas universities now seem likely to be given access to their full monthly stipends from next January as Libyan embassies around the world start receiving money from the transitional government in Tripoli.
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GERMANY: Three million students study abroad
Michael Gardner
Around a third of all German students are now visiting foreign countries for academic purposes. The introduction of bachelor and masters degrees appears to have changed significantly how they plan their stays abroad.
Full report on the University World News site:

NETHERLANDS: World heart research expert fired
Jan Petter Myklebust
A world-renowned expert on the reduction of risks involved in heart surgery has been dismissed from Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, after "violation of academic integrity".
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: COP17 - New climate research
Sharon Dell
Two of South Africa's top universities have launched high profile, multidisciplinary climate change research initiatives ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP17, which kicks off in Durban, South Africa, tomorrow. Together with other institutions the universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand are using the event - which brings together about 20,000 delegates representing the world's governments, international organisations and civil society - to showcase local research and expertise on climate change and sustainability.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: 'Meta-university' plan to boost innovation
Alya Mishra
India plans to set up a 'meta-university', a countrywide network for higher education that will allow students the flexibility to design their own curriculum and combine subjects of their choice, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Universities not preparing innovation talent
Erin Millar
Canada's push to foster innovation lacks a national strategy for producing the talented innovators who will drive the country's knowledge-based economy, said Canadian educators attending the World Innovation Summit for Education, WISE, in Qatar earlier this month.
Full report on the University World News site:

NORDIC: Chinese students deterred by fee costs
Jan Petter Myklebust
A survey of Chinese students' attitudes to study in Nordic countries if they were to be charged full tuition fees has found that the region is low on their priority lists. But this attitude might alter quickly if these students were given scholarships or grants.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE: Students targeted for detentions, arrests
Kudzai Mashininga
Zimbabwean students have commemorated international students' day against a background of arrests and detentions. More than 40 students have appeared in court since September. This is according to a student rights organisation report that also highlights abuses of student rights in other countries in Southern Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

INDIA: Degrees replace dowries for educated classes
Alya Mishra
Sheleja Bajpai, 22 is pursuing a law degree from the prestigious law faculty at the University of Delhi. She has a good chance of landing a job at a respectable law firm in India after graduating, but her future has already been decided by her father Aman Bajpai.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: TESSA - Using technology for teacher training
Erin Millar
Innovative use of technology is providing simple solutions to the most daunting challenges in education, as is evidenced by a project called Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, run by the Open University in the United Kingdom. TESSA, a consortium of 18 universities across Africa focused on improving how they train elementary school teachers, won an award at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month.
Full report on the University World News site:

BOSNIA: Students seek a green future from scratch
Bill Holdsworth
Bosnia-Herzegovina is among the least energy efficient states in south-east Europe. But now former and current students at the University of Sarajevo are the driving force behind environmental initiatives that they hope will lead to new ways of learning and harnessing new technologies derived from across Europe and the rest of the world.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: The challenges of global online education
An International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) panel discussion at the WISE conference in Doha debated the need for and the challenges of online education, particularly in developing countries. Panel participants HAMID SHIRVANI, JASON SCORZA, KHALID ALKHATHLAN and FERNANDO LEÓN GARCÍA have outlined the main issues, including cultural differences and perceptions of online education as being of poorer quality. They argue that online education can help to extend higher education opportunities to a much broader section of the population.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Scholarly publishing should be free
For-profit scholarly publishing doesn't work, says BJORN BREMBS, and we should abolish it completely. Scholars' works should be made available for everyone to study.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH SUDAN: Call for mass expansion of universities
A conference on the future of higher education in South Sudan, which became an independent state in July, included a heated debate on expansion of higher education and priorities for the future. The conference advised the government, which published a higher education bill last week, to rethink its policy of free higher education for all, saying this was unsustainable, says JOHN AKEC.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

LIBYA: Desert's lost civilisation
Satellite imagery has uncovered new evidence of a lost civilisation of the Sahara in Libya's south-western desert wastes that will help rewrite the history of the country. Using satellites and air photographs to identify the remains in one of the most inhospitable parts of the desert, a British team has discovered more than 100 fortified farms and villages with castle-like structures and several towns, most dating between AD 1-500.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Science news from the far north
ScienceNordic, a news service with science reports in six categories, in English and covering the Nordic countries, was launched early this month after two Nordic science media, one Danish and one Norwegian, joined forces.
Full report on the University World News site:

DENMARK: Bats have fastest muscles
When a bat hunts its prey, it emits sounds that are sent back as echoes when the sounds hit an object. In this way the bat forms an acoustic image of its surroundings that it can use for navigation. The ability to hunt insects with the aid of sounds has made the bat a formidable predator in the night sky.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Remnants of Gondwana revealed
In the remote waters of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, scientists have discovered two sunken islands, almost the size of Tasmania, which were once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Scientists say the data could significantly change our understanding of the way in which India, Australia and Antarctica broke off from Gondwana.
Full report on the University World News site:

UNI-LATERAL: Off-beat university stories

US: Yale University offers new class in clubbing
For many parents, hearing that their child has discovered clubbing and alcohol at university is a terrifying prospect. But now their kids have the perfect excuse: it is for credit, reports the Daily Mail.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group. 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

US: Pepper spray attack galvanises student crusade
It has become something of an annual tradition on California college campuses: the state makes large cuts in public universities, they in turn raise tuition, and students respond with angry protests, writes Jennifer Medina for The New York Times. But this year, the battle is sharpening. Indeed, the Occupy movement, on campuses at least, is transforming itself into a student-led crusade against increases in tuition.
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UK: Students to begin wave of occupations
Students are planning a wave of campus occupations and protests in the run-up to nationwide strikes next week. Occupations called by the student group National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) ahead of the trade union day of action on 30 November have already happened at Birmingham and Cambridge universities, writes Shiv Malik for the Guardian.
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EU: European parliament backs Chilean students
The European parliament has thrown its support behind the demands of Chilean students for free higher education and condemned the excessive use of force by the country's security apparatus in a letter to President Sebastián Piñera and Education Minister Felipe Bulnes, writes Joe Hinchliffe for The Santiago Times.
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UK: University downplays new 'climategate' emails
The university at the centre of the 'Climategate' email-hacking controversy moved swiftly last week to play down the significance of a new batch of messages between global warming researchers released on the eve of a major UN climate conference, writes Michael McCarthy for The Independent.
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CHINA: Ministry encourages independent entrance tests
China's Ministry of Education has promised to promote multiple measures to spot talented young people and send them for higher education, writes Chen Jia for China Daily. It has encouraged top universities to use independent examinations, besides the national one, to test students hoping to enter universities in 2012.
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AUSTRALIA: Racism 'rife' in universities, study finds
Accusations of alcoholism, jibes about skin colour and being overlooked for promotion are all forms of discrimination indigenous staff continue to face in Australian universities, a new study has found, writes Jen Rosenberg for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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ISRAEL: Committee moots closure of politics department
In an unprecedented move, an international committee appointed by Israel's Council for Higher Education has recommended that the politics and government department at Ben Gurion University be shut down unless it addresses some of the problems pointed out by the committee, writes Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad for Ynetnews.
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UK: Universities 'oblivious' to racism - Professor
Universities are "oblivious" to racial inequalities and are failing to act on problems because, it has been argued, they "see themselves as liberal and believe existing policies ensure fairness", writes Matthew Reisz for the Times Higher Education.
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SCOTLAND: St Andrews students to apologise to Obama
The Conservative Association at the University of St Andrews is to write to US President Barack Obama to apologise after an effigy of him was burned, reports the BBC. The incident is understood to have taken place on 18 November on the Fife town's East Sands beach.
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RUSSIA: Foreign degree verification process scrapped
In an effort to attract more brainpower, Russia has made it easier for foreign students to enter Russian universities, reports RT.com. Starting in 2012, the complex procedure of foreign diploma verification will be automatic. Those willing to get a degree in Russia will simply need to have their diplomas translated.
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UK: 'Soft' courses axed ahead of funding cuts
Universities have axed 5,000 degree courses in preparation for cuts in state funding and the trebling of tuition fees, due to take effect in 2012, writes Kate Loveys for the Daily Mail. Figures show there are 38,147 courses on offer through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for entry in 2012, down a staggering 12%, from 43,360.
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UK: Universities to pay incentives to lure students
Institutions across the country, including City University London and Leicester, Surrey and Northumbria universities, are introducing payments to attract candidates with the best exam grades, writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph.
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UAE: Students to be offered cash-for-grades incentives
It is a problem every parent, and every teacher, has faced: how best to motivate students to work and study. In the United Arab Emirates, the government has decided to try an approach many exasperated parents have considered: cash payments for good grades, writes DD Guttenplan for The New York Times.
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EAST AFRICA: No move on pan-regional universities
The East African Legislative Assembly has rejected a bid to have free movement of education services through the creation of a regional body to accredit tertiary institutions within the East African community, reports the Daily Monitor. However, the debate will resume in the assembly in January 2012.
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INDIA: Revival of Nalanda University hits trouble
Plans to revive Nalanda University in India, one of the world's oldest seats of learning, as a totem of Asia's renaissance are facing trouble as supporters admit to little progress in fund-raising, reports AFP.
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INDIA: 'Unfit' universities may revert to colleges
With the committee of experts appointed by the Supreme Court categorising 44 'deemed' universities, 16 from Tamil Nadu, as unfit to be universities, they are likely to revert to functioning as affiliated colleges, writes B Aravind Kumar for The Hindu.
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AUSTRALIA: University abolishes honours degree
Margaret Morgan had her future mapped out. She would complete her bachelor of advanced science in biology, do honours next year and follow up with a doctorate. But changes at her university, Macquarie, have forced her to reconsider her plans, write Dan Harrison and Jen Rosenberg for The Age.
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N IGERIA: Google boosts universities' connectivity
Internet giant Google is partnering with N igerian universities to remove internet access barriers and to equip them with free communication tools, reports Business Day. Through Google Apps Supporting Programmes, a Google initiative aimed at increasing internet use in universities across Africa, the company supports institutions to use technology more effectively for research and collaboration.
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KENYA: High-speed internet for technical colleges
Technical institutions in Kenya are set to benefit from high-speed internet in the next financial year in a government-led initiative. The move will help institutions share resources and improve the quality of research, writes Fredrick Obura for The Standard.
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EAST AFRICA: Development bank aids universities
The African Development Bank has approved a total of US$124 million for the improvement of three centres of excellence in higher education in Uganda, Rwanda and Mali, writes David Muwanga for East African Business Week.
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University World News 0198 - 20th November 2011

2011-11-20T02:33:00.000-08:00

This week's highlights

This week YOJANA SHARMA reports on the QS-Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education conference in the Philippines, and on efforts by Asian countries to strengthen design education in order to move up the manufacturing value chain. Also in Features, SUDARTO SVARNABHUMI writes that the killing of five Al-Qaeda suspects has turned the spotlight on the possible radicalisation of Indonesian students studying in Yemen. JAMES OTIENO JOWIE describes trends in African university engagement identified at the annual conference of the African Network for Internationalisation of Education and SHARON DELL investigates shifting student politics on South Africa's post-apartheid campuses. In Commentary, PAUL TROWLER argues that changes in academia have eroded academic tribes and territories, and I ELAINE ALLEN writes that rising enrolments in online education in America are gradually changing academics' attitudes to this mode of teaching and learning. Finally, FRANCOIS THERIN says there is little financial incentive in Europe for private companies to move into the higher education sector.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

EUROPE: Austerity threatens autonomy, EAU warns
David Jobbins
An authoritative study of university autonomy across 26 European countries has found "worrying signs" that the economic crisis and austerity measures have led to instances of tighter controls of university budgets, "unnecessary" administrative burdens and reduced financial autonomy. Estonia and the UK rank highest on scorecards that rate tertiary systems in four areas of autonomy
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Chinese drive 5% international student growth
Alison Moodie
International student enrolment at American colleges and universities has been growing steadily for the past five years, reaching a record high of 723,277 in 2010, according to a new report by the Institute of International Education. The annual Open Doors study found that the majority of international students came from China, with their number rising by 23% - the fourth consecutive year of double-digit increases.
Full report on the University World News site:

THAILAND: Floods disrupt higher education
Suluck Lamubol
Thailand's worst floods in decades are disrupting the higher education system, causing millions of dollars worth of damage to facilities and forcing universities to reschedule semester dates. It is also having knock-on effects on the higher education budget and the administration of student loans and could have wider impacts on education plans in the coming months.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHILE: Opposition and students unveil reform plan
María Elena Hurtado
The sixth-month-long battle over reforms to Chile's higher education has moved from the streets to parliament. Student representatives of the 25 universities that make up the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities have spent a week with opposition politicians hammering out a united position on the education budget for 2012, which has to be approved by the end of November.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Social sciences research role backed
Jan Petter Myklebust and Brendan O'Malley
European Union Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn has responded to calls to give more weight to social sciences and humanities in Horizon 2020, the EU's funding programme for research and innovation.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Huge surplus or massive shortfall?
Geoff Maslen
Australia's public universities have rejected federal government claims that they generated a huge 'profit' last year, arguing that the accounting methods used distort the real situation. Far from making an AUD2 billion (US$2 billion) surplus, more than half the universities made a significant loss.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Expand university access, World Bank urges
Francis Kokutsi
The World Bank has urged African governments to expand access to post-secondary education and ensure that it serves as a ladder for Africans to climb out of poverty. Obiageli Ezekwesili, the bank's vice-president for Africa, made the call at a conference in Ghana's capital Accra.
Full report on the University World News site:

GREECE: No campus conflict despite warning
Makkie Marseilles
The senate of the Technical University of Athens warned ahead of the 17 November anniversary of the 1973 uprising against the junta that it was not in a position to avert serious incidents. But while protests erupted in the capital, with 7,000 police deployed in the area the university appears to have escaped conflict.
Full report on the University World News site:

UAE: Festival of Thinkers explores new models
Leigh Thomas
Current education models around the world are not meeting the challenge of inspiring and developing innovators, higher education leaders and other opinion-formers heard at the Festival of Thinkers conference in the United Arab Emirates last week.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Higher profile for German sought
Michael Gardner
Germany is aiming to raise the profile of German as an academic language in a multilingual environment. At a three-day conference run by the German Academic Exchange Service, the Institut für Deutsche Sprache and the Goethe Institute, President Christian Wulff stressed the importance of promoting multilingualism and establishing German as a foreign language.
Full report on the University World News site:

KENYA: Paralysing lecturer strike suspended, for now
Gilbert Nganga
Lecturers in public universities in Kenya have suspended their paralysing nine-day strike for two weeks to pave the way for negotiations with the government. The tussle has triggered a debate over who should pick up the wage bill.
Full report on the University World News site:

N IGERIA: VCs, union protest move to end screening test
Tunde Fatunde
Once again N igeria's national assembly and some officials of the examination agency, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, have made moves to dismantle the screening tests carried out by universities around the country. They argue that any test additional to the one conducted by the admissions board itself is unnecessary - even illegal - and places a financial burden on parents.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: World's largest gathering of Africa experts
Jacquie Withers
More than 1,000 scholars and researchers from around the globe converged on Washington DC on Thursday for what the US African Studies Association said was the world's largest gatherings of experts on Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

QS-MAPLE conference

The seventh QS-APPLE (Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education)
conference was held from 16-18 November at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Philippines. It attracted delegates from more than 30 countries and some 100 speakers to discuss issues ranging from internationalisation and the global higher education market to building world-class universities. University World News reports.

