Regional
Videoconferencing Is a Big Hit in the East
Videoconferencing as a means for distance education has begun to catch on in a big way in the East. Pioneered by Waseda University [1] in Tokyo, a program called CuSeeMe [2] is now used by students at 15 universities around the globe, including the University of Malaya [3] in Malaysia, National Taiwan Normal University [4], National University of Singapore [5], the universities of Edinburgh [6] and Essex [7] in Britain and the University of Hawaii at Hilo [8].
Students log onto camera-equipped computers and can see and communicate with other students who have a similar hook-up, no matter the location. Many feel the program has the potential to bridge cultural gaps and enhance language.
The program has been a hit among students and educators alike. Proponents of the system say that in the wake of Sept. 11 and other terrorist attacks, programs like CuSeeMe have become even more important to dispel many of the negative stereotypes that have cropped up.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
Feb. 15, 2002
Australia
New Monash Center Aids Foreign Students
Monash University’s Clayton Campus [10] in Melbourne recently opened a new center for international students. The facility includes computer and language laboratories, an independent learning center and lecture theater.
The center was built to meet the growing demand among international students for preparatory courses. The school allows both Australian and foreign students who cannot secure a university place an alternative route to Monash degrees. Students enroll in preparatory studies that lead to degree programs in business, information technology and engineering.
Monash attracts more international students than any other university in Australia and has campuses in Malaysia and South Africa. This year, the university estimates more than 9,000 students from overseas will be enrolled at its Melbourne campuses, with an additional 200 enrolled offshore.
— Campus Review [11]
Jan. 16-22, 2002
Bangladesh
Plans Progress for Women’s University
An international coalition has obtained approval from government officials in Bangladesh to create the Asian University for Women [12], with plans to open in 2005. The idea to build a women’s university was first conceived some years ago by UNESCO and the World Bank, but has come to fruition through the efforts of Kamal Ahmad, a London-based lawyer who is spearheading the international coalition.
To be located near Dhaka, the country’s capital, the university hopes to enroll some 2,000 students from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos, where women find opportunities for higher education extremely limited.
The university will offer four-year degrees in liberal arts and English language programs, and aims to offer 50 percent of its student body financial aid. Faculty will be recruited from various Asian countries. The university also hopes to begin a distance-education program, thereby allowing even more women to gain access to higher education opportunities.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
March 22, 2002
China
Top Official Urges Academic-Degree Reform
China plans to introduce more advanced educational resources from abroad through high-level international cooperation and exchanges.
At the 19th meeting of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council [13] in Beijing, Vice Premier Li Lanqing urged continued reform of China’s academic degrees administration in order to train more qualified professionals. Academic degrees, he advised, should be more job-oriented.
He said colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education that confer academic degrees should foster a healthy academic climate and should encourage an innovation-oriented faculty who are “qualified both academically and ethically.”
— People’s Daily [14]
March 28, 2002
China Helps Minority Students
Southwest China’s Sichuan Province will allocate 6 million yuan (roughly US$727,000) to establish “remote education centers” in 12 middle schools in three minority autonomous prefectures this year.
The project seeks to help more local children receive higher education and bolster local scientific and technological development, which is dragging behind the national average.
An official close to the project said it would enable students in Aba Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture the same educational opportunities as their city-dwelling contemporaries. The remote education network will likely cover 48 county-level middle schools in the three minority autonomous prefectures in the next three years.
— People’s Daily [14]
March 28, 2002
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Doors Open Wider to Mainland Students
With the relaxation of former restrictions, students from Mainland China are starting to fill the ranks at Hong Kong universities, something they were not permitted to do in past years.
The University of Hong Kong [15] alone plans to recruit up to 500 mainland students next year, up considerably from the 30 new students recruited this year. Its goal is to attract as much as one-third of its student body from the mainland. In 2001, Hong Kong officials further strengthened ties to Mainland China when they implemented a new policy allowing students from the mainland to stay and work in Hong Kong after graduation.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
Feb. 8, 2002
India
India Opens 7th Institute of Technology
The University of Roorkee [16] was recently converted into the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and has been fully integrated into India’s IIT system.
The institute, which began as the Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1847, became the University of Roorkee in 1949, and was officially designated the seventh Indian Institute of Technology in 2001. The institute boasts the largest number of academic departments (19) and research centers (27) among all technical institutions in India.
— University of Roorkee [16]
November 2001
Sylvan Learning Sets Sights on India
In December, Baltimore-based Sylvan Learning Systems [17] announced plans to open an international institution of higher learning near Hyderabad, an area in south-central India that is attracting a large number of information technology businesses. Sylvan is in the process of purchasing a 250-acre plot of land for the university, which hopes to enroll as many as 10,000 students.
The new university would be Sylvan’s sixth international venture and its first outside of Europe and Latin America. Officials described the university as specializing in information technology, hotel management, engineering, business, and health sciences.
It would also be the first institution Sylvan would develop from the ground up. The others were existing institutions in which the company invested.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [18]
Jan. 11, 2002
Calcutta University to Change Name
The 145-year-old University of Calcutta [19] (CU) is set to change its name to University of Kolkata.
The state government is pushing for a name change despite opposition from some Senate members. It is unclear as of yet when the change will go into effect.
— The Times of India [20]
March 28, 2002
Malaysia
New Nottingham University Campus Breaks Ground
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 29 in Semenyih for the opening of the University of Nottingham’s [21] newest offshore campus. Expected to open to students in 2004, the university will accommodate 2,500 students and will be Nottingham’s fourth permanent campus in Malaysia.
