University World News 0144 - 31st October 2010

This week's highlights

In this week's edition ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM interviews the former chairman of Pakistan's Higher Education Commission, Atta-ur-Rahman, about heavy pressures facing the sector and its primary regulator. In Features, BRENDAN O'MALLEY reports on the European Universities Association annual conference in Italy, JAN PETTER MYKLEBUST looks at a pilot study into Europe's multi-dimensional global university ranking exercise, and SHARON DELL writes about a South African initiative to strengthen the social sciences and humanities. In the Commentary section, ALEX USHER contemplates the impacts on higher education diversity of the Bologna process, and KEN STEELE probes how and why universities are diversifying their appeal to students.

NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

GLOBAL: Finland top for affordability, accessibility
Ian R Dobson*
Finland has both the most affordable and accessible system of higher education, according to a study of 17 countries undertaken by Canadian research group Higher Education Strategy Associates (HESA). Norway is a close runner-up.
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FRANCE: University ranking by job success causes stir
Jane Marshall
A ranking of French universities according to their graduates' job prospects has been published by the Ministry for Higher Education and Research and welcomed by Minister Valérie Pécresse. But the exercise has been criticised by a spec ialist in graduate employment rates, the body representing university presidents, and by a national students' federation.


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PAKISTAN: Commissions lock horns over fake degrees
Ameen Amjad Khan
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan have locked horns over the verification of fake university degrees held by members of the federal and provincial assemblies, as the scandal spread to qualifications obtained at high school.
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INDIA: Central universities agree to credit transfer
Alya Mishra
In a move that could significantly enhance the mobility and choice of students, central universities across India have agreed to create an inter-university credit transfer system.
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IRAN: Humanities and social sciences growth freeze
Yojana Sharma and Ramin Namvari
Many Iranian students hoping to stay on to study masters degrees in the humanities and social sciences could be prevented from doing so after the Iranian authorities announced a freeze on approvals for new courses in 12 disciplines, seen by experts as a move to curb university growth in these areas.
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ISLAMIC STATES: Boosting higher education cooperation
Wagdy Sawahel
The 57 member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, have adopted resolutions for promoting a culture of knowledge, scientific research and innovation, according to a declaration made in Kuala Lumpur in October.
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EGYPT: Universities in fix over police removal
Ashraf Khaled
As advocates of university independence celebrate a landmark court ruling ordering the removal of police guards from campuses in Egypt, leaders of government-run universities are considering the costs of recruiting civilian guards.
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GREECE: Academia rejects government reforms
Makki Marseilles
Government proposals for wholesale reform of higher education have generated angry opposition among university rectors and students.
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US: Study abroad continues despite Mexican violence
Sarah King Head
While continued updates to the US State Department's travel advisory were not enough to dissuade American universities and colleges from offering study abroad programmes in Mexico, the tragic death of University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) freshman, Jonathon William Torres Cazares, on 30 September might yet ring their knell.
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KENYA: Major dispute could lead to lecturer strike
Gilbert Nganga
Kenya's 5,000 lecturers in public universities are locked in a major dispute with the government over the sacking of a union boss by one of the institutions and growing tribalism in employment in state universities. The tussle threatens to erupt into a strike next week, which could paralyse learning in the country's seven public universities.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: Scientists push for deep sea research
Jan Petter Myklebust
Marine and maritime scientists are calling on the member states of the European Union and the institutions of the EU to recognise that "the seas and the oceans are one of the grand challenges for the 21st century".
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE IN THE NEWS

AUSTRALIA: Monash denies Mugabe invitation
Geoff Maslen
Monash University Vice-chancellor Professor Ed Byrne was forced to deny a Melbourne newspaper report last week that one of his senior executives at the university's South African campus had extended an invitation to Zimbabwe's notorious president, Robert Mugabe, to give a lecture to students at Monash's Johannesburg campus.
Full report on the University World News site:

