Regional
International MBA Launched
University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business [1] in the United Kingdom, Universiteit Nyenrode [2] in the Netherlands and Euro-Méditerranée Business School [3] in France will launch in September a joint “interMBA [4].” This new international program is accredited by Equis [5] and the Association of MBAs [6].
— www.intermba.net [7]
Mediterranean Students Get Support From Virtual Campus
Avicenna Virtual Campus [8], with financial support from the European Union and UNESCO, has been set up to help bridge the gap in science and technology education in the Mediterranean region by reinforcing existing higher educational establishments.
The virtual institution will provide specially designed distance-learning course material to each of the 15 “knowledge centers” in the network. The materials will be produced in one or more of six languages and will be backed by local, trained tutors. They can reach students who would otherwise be refused access to higher education in their own country because of lack of staff or facilities.
Avicenna distributes courses to “knowledge centers” – essentially universities – in the 15 participating countries in the network. Each center is free to set up its own national network to distribute courses to other higher education centers and to train tutors to support students using the course material.
The courses, which are prepared by teachers from the partner universities and validated by a scientific council for each discipline, are stand-alone courses that students follow.
“Avicenna is a model for the Mediterranean Basin. But it could also be applied in other regions, like the Gulf States, Latin America, East Africa, the Balkans, etc.,” said Mohamed Miloudi, project officer at UNESCO’s Division for Science Analysis and Policies.
— UNESCO media advisory [9]
March 18, 2003
CLUSTER Agreement Guarantees Mutual Recognition of Diplomas
Members of the Consortium Linking Universities of Science and Technology for Education [10] and Research (CLUSTER) signed an agreement on March 28 that states bachelor and master degrees issued by the CLUSTER universities – 11 institutions in nine countries – “satisfy the same high standard of quality and excellence and therefore can be considered as equivalent in academic level.”
Similar to the ideals of the Bologna Declaration, students with a degree from a CLUSTER university will be considered equally for admission to a master’s or doctoral program in another CLUSTER university as a local student of that institution.
— Educationews [11]
April 2, 2003
Austria
Danube University to Expand
The European Investment Bank plans to lend 35 million euro (US$41 million) to help Danube University Krems [12] complete an expansion that will transform the institution into an international campus university by 2006.
The expanded site, about 40 miles from Vienna, will have teaching rooms, a research center and a new library.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
March 26, 2003
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Conference: Unified Education System a Difficult Task
One of the biggest tasks facing postwar Bosnia is the lack of a unified system of education to instruct students according to European standards. Instead, there are separate Muslim, Serbian and Croatian systems, sometimes all within the same school.
On Feb. 14, RFE/RL held a televised conference of officials, experts, teachers and pupils in Sarajevo. A full English-language transcript and other information about the conference can be found at the Regional Analysis Web site [14]. Most speakers agreed that the problem does not lie with the children, who generally manage to get along with members of other ethnic groups quite well.
At the heart of the problem is the manipulation of children by those on all sides with politically vested interests, according to the conference. Textbooks, for example, frequently contain examples of hate speech and negative ethnic stereotypes. Maps and factual textbook accounts are sometimes presented so as to lead young readers to draw only one set of nationalist conclusions. These types of issues, coupled with segregation and ethnic systems of education, do not help promote nation building for a united Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The leading representative of the international community, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Robert Beecroft, stressed that plans for reform are on the table, but that the political will and leadership must come from the Bosnian citizens themselves. Beecroft urged concerned citizens to “push from below,” while the international community “pushes from above.”
— RFE/RL [15]
April 4, 2003
Government Endorses Landmark Proposal
The Cabinet approved legislation April 16 governing elementary and secondary education throughout Bosnia. The legislation will establish a unified educational system, replacing separate Muslim, Serbian and Croatian ones. Parliament must approve the measure before it becomes law.
— RFE/RL [15]
April 17, 2003
Estonia
Concordia University Dodges Bankruptcy, Changes Name
Financially troubled Concordia International University [16] has, after several attempts, found a partner willing to bail it out of bankruptcy trouble. Audentes University [17], a private institution, signed a cooperation agreement April 23 with the bankrupt Concordia that allows the school to continue operating.