GLOBAL: 'World-class' universities can harm others

Yojana Sharma Building 'world-class' universities can have a negative impact on the rest of a country's higher education system if equity and other issues are not taken into account, a senior Asian Development Bank official warned Asian university leaders meeting in Manila.
Full report on the University World News site:

ASIA: How to soar up the world university rankings
Bertil Andersson, president of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, is one of several non-Singaporean university leaders in the city-state. YOJANA SHARMA spoke to him as he headed for the QS-APPLE conference in Manila, on Singapore's attractions as a higher education hub, its willingness to import the best from the West, and whether Asian institutions might eventually overtake the West.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

CHINA: Design education for future economic growth
Yojana Sharma
Just days after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in October, Hong Kong design student Jonathan Mak's silhouette of Jobs' profile in the bite of the Apple logo went viral internationally. His simple tribute was fêted and published worldwide. But in Hong Kong it caused barely a ripple.
Full report on the University World News site:

YEMEN: Students from Indonesia being radicalised?
Sudarto Svarnabhumi
The killing of five Al-Qaeda suspects including an Indonesian in southern Yemen this month has turned the spotlight on Indonesian students studying abroad in Yemen, and the possibility that students could become radicalised during their time there.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Universities rethink internationalisation
James Otieno Jowi*
The African Network for Internationalisation of Education, ANIE, held its third annual conference recently in Abuja, N igeria. Among the trends identified were growing collaboration between African universities, which is driving far greater mobility of students and staff across the continent, and increased use of information and communication technologies
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: New dynamics in student politics
Sharon Dell
A convincing win for the opposition-aligned Democratic Alliance Student Organisation in recent student representative council elections at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University suggests that South African students may be tired of having their interests overshadowed by intra-party politics in a more complex post-apartheid political environment.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Rethinking academic tribes and territories
Do established disciplines behave in a territorial way that defines how academics work and what they research? PAUL TROWLER argues that this was certainly the case in the past, but changes such as increasing interdisciplinarity and more intensive ways of working mean that it is less and less the case.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Online education growth dwarfs overall enrolment
The latest survey of online education in the US shows that enrolment increased by 10% in the last year, compared to a 2% rise in overall higher education enrolment. A growing number of academics now say online courses are as good as or better than face-to-face classes, writes I ELAINE ALLEN. Today, nearly a third of all students take at least one course online.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: No need to fear higher education investors
British newspapers are awash with rumours that private equity companies could be interested in taking over a university. But there is little financial incentive on the European continent for private companies to move into the higher education sector, argues FRANCOIS THERIN.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
In Turkey, 57 members of the Academy of Sciences have resigned in protest against a government decree that will end the academy's autonomy. In Bahrain, university students are under attack by the authorities, with hundreds being tried for pro-democracy activities and six recently receiving 15-year sentences and hefty fines in a court case widely criticised as unfair. Papuan students in Indonesia are being targeted by the authorities for what human rights groups describe as generalised intimidation and threats. And in Azerbhaijan, a top scientist has been demoted for questioning the legality of the detention of youth activist Baxtiyar Haciyev, amid moves against the Azerbaijani intelligentsia.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group:
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

GLOBAL: Call for more Muslim-owned universities
Muslim ownership and management of private universities and colleges in Muslim-majority countries and Muslim-minority communities need to be strengthened to cater for the increasing demand for higher education arising from growth in Muslim populations, reports Malaysia's official agency Bernama.
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CHILE: Universities fail transparency law standards
According to a study recently released by Chile's Consejo para la Transparencia, the Council for Transparency, state universities are not living up to agreements outlined in the transparency law, reports I Love Chile.
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IRELAND: Labour accused of cheating students
Pre-election pledges by the Labour Party about reversing student registration charges and not reintroducing formal fees amounted to "cheating students to win votes", the Dáil (parliament) was told, writes Marie O'Halloran for The Irish Times.
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UK: Professors lambasted for failure to mentor
A lack of leadership and the failure to support and mentor junior colleagues have been highlighted in a major study of the professoriate, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education. Of 1,200 academic staff from lower grades who responded to a survey commissioned by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, more than half (53%) said they did not receive sufficient help or advice from professorial staff.
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UK: Universities forced to reveal animal test details
Universities will be forced to reveal details of controversial research, including testing on monkeys, after a tribunal ruling made it harder for them to claim exemption from freedom of information requests, writes Jonathan Brown for The Independent.
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US: Berkeley reveals plan for centre in China
The University of California, Berkeley, announced last week that it plans to open a large research and teaching facility in Shanghai as part of a broader plan to bolster its presence in China, writes David Barboza for The New York Times.
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CANADA: Universities refocus on Malaysian market
Canada is doing all it can to return to the glory days as one of Malaysia's top education providers. Canadian High Commissioner to Malaysia Randolph Mank said many Canadian universities were focusing on the Malaysian market to regain lost ground, writes Paul Gabriel for The Star.
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CANADA: University to open two offices in India
The University of British Columbia is opening two offices in India as part of its efforts to gain a foothold in one of the world's most rapidly growing higher education markets. The initiative was announced last week in Bangalore by Premier Christy Clark, who was leading a British Colombia government trade mission to India, reports The Vancouver Sun.
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UAE: Foreign campuses link under college system
Winning its bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha, the Gulf emirate of Qatar showed the rising power of the Middle East. Its landmark football stadium will cool summer temperatures of around 40 degrees with solar panel-powered air-conditioning as the international teams play to crowded stands, writes Stephen Hoare for The Independent.
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MALAYSIA: UNESCO to help review education policy
Malaysia and UNESCO last week signed a memorandum of understanding to review the country's education policy at all levels, from pre-school to higher education, reports the official agency Bernama.
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PAKISTAN: Higher education participation hits 7.8%
Higher Education Commission Chairman Javaid R Laghari has said that in 2008 the participate rate in higher education in Pakistan was 2.5%, but after commission initiatives it has reached 7.8% and the government has a vision to increase the figure to 15% by 2020, reports The International News.
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UK: University 'consumer culture' warning
The new chairman of a group of leading research universities has warned against treating students as "consumers purchasing degree certificates", writes Sean Coughlan for the BBC.
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CHINA: Contest for 'prodigy' places in universities
A thin but fit figure at 5 foot 10, he looked no different from other college students. His shyness and unguarded manner, however, gave him away. Zhang Xinyang, from Panjin in Liaoning province, entered college at just 10 years of age, a record in China. Now 16, he is pursuing a doctorate in mathematics at Beihang University in Beijing, write Wang Yan and Chen Jia for China Daily.
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HONG KONG: Mugabe jets in for daughter's graduation
Zimbabwe's budget presentation in parliament was moved from last Thursday to next week Wednesday after President Robert Mugabe decided his daughter Bona Mugabe's graduation at the City University in Hong Kong was more important, reports Nehanda Radio.
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TANZANIA: IDs offer hope for student debt recovery
Hopes in Tanzania for the recovery of more than US$397 million in outstanding debt from thousands of defaulting higher education students loans lies mainly with the introduction of national identity documents early next year, writes James Mwakisyala for East African Business Week.
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US: Atheist students protest exclusion by Duquesne
Holding signs that said 'We don't bite' and 'Support reason', about 20 students from three universities gathered last week to protest Duquesne University's refusal to recognise a proposed secular student group, write Kaitlynn Riely and Ann Rodgers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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University World News 0197 - 13th November 2011

2011-11-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

This week's highlights

This week we take an in-depth look at the expansion of private higher education around the world, what has been driving the sector's phenomenal growth, trends in private provision in countries and regions, and what this all means for higher education systems. Among many other articles, BIANKA SIWINSKA looks at the expansion of the private sector in Eastern and Central Europe and the demographic challenges it faces, and GRACE KARRAM writes that rather than being profit-hungry commercial operations, most of the swelling number of private institutions in Africa are religiously-oriented with non-profit motives. In Commentary, JANDHYALA TILAK writes that India's draft twelfth Five Year Plan foresees an even greater role for the private sector in future. ANDREW MCGETTIGAN argues that Britain needs a multi-level campaign to stop the full-scale privatisation of higher education, and WILLIAM PATRICK LEONARD says that well-managed and targeted for-profit institutions are benefiting from complacency in the public and non-profit private higher education sectors.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: Which students use agents? - British Council
Yojana Sharma
There are big differences around the world in the reasons why students turn to education agents for university and student visa applications, with use of agents highest in regions and countries where there is less familiarity with the target education system. Language issues are also important, a new study by the British Council has found.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: MPs demand reform changes to tackle access
Brendan O'Malley
MPs have urged the UK government to delay piecemeal implementation of key higher education reforms in England and to reconsider measures proposed to ensure that disadvantaged students are not put off attending university.
Full report on the University World News site:

NICARAGUA: Protesting students burn building
Chrissie Long
Students from Nicaragua's Caribbean university have doused a campus building in gasoline and burnt it to the ground, in an ongoing fight over university leadership. Their protests have also included a four-day hunger strike that landed two students in hospital and forced professors to cancel classes.
Full report on the University World News site:

DENMARK: Social science needs higher EU profile
Jan Petter Myklebust
A Danish think tank has called for a strengthened social sciences and humanities strand in the European Union's flagship research programme, as Denmark prepares to take over the chairmanship of the European Commission.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Good job prospects for graduates
Michael Gardner
Unemployment among graduates in Germany one year after leaving their institution is at 4% and below, compared with a seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate of 5.9%, according to a survey by HIS-HF, a higher education statistics agency.
Full report on the University World News site:

SPECIAL REPORT: Private higher education

The growth of private higher education around the world has been
phenomenal. In some countries and regions private institutions now enrol high proportions - or even majorities - of tertiary students. The private sector has been helping to meet mushrooming demand for higher education among school-leaving and non-traditional students, but there are serious concerns about quality, high fees and diversity of provision as well as the privatisation of higher education.

This special report covers topics ranging from the rapid growth of private higher education in India, Central America, Africa, Brazil, the Arab world and Central and Eastern Europe, and controversial for-profit institutions in the United States, to the struggles of foreign private institutions trying to make it in Australia and booming bogus degree mills based mostly in North America and Europe but also increasingly in cyberspace. In some cases there is a blurring of boundaries between public and private, and in some nations such as Kenya and Malaysia, governments are clamping down on private institutions in efforts to ensure students receive quality learning and recognised qualifications.

INDIA: Regulation lags private higher education growth

Alya Mishra Rising demand for post-secondary education, lack of government investment in the sector and the deteriorating quality of many public universities has led to an increase in private players in Indian higher education. But the regulation of private institutions has failed to keep up with their rapid growth, leading to concerns about quality and social equity.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: For-profits controversial but driving growth
Alison Moodie
For-profit colleges and universities represent the fastest-growing but also most controversial sector of private higher education in the United States. Universities like Phoenix, DeVry and Kaplan have helped turn the for-profit sector into a massive revenue generator and the engine for higher education growth. From 1998 to 2008, for-profit enrolment grew by 225%.
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CENTRAL AMERICA: Private higher education booming
Chrissie Long
Recent years have witnessed a boom in private education opportunities across the Central American isthmus. To some, it seems that private entities cannot open classrooms fast enough. Whereas 30 years ago there were virtually no private universities today there are more than 151 and every year more emerge.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Tired pioneers in Eastern and Central Europe
Bianka Siwinska
The common characteristic of private universities in Central and Eastern Europe is that none of them existed 20 years ago. The 'private revolution' in this part of the world started after the dissolution of the Soviet block and the fall of communism in 1989. The ossified structures of centrally managed higher education systems were unable to react to the new educational needs of emerging market economies.
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AFRICA: Rapid growth in private religious universities
Grace Karram
Critics of private post-secondary education often argue that foreign universities in developing nations are commercial and profit-hungry. But these debates ring hollow in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of private providers are religiously-oriented with non-profit business models. Religious institutions are the fastest growing type of post-secondary institution in almost every nation north of South Africa and south of the Sahara.
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BRAZIL: Private education far better than none at all
Karen MacGregor
A burning question for developing countries is whether low quality private higher education is better than none at all, in circumstances where public systems cannot meet soaring student demand. Brazil decided it was and set about rapidly expanding its higher education system, including by opening it to private institutions. Today the country has one of the largest private sectors in the world and it enrols a staggering 75% of all post-secondary students.
Full report on the University World News site:

ARAB STATES: Quality low despite privatisation boom
Wagdy Sawahel
Despite dramatic growth since the 1990s in the number of private institutions, which make up about 45% of all Arab universities and have a market size of US$1.2 billion in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates alone, these institutions continue to have little impact on the development of higher education systems in the Arab world.
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AUSTRALIA: Foreigners providers find the going hard
Geoff Maslen
Despite the efforts of some of the world's largest foreign private universities to set up shop in Australia, none have yet succeeded in making a profit from selling higher education - or even attracting significant numbers of students.
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GLOBAL: Degree mills tarnish private higher education
Sarah King Head
According to the most recent report of Accredibase, the UK-based background screening company Verifile Limited, there was a staggering 48% increase in the number of known degree or diploma mills operating worldwide last year. It identified more than 2,500 bogus institutions across all regions, but primarily in North America and Europe.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAYSIA: Many private colleges have quality issues
Honey Singh Virdee
An audit of private colleges in Malaysia has unearthed serious quality issues, with only one in three colleges evaluated doing well in a quality assurance process that could be used by the government to approve or deny them licenses to recruit international students.
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KENYA: New audit of private universities announced
Gilbert Nganga
Surging demand for higher education ought to have given Kenya a good reason to clean up its universities. But as the number of private and public universities has grown over the past seven years, from 17 to 24 private and five to seven public institutions, so have concerns over the quality of learning.
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SOUTH AFRICA: From for-profit to public purpose: Monash
Geoff Maslen
A decade after Monash University in Melbourne became the first foreign university to gain registration as a private higher education institution in South Africa, its ambitious goal of establishing a profitable campus in Johannesburg has still to be achieved. Meanwhile the university has changed its approach, switching focus from being 'for-profit' to 'public purpose'.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY: Private higher education

INDIA: State seeks greater role for private sector
Despite the fact that India has a higher number of students enrolled in private higher education institutions than the United States, the government's draft twelfth Five Year Plan foresees an even greater role for the private sector in the future, says JANDHYALA TILAK. Privatisation seems to be the only mantra for the development of education.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: Concerted assault on public higher education
The UK Conservative-led government is introducing primary legislation which paves the way for full-scale privatisation of the higher education sector despite a lack of public support, says ANDREW MCGETTIGAN. There is a need for a multi-level campaign to stop this as it will destabilise and tarnish the entire sector.
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GLOBAL: Private sector capitalises on complacency
The for-profit higher education sector is benefiting from complacent public and non-profit private sectors, argues WILLIAM PATRICK LEONARD. Its universities tend to be better-managed and more targeted at meeting market demand because they operate in a more risky environment.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

SWEDEN: World-first trachea-bronchi transplant
Jan Petter Myklebust
In a world first, a Swedish surgeon has transplanted the trachea and bronchi that had been created by the patient's own stem cells. Professor Paolo Macchiarini of Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm used a new cell regenerative medical invention to generate the tachea and bronchi.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Production of oxygen on Earth
A new study is believed to have resolved a major debate about when oxygen began to be produced on Earth and how long it took before oxygen levels were sufficient to support the growth of life.
Full report on the University World News site:

US-AUSTRALIA: A new planet forms
Astronomers have released the first close-up images of a young planet in the process of being formed. The research aims to shed light on the ways in which planets and solar systems begin.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

BRAZIL: Riot police clear protesting students
More than 300 Brazilian riot police forcibly cleared a university building that protesting students occupied for a week, arresting about 70 people last week. Police used battering rams to smash down doors in the dawn raid as a helicopter buzzed overhead. Officials said the students, mostly asleep when police arrived, did not resist arrest, reports Associated Press.
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CANADA: Thousands of Quebec students march over fees
Tens of thousands of people packed Montreal's streets last Thursday to protest a tuition hike proposed by the government of Premier Jean Charest - an increase that march organisers said is tantamount to a declaration of war on students, reports CTV News.
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UK: Thousands march in student protest over fees
The police were out in force as thousands of students marched through central London last week. Some 4,000 officers were on duty, as demonstrators marched peacefully in a protest against higher tuition fees and 'privatisation' in universities, reports the BBC.
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KENYA: Public universities' strike starts to bite
Learning and examinations in public universities were disrupted as a strike called by three university staff unions started biting. As the strike kicked off, the government defended itself against accusations that it had ignored the matter for far too long, reports The Standard.
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CHINA: Top scholars share open courses online
China now has its version of Harvard open courses. Twenty courses provided by 18 top Chinese universities went online last Wednesday, China's latest attempt to disseminate teaching resources within the nation and promote Chinese culture globally, writes Chen Jia for China Daily.
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INDIA: Red tape tangles US universities' entry
The United States has cited Indian bureaucracy and uncertainty over the Foreign Education Providers Bill as two major bottlenecks for setting up campuses of its foreign universities in India, writes Chetan Chauhan for the Hindustan Times.
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INDIA: Scottish university opens maiden campus
In a move aimed at boosting India-Scotland relations in the field of education, Scotland's Education Minister Michael Russell inaugurated the first campus of a Scottish university in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi last Wednesday, reports The Economic Times.
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MIDDLE EAST: Focus turns to higher education
Recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa can be traced largely to the region's youth - millions of young people facing widespread unemployment and seeing a dearth of opportunities ahead of them. Now, academics are seeking to focus on the role that higher education can play to address their concerns, and the crucial steps that officials need to take to achieve this, like engaging with institutions outside the region, standardising curricula and finding alternative sources of financing, writes Sara Hamdan for The New York Times.
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UK: Value of degrees to be revealed for first time
Official work force surveys are to quiz respondents about which universities they attended, revealing which institutions are most and least successful at producing graduates who go on to certain careers, writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph.
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UK: Universities launch tuition fees price war
The career plans of thousands of students have been thrown into confusion after it emerged that one in five universities is seeking to reduce its fees, with only weeks to go before the application deadline, writes Richard Garner for The Independent.
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WALES: Lower-fee universities may get more students
Universities in Wales that are prepared to lower their tuition fees could be allowed to bid for extra students under proposals being considered by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, writes Gareth Evans for Western Mail.
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CYPRUS: Private universities told to lower fees
The government of Cyprus has told private universities to return tuition fees to last year's levels or else risk severe sanctions, writes Elias Hazou for Cyprus Mail.
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AUSTRALIA: University applications on the rise
Applications for university places next year are on the rise as universities compete to attract a wider range of students, while those already enrolled stay for longer and complete their courses at a greater rate, writes Jen Rosenberg for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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GHANA: Universities to benefit from $10m ESRI support
Ghanaian universities have been selected among 100 across Africa to benefit from US$10 million assistance from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, the world's leading Geographic Information Systems developer, reports Ghana Business News.
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SWAZILAND-CHINA: Universities sign pact
Five universities from Taiwan have signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Swaziland, writes Welcome Dlamini for the Times of Swaziland.
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GLOBAL: 'Big Bang Theory' fuels physics boom
The Big Bang Theory, a California-based comedy that follows two young physicists, is being credited with consolidating the growing appetite among teenagers for the once unfashionable subject of physics. Documentaries by Brian Cox have previously been mentioned as galvanising interest in the subject, writes Mark Townsend for The Observer.
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US: Penn State child abuse case holds bigger lessons
The child s ex abuse scandal that has rocked Pennsylvania State University is, say college and university officials far from the institution, not only a cautionary tale but also a very big teachable moment, writes Ron Scherer for The Christian Science Monitor.
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CANADA: University defends right to censure students
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms should not apply to a university's decision to discipline students, a Canadian court heard last week. The University of Calgary is at the Alberta Court of Appeal, attempting to overturn a lower court decision that found the school infringed upon the freedom of expression of twin brothers Keith and Steven Pridgen when it sanctioned them for criticising their professor on Facebook, writes Daryl Slade for Postmedia News.
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US: Disingenuous data may be part of bigger problem
Iona College acknowledged last week that its former provost had, for nearly a decade, manipulated and misreported student-related data to government officials, accrediting bodies, bond rating agencies and others, writes Doug Lederman for Inside Higher Ed. As the new president of the New York Roman Catholic college described the steps it had taken to prevent such individual unethical behaviour in the future, some observers in higher education said they believed the case indicated the existence of a larger problem.
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UK: Oxford denies sponsor has hold over chair
A University of Oxford job advert apparently requiring its L'Oréal professor of marketing to carry out work for the global cosmetics giant was "unfortunately phrased", the university has said amid concerns over academic freedom, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.
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UK: University of Warwick joins New York consortium
The University of Warwick has joined a global consortium led by New York University to set up a new applied sciences and engineering campus in the American city. The bid, which is currently being considered by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is the latest attempt by the region to strengthen its links with the US, writes Kat Keogh for the Birmingham Post.
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University World News 0196 - 6th November 2011