GLOBAL: Mugabe - Man of many degrees
Geoff Maslen
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has been awarded a dozen or more honorary degrees from universities around the world, only to have at least three belatedly removed following widespread protests. Doubts have now surfaced whether he received an honorary doctorate last month from a university in Ecuador, or indeed whether it was bestowed by a 'bogus' bishop.
Full report on the University World News site:

ZIMBABWE: Plans for two new private universities
Kudzai Mashininga
Two new private universities are on the cards in Zimbabwe, and the projects have been lauded by the government in a country facing a critical shortage of human capital in various sectors of the economy.
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ZIMBABWE: Manhunt for 'wanted' student
Kudzai Mashininga
Zimbabwean police have launched a manhunt for a University of Zimbabwe student who faces the death penalty for allegedly plotting a coup against long-time autocratic ruler President Robert Mugabe in 2007. The student was previously released from prison when not tried within the required six months, but a judge has now said he is still a wanted man.
Full report on the University World News site:

NEWSBRIEFS

UK: UCL branch in Qatar to spec ialise in archeology
University College London (UCL) will open a campus in Doha, Qatar, next year which will spec ialise in Arab and Islamic archaeology. The top-ranked university is the first from the UK to open a branch in Qatar.
Full report on the University World News site:

UK: New China centre for Oxford
A new centre for the study of China is to be set up at the University of Oxford thanks to a £10 million (US$16 million) gift from the Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon.
Full report on the University World News site:

UWN INTERVIEW

PAKISTAN: Lack of higher education vision - Rahman
Pakistan's Higher Education Commission is facing the toughest time in its eight-year history, embroiled in the country's fake degrees scandal, facing major government cutbacks to higher education, and dealing with rampant academic plagiarism. ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM talks to the commission's founding chairman, Professor Atta-ur-Rahman, about the unprecedented pressures.
Full report on the University World News site:

FEATURES

EUROPE: Universities agree to sharpen profiles
Brendan O'Malley
Universities across Europe are trying to sharpen their distinctive profiles in response to an era of reforms and deep cuts in state spending. But the pursuit of diversity is hindered by simplistic rankings and the Bologna process, the European Universities Association annual conference concluded.
Full report on the University World News site:

EUROPE: U-Multirank pilot study underway
Jan Petter Myklebust
While universities were digesting the results of the three major world rankings, the European U-Multirank consortium launched a study into a new multi-dimensional global ranking aimed at comparing similar institutions and programmes in terms of their missions and profiles. This month it announced that 107 institutions from more than 40 countries had joined the study.
Full report on the University World News site:

SOUTH AFRICA: Initiative to strengthen liberal arts
Alison Moodie
The South African government has launched an initiative to revive and strengthen the social sciences and humanities in universities. A charter of recommendations, to be published in mid-2011, will put these oft-neglected areas back on the higher education agenda so that students who want a true liberal arts education can get a good one.
Full report on the University World News site:

COMMENTARY

EUROPE: Bologna doesn't have to kill diversity
Alex Usher
Those who fear that diversity in higher education in Europe is under threat from massification, accountability regimes and globalisation have missed the point. More choice can be on offer, but in most cases universities will have to provide it by operating like hypermarchés rather than niche shops.
Full report on the University World News site:

CANADA: Knowing your undergraduates
With career-oriented students seeking variety in their university experiences, universities are diversifying their appeal. The downsides are often talked about, but this evolution could well help universities in regions of population decline survive, while offering students clearer choices among a broader range of educational options, writes KEN STEELE in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters.
Full report on the University World News site:

BUSINESS

UK: Academic-industry engagement on the rise
Debbie Derry
Academics in the United Kingdom are becoming increasingly engaged with industry, with research activity and funding among the leading motivating factors for the growing and more widely spread involvement. These are among the key findings of surveys of more than 6,000 academics. Respondents had been involved in creating nearly 700 companies in recent years.
Full report on the University World News site:

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

INDIA: University book ban sparks free speech fears
Roisin Joyce*
Writers, filmmakers and social commentators have expressed fear for freedom of speech after the withdrawal of an award-winning book from a university syllabus following pressure from hard-line Hindu activists, AFP reported on 20 October.
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WORLD ROUND-UP