— University of Nottingham [22] in Malaysia
Jan. 29, 2002
Informatics Malaysia Partners with Australian University
Informatics Malaysia [23] and the University of Southern Queensland [24], Australia (USQ), have cemented their plans for collaboration and will now offer a new USQ bachelor of information technology degree at Informatics centers.
Students in the program will spend their first two years of study in Malaysia and their final year at USQ in Australia. The Informatics centers in Malaysia are located in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kuching.
USQ, recipient of the Prize of Institutional Excellence by the International Council for Distance and Open Education [25], enrolls nearly 20,000 students a year in a broad range of career-oriented courses and programs.
— The Star [26]
Feb. 17, 2002
New Malaysian Policy Limits University Enrollment
In an effort to upgrade the quality of Malaysian education, the country’s Ministry of Education [27] recently instituted a policy that will allow only those possessing Malaysian Higher School Certificates (STPM qualifications) to be eligible for enrollment in public universities.
The decision means only those with 12 years of school — six at the primary level, four at secondary and two at upper secondary — will be eligible for higher education. Local authorities said the change will reflect the higher standards practiced internationally, and will give foreign universities less reason to doubt the credibility of Malaysian institutions of higher education.
— The Star [26]
Feb. 15, 2002
New Zealand
Fake-Degree Web Sites Face Potential Legal Action
University officials in New Zealand are considering taking legal action against Web sites that sell fake degrees bearing the names of three well-know institutions of higher education. The New Zealand Vice Chancellor’s Committee, an association representing the country’s eight national universities, is currently discussing legal options for getting the school names removed from the sites.
Both New Zealanders and foreigners have used the phony degrees to try and procure jobs and visas. Although one of the sites in question does feature a disclaimer maintaining that the degrees are for “novelty” purposes only, university officials are still intent on shutting the sites down.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
Feb. 11, 2002
Influx of Chinese Students Catches Universities Unprepared
Thanks to relaxed visa procedures, New Zealand universities have seen a dramatic rise in Chinese student enrollments in the past year. The schools are unsure how to accommodate the influx and changing ethnic landscape, and admissions staffs are also facing the increasingly difficult task of verifying documents and certifications.
Universities have tried to hire on more administrators, and especially bilingual staff members, but they are finding it difficult to find such talented personnel with limited financial resources.
— The Guardian [28]
Feb. 21, 2002
The Philippines
Government to Integrate Madrassas
A plan to integrate madrassas, traditional institutes for higher Islamic studies, into the country’s national education system has been approved by the Philippine government. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the goal is to “foster religious understanding between the country’s Muslim minority and the Christian majority.” Another objective, officials claim, is to make the madrassa system more compatible with the curriculum of the country’s formal education system.
According to Mona Valisno, presidential assistant for education, the integration will hasten the accreditation and eventual recognition of the madrassas, which are situated in areas heavily populated by Muslims.
The integration plan will be implemented as part of a larger program called Education for Peace and Development in Mindanao.
— Gulf News [29]
Feb. 09, 2002
South Korea
Program to Boost Non-Metro Enrollments
Starting next year, students who graduate from two-year professional colleges will be eligible to transfer to four-year universities. The plan, introduced by the South Korean Education Ministry [30], enables students to transfer to four-year institutions outside of major urban centers.
Local education officials believe the new transfer system could benefit as many as 7,000 professional-college students, who could choose from the 97 four-year universities and 19 industrial colleges located in rural areas.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
Feb. 15, 2002
Education Trend Could Hurt Country
Korea’s undergraduate students have been moving away from science and engineering fields, a trend that could potentially hurt the country’s economic growth.
Samsung Economic Research Institute [31] (SERI) analyzed the country’s science and engineering manpower supply, and after citing the declining statistics, called on the government to take drastic measures to remedy the problem. SERI issued a report claiming that 56 percent of science and engineering students and researchers in Korean graduate programs have considered switching majors. Making matters worse, many students have moved to other countries for better-paying jobs.
If this trend continues, South Korea may fall short of its goal of becoming one of the region’s most technologically advanced countries, SERI warned. The report pointed to declining salaries as a potential reason for the exodus. Engineering and science salaries were once much higher, but times have changed.
— The Digital Chosun [32]
March 27, 2002
Taiwan
$286 Million University Overhaul Announced
A U.S.$286 million university-restructuring plan, long under consideration by the Ministry of Education [33], was announced in January and will be carried out over three years. The plan’s goals are to strengthen the island’s academic system and to encourage Taiwanese universities to match standards held by first-rate universities internationally.
The overhaul will focus on fostering greater integration and cooperation among universities, merging older universities with newer ones, creating new research-oriented programs and attracting more international scholars.
— Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education [34]
Jan. 18, 2002
Vietnam
Melbourne University to Build in Ho Chi Minh City
Australia’s RMIT University [35] will soon begin construction of a US$31.5 million campus in Ho Chi Minh City. While RMIT University Vietnam [36] began a year ago in a temporary setting with nearly 60 faculty and 370 students, it just received formal approval from the Victoria government in Australia to take out loans from the International Finance Corp. and the Asian Development Bank to begin construction.
The university offers courses developed by RMIT, with the same academic standards as in Australia, but it is able to act independently in setting curriculums, fees and student enrollment targets. All courses are conducted in English and will likely be available online sometime in the future. Enrollments could reach 3,000 students, and the university will be open to Australian students who wish to do an exchange program in Vietnam.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [37]
March 22, 2002