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

This week's highlights

This week University World News reports on the World Innovation Summit for Education, held in Doha from 1-3 November. In Features, GEOFF MASLEN looks at research in Australia and Spain aimed at devising a test that can measure the intelligence of a computer or an animal, and JULIA FAN LI describes a prize in Rwanda that is supporting students to become entrepreneurs and is spreading to other African countries. In Commentary, Oxford Vice-chancellor ANDREW HAMILTON says the government's visa policy and lack of attention to graduates could undermine the ability of British universities to attract top global student and academic talent. TYRELL HABERKOM writes that despite increasing censure, academics on the left in America must risk saying what they think if they are to teach their students to take a stand, and ERIC WEINBERGER argues against the liberal arts college being created jointly by Yale and the National University of Singapore.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

THAILAND: Floods expose system failures: Academics
Suluck Lamubol
Thailand's worst floods since the 1940s have claimed nearly 400 lives during the past two months. Universities were closed in October for the semester break. The start of the new semester, due to begin on Tuesday, has been postponed to 14 November and national university admissions examinations have also been delayed.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAYSIA: Landmark court ruling on campus freedom
Yojana Sharma and Honey Singh Virdee
Malaysia's controversial Universities and University Colleges Act, which restricts student involvement in politics on campuses, was last week ruled unreasonable and unconstitutional by an appeal court for violating freedom of expression.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Councils propose plan to improve research
Jan Petter Myklebust
Six research councils have urged the Swedish government to adopt a five-point plan for improving research and innovation and have voiced concern over a sharp decline in private sector research. The heads of the councils, which have a total portfolio of SEK9.3 billion (US$1.4 billion), presented their common position to Minister of Education Jan Björklund last week.
Full report on the University World News site:

HONG KONG: China looms over vice-chancellor's exit
Yojana Sharma
The surprise decision by Hong Kong University's respected Vice-chancellor Tsui Lap-chee not to stay for another term of office at one of Asia's top institutions has highlighted new pressures on the autonomy of Hong Kong's institutions.
Full report on the University World News site:

NETHERLANDS: Dean may face data fraud charges
Jan Petter Myklebust and Brendan O'Malley
A Tilburg University inquiry has recommended that details of forgery of documents and fraud committed by Diederik Stapel, a leading social psychologist, should be passed to the Dutch public prosecution service.
Full report on the University World News site:

FRANCE: Foreign student rules a threat to image
Jane Marshall
Nine out of 10 past, present and future students from abroad would recommend France as a study destination, according to new research carried out before the introduction of controversial tightened restrictions on foreign graduates working in France.
Full report on the University World News site:

KENYA: Lecturers threaten strike over broken promises
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya is facing fresh threats of a lecturers' strike over delayed implementation of new salaries and allowances, which could jeopardise learning in public universities from 9 November. Lecturers are also up in arms over government's decision to double the student intake in the absence of increased staff and infrastructure.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: Higher Education Commission in trouble again
Ameen Amjad Khan
Academics are divided over government moves to break up Pakistan's Higher Education Commission, ostensibly to give it representation in parliament by distributing its core functions among ministries. Some academics want a dedicated ministry of higher education, while others see the HEC's demise as detrimental to the sector.
Full report on the University World News site :

SOUTH AFRICA: 'Bankrupt' university taken over
Munyaradzi Makoni
Walter Sisulu University in South Africa has been placed under administration in a bid to save it from complete collapse. Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande, who has tasked a top-level academic with taking over the running of the institution, said the aim was to redeem the troubled university within the next two years.
Full report on the University World News site:

TANZANIA: Golden jubilee for Dar es Salaam
Sylivester Ernest
There was both pomp and protest at the University of Dar es Salaam's 50th anniversary celebrations in late October, which were attended by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, both alumni of the flagship institution.
Full report on the University World News site:

World Innovation Summit for Education

The third World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) was held in Doha
from 1-3 November, with the theme "Changing Societies, Changing Education". University World News reports.

GLOBAL: Change is the only constant - IAUP on WISE

The 2011 World Innovation Summit for Education brought together 1,300 participants to identify and promote innovative solutions to educational challenges. Organised by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, with the objective of pushing education higher up the world's political and social agendas, WISE covers education from kindergarten upwards. International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) Secretary-General Neal King spoke to YOJANA SHARMA about higher education aspects of the summit.
Full report on the University World News site:

QATAR: Arab Spring could mark new higher education era
Erin Millar
The Arab Spring could bring about the momentum and political will needed to improve failing higher education systems in the Arab world, said educators speaking at the third annual World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha, Qatar, last week.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA-EUROPE: New virtual network for PhD students
Karen MacGregor
An initiative to create a virtual network connecting doctoral students in Africa and Europe was launched at the World Innovation Summit for Education last week. Coordinated by the Association of Commonwealth Universities, DocLinks will strive to ease the loneliness of doctoral study and encourage sharing of experiences and resources.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

AUSTRALIA-SPAIN: A universal intelligence test
Geoff Maslen
'Intelligence quotient', or IQ, tests have long been widely used by psychologists. But what if someone wanted to find out the intelligence of a dolphin, or an elephant, or a computer program and how it compared with a human: what kind of test could assess how smart a machine or a non-human animal is?
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Practical lessons in business enterprise
To learn how to be entrepreneurial, students need a space to explore the things they learn from their curriculum. Rwanda has a high youth unemployment rate and a need to stimulate new business ideas, and lacks extra-curricular opportunities. A student-initiated prize has helped to give lecture room experiences real-life applications, says JULIA FAN LI. The project is now spreading to other countries in Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

UK: Government policies hamper efforts to woo talent
The UK government's visa policy and the lack of attention paid to graduates in its white paper on higher education could have a detrimental impact on British universities' ability to attract top student and academic talent, says ANDREW HAMILTON, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford.
Full report on the University World News site:

AMERICAS: Academics must not be cowed in class
The last few years have seen academics on the left risking formal or subtle censure in North America. But if academics are not prepared to risk saying what they think, how can they teach their students to take a stand? asks TYRELL HABERKOM in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Why Yale should not partner with Singapore
Yale's president claims that the US institution's new partnership with the National University of Singapore continues its tradition of promoting liberal values by encouraging educational progress. But what about Singapore's human rights record? Surely the responsibility for creating great Asian universities lies with Asian countries themselves, argues ERIC WEINBERGER.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet
In Turkey, in an ongoing operation against Kurdish political parties, two academics have been arrested and charged under the Anti Terror Law, but there are concerns about fair trial standards. In the Philippines, educators and activists fear for their lives after the brutal killing of a university vice-president and given escalating - seemingly politically motivated - attacks and murders. In Bahrain, concerns have been expressed about the fairness of the trial of a professor arrested and suspended from his position, amid a wider crackdown on academic freedoms. In Laos rights groups are calling for the release of political prisoners, including four student leaders who remain incarcerated 12 years after protests in the country were crushed. And a US climate change scientist has hailed as a victory for academic freedom and science a court ruling to deny access by a pro-industry think-tank to his private emails.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group:
http://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

US: A sister's eulogy for Steve Jobs
Mona Simpson is a novelist and a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 1988, she has held the Sadie Samuelson Levy Chair in Languages and Literature at Bard College. She delivered a eulogy for her brother Steve Jobs on 16 October 2011, at his memorial service held at Stanford University, which was published by The New York Times last Monday. Of all the articles that followed Jobs' death, Simpson's eulogy probably provides the deepest insight into the visionary Apple leader.
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UK: Universities body issues warning over visa reform
The Universities UK action group has issued a warning about Britain's reputation in education after new figures revealed that the government's curb on overseas students had reduced their numbers by 11,000 and led to more than 450 colleges pulling out of the market, writes Alan Travis for the Guardian.
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SOUTH KOREA: Universities' creative accounting exposed
Private and public universities in South Korea have engaged in creative accounting practices resulting in excessive hikes in tuition fees, writes Kim Eun-jung for Yonhap News Agency.
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US: Magic is no solution to education crisis
In the early 20th century, the distinguished philosopher Alfred North Whitehead observed: "The task of the university is the creation of the future..." Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust noted that this creative work is done by educating "those to whom the future belongs, and by generating the ideas and discoveries that can transform the present and build a better world", writes Jonathan R Cole for the Huffington Post.
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US: Colleges grapple with Chinese students
Dozens of new students crowded into a lobby of the University of Delaware's student centre at the start of the academic year. With the exception of one lost-looking soul from Colombia, all the students were from China, write Tom Bartlett and Karin Fischer for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Strings attached to Chinese institute offers
When a Beijing organisation with close ties to China's government offered Stanford University $4 million to host a Confucius Institute on Chinese language and culture and endow a professorship, it attached one caveat: the professor couldn't discuss delicate issues like Tibet, writes Daniel Golden for Bloomberg.
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CANADA: New statement on academic freedom
Canada's university presidents have jointly adopted a new statement on academic freedom, pledging support for the right of faculty members to follow their ideas in teaching and research, without inappropriate interference, writes Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed.
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UK: Students face radical admission reforms
In a report published last week, Britain's Universities and Colleges Admissions Service proposes scrapping the current system in which students apply for courses based on predicted grades. Under reforms that could be introduced in 2016, teenagers will sit exams as early as Easter and A-level results will be published at the start of July, instead of mid-August. Applications would also be limited to just two choices - instead of the current five - and all degree courses would start in October, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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ISRAEL: Education ministry to battle brain drain
No less than 1,500 Israeli scientists and researchers have left Israeli universities in recent years to join top academic institutions overseas. To combat the brain drain, the education ministry will establish 30 special institutes that will offer academics excellent conditions for research and, according to the plan, lure them home, writes Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad for Ynet News.
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US: India, Israel universities vie for 'genius' grant
New York's quest to lure a 'genius school' attracted seven applications from 17 top institutions in three states and four countries, writes Erin Einhorn for New York Daily News. "All of the submissions were stronger than anything we could have possibly imagined," Mayor Michael Bloomberg gushed last week as he announced the proposals.
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MALAYSIA: Clamp-down on private universities
Malaysia's higher education ministry is amending the Private Institutions of Higher Learning Act to allow for sterner action, including higher fines, against private universities for various offences, reports the official agency Bernama.
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INDIA: Government to link higher education institutes
At least 15 million students pursuing higher education will be able to share information, lab experiments and classroom content as the Indian cabinet last week approved a proposal to connect 572 universities, 25,000 colleges and 2,000 polytechnics as part of its mission to promote technology usage in higher education, writes Prashant K Nanda for Livemint.
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MALAWI: Lecturers refuse to return to class
Lecturers at the University of Malawi's Chancellor College say they will only return to the classroom after their concerns over academic freedom are fully addressed, writes Peter Clottey for Voice of America.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Poor response to student debt offer
Poor students who have outstanding debts at universities across the country have responded slowly to the call by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimade to apply for special funding to clear their debt, writes Lesego Masemola for The New Age.
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PAKISTAN: Universities rally to boost social sciences
Five public sector universities in Pakistan will form a consortium to promote social sciences and arts, reports The Express Tribune.
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US: Students urged to seek jobs beyond Wall Street
The financial industry has long concentrated its search for new blood on the well-manicured campuses of America's elite universities, where job prospects after graduation may be the one thing even higher than tuition fees. But that pipeline to talent is facing some push-back, writes Nathaniel Popper for the Los Angeles Times.
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US: Stanford receives $150 million to fight poverty
Stanford University's Graduate School of Business has received a $150 million gift, one of the largest in the university's history, to create an institute to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship, writes Sue Dremann for Palo Alto.
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US: Wikipedia tops list of plagiarised sources
Where are students finding the materials they plagiarise in their papers? According to a new study, Wikipedia tops the list for both secondary and college students. But as a category, encyclopaedia sites are among the least popular sources, coming in behind four other types of information outlets, including both academic sites and paper mills, writes David Nagel for Campus Technology.
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US: Uproar over university's 'lifestyle' statement
A university in Georgia, US, has people in an uproar over a new document that would rule out g ay people as prospective employees on campus. Adopted by the school's board of trustees, the 'personal lifestyle statement' is a mandatory employee document that could result in termination for those who refuse to sign it, writes Gina E Ryder for the Christian Post.
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University World News 0195 - 30th October 2011

2011-10-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

A special report this week looks at news and issues around student finance. It includes commentaries by STEVE CHATMAN of Berkeley on how financial aid has alleviated the impacts of the wealth gap on student satisfaction in the US, and by student leader ALLAN PALL on Europe's proposed loan scheme to encourage greater student mobility. In Features, SUVENDRINI KAKUCHI reports on the Campus Asia project aimed at harmonising higher education and encouraging student exchange between Japan, China and South Korea. And in Commentary, ELSPETH JONES outlines 10 key indicators of a university that has achieved comprehensive internationalisation, while MARTIN GRABERT describes how Germany's Excellence Initiative has quickly achieved positive results for elite universities and the higher education system.

Special Report on student finance

Student finance has been in the news, with tuition fees rising and more
governments shifting the burden of higher education costs from the public to the student purse. In India massification is driving exponential growth in the loan market, and in the United States and elsewhere student debt and loan defaults are rising rapidly. The European Commission is floating a loan scheme to help fund student mobility. This special report provides a snapshot of developments and challenges in student finance in selected countries around the world.

US: Mixed victory for students under Obama loan plan

Eileen Travers Marching along the shaded valley beneath skyscr apers housing major bank headquarters in midtown Manhattan, some students in the Occupy Wall Street movement said United States President Barack Obama's new loan plan was too little too late, with real savings totaling no more than $10 a month per low-income borrower.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Aid prevents big wealth gap impact on students
Research into student experience and income in America shows that the effect of family income on student satisfaction is limited due to the financial aid programmes that support them. However, students are cutting back across the board and it is important to keep analysing the impact, particularly if aid programmes are reduced, says STEVE CHATMAN of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at Berkeley.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Soaring demand doubles student loan numbers
Alya Mishra
While the middle classes in India have traditionally pursued higher education for their children, rising aspirations among the lower-middle class and poor have led to soaring demand for student loans, despite families having to put assets on the line. The number of students applying for loans has more than doubled in five years.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Do loans create an indebted generation?
The European Commission has published an agenda for modernising higher education, which includes a proposal for a loan scheme to encourage greater mobility for students. But will this create an indebted generation and fuel inter-generational tension? asks ALLAN PALL, chair of the European Students' Union.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Fund rescues non-fee-paying graduates
Sharon Dell
A R200-million (US$25.5 million) fund to provide loans to nearly 20,000 graduates whose degree and diploma certificates have been withheld by educational institutions because of outstanding fees, is among a clutch of recent initiatives by the South African government to boost the efficiency of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and broaden its reach.
Full report on the University World News site:

THAILAND: Defaults prompt new student loan criteria
Suluck Lamubol
As the number of students defaulting on the government's low-interest student loan scheme increases, Thailand's education minister has proposed making government loans contingent on an applicant's future income and employment prospects. But critics say this could turn education into a commodity and could widen social inequalities.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Students pay for the privilege
Geoff Maslen
More than 1.2 million students are enrolled in Australian higher education institutions this year and almost every one of them pays for the privilege, including the 335,000 foreign students who must meet the full cost of their courses.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

BRAZIL: Science students offered study-abroad grants
Tom Hennigan
In the latest move in a campaign to boost its economy's scientific base, Brazil is offering 75,000 grants by the end of 2014 to science students keen to study abroad. The goal of the Science Without Frontiers programme is to increase the number of Brazilian pre- and post-doctoral students in leading foreign institutions. In return, the government says it will work to create similar opportunities for foreign students in Brazilian institutions.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Minister says universities may merge
Jan Petter Myklebust
Sweden's coalition government is to tackle a sharp drop in student numbers by allocating more funding to universities where there is a strong demand for places, forcing less popular institutions to seek mergers to survive, Education Minister Jan Björklund has warned.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Australia in from Commonwealth funding cold
David Jobbins
Australia is to resume funding for Commonwealth university scholarships and the Commonwealth of Learning, the pioneering distance learning agency with a focus on the developing world, seven years after it pulled the plug in an economy drive.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Scholarships effective in supporting democracy
Jacquie Withers
Two evaluation reports from the UK's Commonwealth Scholarship Commission were launched last week ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia - one based on a survey of more than 2,000 former scholars and fellows around the Commonwealth, and the other focusing on 15 Commonwealth countries in Asia.
Full report on the University World News site:

LEBANON: Quality assurance agency to be created
Wagdy Sawahel
Lebanon plans to establish a national quality assurance agency to strengthen the competitiveness of its sole state university and numerous private universities. The aim is to develop a higher education system of international quality.
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Protests continue over academic freedom curb
Alya Mishra
Students and teachers at Delhi University went on marches last week to protest against the removal of a celebrated essay by the late scholar and linguist AK Ramanujan on the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAWI: Presidential reversal reinstates lecturers
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has reinstated four lecturers who were suspended as a result of industrial action over erosion of academic freedoms, and said higher education liberties were guaranteed in the African nation. Many campuses have been closed for much of the year due to unresolved lecturer protests over what has been seen as an increasingly autocratic climate in the country.
Full report on the University World News site:

