Brazil

Teaching Hospitals Call State of Emergency

Twenty of 45 university teaching hospitals controlled by Brazil’s Education Ministry have declared a state of emergency after cutting essential services in response to mounting debt.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Dec. 13, 2002

Canada

Undergraduate Admissions Requirements Continue to Rise

At its highest level in years, the bar for entry into most Canadian universities is expected to rise again this fall.

Some universities have cut-off marks near 90 percent, as institutions across the country have gradually raised grade requirements over the years for entry into undergraduate programs. More high school students are fighting for a limited number of places.

One example is the University of Toronto‘s arts program, which has seen its cut-off mark rise from 74 percent in 1991 to 80 percent in 2002. Officials from the University of Alberta have stated that they have reached a peak in the number of students that they can accept and the only way to curb rising admissions is to raise the standard required for incoming students. They envision a cut-off mark of 80 percent for their science program this fall, up from 70 percent in 2002.

In Ontario, where both Grade 12 and Grade 13 classes are graduating together this year because of the provincial government’s move to discontinue the fifth year of secondary school, students are feeling increased pressure to raise their marks. Some university officials worry that this will lead to some high schools inflating grades to give their students a better chance of getting into college.

— The Globe and Mail
Jan. 18, 2003

Quebec to Require Therapists With Master’s Degrees

By 2010, Québec will require entry-level physiotherapists and occupational therapists to have a six-year master’s degree, compared to the current requirement of a four-year bachelor’s degree. Social workers will also be required to have a master’s degree; the Ordre Professionnel des Travailleurs Sociaux du Québec has announced that it will make a master’s in social work its entrance qualification within the next few years.

The move to raise academic credentials is simply a natural progression, the groups involved say, as leaps in scientific knowledge require therapists and social workers to increase their professional qualifications.

To date, Québec is the only province to consider advanced requirements. Speech pathologists and audiologists have already instituted a master’s-level entry requirement.

The master’s-degree course for both occupational therapists and physiotherapists will incorporate all the practical training offered in today’s undergraduate curriculum plus new training in areas such as marketing, operating a business and evidence-based practices — those drawn from a practitioner’s own research or that of others.

— The Globe and Mail
Jan. 29, 2003

Colombia

University Campus Used as Arms Dump

Security agents uncovered bombs, grenades and other weapons at one of the Bogota campuses of Colombia’s largest public university a week after suspected leftist rebels launched a mortar attack from the campus.

The Nov. 22 attack, launched from National University in Bogota, was blamed on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). No one was injured in the attack, but the campus was closed for a week as a result. A campuswide search resulted in the discovery of the arms cache.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 13, 2002

World Bank OKs $200 Million for Higher Education

The World Bank has approved a US$200 million loan to improve the quality and equity of higher education in Colombia.

The Higher Education Financing Reform Project will make available a mix of grants and loans to able students from the poorest backgrounds so that they can complete their university studies in a country that has seen the percentage of high school graduates going onto tertiary education drop from 55 percent a decade ago to only 37 percent in 1999.

The money will also be used to support top university researchers and to encourage them to remain in the country and create doctoral programs and centers of excellence. A research center will also be financed to study the performance of graduates in the labor market.

— World Bank Group
Dec. 23, 2002

Cuba

More U.S. Students Choose Cuba as Study Destination

Officially off-limits to U.S. citizens since 1963, Cuba is becoming a study destination for a small but growing number of U.S.-based students. School year 2000-01 saw a 64 percent increase in students from the United States, for a total of 905, and the number is expected to grow as reports for the following year are released.

In order for students to legally visit the only communist country in the Western hemisphere, their schools must obtain a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury prohibiting students from engaging in commercial enterprise during their visit. Once obtained, students must apply to the Cuban government for a visa.

Interest in Cuba as a study destination has been described by some as a chance for students to look at a communist system compared to a capitalist system, while exploring transition issues facing a developing nation. For many, Cuba is seen as a land of mystique. Recent visits from celebrities, such as acclaimed film director Steven Spielberg, to the island and their calls for an end to the embargo on Cuba suggest a softening of U.S. attitudes toward Cuba.