MEXICO: Universities face bankruptcy over pension crisis
Nearly two-thirds of Mexico's 33 public universities could face bankruptcy because of a combined $35-billion shortfall in their pension plans, according to a government study obtained by the newspaper El Universal, writes Marion Lloyd for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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CANADA: Universities bowed to pressure from private donor
It was a clash at the intersection of private money and public education, with a big-name cast of characters: BlackBerry titan Jim Basillie, Governor General David Johnston and Dr Ramesh Thakur, a former United Nations diplomat renowned as one of the world's leading scholars on peace and security studies, writes Michael Valpy for The Globe and Mail.
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SCOTLAND: University chiefs push for graduate fee
A policy paper published last week by Universities Scotland, which represents university principals, calls on the Scottish government to take urgent legislative action to introduce a graduate contribution scheme by 2012-13, writes Andrew Denholm for The Herald Scotland.
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IRELAND: Moves to identify cheating scientists
Ireland must protect against the "corruption of the scientific literature" caused by researchers who might cheat when delivering their results. Failure to do so could put people at risk and also damage the country's reputation abroad for high quality scientific work, reports Dick Ahlstrom for The Irish Times.
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ETHIOPIA: Ministry lifts ban on distance education
Ethiopia's Federal Ministry of Education has lifted its ban on distance education, after a one-and-a-half month long negotiation with private institutions ended last week in agreement, reports Daily Ethiopia.
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MALAYSIA: Public universities to have more PhDs
The Malaysian government will increase the number of academic staff with doctoral qualifications in public institutions of higher learning to enable easier recognition abroad, reports New Straits Times.
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MALAYSIA: Indian provider to set up global university
India's Manipal Education will invest about RM650 million (US$209 million) over the next five years to establish the Manipal International University (MIU) in Kuala Lumpur, reports Malaysia's official news agency Bernama.
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CANADA: Large group of university chiefs to visit India
The largest delegation of Canadian university presidents ever to travel abroad - and the largest delegation of university presidents ever welcomed by India - will undertake a seven-day mission in India in November, writes Paul Davidson for The Vancouver Sun.
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INDIA: Urgent need to deregulate higher education
India's National Knowledge Commission chairman Sam Pitroda last week stressed the need to deregulate education, calling it the need of the hour, reports India Edunews.
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UK: LSE raises spectre of private universities
Some of Britain's leading universities could consider going private if the government decides to retain a cap on tuition fees - potentially pricing students out of the market, writes Richard Garner for The Independent.
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UK: Record rush to beat fees rise
An unprecedented 74,234 candidates had completed applications for courses beginning in the autumn of 2011, more than ever before at such an early stage, writes Tim Ross for The Telegraph. Up to 220,000 candidates could be left without places next summer if the 4.2% year-on-year rise in applications continues, topping the record 210,000 students who missed places this year.
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AUSTRALIA: Elite universities warn of threat to quality
The academic integrity and international competitiveness of Australia's universities face being seriously compromised, writes Julie Hare for The Australian. This would occur if the government goes ahead with plans to approve thousands of additional student places without a corresponding boost to the sector's funding.
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EAST AFRICA: Low quality universities hinder growth
The poor quality of university education in the East African Community (EAC) is eating away the region's skills base, adding a fresh layer of challenge to the bloc's quest for faster growth and the dream of integration, writes Mwaura Kimani for Business Daily.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Student body calls for free tuition in 2011
All school-leavers should have free university education from 2011, the South African Students Congress (Sasco) said last week, reports Sapa. "There must be no students that will be excluded on the basis that they cannot afford or they owe fees," Sasco president Mbulelo Mandlana told reporters in Johannesburg.
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INDIA: University mulls centre for Pakistan studies
The Panjab University (PU) in north India is considering setting up a centre for Pakistan studies for the systematic study of India's relations with its neighbour.
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