MOZAMBIQUE: University u-turn on 'Bologna' degrees
Munyaradzi Makoni
Fifteen faculties of Mozambique's Eduardo Mondlane University will change from a three-year back to a four-year bachelor degree programme in the 2012 academic year, reversing the adoption of the Bologna process degree structure. The switch is aimed at producing better-trained, labour-marketable graduates.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZAMBIA: Three new universities, job creation planned
Zambia's newly elected President Michael Sata has outlined plans to review the higher education sector as well as establish three new universities, to fulfil his election manifesto. Job creation for higher education graduates would also be prioritised.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

ASIA: Building bridges through higher education
Suvendrini Kakuchi
Western countries are by far the most favoured destinations for students from East Asia seeking higher education abroad, and reversing that trend will not be easy. But an ambitious plan to usher in exchanges between universities in Japan, China and South Korea is under way under the auspices of the three governments.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Internationalisation - Aid, trade, pervade
Discussing definitions of internationalisation in higher education shows that we have not advanced enough, says ELSPETH JONES. If we are still having a debate, we are not devoting ourselves sufficiently to doing internationalisation. She outlines 10 key indicators of a university that has achieved 'comprehensive' or 'integrated' internationalisation.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Germany's Excellence Initiative reaps rewards
Germany's Excellence Initiative has brought visible benefits and quickly, says MARTIN GRABERT. Concentrating support where it can have the most impact through a bottom-up two-tiered approach has achieved results for elite universities and has also had wider benefits for the higher education system.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

SOUTH AFRICA: A 100,000-year-old workshop
An ochre-rich mixture that was possibly used for decoration, painting and skin protection 100,000 years ago has been discovered stored in two abalone shells at Blombos Cave, 300 kilometres east of Cape Town. The discovery represents an important benchmark in the evolution of complex human thought.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK-AUSTRALIA: Energy-converting protein
British and Australian researchers have made a world-first discovery that will provide the most accurate understanding to date of the structure and function of the most important energy-converting protein, critical to the functioning of all organs and a cause of disease when malfunctioning.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Mirror coating of NASA telescope
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the world's next-generation space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, has reached a major milestone in its development: the mirrors that will fly aboard the telescope have been completely coated with a microscopically thin layer of gold, selected for its ability to properly reflect infrared light from the mirrors into the observatory's science instruments.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRIA: Dissipation to engineer quantum states
Theoretical physicists at the University of Innsbruck have formulated a new concept to engineer exotic so-called topological states of matter in quantum mechanical many-body systems. They linked concepts of quantum optics and condensed matter physics to show a way to build a quantum computer immune from perturbations.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group:
http://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

HONG KONG: An open door to foreign students
Well-positioned in world university rankings, Hong Kong has an open-door policy towards international students. The Hong Kong government has invested HK$1 billion (US$128 million) in a bursary fund, with the interest to be used to fund scholarships for international students, writes Stephen Hoare for The Independent.
More on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Universities put revenue before standards
The state of Victoria's ombudsman has uncovered worrying evidence that universities have been putting the need for student fee revenue ahead of the ability of students to complete their courses, apparently enrolling students with too-poor English skills, writes Andrew Trounsen for The Australian. But universities have rejected the criticism.
More on the University World News site:

CHINA-AFRICA: Universities to boost collaboration
The 2011 UNESCO-China-Africa University Leaders Meeting was held last week in Paris at the headquarters of the United Nations agency, aimed at boosting collaboration between Chinese and African universities, reports the Xinhua news agency.
More on the University World News site:

US: High cost of community college dropouts
A new national study reports that federal, state, and local governments in the US invested nearly $4 billion in full-time community college students who subsequently dropped out after their first year, writes Rita Giordano for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
More on the University World News site:

US: Real higher education costs now clearer
How much will college really cost? For American families, the answer may soon become clearer. Starting on 29 October, any college or university participating in federal student aid programmes must have a net-price calculator on its website, writes Emily Glazer for the Wall Street Journal.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Education spending 'falling fastest since 1950s'
Public spending on education in the UK is falling at the fastest rate since the 1950s, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The independent financial researchers say spending will fall by 13% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15, writes Sean Coughlan for the BBC.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Drop in soft subject applications
Softer university subjects such as communication studies and creative arts have seen a drop in applications of up to 40% as students seek value for England's controversial £9,000 (US$14,400) tuition fee, according to figures released last week, writes Victoria Ward for The Telegraph.
More on the University World News site:

UK: 'Free' Oxbridge masters degrees under fire
It is as traditional as punting, elite clubs and one-to-one tutorials with dusty dons, but the 'complimentary' masters degrees awarded to Oxford and Cambridge graduates is under fire, writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph.
More on the University World News site:

ISRAEL: 'Privatised enclaves' rise in universities
Study programmes funded by non-public sources in Israeli universities have doubled during the past six years. The number of such programmes has risen from 26 to 51 in a trend that is at variance with a decision reached in 2007 by Israel's Council for Higher Education to withhold recognition of new study programmes, writes Asaf Shtull-Trauring for Haaretz.
More on the University World News site:

US: Political science 'too slow to change' - Report
Political science is being held back as a discipline by its failure to sufficiently engage in issues of race and inequality, and by the homogeneity of its faculty members, according to a report released last week by the American Political Science Association, writes Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed.
More on the University World News site:

CANADA: Universities need to step up - Toope
The world is becoming a more competitive place than ever as far as universities are concerned and Canadian institutions, working with real funding shortages, need to focus on their teaching mission to remain in the game, according to Stephen Toope, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, writes Karen Seidman for The Gazette.
More on the University World News site:

CANADA: University head apologises to aboriginals
In an unusual move, the president of a Canadian university has issued a formal apology to aboriginals across the country for his institution's failure to speak out against the "national shame" of residential schools, writes Louise Brown for The Star.
More on the University World News site:

University World News 0194 - 23rd October 2011

2011-10-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

In Features ALYA MISHRA writes that while the first India-US higher education summit provided recognition of the growing international importance of India's universities, there is a wide gap between what India needs and what American institutions might provide. YOJANA SHARMA reports on rising hopes in Malaysia that a draconian law restricting student political activity on campuses might be scrapped, and SARAH KING HEAD looks at differentiation of institutional mission in Canadian higher education, as discussed at the "Stepford Universities?" conference in Toronto. In Commentary, RICHARD HOLMES critiques the latest global university rankings produced by Times Higher Education, and BIANKA SIWIÑSKA charts the dramatic growth of private higher education in Poland - and the dire threats it faces today. KATE ASHCROFT highlights the central messages in a just-published book she co-authored on dilemmas of development work in African universities.

A reason to celebrate

GLOBAL: University World News turns four On the face of it, there is nothing special about a fourth anniversary. Other annual milestones - first, fifth, tenth and so on - seem more appealing. But when University World News was launched on 14 October 2007 the journalists involved were uncertain that their audacious idea of producing the planet's first international higher education newspaper would last four months. So we are celebrating reaching four years. Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

ASIA: Higher education in East Asia must improve Yojana Sharma University access has increased dramatically in low- and middle-income countries of East Asia, but higher education is "not yet fulfilling its potential", according to the World Bank. The emerging economies and developing countries of Asia need to improve higher education to maintain economic growth and "climb the income ladder", it said in a just-released report.
Full report on the University World News site:

IRAQ: Sweeping higher education reforms planned Wagdy Sawahel Iraq plans to rebuild its war-torn higher education system by giving financial and administrative independence to universities, establishing spec ialised institutions and allowing foreign universities to open branches in the country.
Full report on the University World News site:

FRANCE: Ministers divided on foreign student rules Jane Marshall Laurent Wauquiez, France's minister for higher education and research, is embroiled in a row with Claude Guéant, the interior minister, over whether new immigration measures have made it more difficult to attract talented foreign students.
Full report on the University World News site:

SPAIN: Study highlights progress on fair access Paul Rigg Spanish universities help to neutralise social inequality, according to the largest study of university students undertaken in Spain. The research shows that 51% of university students come from families whose parents never accessed higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Elections reinstate some university leaders Ashraf Khaled Four university presidents in Egypt have kept their posts in unprecedented elections, just weeks after they were forced to step down. The elections were held recently at the public universities of Cairo, Beni Suef, Benha and South Valley.
Full report on the University World News site:

SINGAPORE: Research manipulation claims probed Emilia Tan Huge expansion in Singapore's science research could be leading to stresses in the system. A former professor at the top-rated National University of Singapore has come under scrutiny for possible fabrication of research data.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Nobel prizes for science and economics Geoff Maslen Seven distinguished scientists have received Nobel prizes for science this year although one of them, Canadian professor Ralph M Steinman, died of pancreatic cancer three days before news of the award reached him. It is the first time a Nobel prize has been awarded posthumously, although this is against the Nobel Foundation's statutes. On Monday the economic sciences prize in memory of Alfred Nobel went to two US macro-economists.
Full report on the University World News site:

BRAZIL: Silence greets collaboration plan with Europe Tom Hennigan Brazil and the European Union will hold a meeting next year to focus on improving academic and student mobility, as part of a drive to strengthen cooperation in higher education and research. The partnership with the EU has so far been greeted by silence in Brazil, with no comment from higher education organisations or any apparent press coverage.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Powerful search tool now includes books Jacquie Withers Thomson Reuters last week launched a Book Citation Index, a new resource that includes scholarly books within the Web of Knowledge search and discovery platform and will enable academic libraries to increase the visibility of their book collections, the company says. Starting with 25,000 books, the number will double by the end of 2013.
Full report on the University World News site:

N IGERIA: Terror agenda sparks debate on campuses Tunde Fatunde The political and ideological agenda of Boko Haram, a Muslim fundamentalist group that opposes 'Western education', has ignited debate at N igerian universities. The group has attacked buildings and threatened to send suicide bombers onto campuses. The university community has roundly condemned terror, but is polarised over Boko Haram's intentions.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Young scientists recognised in academy Munyaradzi Makoni An early-career scientists' academy aimed at nurturing the development of top young academics and unlocking their collective potential to tackle national and global problems, has been launched in South Africa. It is the latest offshoot of the rapidly growing Global Young Academy. Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

INDIA: Higher education summit with US reveals gaps Alya Mishra The first India-US higher education summit, between India's Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, was aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two countries. It provided symbolic recognition of the importance of India's university and research sectors for international interaction. But in India academics and students were expressed scepticism that it would yield any real change in education outcomes, with a wide gap between India's needs and what US institutions might provide.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAYSIA: Repressive university act under review Yojana Sharma Hopes that a draconian law that restricts political activity on university campuses in Malaysia might be scrapped have risen dramatically in recent weeks, with government ministers publicly calling for change. But academics say it will only be a partial opening up, with lecturers and university staff still subject to controls.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Driving the differentiation bus Sarah King Head Differentiation of institutional mission in Canadian higher education seems inevitable and undisputed. But how to drive the "differentiation bus" across the sector was the question that framed discussions at an armchair panel session of the recent "Stepford Universities?" conference.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Rankings - Despite changes, questions persist There are now a large number of global university rankings. Each has its own strength, but they have drawn a lot of scepticism from the higher education sector. The latest, the Times Higher Education-Thomson Reuters rankings, have been revised substantially since last year, making comparisons impossible, says RICHARD HOLMES. There are improvements but still also inconsistencies, leaving the compilers facing some difficult questions.
Full report on the University World News site:

POLAND: Private higher education under threat The emergence and growth of private higher education in Poland has been widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the country's transformation in the 1990s, writes BIANKA SIWIŃSKA. Now, however, the sector is endangered - not only due to great demographic pressure, but also to unfair treatment of private institutions by the state.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Dilemmas of development work in universities Most Sub-Saharan African problems are multilayered, requiring social, cultural, economic and scientific solutions that work together, writes KATE ASHCROFT, co-author of the just-published book Higher Education in Development: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa. The central message is that, if real change is to be sustained, it takes time and much working together in partnership, enquiry, reflection and tackling real day-to-day problems in situ. This is more difficult than finding an off-the-shelf 'cure' to a problem and applying it.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

EUROPE: State of biomedical research The European Medical Research Councils group has published a white paper assessing the current status of biomedical research in Europe in a global context. It says European biomedical research is advancing "at a great pace" given the relatively small funds available and, with more money, it could do better. Full report on the University World News site :

US: Light to detect colon cancer Short bursts of light from an endoscope could be a less invasive way for physicians to detect abnormal cells in the colon, according to bio-engineers at Duke University in North Carolina. The finding could lead to improvements in the detection of dysplasia, abnormal cells with the potential to turn cancerous in the epithelium, which forms the lining of various tissues including the oesophagus and colon.
Full report on the University World News site :

GLOBAL: Combating multi-resistant bacteria An international quest launched by the Infectious Diseases Society of America to produce 10 antibiotics to combat multi-resistant bacteria by 2020 has taken a step towards the goal with the recreation of the DNA of an ancestral wallaby gene from 60 million years year ago.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group: 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

US: Billion dollar green challenge for campuses The Sustainable Endowments Institute, along with 15 partner organisations, last week launched the Billion Dollar Green Challenge to encourage higher education and non-profit institutions in the US to invest a total of $1 billion in green revolving funds to finance energy efficiency improvements, writes Joshua Bolkan for Campus Technology.
More on the University World News site:

CHILE: Student leaders seek support abroad Representatives of Chile's confederation of university students, Confech, will travel to Europe to seek international support and raise the profile of their push for sweeping reforms to the nation's education system, writes Joe Hinchliffe for the Santiago Times.
More on the University World News site:

HUNGARY: Students protest higher education bill More than 1,000 students protested against the government's new higher education concept in front of the University of Debrecen in eastern Hungary last week. The students gathered in protest against cuts in funding and an expected curtailment of student rights and autonomy, reports Politics.hu.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Universities could be bought 'in six months' A private equity firm or private higher education provider will buy a UK university in whole or part "within the next six months", according to a legal expert. The prediction by Glynne Stanfield, a partner in the education group Eversheds, came as government documents revealed that a US private equity firm, Warburg Pincus, had twice met with David Willetts, the universities and science minister, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Business-backed technical colleges to open A new wave of comprehensive colleges backed by firms including the developers of the BlackBerry, Toshiba, Boeing and Rolls Royce will open in England next year as part of a new generation of vocational schools in which businesses will help shape the curriculum, write Jeevan Vasagar and Jessica Shepherd for the Guardian.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Internet ends neat chancellorship succession Cambridge University's chancellorship, a ceremonial post created in 1246, has long passed serenely among aristocrats, bishops, generals and princes. Dons in dark gowns would meet in ivy-covered colleges to orchestrate the transition. Now, the internet age has spoiled all that, writes Frances Robinson for The Wall Street Journal.
More on the University World News site:

UK: University to scrap first-class degrees University College London will stop telling students whether they have received a first, second or third, and instead give them an American-style 'grade point average', writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph. The new system gives students a score based on all the courses they have taken as undergraduates.
More on the University World News site:

UK: Wales helps stranded Tasmac students The University of Wales has set up an email helpline to assist hundreds of students from a London college that closed suddenly, reports the BBC. Tasmac London School of Business awarded degrees validated by the university until it ceased trading. Many of the 650 overseas students had paid thousands of pounds in fees to the private college before it went under.
More on the University World News site:

NORWAY: Universities stick to no-fee-for-all policy As Sweden introduces tuition fees of up to £13,145 (US$20,567) for non-European Union students this year, Norway is now one of the few European states to stick to the once-sacrosanct belief in free education for all, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education.
More on the University World News site:

KENYA: Maathai rejected lucrative memoir offers The late Professor Wangari Maathai's deep love for and attachment to Kenya made her resist several bids from top foreign universities for her memoirs, write Walter Menya and Daniel Wesangula for The Daily Nation. More on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Academics condemn Iran Baha'i attack More than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries have joined in the condemnation of Iran's policy to bar young Baha'is and others from higher education. In a global initiative the 43 prominent academics - of Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds - have signed an open letter, published in The Telegraph, UK, and reported in Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo.
More on the University World News site:

IRAQ: Coveted jobs breed diploma fraud For two years, an assistant dean at Iraq's largest university received threats from a police officer: sign a fraudulent document certifying that the officer had graduated from the university, the dean was told, or he would be arrested or even killed, write Michael S Schmidt and Omar Al-Jawoshy for The New York Times.
More on the University World News site:

US: Columbia probed for 'steering' student The US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a complaint filed by Kenneth L Marcus, the director of the Initiative on Anti-Semitism at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, writes Arnold Ahlert for Front Page Mag.
More on the University World News site:

US: Ransom library acquires JM Coetzee archive The archive of Nobel prize-winning author JM Coetzee has been acquired by the Harry Ransom Center library at the University of Texas at Austin. The $1.5 million acquisition includes 155 boxes of the author's essays, manuscripts, notebooks, letters and speeches dating back to 1956, reports the BBC.
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SAUDI ARABIA: Biochemistry students 'neglected' Biochemistry students at Saudi universities complain that they are neglected by the ministries of higher education, health and labour, which do not recognise the significance of their branch of study for the country's development, writes Joud Al-Amri for Arab News.
More on the University World News site:

LEBANON: Essay-writers for hire degrade academia A new academic year begins and "an ugly practice" continues to degrade the integrity of Lebanon's higher education system, writes Niamh Fleming-Farrell for The Daily Star. Essay-writers for hire and the 'entrepreneurs' who solicit work for them continue to defy deterrence and remain a threat to institutions' integrity.
More on the University World News site:

University World News 0193 - 16th October 2011

2011-10-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

In Features ALYA MISHRA writes that while the first India-US higher education summit provided recognition of the growing international importance of India's universities, there is a wide gap between what India needs and what American institutions might provide. YOJANA SHARMA reports on rising hopes in Malaysia that a draconian law restricting student political activity on campuses might be scrapped, and SARAH KING HEAD looks at differentiation of institutional mission in Canadian higher education, as discussed at the "Stepford Universities?" conference in Toronto. In Commentary, RICHARD HOLMES critiques the latest global university rankings produced by Times Higher Education, and BIANKA SIWIÑSKA charts the dramatic growth of private higher education in Poland - and the dire threats it faces today. KATE ASHCROFT highlights the central messages in a just-published book she co-authored on dilemmas of development work in African universities.