— CNN
Jan. 7, 2003

Peru

Government Concedes to Academic Hunger Strikers

A government pledge of an additional US$25 million for public universities ended a weeklong hunger strike by students and professors in early December.

In early November, student and teachers unions began a strike that affected five of the country’s 28 public universities. The strike spread to other campuses and culminated with student leaders beginning a hunger strike later that month.

Protesters demanded US$50 million but settled for half the amount as student-led protests around the country became increasingly violent.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 13, 2002

The United States of America

Kellogg Tops MBA Rankings

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University provides the world’s best full-time master’s in business administration (MBA) program, according to a new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The ranking is based on a school’s ability to deliver the most important elements (as identified by students themselves) that students look for when studying for an MBA.

U.S. schools dominate the ranking, with nine of the world’s top 10 programs. The top three schools, according to the ranking, are Kellogg, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

The only non-U.S. school in the top 10 is Switzerland’s eighth-ranked IMD. Europe’s other leading schools are the UK’s 11th-ranked Henley and 13th-ranked Cranfield, Spain’s 16th-ranked Instituto de Empresa and France’s 22nd-ranked HEC.

The top schools in the Pacific Rim were Macquarie in Australia and the Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School, which placed 42nd and 43rd respectively.

The factors on which the rankings are based are: opening new career opportunities and/or furthering current careers; personal development and educational experience; increasing salary and the potential to network.

For the complete ranking, please visit HERE

— Economist Intelligence Unit
Oct. 11, 2002

Louisiana Dumps Unaccredited Institutions

Unaccredited distance-learning institutions have been voted out of Louisiana by the state Board of Regents.
Operating-license renewals were refused for Bienville, Columbus, Glenford and Lacrosse. The four operations were the last unaccredited institutions remaining in the state.

However, Bienville has already relocated and is said to be operating out of Mississippi, and so the struggle against unaccredited diploma mills continues.

— American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
Oct. 15, 2002

Junior Colleges Seek Easier Transfers to Universities

The nation’s community colleges, eager to entice the best and the brightest with promises of huge savings and easy transfer into top universities after two years, are recasting themselves as wise first choices for serious students looking to avoid huge debt.

Community colleges are composing curriculums that so closely mirror those of liberal arts universities as to make it nearly impossible for picky admissions advisors to call their students unprepared.

More than 168 community colleges now have honors programs designed to catapult their students into the nation’s best four-year institutions, compared with no more than 24 just 15 years ago, according to the National Collegiate Honors Council. At least 68 of those junior colleges started their honors programs in the last five years.

Some private universities have even signed agreements with select community colleges ensuring that when students transfer, their credits will be accepted. Thirty states have passed legislation to ensure that courses taken at community colleges count toward graduation at public universities.

For the students that fall short of honors programs, the outlook is bleak. Only 15 percent to 25 percent of community college students advance to four-year universities within a few years, suggesting that tepid transfer rates disproportionately hurt the poor.

With that in mind, a coalition of 100 junior colleges signed an agreement in December with more than 60 historically black colleges, as well as other four-year universities serving large numbers of Latinos and American Indians. The covenant allows any of the community college students who earn associate’s degrees with a grade-point average of 2.5 or better to transfer into the participating universities, no questions asked.

— The New York Times
Dec. 15, 2002

Columbia University to Close Online-Learning Program

Fathom, Columbia University‘s for-profit online-learning venture, will close after only two years of operation. The university will retain the rights to the materials produced for Fathom and retain its chief executive officer as a consultant, who will find new applications for the materials.

The venture was designed to sell Web-based courses and seminars from a number of prominent institutions. Despite extensive media coverage and millions of dollars invested, it was never profitable. The site is scheduled to go offline sometime in March.

Fathom’s demise follows those of other prominent for-profit online-learning ventures, including New York University and Temple University.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jan.7, 2003

U.S., British Universities Forge Alliance

New School University and Britain’s Open University are developing a distance and online education program aimed at expanding both institutions’ reach in North America and Europe.

This spring, in what is intended as the beginning of many collaborative projects, New School Online University will offer a management-development course developed by The Open University and overseen by the New School University’s Milano Graduate School. The course is part of a planned five-course program leading to a Certificate in Management. The Open University Business School is the largest business school in Europe.