A reason to celebrate

GLOBAL: University World News turns four
On the face of it, there is nothing special about a fourth anniversary. Other annual milestones - first, fifth, tenth and so on - seem more appealing. But when University World News was launched on 14 October 2007 the journalists involved were uncertain that their audacious idea of producing the planet's first international higher education newspaper would last four months. So we are celebrating reaching four years.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

ASIA: Higher education in East Asia must improve
Yojana Sharma
University access has increased dramatically in low- and middle-income countries of East Asia, but higher education is "not yet fulfilling its potential", according to the World Bank. The emerging economies and developing countries of Asia need to improve higher education to maintain economic growth and "climb the income ladder", it said in a just-released report.
Full report on the University World News site:

IRAQ: Sweeping higher education reforms planned
Wagdy Sawahel
Iraq plans to rebuild its war-torn higher education system by giving financial and administrative independence to universities, establishing spec ialised institutions and allowing foreign universities to open branches in the country.
Full report on the University World News site:

FRANCE: Ministers divided on foreign student rules
Jane Marshall
Laurent Wauquiez, France's minister for higher education and research, is embroiled in a row with Claude Guéant, the interior minister, over whether new immigration measures have made it more difficult to attract talented foreign students.
Full report on the University World News site:

SPAIN: Study highlights progress on fair access
Paul Rigg
Spanish universities help to neutralise social inequality, according to the largest study of university students undertaken in Spain. The research shows that 51% of university students come from families whose parents never accessed higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Elections reinstate some university leaders
Ashraf Khaled
Four university presidents in Egypt have kept their posts in unprecedented elections, just weeks after they were forced to step down. The elections were held recently at the public universities of Cairo, Beni Suef, Benha and South Valley.
Full report on the University World News site:

SINGAPORE: Research manipulation claims probed
Emilia Tan
Huge expansion in Singapore's science research could be leading to stresses in the system. A former professor at the top-rated National University of Singapore has come under scrutiny for possible fabrication of research data.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Nobel prizes for science and economics
Geoff Maslen
Seven distinguished scientists have received Nobel prizes for science this year although one of them, Canadian professor Ralph M Steinman, died of pancreatic cancer three days before news of the award reached him. It is the first time a Nobel prize has been awarded posthumously, although this is against the Nobel Foundation's statutes. On Monday the economic sciences prize in memory of Alfred Nobel went to two US macro-economists.
Full report on the University World News site:

BRAZIL: Silence greets collaboration plan with Europe
Tom Hennigan
Brazil and the European Union will hold a meeting next year to focus on improving academic and student mobility, as part of a drive to strengthen cooperation in higher education and research. The partnership with the EU has so far been greeted by silence in Brazil, with no comment from higher education organisations or any apparent press coverage.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Powerful search tool now includes books
Jacquie Withers
Thomson Reuters last week launched a Book Citation Index, a new resource that includes scholarly books within the Web of Knowledge search and discovery platform and will enable academic libraries to increase the visibility of their book collections, the company says. Starting with 25,000 books, the number will double by the end of 2013.
Full report on the University World News site:

NIGERIA: Terror agenda sparks debate on campuses
Tunde Fatunde
The political and ideological agenda of Boko Haram, a Muslim fundamentalist group that opposes 'Western education', has ignited debate at Nigerian universities. The group has attacked buildings and threatened to send suicide bombers onto campuses. The university community has roundly condemned terror, but is polarised over Boko Haram's intentions.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Young scientists recognised in academy
Munyaradzi Makoni
An early-career scientists' academy aimed at nurturing the development of top young academics and unlocking their collective potential to tackle national and global problems, has been launched in South Africa. It is the latest offshoot of the rapidly growing Global Young Academy.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

INDIA: Higher education summit with US reveals gaps
Alya Mishra
The first India-US higher education summit, between India's Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, was aimed at strengthening collaboration between the two countries. It provided symbolic recognition of the importance of India's university and research sectors for international interaction. But in India academics and students were expressed scepticism that it would yield any real change in education outcomes, with a wide gap between India's needs and what US institutions might provide.
Full report on the University World News site:

MALAYSIA: Repressive university act under review
Yojana Sharma
Hopes that a draconian law that restricts political activity on university campuses in Malaysia might be scrapped have risen dramatically in recent weeks, with government ministers publicly calling for change. But academics say it will only be a partial opening up, with lecturers and university staff still subject to controls.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Driving the differentiation bus
Sarah King Head
Differentiation of institutional mission in Canadian higher education seems inevitable and undisputed. But how to drive the "differentiation bus" across the sector was the question that framed discussions at an armchair panel session of the recent "Stepford Universities?" conference.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: Rankings - Despite changes, questions persist
There are now a large number of global university rankings. Each has its own strength, but they have drawn a lot of scepticism from the higher education sector. The latest, the Times Higher Education-Thomson Reuters rankings, have been revised substantially since last year, making comparisons impossible, says RICHARD HOLMES. There are improvements but still also inconsistencies, leaving the compilers facing some difficult questions.
Full report on the University World News site:

POLAND: Private higher education under threat
The emergence and growth of private higher education in Poland has been widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the country's transformation in the 1990s, writes BIANKA SIWIŃSKA. Now, however, the sector is endangered - not only due to great demographic pressure, but also to unfair treatment of private institutions by the state.
Full report on the University World News site:

AFRICA: Dilemmas of development work in universities
Most Sub-Saharan African problems are multilayered, requiring social, cultural, economic and scientific solutions that work together, writes KATE ASHCROFT, co-author of the just-published book Higher Education in Development: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa. The central message is that, if real change is to be sustained, it takes time and much working together in partnership, enquiry, reflection and tackling real day-to-day problems in situ. This is more difficult than finding an off-the-shelf 'cure' to a problem and applying it.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

EUROPE: State of biomedical research
The European Medical Research Councils group has published a white paper assessing the current status of biomedical research in Europe in a global context. It says European biomedical research is advancing "at a great pace" given the relatively small funds available and, with more money, it could do better.
Full report on the University World News site :

US: Light to detect colon cancer
Short bursts of light from an endoscope could be a less invasive way for physicians to detect abnormal cells in the colon, according to bio-engineers at Duke University in North Carolina. The finding could lead to improvements in the detection of dysplasia, abnormal cells with the potential to turn cancerous in the epithelium, which forms the lining of various tissues including the oesophagus and colon.
Full report on the University World News site :

GLOBAL: Combating multi-resistant bacteria
An international quest launched by the Infectious Diseases Society of America to produce 10 antibiotics to combat multi-resistant bacteria by 2020 has taken a step towards the goal with the recreation of the DNA of an ancestral wallaby gene from 60 million years year ago.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

US: Billion dollar green challenge for campuses
The Sustainable Endowments Institute, along with 15 partner organisations, last week launched the Billion Dollar Green Challenge to encourage higher education and non-profit institutions in the US to invest a total of $1 billion in green revolving funds to finance energy efficiency improvements, writes Joshua Bolkan for Campus Technology.
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CHILE: Student leaders seek support abroad
Representatives of Chile's confederation of university students, Confech, will travel to Europe to seek international support and raise the profile of their push for sweeping reforms to the nation's education system, writes Joe Hinchliffe for the Santiago Times.
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HUNGARY: Students protest higher education bill
More than 1,000 students protested against the government's new higher education concept in front of the University of Debrecen in eastern Hungary last week. The students gathered in protest against cuts in funding and an expected curtailment of student rights and autonomy, reports Politics.hu.
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UK: Universities could be bought 'in six months'
A private equity firm or private higher education provider will buy a UK university in whole or part "within the next six months", according to a legal expert. The prediction by Glynne Stanfield, a partner in the education group Eversheds, came as government documents revealed that a US private equity firm, Warburg Pincus, had twice met with David Willetts, the universities and science minister, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.
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UK: Business-backed technical colleges to open
A new wave of comprehensive colleges backed by firms including the developers of the BlackBerry, Toshiba, Boeing and Rolls Royce will open in England next year as part of a new generation of vocational schools in which businesses will help shape the curriculum, write Jeevan Vasagar and Jessica Shepherd for the Guardian.
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UK: Internet ends neat chancellorship succession
Cambridge University's chancellorship, a ceremonial post created in 1246, has long passed serenely among aristocrats, bishops, generals and princes. Dons in dark gowns would meet in ivy-covered colleges to orchestrate the transition. Now, the internet age has spoiled all that, writes Frances Robinson for The Wall Street Journal.
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UK: University to scrap first-class degrees
University College London will stop telling students whether they have received a first, second or third, and instead give them an American-style 'grade point average', writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph. The new system gives students a score based on all the courses they have taken as undergraduates.
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UK: Wales helps stranded Tasmac students
The University of Wales has set up an email helpline to assist hundreds of students from a London college that closed suddenly, reports the BBC. Tasmac London School of Business awarded degrees validated by the university until it ceased trading. Many of the 650 overseas students had paid thousands of pounds in fees to the private college before it went under.
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NORWAY: Universities stick to no-fee-for-all policy
As Sweden introduces tuition fees of up to £13,145 (US$20,567) for non-European Union students this year, Norway is now one of the few European states to stick to the once-sacrosanct belief in free education for all, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education.
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KENYA: Maathai rejected lucrative memoir offers
The late Professor Wangari Maathai's deep love for and attachment to Kenya made her resist several bids from top foreign universities for her memoirs, write Walter Menya and Daniel Wesangula for The Daily Nation.
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GLOBAL: Academics condemn Iran Baha'i attack
More than 40 distinguished philosophers and theologians from 16 countries have joined in the condemnation of Iran's policy to bar young Baha'is and others from higher education. In a global initiative the 43 prominent academics - of Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds - have signed an open letter, published in The Telegraph, UK, and reported in Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo.
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IRAQ: Coveted jobs breed diploma fraud
For two years, an assistant dean at Iraq's largest university received threats from a police officer: sign a fraudulent document certifying that the officer had graduated from the university, the dean was told, or he would be arrested or even killed, write Michael S Schmidt and Omar Al-Jawoshy for The New York Times.
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US: Columbia probed for 'steering' student
The US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a complaint filed by Kenneth L Marcus, the director of the Initiative on Anti-Semitism at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, writes Arnold Ahlert for Front Page Mag.
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US: Ransom library acquires JM Coetzee archive
The archive of Nobel prize-winning author JM Coetzee has been acquired by the Harry Ransom Center library at the University of Texas at Austin. The $1.5 million acquisition includes 155 boxes of the author's essays, manuscripts, notebooks, letters and speeches dating back to 1956, reports the BBC.
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SAUDI ARABIA: Biochemistry students 'neglected'
Biochemistry students at Saudi universities complain that they are neglected by the ministries of higher education, health and labour, which do not recognise the significance of their branch of study for the country's development, writes Joud Al-Amri for Arab News.
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LEBANON: Essay-writers for hire degrade academia
A new academic year begins and "an ugly practice" continues to degrade the integrity of Lebanon's higher education system, writes Niamh Fleming-Farrell for The Daily Star. Essay-writers for hire and the 'entrepreneurs' who solicit work for them continue to defy deterrence and remain a threat to institutions' integrity.
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University World News 0192 - 9th October 2011

2011-10-09T04:15:00.001-07:00

This week's highlights

In Features, BRENDAN O'MALLEY reports on a 10th anniversary event held by Scholars at Risk in New York last week, and the targeting of academics in Syria for assassination. In India, ALYA MISHRA previews this week's meeting between India's education minister and the US secretary of state that will use education diplomacy to build relations between the two countries, and HIEP PHAM looks at quality problems facing non-formal higher education in Vietnam. In Commentary, DARIA LUCHINSKAYA says Russia's efforts to modernise higher education by developing world-class universities and attracting top international academics could work, Canada's MARY CATHARINE LENNON says there is a need to develop financial literacy programmes and strategies that focus on access to higher education, and in Egypt SHERIF KAMEL argues that business schools need to be agents of change rather than mere objects of change if they are to influence real-world situations.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: How to create a world-class university
Yojana Sharma
Although some of the world's top-ranked institutions such as Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford are hundreds of years old, a series of case studies of successful world-class research universities, prepared by the World Bank, shows that a faster and more effective approach to achieving world-class status is to establish a new institution.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOMALIA: Students killed in Mogadishu car blast
Ahmed Mohamoud Elmi
A truck bomb exploded in a government compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people - most of them students waiting for examination results and hoping for scholarships to study in Turkey. The compound, which houses eight ministries including education, was targeted for an attack described as the deadliest in months.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Some surprises in new THE university rankings
Karen MacGregor
The California Institute of Technology has edged Harvard out of the global top slot in the just-published Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-12. The new ranking places Hong Kong as best in the world in university performance relative to gross domestic product, which tries to normalise the rankings for country size and wealth.
Full report on the University World News site:

LATIN AMERICA: Brazil leads new regional ranking
David Jobbins
Brazil has more universities in a new top 200 ranking for Central and South America than any other country in the region. The lusophone nation hosts 65 of the top 200 universities in the QS University Rankings: Latin America, with the University of São Paolo topping the table.
Full report on the University World News site:

ITALY: Billion euro boost for southern universities
Lee Adendorff
The Italian government is to pump more than EUR1 billion (US$1.3 billion) into universities in the south of the country as part of a regeneration plan for the region. The decision was announced last week by Raffaele Fitto, minister for regional relationships and territorial cohesion, and Mariastella Gelmini, the education minister.
Full report on the University World News site:

DENMARK: New premier to expand higher education
Jan Petter Myklebust
Denmark's new government has set ambitious targets for increased access to university education but has yet to outline how it will fulfil its election pledge to end DKK1 billion (US$180 million) underfunding to higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

ISLAMIC STATES: Ministers back university actions
Ameen Amjad Khan
Ministers of higher education and research from 57 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation agreed to a "fresh look" at university systems in their countries, at an IOC meeting in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Wednesday. There was a need to reexamine higher education quality and relevance "in view of the demands of the market forces of knowledge economies," the ministers said, and to implement key performance indicators.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: Bank loan to rescue higher education plan
Ameen Amjad Khan
Pakistan's five-year higher education development plan, which has been languishing in the doldrums for lack of funding, is now expected to be implemented after the World Bank agreed to release US$300 million to the country's Higher Education Commission.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Lifeline for dropouts and left-outs
Michael Gardner
A number of German universities and colleges are to benefit from around EUR400 million (US$536 million) of federal and European funding for tailor-made programmes to increase access to higher education for people who have dropped out of or missed out on university or vocational training.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Science under siege
Geoff Maslen
The very basis of science and of an informed, progressive and enlightened society are under siege, Australia's Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb told a conference on Thursday. Chubb said scientists were caught up in a rearguard action against critics who sought to question and tear down "the very ideals, the values, the principles and the practices of science".
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: First African business school round-table
Ashraf Khaled
Leaders of business schools in Africa and elsewhere gathered in Egypt last week to discuss effective ways to enhance their institutions' roles in helping the continent grapple with food security challenges, and to forge academic collaborations aimed at tackling African problems. Full report on the University World News site: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111009095654421 See also the article by Sherif Kamal in Commentary

US: Writers sue universities over digital books plan
Alison Moodie
A controversial plan involving a host of prominent American universities to digitise thousands of copyrighted books suffered a setback last month as a number of organisations that represent authors sought to halt digitisation efforts and an 'orphan works' initiative.
Full report on the University World News site:

UAE: Universities face tougher accreditation
Wagdy Sawahel
New accreditation standards for higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates are being introduced as part of a government strategy aimed at achieving a first-rate education system and competitive knowledge economy.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Uproar over Dalai Lama visa mess
Munyaradzi Makoni
Outraged over South Africa's failure to give the Dalai Lama a visa, academics and students at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) took to the streets on Wednesday. The Tibetan spiritual leader was due to speak at two universities, and to attend former Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE: Water woes and strike hit higher education
Kudzai Mashininga
Zimbabwe's government has appointed a ministerial team headed by its deputy prime minister to deal with a water crisis at two of its universities. Meanwhile, lecturers at polytechnics and teacher colleges have gone on strike for better pay on the eve of examinations.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

GLOBAL: Academics facing death for their ideas
Brendan O'Malley
Professors and students are being singled out for assassination, according to a leading scholar in the Syrian opposition movement who last week addressed the Human Rights Council in Geneva. "We have fears for scholars on the ground. More than 10 professors have been killed, mostly at Homs, in the past two weeks," said Radwan Ziadeh, a visiting scholar at the Dubai Initiative in the Kennedy School, Harvard. "The situation is escalating and we expect more killings."
Full report on the University World News site:

INDIA: Indo-US higher education initiative set to fly
Alya Mishra
India and the US will soon cement collaboration in higher education, with India's Education Minister Kapil Sibal meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on 13 October in a high-profile visit to use education diplomacy to build relations between the two countries.
Full report on the University World News site:

VIETNAM: Non-formal sector faces quality crisis
Hiep Pham
Hong Loan, a teacher of English at a high school in Hanoi, holds an associate bachelor degree. Every afternoon she travels 20 kilometres by motorbike to an adult education class at the University of Foreign Languages and International Studies. "This equips me with more knowledge but, more importantly, a bachelor degree will help upgrade my salary," she said.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

RUSSIA: Modernising the higher education system
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently called for the urgent modernisation of higher education. Strategies include the development of flagship universities as world-class institutions and inviting key foreign academics to work in Russian universities. This could work, writes DARIA LUCHINSKAYA, but only if the plans also extend to the development of other, non-status universities and improving working conditions for teaching and research staff.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Low financial literacy hampers access
Despite the increasing complexity of financing higher education and concerns about widening access, there are few financial literacy programmes and strategies in the world that focus on the particular issue of access to higher education for low-income youth, says MARY CATHARINE LENNON. A forthcoming conference will address the issue.
Full report on the University World News site:

EGYPT: Business schools need to be agents of change
Business schools need to be agents of change rather than mere objects of change, says SHERIF KAMEL. They need to alter both their curriculum and the way they teach in order to be more proactive in the community and influence real-world situations, particularly the kind of social and political upheavals that have been occurring in the Middle East and North Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
In Syria, a nuclear physicist who was shot in the head has become the latest victim of a series of murders targeting scientists in the city of Homs. Iranian Omid Kokabee, the Texas University doctoral student detained in Tehran's Evin prison on espionage charges, went on trial last week. And in China, the authorities have cancelled the classes of a prominent Uyghur professor at the Beijing Minorities University, and 20 Uyghur professors have been dismissed from a teaching college in the northwestern region of Xianjiang for failing to be fluent in Mandarin.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

CHILE: Striking students break off talks
Leaders of Chile's striking students broke off negotiations with the government last week, complaining of official intransigence over their demands for free public education, writes Eva Vergara for Associated Press. Hours after the talks collapsed, a student march for free education was broken up by police, using water cannons and tear gas.
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US: The University of Wherever
For more than a decade educators have been expecting the internet to transform that bastion of tradition and authority, the university, writes Bill Keller for The New York Times. Digital utopians have envisioned a world of virtual campuses and 'distributed' learning. They imagine a business model in which online courses are consumer-rated like products on Amazon, tuition is set by auction services like eBay, and students are judged not by grades but by skills they have mastered, like levels of a videogame.
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GLOBAL: Battle of the knowledge superpowers
Knowledge is power - economic power - and there's a scramble for that power taking place around the globe. In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation, writes Sean Coughlan for the BBC.
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AFGHANISTAN: Kabul University terror cell broken up
Afghan officials said last week that they had broken up an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist cell at Kabul University that was planning to assassinate President Hamid Karzai and carry out attacks in the United States, writes Habib Zohori for McClatchy Newspapers.
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FRANCE: Sarkozy's reforms herald French 'Ivy League'
Radical plans to create a French 'Ivy League' are gathering pace as the first winners of a new elite universities scheme worth EUR7.7 billion (US$10.1 billion) start to receive cash, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education.
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NEW ZEALAND: Canterbury University staff asked to quit
Canterbury University is calling on staff to consider taking voluntary redundancy as it struggles to balance the books after losing students because of the earthquake that struck the city earlier this year, reports TVNZ.
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UK: Thousands of university places may go to colleges
Up to 6,000 undergraduates will be taught at colleges instead of universities from next year as part of a UK coalition government plan to drive down student tuition fees, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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UK: Lecturers threaten strike over pension changes
Lecturers at half of Britain's universities have threatened to stop marking students' work unless a battle over their pensions is resolved, writes Jessica Shepherd for the Guardian.
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UK: Oxford head warns cuts could lead to brain drain
Cuts to government funding of universities mean the UK is now "treading water" and risks losing top academics and students to its international competitors, the vice-chancellor of Oxford University has warned, writes Jessica Shepherd for the Guardian.
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WALES: Calls to wind up University of Wales
The vice-chancellors of five Welsh universities have called for the University of Wales to be wound up following highly damaging revelations in a TV programme last Tuesday, writes Martin Shipton for Wales Online.
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JAPAN: University mulls change to academic calendar
Discussion on starting in the autumn and graduating Japanese students in the late spring or autumn has been around since the 1980s, but the debate has moved up a gear with news that the University of Tokyo, known as Todai, is mulling the move. An internal panel is expected to report by the end of the year, reports David McNeill for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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SOUTH AFRICA: MBA plan 'not a downgrade'
The debate in South Africa over the academic status of a master of business administration degree was about a 'technical issue', rather than downgrading the qualification, Council for Higher Education CEO Ahmed Essop said last week, writes Karl Gernetzky for Business Day.
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AUSTRALIA: Push for research funding overhaul
A leading scientist says Australia is squandering its intellectual wealth through a federal system of short-term grants rewarding publication of academic papers ahead of long-term research to develop and manufacture new products, writes Rosslyn Beeby for The Canberra Times.
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CANADA: Intellectual centre of gravity 'shifting west'
Ontario universities are lagging behind their counterparts in Alberta and British Columbia, a higher education expert said last week in a bleak forecast made just days before voters were to head to the polls, writes Matthew Pearson for The Ottawa Citizen.
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EGYPT: Mubarak-era university president resigns
Maged El-Deeb, president of Ain Shams University, has officially submitted his resignation letter to Egyptian Minister of Higher Education Moataz Khorshed, writes Nada Hussein Rashwan for Ahram Online.
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MALAWI: Students accuse council of contempt
The president of Malawi's Chancellor College students union, Patrick Phiri, said last week that students would file contempt charges against the university council. Students said the council, charged with running the University of Malawi, had refused to reopen two of its college campuses despite a high court ruling, reports Peter Clottey for Voice of America.
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PAKISTAN: Turkey to help set up technology parks
Turkish experts will assist Pakistan's Higher Education Commission in establishing technology parks in Pakistani universities, writes Peer Muhamamd for The Express Tribune.
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University World News 0191 - 2nd October 2011

2011-10-02T01:23:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

While Australia has made a surprise decision to lift most of its new restrictions on issuing visas to international students, France has decided to slap constraints on students from outside Europe, GEOFF MASLEN and JANE MARSHALL report. In Mauritius, GUILLAUME GOURGES interviews Tertiary Education Minister Rajesh Jeetah about the island country's ambitious higher education plans. In Features, YOJANA SHARMA finds that China is turning to Hong Kong's world-class universities for help in improving medical education, and ALAN RUBY and ADRIANA JARAMILLO offer advice to developing countries on what to look for in a branch campus. In Commentary, RAHUL CHOUDAHA argues that countries that can negotiate the new post-9/11 and recession environment and are prepared for future upheavals will be best placed in the race to attract international students, and SIMON MARGINSON proposes protocols for international education that could create an informal global standard for the future. JOHN HOLMWOOD outlines an Alternative White Paper signed by hundreds of UK academics in response to government plans for universities.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

AUSTRALIA: Doors open to foreign students
Geoff Maslen
Australia's 39 universities are preparing for a brand new day in 2012: not only will government quotas on the number of local students they enrol be lifted, but they will also be able to recruit as many foreigners as they wish through a new fast-track visa system. In a generous move that surprised even sceptical vice-chancellors, government decided to lift most restrictions on issuing visas to overseas students, opening the way for a likely flood of new applications from China, India, Pakistan and other Asian countries.
Full report on the University World News site:
See also the Simon Marginson article in Commentary

FRANCE: Immigration restrictions hit foreign students
Jane Marshall
Immigration measures that tighten restrictions on foreign students from outside the European Union and are opposed by university presidents, grandes écoles and students, have been defended by Laurent Wauquiez, France's Minister for Higher Education and Research.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Erasmus expands to help Arab Spring
Brendan O'Malley
The European Commission announced on Tuesday that EUR66 million (US$90 million) will be allocated to extending the Erasmus Mundus higher education programme to support European Neighbourhood countries, in response to the Arab Spring.
Full report on the University World News site:

ASIA: Forging regional higher education integration
Suvendrini Kakuchi
Plans to integrate higher education in Asia, a regional challenge that calls for streamlining of university curricula and grading systems, gathered steam at an international symposium held in Tokyo last week.
Full report on the University World News site:

PAKISTAN: Central role for universities in new policy
Ameen Amjad Khan
Higher education's share of Pakistan's overall education budget should double to 20% in the coming decade, according to a new science, technology and innovation policy approved by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. But independent observers doubt the claim will be fulfilled.
Full report on the University World News site:

BAHRAIN: Reinstate sacked staff, says rights group
Brendan O'Malley
Human Rights Watch has called on universities in Bahrain to immediately reinstate hundreds of students, academics and staff who have been dismissed for voicing criticism of the government and royal family or for attending largely peaceful protests in February and March, when civil unrest engulfed the island.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Scholarships to woo back foreign students
Jan Petter Myklebust
The Swedish government has responded to the drastic fall in the number of international students from outside Europe, following the introduction of tuition fees, by increasing funding for scholarships.
Full report on the University World News site:

DENMARK: Masters graduates overseas face study bill
Jan Petter Myklebust
The Danish government intends to make masters students who go on to work overseas for more than five years, repay the cost of their degree. The proposal has led to protests from opponents who claim it is the first step towards introducing tuition fees.
Full report on the University World News site:

NIGERIA: President orders probe into campus r ape
Tunde Fatunde
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a police investigation into an incident at Abia State University in which five students allegedly r aped a female colleague, filmed the o rgy and posted it on the internet, sparking outrage across the country and abroad.
Full report on the University World News site:

KENYA: Double student intake kicks off at Kenyatta
Gilbert Nganga
Kenyatta University has become the first in the country to enrol two batches of freshman students, in a double-intake plan that seeks to ease a biting higher education admissions crisis. Educationists expect the move to be followed by Kenya's other six public universities as they rush to clear a backlog of 40,000 students.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Launch of digital campus network
Geoff Maslen
Dubbed the Collaboration Network for Academia, the world's first 'iversity', which has been set up by a team of young entrepreneurs in the small town of Neuenhagen outside Berlin, had its official launch on Monday. Organisers say academics and students now have access to a novel workspace unavailable in other online formats.
Full report on the University World News site:

Q&A

MAURITIUS: Minister outlines knowledge hub plans
Africa's most developed country, the small island state of Mauritius off the continent's east coast, has positioned itself to be a regional knowledge hub. Higher education reforms are underway, new universities and campuses are being built and the government and sector are working to attract 100,000 international students by 2020. University World News correspondent in Mauritius, GUILLAUME GOURGES, interviewed Tertiary Education Minister Rajesh Jeetah about the country's ambitious higher education plans.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

CHINA: Hong Kong helps to upgrade medical training
Yojana Sharma
Prestigious overseas universities have been hovering in China hoping to forge collaborations in medical education and research. Yet so far none have set up a medical school there, despite the country's huge need to upgrade medical training. It is Hong Kong, with its international medical education standards and world-class health system, that has been quietly helping China with undergraduate training.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: A buyers' guide to branch campuses
Alan Ruby and Adriana Jaramillo
Ministers of education in developing economies around the globe are trying to make sense of the growth of university branch campuses. Their neighbors and competitors have them, local citizens seem to want them as an alternative to sending their children abroad, they might be cheaper than large-scale scholarship programmes like the King Abdullah grants, and they could underpin research and development facilities.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

GLOBAL: The future of international student mobility
International student mobility over the past decade has been hugely affected by two events, 9/11 and the 2008 recession. We are now entering a period of increased competition for international students. Those nations and institutions that can negotiate the new environment and are prepared for any event that may change the playing field will be best placed to prosper, writes RAHUL CHOUDAHA.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Tackling the fall in international education
Australia saw a huge rise in international students from 1990 but policy changes, prompted by a number of issues including document fraud, have resulted in a dramatic fall-off in recent months. SIMON MARGINSON sets out some protocols for international education that he says could create an informal global standard for the future.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: In defence of public higher education
Hundreds of academics, including some of the most well-known figures in UK higher education, have published an Alternative White Paper in response to government plans for universities. In it, they put forward their idea of what a public university should be for and draw attention to the wider public significance of the reforms and the threat they believe these represent, says one of the signatories JOHN HOLMWOOD.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

GLOBAL: Humans exhaust nature's budget
Humanity has already surpassed 'nature's budget' for the year and is moving into the ecological equivalent of overdraft, according to data from the Global Footprint Network, an international research organisation with offices in California and Geneva.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: Playing ping-pong with electrons
Scientists at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have demonstrated an amazing degree of control over the most fundamental aspect of an electronic circuit: how electrons move from one place to another. Researchers have moved an individual electron along a wire, batting it back and forth more than 60 times rather like the ball in a game of ping-pong.

Full report on the University World News site :

AUSTRALIA: Aboriginals reached Asia first
A 100-year-old lock of hair from a West Australian Aboriginal man has led to the discovery that Aborigines are directly descended from the first people to leave Africa more than 70,000 years ago. The find reinterprets world history by showing the ancestors of modern Australian Aboriginal people reached Asia at least 24,000 years before other human migrations that produced present-day Europeans and Asians.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Serpentine subduction in transfer
An international team of scientists has provided new insights into the processes behind the evolution of the planet by demonstrating how salty water and gases transfer from the atmosphere into the Earth's interior. Scientists have long argued about how the Earth evolved from the primitive state in which it was covered by an ocean of molten rock into the planet we live on today with a solid crust made of moving tectonic plates, oceans and an atmosphere.
Full report on the University World News site:

UNI-LATERAL

UK: Manchester professor revives Beethoven classic
A lost Beethoven masterpiece has been painstakingly reconstructed by an expert more than 200 years after it vanished, writes Tom Brooks-Pollock for the Manchester Evening News.
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NORTH KOREA: Ruler's grandson to study in Bosnia
While Chinese leaders send their offspring to America and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe sends his to Hong Kong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il favours…Bosnia, reports Today's Zaman.
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FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

GLOBAL: Professors take academic road to the East
A decade ago most aspiring business professors headed West, to the US. These days they are heading in the opposite direction: Asia is becoming the hotspot for the top management thinkers, writes Della Bradshaw for the Financial Times.
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UK: Universities 'over-report' on foreign students
A new report shows that British lecturers and staff have raised concerns over student absence or activities on more than 35,000 occasions in the past two years, writes Tom Whitehead for The Telegraph. The report raises fresh concerns that the student visa system is still open to widespread abuse by those looking to stay in the UK illegally.
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US: Harvard endowment rises to US$32 billion
Harvard University has consolidated its position as the richest university in the world, with the value of its endowment rising by 20% to £20.7 billion (US$32.4 billion), reports the BBC. It means the university has added £4.4 billion to the value of its endowment in a single year. As an international comparison, a report last week showed that the annual turnover for the entire UK higher education system is £26 billion.
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US: Princeton adopts open access policy
The movement to make research freely available got a high-profile boost last week with the news that Princeton University's faculty has unanimously adopted an open access policy, writes Jennifer Howard for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Too many rules in higher education, study finds
After surveying more than 2,000 higher education officials about which federal regulations they find too burdensome, a federal panel now has its answer: almost all of them, writes Libby A Nelson for Inside Higher Ed.
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DENMARK: Online network to recruit Chinese talent
Denmark last week launched the first-ever website to enable talented Chinese students and professionals to connect directly with Danish universities and firms, reports Xinhua.
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JAPAN: Universities under-utilise facilities - survey
Many of Japan's most prestigious universities spend huge amounts of money on unutilised and unnecessary facilities, reports the Mainichi Daily News.
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NIGERIA: Staff strike cripples universities
There was total compliance last week with the one-week nationwide warning strike by Nigeria's Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which disrupted examinations in the nation's premier University of Ibadan and the University of Jos and paralysed academic activities in others, reports Afrique en Ligne.
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ZIMBABWE: Under-resourced universities under threat
The Zimbabwean government has threatened to shut down under-resourced universities, saying the institutions are compromising education standards, according to The Africa Report.
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TAIWAN: 'Spying' professor under investigation
Prosecutors in Taiwan last week investigated Wu Chang-yu, an associate professor in the Central Police University's department of administrative management, in connection with passing information on activities of Chinese and foreigners in Taiwan to China, writes Lin Ching-Chuan for Taipei Times.
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JORDAN: Displaced medical students to study locally
All Jordanians studying medicine in Yemen and Libya will be accepted at local universities provided that they pass the entrance exams prepared by the medical faculties of the institutions, a senior official said last week, reports The Jordan Times.
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SWEDEN: Academics may apply for jobs in Swedish
Three Swedish universities, which had placed job advertisements requiring certain applications to be filed in English, are now being told to change their approach after a recent decision that gives a primary role to the national language, writes Jonathan J Li for The New York Times.
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UK: Universities face cuts for not boosting access
Universities have been told to enrol more students from disadvantaged groups or they could be ordered to cut their fees, writes Richard Garner for The Independent.
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SCOTLAND: Anger over rush to agree on merger
Two of Scotland's universities are under pressure to agree to merge within weeks in a bid to save money, it has emerged. The Scottish Funding Council, which provides Scottish government cash for higher education, wants Dundee and Abertay to have decided on their future by the end of this month, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.
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US: Universities urge freshmen to study humanities
On 21st century American campuses, is there room for Shakespeare, Sartre and Sondheim? A declining number of students think so, a trend that worries leaders at many top universities, where engineers often outnumber humanists, writes Lisa M Krieger for San Jose Mercury News.
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US: 'Irvine 11' plan to appeal heckling conviction
A group of Muslim students who were convicted on 23 September of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador at the University of California, Irvine, plan to appeal as Muslim community leaders call the high-profile free speech case a civil rights moment, writes David Finnigan for Huffington Post.
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US: Bake sale: Clever satire or over-the-top stunt?
The bake sale was supposed to be a satire, drawing attention to what organisers feel is a discriminating and racist bill, now on the desk of California Governor Jerry Brown, that would allow the state's university systems to consider race, ethnicity and gender in admission decisions, writes Daniel B Wood for the Christian Science Monitor.
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WALES: Plans for super-institution unveiled
A university last week mapped out its blueprint for a new super-institution bringing together partners in southeast Wales. The University of Wales, Newport, talked of a new era for higher education in the region which would leave behind "any competition and rivalry that may have hampered collaboration in the past", writes Gareth Evans for the Western Mail.
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University World News 0190 - 25th September 2011