— New School University news release
Jan. 27, 2003

2 Black Colleges Lose Accreditation

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has stripped two historically black colleges – Morris Brown College in Atlanta and Mary Holmes College in West Point, Miss. — of their accreditation.

The association, at its December meeting, cited bad bookkeeping and a lack of faculty members with advanced degrees in its decision against Morris Brown College. The college is $23 million in debt and fending off lawsuits from unpaid vendors and struggling to pay daily expenses. Mary Holmes College, a tiny coeducational two-year college, is strapped for cash because enrollments have declined over the years.

Both institutions have said they will appeal the association’s decision.

Several of the country’s 103 historically black colleges and universities are facing the worst crises in their history. Fifteen percent are on warning or probation status with accreditation agencies. Many of the problems stem from the lack of funds allocated by state legislatures.

The best-endowed black institutions are Howard University in Washington, D.C., with an endowment of $305 million, and Spelman College in Atlanta, with $220 million. At the other extreme, according to a Thurgood Marshall Fund study, 26 colleges have endowments of $1 million to $6 million. Harris-Stowe College in St. Louis has the smallest, with $796,000, and three others have endowments of less than $1 million.

Also in December, SACS placed Louisiana-based Life University on probation. The school was given a year to prove it can survive the financial crisis brought on by the loss of its chiropractic accreditation, which was revoked in June by the Council of Chiropractic Education.

— CentreDaily
Feb. 27, 2003

Alabama Continues College Mergers

The Alabama State Board of Education voted in January to merge six two-year colleges to form three new institutions.

Officials have been working for 15 years to cut the number of two-year institutions in the state from 43 to 28. The new plan will further reduce the number of community colleges to 26.

The board’s plan will merge Harry M. Ayers State Technical College with Gadsden State Community College; Douglas MacArthur State Technical College with Lurleen B. Wallace Junior to become Lurleen B. Wallace Community College; and Enterprise State Junior College with two campuses of George C. Wallace Community College.

The mergers are expected to be completed by fall, when they will face review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting agency.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jan. 27, 2003

Study-Abroad Programs Grow in Glitz, Popularity

Despite current global concerns, the demand for study-abroad programs is very much on the rise, and a surprising number of colleges are taking overseas study to a whole new level of high-end learning. More schools are adding courses, expanding destinations and, in some cases, catering to students with resort-style extras.

“There’s a feeling of entitlement,” said Chrisoula Georgiadis, assistant director at Loyola College in Maryland, which has begun paying for laundry and gym membership for overseas students. With enrollment up 10 percent nationally since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and 55 percent in five years, the demand has increased the competition and recruiting pressure for colleges.

Educators say everything from the Internet to global turmoil have made today’s students more interested in world affairs. The tight job market has not hurt programs, either, with students hoping a year abroad will brighten up their resumes. The result: About 1,000 colleges now have an overseas-study office – up 40 percent from five years ago.

Some of these new programs are stirring debate. With colleges offering free stopovers in Fiji (Loyola of Maryland) or free private music lessons (The College of Wooster, Ohio), educators argue that perks like these can distract even the most conscientious of students from their classroom obligations. Despite all these perks and often free airfare thrown in, colleges are not suffering as much as one might expect. Tuition at most overseas schools is considerably less than in the United States, and although schools will argue that they have plenty of administrative costs, many students and parents who do the math might come away feeling a little cheated by the price tag of a year abroad.

— Wall Street Journal
Feb. 12, 2003

Venezuela

Strikes Halt Higher Education

Six weeks of national strikes aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez from office have left Venezuela’s universities in turmoil.

Four of the nation’s 22 universities have officially closed, while the majority of students and faculty from other public universities and the country’s 18 private universities have refused to attend class in a show of solidarity with the strike that began Dec. 2.

Chavez’s government has become increasingly unpopular among the country’s academic community. One reason is that salaries and expenses have not been paid in more than two months.

The first term of Venezuela’s academic year normally runs from September to March; however, plans are now being drawn up for universities to completely reschedule the term’s classes.

— The Guardian
Jan. 13, 2003