2011-09-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

In Features, GEOFF MASLEN reports on the opening at La Trobe University of Australia's 12th Confucius Institute, bringing the total number of institutes worldwide to more than 330. SHARON DELL reveals that an evaluation and rating system of social science researchers in South Africa has increased their publication production by 25%. In Commentary, CECILE HOAREAU argues that the recession in Europe is unlikely to mean cuts to higher education funding and could open up a window of opportunity for reforms. KHALED AL-RASHEID looks at how Saudi Arabian universities have risen up the global rankings and says the progress made is significant and sustainable, and BRIAN MARTIN writes that despite its good intentions the Excellence in Research for Australia system has created a culture that discourages research collaboration.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: New scoreboard for research and innovation
Geoff Maslen
Although research efforts by universities and private organisations are increasing across the globe, most research remains highly concentrated in a small number of US universities, according to a just-published OECD study that uses a new measure of research impact. Across disciplines, however, "a more diverse picture emerges".
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: New continental higher education strategy
Alan Osborn and Brendan O'Malley
The European Union's 4,000 universities and other tertiary institutions are not doing enough to help create jobs and economic growth, and their ability to contribute to prosperity remains underexploited, the European Commission says in its new higher education strategy.
Full report on the University World News site:

GREECE: Students escalate opposition to reforms
Makki Marseilles
Greece's Education Secretary Anna Diamantopoulou has warned that students risk not being accredited with the autumn semester if they continue to be involved in escalating protests over higher education reforms, including the occupation of more than 350 faculties.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHINA: Student flows to US forecast to fall - study
Yojana Sharma
The flow of students from China to universities in America is forecast to fall between now and 2015 but rise to Canada and Australia, according to student mobility forecasts by the British Council. Visa changes, currency fluctuations and shifting trade flows between China and other countries could have an impact on overall numbers.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEW ZEALAND: Quake-hit university to cut jobs
John Gerritsen
First they were rocked by a deadly earthquake, now staff at the University of Canterbury are facing job cuts. The university on New Zealand's South Island has suffered a 13% drop in enrolments since an earthquake struck Christchurch in February, killing 181 people.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHINA: Mao raises questions over celebrity professors
Mimi Leung
When it was revealed last week that the grandson of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong was teaching at a college in Guangzhou, in southern Guangdong province, it unleashed a barrage of comment in China over the appointment of 'celebrity professors'.
Full report on the University World News site:

US-ISLAMIC STATES: Science link-up to be launched
A ground-breaking initiative to foster higher education and scientific cooperation among Islamic countries, and between them and the United States, will be launched next May. The US-Islamic States innovation initiative is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.
Full report on the University World News site:

N IGERIA: Campus security reviewed after threats
Tunde Fatunde
N igerian universities are urgently re-examining their outdated security framework, following two recent and unrelated security threats - extensive destruction of property by rampaging students at the University of Calabar in the southeast, and an email purportedly sent by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram to 15 universities in the south, warning of violence unless they cease "propagation" of Western education.
Full report on the University World News site:

SWEDEN: Budget pumps funds into higher education
Jan Petter Myklebust
The Swedish government is to plough SEK7 billion (US$1 billion) into funding education reforms over the next four years to improve teacher training, raise the standard of mathematics teaching and improve completion rates in the humanities and social sciences.
Full report on the University World News site:

SPAIN: Cuts and culture hinder Bologna process
Paul Rigg
University leaders are warning that government funding cuts and inflexible policies are distorting Spain's attempts to implement the Bologna Treaty, which seeks to set common academic standards and encourage greater student and staff mobility across Europe.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Hamburg to scrap tuition fees
Michael Gardner
The City of Hamburg plans to do away with tuition fees as of the 2012 winter semester. This would leave Germany with just two of its 16 federal states generally charging fees in public-funded higher education.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Conference looks at 'Stepford universities'
Sarah King Head
"Everyone wants to look like Harvard," said Ian Clark, explaining a fundamental weakness in the Canadian university model. He and seven other higher education pundits will explore this and other themes - including mission, incentives and image - at a "Stepford Universities? Differentiation in the new higher education landscape" conference in Toronto next week.
Full report on the University World News site:

THAILAND: Call for term calendar to match the world
Suluck Lamubol
When the chairman of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) recently suggested that the country's universities should realign their semester dates to more closely match the United States and other countries to promote internationalisation in higher education, it caused a stir among policy planners.
Full report on the University World News site:

NAMIBIA: Huge demand for medical training
Moses Magadza
Demand for places in the University of Namibia's two-year old School of Medicine and the recently introduced pharmacy degree programme far outstrips the number of places available, it has emerged. When the school opened, there were 500 mature student applicants for just two places.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWSBRIEFS

INDIA: Second cutting-edge Max Planck Centre opened
Aarti Narayan
Germany's Max Planck Society, a world leader in basic science research, last week officially opened a new centre in India on lipids research in collaboration with the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, as part of the German organisation's global expansion.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

AUSTRALIA: Another Confucius Institute established
Geoff Maslen
China continues its 'soft power' diplomatic efforts to expand its influence around the globe with the establishment of ever-more Confucius institutes at universities around the world and, recently, the spread of an offshoot aimed at schools called the Confucius Classroom scheme. La Trobe University in Melbourne this month became the 12th in Australia to establish a Confucius Institute, in an arrangement with Chongqing University, a national comprehensive institution on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Researcher rating boosts publication
Sharon Dell
Recent research indicates that the evaluation and rating system for individual researchers by the National Research Foundation has had a positive impact on the publication profile of South Africa's researchers in the social sciences, increasing the number of articles produced by an estimated average of 24.5% in the first five years of operation.
Full report on the University World News site:

BOTSWANA: Decision soon on stalled new university
A special correspondent
The future of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) at Palapye, 260 kilometres northeast of the capital Gaborone, will be known in early October. The potential of this high-profile project to contribute to meeting the country's human resources needs has been wrapped in controversy and subject to the whims of contending interests for years.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

EUROPE: What role for the EU in an era of austerity?
The recession is unlikely to mean cuts in European funding for higher education, argues CECILE HOAREAU. Instead, provided that Eurozone survives the debt crisis, it is likely that the recession will create a rationale and open up a window of opportunity for legitimate reforms.
Full report on the University World News site:

MIDDLE EAST: Rankings herald an Arab renaissance
Saudi Arabian universities have risen rapidly up the global university rankings in the last few years. KHALED AL-RASHEID looks at how they have achieved this and argues that the progress made is both significant and sustainable.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: The problem with ERA
Excellence in Research for Australia aims to improve research quality. Instead, however, it creates a culture that encourages competition rather than collaboration, argues BRIAN MARTIN in the journal Australian Universities' Review. A different approach to the government imposing a competitive measurement scheme would have been to open up space for diverse proposals to improve research.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
In Chad two students detained for being in possession of pro-reform pamphlets are preparing to go on trial. In Iran prominent jailed student activist Majid Tavakoli has been permanently banned from studying at any university, and a doctoral student who campaigned for the opposition candidate in the 2009 elections was detained and subjected to 50 lashes. International Turkmen students have been prevented by their country's migration officials from returning to universities in neighbouring Tajikistan and are in danger of being expelled. And in N igeria, students have accused the authorities of failing to guarantee their safety after extremist Islamic group Boko Haram threatened bomb attacks on universities.
Full report on the University World News site:

FACEBOOK

University World News has a new Facebook group:
http://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: Students plan fresh wave of protests
British student leaders who organised a series of mass demonstrations that saw tens of thousands of young people take to the streets last year are planning a fresh wave of protests, writes Matthew Taylor for The Guardian.
More on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Universities welcome visa rules review
Australian universities have welcomed the release of a long-awaited review of international student visa rules, saying that immigration reforms and the removal of tough financial requirements could give the sector a much-needed boost, reports The Conversation.
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BAHRAIN: Obstacles remain for pro-democracy students
Universities across Bahrain have opened for the new academic year, but a number of students who support the nation's pro-democracy movement say various obstacles are preventing them from entering the classroom, writes Phillip Walter Wellman for Voice of America.
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IRAN: Baha'i educators' lawyer arrested
As a number of Baha'is in Iran await trial for providing higher education to youth barred from university, the Baha'i International Community has been distressed to learn of the arrest of a lawyer who was preparing to defend them, reports the Baha'i World News Service.
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WALES: Agreement over university mergers
Plans to radically overhaul the higher education system in Wales, designed by the body that funds Welsh higher education, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, have been widely agreed upon by university leaders and other key figures, writes Henry McMorrow for Gair Rhydd.
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MALAYSIA: Strong calls for review of university act
Calls to review the Universities and University Colleges Act of 1971, or AUKU, are growing stronger. Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the main priority was to repeal Section 15 of the act, which prohibits students from getting involved in politics, reports The Star.
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AUSTRALIA: Young academics plan to flee the sector
Two in five academics under the age of 30 plan to leave Australian higher education within the next five to 10 years because of high levels of dissatisfaction caused by lack of job security, poor pay and mountains of paperwork and red tape, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.
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AUSTRALIA: Academic freedom on the agenda
Freedom of intellectual inquiry at universities will become a hot topic now that it has legislative backing for the first time, writes Bernard Lane for The Australian.
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US: Lean education, research spending bill approved
A US Senate panel voted last week to approve a bill that would cut spending on the National Institutes of Health by $190 million in the 2012 fiscal year while maintaining a maximum Pell Grant award of $5,550, writes Kelly Field for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Universities seek out students of means
Money is talking a bit louder in college admissions these days, according to a survey released last week by Inside Higher Ed, writes Tamar Lewin for The New York Times.
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UK: Russell Group criticises access policies
It was claimed last week that British coalition government policies designed to widen access to higher education fail to recognise the "root cause of the problem" facing teenagers from poor backgrounds, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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INDIA: Weak rupee costs students abroad
As if the rising cost of education was not bad enough, the rupee hitting a two-year low against the US dollar will leave Indian students abroad poorer by anywhere between Rs50,000 (US$1,000) and Rs100,000, especially for those who delayed paying their fees to foreign universities last July, write Vinay Umarji and Swati Garg for the Business Standard.
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CANADA: Research focus strikes degree quality
The quality of undergraduate education is suffering under a stronger focus on research at universities, says a new study by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. This comes at a time when, according to Statistics Canada, the cost of a university education is higher than ever, up by 4.3% in 2010, reports CBC News.
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CANADA: Science fraudster traced to Hebron job
A scientist found to have committed academic fraud at the University of Manitoba in Canada is now studying food safety and biotechnology in Palestine, according to a US group that tracks research misdeeds, writes Margaret Munro for Postmedia News.
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N IGERIA: Fake universities grow to 51
According to the National Universities Commission, the number of fake universities operating in N igeria has risen from 44 to 51, writes Martin Paul for The Moment.
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PHILIPPINES: Iranian students file racism rap
Some 100 Iranian dentistry students last week filed a complaint with the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines against academics, security guards and students of Manila Central University who they said branded them as "terrorists and terrorist sympathisers", writes Ashzel Hachero for Malaya.
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MALAWI: Police quiz academics over pressure group
Plainclothes police officers last week stormed a constituent college of the University of Malawi, to question administrators on the existence of a political pressure group, a move some students called illegal and contrary to the Kampala Declaration among other laws granting academic freedom, writes Dillinger Soko for the Nyasa Times.
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UGANDA: Lecturers divided over Makerere reopening
Makerere University Academic Staff Association is divided over the reopening of the Ugandan university, write C Businge, J Lule and B Mayanja for New Vision.
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University World News 0189 - 18th September 2011

2011-09-18T02:20:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights

ARD JONGSMA reports from the European Association for International Education annual conference held in Copenhagen last week, and conference speaker HANS DE WIT says there is a call for a more comprehensive, less revenue-based approach to international higher education. YOJANA SHARMA looks at the world's shifting pool of graduate talent, revealed by the OECD's just-published Education at a Glance 2011 report. In Focus on Senegal JUDITH RITTER and MAMADOU MIKA LOM investigate sweeping higher education reforms and the country's growing graduate unemployment problem. And in Commentary, DAVID POST argues that Ecuador's free higher education policy is widening the gap between rich and poor, and WILLIAM PATRICK LEONARD urges universities and colleges to publish indicators highlighting the value-added of their courses and quality of their graduates, since rankings ignore the core teaching function of higher education.

European Association for International Education

The European Association for International Education held its huge yearly
conference in Denmark last week. University World News was there.

EUROPE: Crisis? EAIE beats all records
Ard Jongsma
Last week a massive 4,200 participants flocked to Copenhagen to participate in the 23rd annual conference of the European Association for International Education. From its small, first meetings in Amsterdam in 1989 and 1990, the organisation has managed to make its annual gathering the single biggest networking event for international higher education professionals in Europe. And now beyond.
Full report on the University World News site:

MIDDLE EAST: Higher education needs its own revolution
Ard Jongsma
What does the unrest in the Arab world mean for higher education? In a new session type at the annual European Association for International Education conference, the EAIE took on the challenge of trying to find answers to great challenges beyond Europe.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Internationalisation moves into a new phase
International higher education began as a development issue, has become more commerc-ialised and is now moving into the mainstream, says HANS DE WIT, who spoke at a 'Perils and Pitfalls of International Education' session at last week's EAIE conference. There is a call for a more comprehensive, less revenue-based approach.
Full report on the University World News site:

OECD: Education at a Glance 2011

GLOBAL: The world's talent pool is changing - OECD
Yojana Sharma
Unabated expansion of higher education in developing countries and emerging economies has meant that the global graduate talent pool is no longer predominantly in the US and Europe, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: What do international students study?
Yojana Sharma
International students prefer to study social sciences, business and law when they go abroad. But in non-English speaking countries a higher proportion of international students are enrolled in education, humanities and the arts, according to figures just released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Full report on the University World News site:

GERMANY: Poor marks for higher education, says OECD
Michael Gardner
The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation maintains that Germany's contribution to the worldwide pool of highly qualified people is shrinking. Figures suggest that this could be due to too little money being spent on education.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: Rapid growth in joint and dual degrees - IIE
Alison Moodie
Universities and colleges are increasingly looking beyond their own campuses to keep pace with a rapidly globalising world, according to a new study from the Institute for International Education. More and more institutions are launching joint and dual degree programmes in an effort to internationalise their campuses, increase global visibility and foster greater collaboration with partner institutions.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHINA: Huge research grant for overseas branch campus
Yojana Sharma
In its bid to raise its global research profile, China has awarded research grants worth more than US$19 million to the overseas branch campus of a British university to produce "at least 100 new scientists".
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: UK universities win most ERC grants
Jan Petter Myklebust
British institutions will benefit most from the European Research Council's distribution of 480 young researcher grants worth EUR670 million (US$924 million), just as European Union politicians are calling for research funding to be distributed more widely to build capacity.
Full report on the University World News site:

CHILE: Government rejects student demands
María Elena Hurtado
A conflict in Chile over significant reforms to education, that has already reached the three-month mark, is now showing fewer indications that it could end. The popularity of President Sebastián Piñera has plunged to an historical low of 27%, but despite being under pressure to resolve the problem, the government on Thursday rejected most of the conditions demanded by students.
Full report on the University World News site:

GHANA: Qualifications crunch for private universities
Francis Kokutse
The fate of hundreds, possibly thousands, of final-year students at private universities across Ghana hangs in the balance because they may not graduate, after the National Accreditation Board revealed that they were admitted without the requisite qualifications. The board suggested that some private universities have lowered entry requirements to bolster their numbers.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Free education to boost skills levels?
Munyaradzi Makoni
A mismatch between the supply of and demand for certain skills needed by South Africa's labour market has led Deputy Minister of Basic Education Enver Surty to call for extending provision of free education to cover students in further education and training and in higher education institutions - not just the compulsory seven- to 15-year-old category.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE: Students send protest messages to leaders
Kudzai Mashininga
Zimbabwean students have launched a 45-day campaign during which protest message will be sent to the government. The aim is to pile pressure on the authorities to turn the struggling higher education sector around.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWSBRIEFS

UK: Imperial College produces most 'spinout' firms
Bill Holdsworth
London's Imperial College has produced more 'spinout' companies than any other UK university in the past decade, according to a new survey.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Funding to strengthen debate
Following the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, the Open Society Foundations on Wednesday announced US$20 million in funding to strengthen debate programmes for students around the world.
Full report on the University World News site:

FOCUS ON SENEGAL

Higher education in Senegal is undergoing sweeping reforms. The government
is creating new universities and colleges, restructuring institutions and degrees to align the sector with the Bologna process in Europe, and offering non-traditional learning. It is hoped that the reforms will help to ease the growing national problem of graduate unemployment. University World News takes an in-depth look at what's happening in higher education in this important West African country.

SENEGAL: Radical reforms for higher education

Judith Ritter Lamine Ndao, a graduate student at Senegal's University of Cheikh Anta Diop, is clearly uncomfortable talking about his participation in recent well-publicised campus demonstrations. He is a serious student and more interested in his future career than in youthful protest. But, while ambivalent about what he sees as some of the excesses of the demonstration, he still found reason to participate.
Full report on the University World News site:

SENEGAL: Push to strengthen research
Judith Ritter
Senegal's government believes one of its most crucial goals is to create and nurture research initiatives that address challenges particular to the country and Africa, many of which demand technical or scientific solutions.
Full report on the University World News site:

SENEGAL: Plight of thousands of jobless graduates
Mamadou Mika Lom
Graduate unemployment in Senegal continues to increase, and has become such a critical issue that it could be the major theme of the campaign for the presidential election in February 2012. Since March unemployed graduates have been demonstrating in protest against their plight.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

ECUADOR: Who benefits from free higher education?
Ecuador's free higher education policy advantages the middle-class and widens the gap between rich and poor, argues DAVID POST. The money would be better targeted at improving basic education, so that more disadvantaged students are able to qualify for free university studies.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Time for rankings to reflect value-added
While many tertiary institutions embrace a research ethic, their core mission is instruction. But high-profile university ranking systems ignore this key function. WILLIAM PATRICK LEONARD urges institutions to break out of the pack and publish measures that suggest the value-added of their courses and the quality of their graduates. Providing relevant output data will boost their profiles with parents and students searching for a return on their investment.
Full report on the University World News site:

SCIENCE SCENE

GLOBAL: Sunlight the answer to MS?
Geoff Maslen
More than 250 researchers in 15 countries, along with 10,000 patients, have taken part in one of the longest and largest human genetic studies ever undertaken into the cause of the devastating neurological disease, multiple sclerosis or MS.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: 'Loose' versus 'tight' countries
Estonia, Hungary, Israel and the Ukraine are among cultures that may be considered to be quite 'loose' in terms of socially accepted behaviours and tolerance whereas the 'tightest' countries - those that have many strong norms and a low tolerance for deviant behaviour - include Pakistan, Malaysia and India, according to a group of researchers.
Full report on the University World News site:

AUSTRALIA: Hopping into history
The Australian tammar wallaby is the first member of the kangaroo family to have its genetic makeup sequenced. An international research collaboration, led by Australian scientists, has provided many insights into the genetic makeup of the iconic Australian kangaroo, including the genes behind its unusual reproductive system and how some genes control the development of the kangaroo's spec ialised toes that allow them to hop.
Full report on the University World News site:

US: Dolphins use tools to hunt
A team of biologists from four US universities have discovered that use of tools among a group of bottlenose dolphins varies between individual females in the population. Dolphins appear to be the only mammal in the sea to regularly use a sponge as a tool to help catch fish.
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WORLD ROUND-UP

AUSTRALIA: Universities set to expand
Universities can accept increased numbers of students following senate agreement last week to the Julia Gillard government's higher education expansion plan, writes Stephen Matchett for The Australian. The bill empowers the government to provide a place for every prospective student who is accepted by any university.
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SCOTLAND: Universities and colleges face merger wave
Colleges and universities across Scotland are set to be merged under a major shake-up of further and higher education. Education Secretary Mike Russell outlined plans for removing what he called "wasteful duplication" across the college sector, by establishing regional groupings of institutions, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.
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IRELAND: University defends fee for five-star rating
Two Irish universities have said tens of thousands of euro paid to receive their recent top international ratings was worthwhile for the potential to attract more overseas students, writes Niall Murray for the Irish Examiner.

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UK: University 'pathways' to international students
An increasing number of UK universities are linking with private education companies to offer study and language preparation programmes that aim not just to improve the skills of international students but create new opportunities to promote their courses in an increasingly competitive global student market. However, pressures to enrol are raising concerns, writes Amy Baker for the Guardian.
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US-AFRICA: Carnegie Mellon to open Rwanda campus
Carnegie Mellon University plans to open a branch campus in Rwanda next year, making it one of the few American colleges offering degrees in Africa, writes Ian Wilhelm for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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INDIA: Student loan applications double in five years
The number of students applying for educational loans across India has doubled in the last five years, data compiled by the Indian Banks' Association has shown, reports The Times of India.
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GERMANY: Calls for stricter screening of PhD theses
The plagiarism scandals that rocked the political world in Germany this year have led to a period of soul-searching among academics and researchers around the country. They have also prompted calls for stricter controls at German universities, writes Christopher F Schuetze for The New York Times.
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GLOBAL: Authors sue universities over 'orphan' works
Authors have accused five American universities of "engaging in one of the largest copyright infringements in history" over a plan to digitise out-of-print books and provide them online to students, writes Nick Allen for The Telegraph.
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US: Probe reveals holes in oversight of science
Investigations into a case of alleged scientific misconduct in the United States have revealed numerous holes in the oversight of science and scientific publishing, reports The Economist.
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US: Association tackles science teaching, again
America's research universities have long struggled with complaints that they don't do enough to educate undergraduates in science. Their main association thinks the time is ripe to tackle the problem again, writes Paul Basken for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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US: Concern over student plagiarism software
Turnitin, plagiarism software released in 1996 and used by more than 10,000 universities and 20 million students, is now common in higher education. But it is Turnitin's lesser-known student-only sister product, WriteCheck, that has some faculty members feeling betrayed, although the company says that it is only trying to help students and professors, writes Elizabeth Murphy for Times Higher Education.
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LATIN AMERICA: New EU project aims at integration
While the Bologna process of European integration in higher education may have its critics, it is hoped that a new European Union-funded project will launch Latin America down a similar road towards harmonisation, reports Paul Jump for Times Higher Education.
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SRI LANKA: Laws to prevent lecturers going private
New laws will be introduced to discourage public university lecturers from joining private universities, writes Ridma Dissanayake for the Daily News.
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EGYPT: Hundreds protest to elect university leaders
Nearly 700 teaching staff from several Egyptian universities protested last Sunday outside the cabinet building in downtown Cairo, demanding the removal of Higher Education Minister Moataz Khorshid, the replacement of university heads and better pay, writes Omar Halawa for Al-Masry Al-youm.
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CHINA: Nine in 10 students feel the burden of high fees
An overwhelming 91% of college students in China said in a survey that their tuition fee was higher than expected, according to the Worker's Daily, writes Zhao Chunzhe for China Daily.
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MALAYSIA: Ireland offers sweetener to PhD parents
The Republic of Ireland last week agreed to offer free education to the children of Malaysian students who wish to further their studies at PhD level in the country, reports the official agency Bernama.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Bill approved for transfer of colleges
Parliament's justice committee last week approved the 18th amendment to the South African constitution, which aims to transfer responsibility for further education and training colleges from provinces to the Department of Higher Education and Training, write Wyndham Hartley and Karl Gernetzky for Business Day.
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UZBEKISTAN: Students forced to harvest cotton
Thousands of university students in Uzbekistan are being mobilised to help with the annual cotton harvest and some say they are working under abusive conditions, reports the Uzbek Service of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty.
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University World News 0188 - 11th September 2011

2011-09-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

This week's highlights
In Features, SERAJ ELALEM in Libya speaks to students about their role in the rebellion and its effects on universities, and says the higher education sector is looking forward to a freer future. JAN PETTER MYKLEBUST writes that Denmark's state auditor is questioning the government's policy of doubling the intake of PhD students. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, AMEEN AMJAD KHAN remembers that fateful days and talks to Muslim academics about how it changed relations between the West and the Islamic world, and ALISON MOODIE interviews Berkeley political scientist Steven Weber about the impacts of the terror attacks on academia in America. In Commentary, SEAN GALLAGHER argues that the US and China could learn lessons from Australia on policies to drive more quality research, and SIR JOHN DANIEL invites comments on draft international guidelines for open educational resources in higher education.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

SOUTH KOREA: Private institutions 'named and shamed'
Han-Suk Kim
Some 43 poorly managed private universities, colleges and vocational institutions have been named and shamed by South Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for not meeting criteria for being well run. They will no longer be eligible for state subsidies, as part of the government's attempts to restructure and improve the higher education sector.
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NETHERLANDS: Dawn raids over 'illegal' tuition fees
Jan Petter Myklebust and Brendan O'Malley
The Netherlands Competition Authority NMa carried out dawn raids on the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam on Wednesday to establish whether they have conspired to 'harmonise' the price of tuition fees for second degrees, in breach of competition law.
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GLOBAL: Cambridge still top in QS university ranking
David Jobbins
The University of Cambridge has retained the leading place in the 2011 QS World University Rankings after displacing Harvard University in 2010. But Oxford University, which was fifth last year, dropped a place as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology continued its move up the rankings to third place. MIT was in ninth place in 2009, and fifth last year.
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SWEDEN: Minister to shake up research
Jan Petter Myklebust
Jan Bjørklund, Sweden's Minister for Education and Science and Vice-Prime Minister, is to chair the government's 21-member science advisory board as part of a strategy to strengthen research. A white paper on research is to be drafted next year.
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SRI LANKA: Strike threat over private medical school
Dinesh De Alwis
Doctors in Sri Lanka have threatened strike action in an escalating row over government recognition of the country's first private medical college near Colombo, established as a branch of a Russian university. The action could have repercussions for other private colleges planning to set up in the country, as talks are ongoing with institutions in China and India.
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NIGERIA: Student cultists arrested for trafficking
Tunde Fatunde
Security agents have arrested student cultists involved in sporadic shooting between rival gangs. The incident took place near the campus of Enugu State University of Technology in eastern Nigeria. At the cultists' forest hideout agents confiscated firearms, ammunition and film footage of kidnapped female students being forced to have s ex with one another.
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GERMANY: State to set 'quota' for women professors
Michael Gardner
North Rhine-Westphalia's state government intends to introduce new legislation to encourage the promotion of more women to professorships. The state is currently below the federal German average.
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KENYA: New funding to boost technical colleges
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya has set aside an extra US$60 million this year to construct physical infrastructure and buy modern equipment for technical colleges, to give the institutions the capacity to admit thousands of young people seeking tertiary education.
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CHINA: University sackings after dissection illness
Mimi Leung
In an unusual move, the dean of a veterinary school and a Communist Party secretary have been sacked from their posts at Northeast Agricultural University after students were infected by a serious disease from dissecting goats in a laboratory.
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GULF STATES: Women's studies finds a champion
Wagdy Sawahel
The United Arab Emirates will formally launch a gender and women's studies consortium at an international gathering next March. Its aim is to encourage teaching and research on the subject and promote its integration into the general curriculum. Meanwhile, a new research report on maximising women's participation in the workforce presents findings of significant consequence for the Gulf states.
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NEWSBRIEFS

CANADA: Colleges see surge in Indian applicants
Sarah King Head
Canadian colleges opened their doors last week to accommodate a huge surge of new students coming from the Indian subcontinent. The Association of Canadian Community Colleges is projecting about 12,000 Indian students.
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IBEROAMERICA: Portal of journals goes online
María Elena Hurtado
A portal that boasts nearly a million scientific articles journals from Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal will now be available online for free. The service, which will provide access to full texts, was launched at the Autonomous University of Mexico on Tuesday.
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ALGERIA: Research platform to improve journal access
Algeria's Ministry of Higher Education and Research and Thomson Reuters on Thursday announced a three-year partnership that will deliver the information company's Web of KnowledgeSM research platform to academics at more than 60 institutions countrywide.
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FEATURES

LIBYA: Students speak about the rebellion, the future
Seraj Elalem
With the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the higher education sector in Libya can look forward to a freer future, where universities have more control over their curricula and hopefully better funding. It would be a fitting result to the armed rebellion, which was widely supported by academics and students, some of whom picked up a gun to fight.
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DENMARK: Questions raised over PhD expansion
Jan Petter Myklebust
Denmark's state auditor is pressing the government to justify its policy of doubling the intake of PhD students at a cost of EUR700 million (US$1 billion), when a shortfall of Danish masters students means a large proportion of places will go to international students who tend to leave the country after completing their doctorates.
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ACADEMICS ON THE DECADE AFTER 9/11

GLOBAL: Civilisations have grown apart since 9/11
In a world where the Muslim perspective on the 9/11 tragedy barely gets a hearing AMEEN AMJAD KHAN, University World News' Pakistan correspondent, reflects on his own memories of that day 10 years ago and talks to academics in the Muslim world on the decade since the event. Some believe the 9/11 attacks on America might not have led to a 'clash of civilisations' but certainly a growing distance between them.
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US: 9/11 wind has swept over research agendas
Alison Moodie
In the 10 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook America and the world, the impacts on academia have been felt in a number of different ways, from changing focuses for teaching to new debates and an avalanche of funding for security-related research. The attacks "created a wind that's swept over lots of people's research agendas," said Steven Weber, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
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COMMENTARY

AUSTRALIA: Research lessons for China and the US
China is predicted to outstrip US higher education in the global university league tables in the future. But both the US and China could learn some valuable lessons from Australia about policy efforts to drive more quality research, says SEAN GALLAGHER.
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GLOBAL: New guidelines for open educational resources
Open educational resources (OER) can increase access to education while cutting costs and improving quality. That is why, argues SIR JOHN DANIEL, they offer the potential to enable the greatest increase in access to education that the world has ever seen. The Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO have drafted international guidelines for OER in higher education, and are inviting comments on them.
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ACADEMIC FREEDOM

GLOBAL: Academic freedom reports worldwide
Noemi Bouet*
Chinese constitutional scholar and activist Yao Lifa has been freed but is suffering from multiple injuries after spending almost a month in detention. In Iran, religious scholar Ahmad Ghabel is suffering declining health in Vakilabad prison, where he is serving a sentence for insulting the country's supreme leader. Ashkan Zahabian, a student activist jailed in northern Iran, has started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of his detention and confusion around his case. The family of Abdolreza Soudbakhsh, a professor at Tehran University and medical doctor who was murdered by unidentified men in September 2010, has claimed that his killing was linked to his work with r ape and torture victims.
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FACEBOOK

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WORLD ROUND-UP

COLOMBIA: Protests against higher education reforms
Thousands of lecturers and students took to the streets of several of Colombia's major cities last Wednesday "in defence of public education", according to Columbia Reports. The demonstrators rejected a proposal by the government of President Juan Manuel Santos to reform higher education.
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SCOTLAND: Fees for English students is legal - EU
The Scottish government's decision to allow universities to charge English students up to £9,000 (US$14,000) a year in fees while Scots study free of charge will not be challenged by the European Union, it has emerged. Three English students are currently taking legal action against the Scottish government amid claims that charges for tuition fees breach their human rights, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.
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CANADA: Foreign students break rules more often
University students break the rules for a host of reasons - some make a bad decision under pressure at 3am, others insist they were just helping a classmate. But at some Canadian schools, an alarming number of the accused share one characteristic: they came from abroad to study, reports the Globe and Mail.
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EU: Female research dropouts threaten targets
A leading European official has warned that a failure to retain female researchers remains a major barrier to recruiting an extra one million researchers by 2020, writes Jack Grove for Times Higher Education.
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MALAYSIA: Identifying number of universities needed
The Malaysian government is conducting a study to find out the total number of universities - public and private - needed by the country in order to produce the desired number of graduates. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said the purpose of the study was to maintain the quality of Malaysian universities and strengthen the higher education sector, writes Husna Yusop for The Sun Daily.
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CHINA: Top business school opens London branch
One of China's top business schools, the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), opened an office in London last week. The institution is mainland China's first 'homegrown' business school to establish an overseas branch, reports Xinhuanet.
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US: Students respond to same-race instructors
Non-white students at community colleges in America are more likely to stay in classes and to earn higher grades if they have instructors of their race or ethnicity, according to a study released last week by the National Bureau for Economic Research. But the same is true for white students, meaning that hiring more minority instructors may result in decreased performance by white students, writes Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed.
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AUSTRALIA: Push to boost aboriginal staff numbers
Increasing the number of aboriginal academic staff is a "pragmatic" way to boost knowledge of indigenous culture and knowledge in the sector, said Larissa Behrendt, chair of the federal government's review of indigenous access and participation in higher education, writes Andrew Trounson for The Australian.
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NEW ZEALAND: University rejects call to sack academic
Auckland University is rejecting calls for it to sack academic Margaret Mutu over her call for 'white' immigration to New Zealand to be limited, reports 3News. The Maori studies department head caused a stir last weekend when she called for a restriction on the number of white migrants from South Africa, England and the United States as they brought "an attitude of white supremacy" with them.
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ETHIOPIA: Agency shuts private colleges over quality
The Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA) of Ethiopia announced last week that it had banned five private higher education institutions because of quality concerns, writes Yonas Abiye for Ezega.com.
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SWAZILAND: Security forces clash with students
Security forces and protesters have clashed in two towns during a week of planned protests demanding an end to Swaziland's absolute monarchy, writes Phathizwe-Chief Zulu for the Mail & Guardian.
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NORTHERN IRELAND: Freeze on university tuition fees
Tuition fees for Northern Ireland students are to be frozen. Higher Education Minister Stephen Farry said fees would rise only in line with inflation and that the budgets of universities would be protected, reports the BBC.
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UK: Universities enticed to consider fees cut
The English government's Office for Fair Access has submitted fresh guidance to vice-chancellors telling them to impose fees of £7,500 (US$11,973) or less to claim a share of 20,000 free places for 2012, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.
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UK: Fees rise will mean fewer entrants - study
The introduction of higher tuition fees in England next year will result in a drop of 7.5% in the university enrolment rate for men and of nearly 5% for women, according to a study published by the London School of Economics, writes Jeevan Vasagar for the Guardian. National Union of Students President Liam Burns said: "This is a stark warning from a respected source, and the government should heed it."
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UK: Job figures cast doubt on science degrees
Only about half of all science graduates find work that requires their scientific knowledge, a study has shown, casting doubt on the government's drive to encourage teenagers to study the subject at university, writes Jessica Shepherd for the Guardian.
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US: Carnegie Mellon receives $265 million gift
A Mount Lebanon businessman is giving Carnegie Mellon University a gift larger than the one Andrew Carnegie used to create the research university, writes Debra Erdley for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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SCOTLAND: Business-academia links on the rise
Collaborations between business and academia have risen sharply in the past year, according to new research, reports the BBC.
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