Concordia Academic Community, a nonprofit organization set up by the university’s academic staff, students and employees, submitted an application for state aid to the Education Ministry on March 17. The organization and the ministry agreed on the university’s new status. The school’s new name will be Concordia Baltic University.
Finland
20 University Departments to be Labeled ‘High Quality’
The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (HEEC) will accredit 20 university departments as “high-quality” units between 2004 and 2006.
Most of these units belong to the University of Helsinki [18] and University of Oulu [19], according to the Finnish Ministry of Education. Assessment criteria used by the HEEC measure both the departments’ educational aims and objectives and the means employed to reach them.
— Ministry of Education [20]
Feb. 19, 2003
France
French Universities Promised More Autonomy
Under the government’s decentralization plans, French Education Minister Luc Ferry has promised universities more autonomy.
Outlining his reforms at the annual meeting of the Conférence des Présidents d’Université, Ferry said his parliamentary bill, to be introduced this summer, will focus on four themes:
- Give universities greater freedom in negotiations for public works contracts, change regulations covering the governing board and remove systematic state intervention in university decisions.
- Open universities to regional authorities.
- Strengthen the democratic process, including a new system of electing vice presidents that involves student participation. Take steps toward granting universities responsibility for managing budgets, including salaries.
- Improve evaluation of universities.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
April 4, 2003
Teacher Training Reforms Announced
Teacher-training reforms announced by Education Minister Luc Ferry will place more emphasis on practical skills and focus on areas such as combating illiteracy. Ferry’s measures, which will take effect in fall 2004, include:
- Refocus training on simple priorities, such as preventing illiteracy.
- Tighten links between theory and practice, with increased teaching practice in the classroom.
- Overhaul competitive recruitment exams to ensure they correspond to the subjects candidates propose to teach.
- Allow the first year at Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM) – teacher-training colleges – to count toward university degree recognition.
- Develop partnerships between IUFM or education authorities and teacher training colleges abroad.
- Provide in-service training to keep established teachers abreast of developments.
More information is available online [21].
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
April 25, 2003
School Changes Name
The business school formerly known as the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) Marseille-Provence has changed its name to Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management [22].
The name change comes as part of a plan to integrate a more European feel at the institution. In the academic year 2002-03, a compulsory six-month internship or exchange program abroad was introduced as a requirement for all students. The school was a founding member of the European Network of Business Schools.
—ESC Marseille-Provence [23]
May 27, 2003
Germany
Grade Inflation in Germany
In an article entitled, “Wertlose Traumnoten,” literally “Worthless Dream Grades,” Der Spiegel magazine details the very generous grading policies currently practiced by German professors.
In 2001, for example, there was exactly one university psychology graduate out of 3,092 in all of Germany who scored in the lowest grading category of ausreichend (sufficient). The German university scale uses the following grade classifications:
| Common German University Grading Scale | |
| Grade Description | Scale |
| Sehr Gut (Very Good) | 1.0 – 1.5 |
| Gut (Good) | 1.6 – 2.5 |
| Befriedigend (Satisfactory) | 2.6 – 3.5 |
| Ausreichend (Sufficient) | 3.6 – 4.0 |
| Nicht Ausreichend (Not Sufficient) | 4.1 – 6.0 |
(For U.S. grade equivalencies please visit WES’s Web site [24].)
Ninety-five percent of all university graduates in the fields of psychology, biology, physics, mathematics, languages and literature, philosophy and history scored a final degree grade of either “Good” or “Very Good.” In fact, the average grade in each of these fields lies between 1.3 and 1.6, which corresponds to the highest-grade category of “Very Good.”
Only in a few fields of study — law (average grade 3.3) and economics and business administration (2.4) — do there seem to be any discriminating grading practices.
The obviously untenable trend of too many high grades has brought about debate and soul-searching in university circles. The Wissenschaftsrat (Academic Council) has ordered a study and plans to investigate the grading practices of individual universities, rather than simply analyze grading trends by field of study, as it has before. The council plans to “name names” and publish its recommendations. In the meantime, employers are complaining that they can no longer rely on university grades in making employment decisions.
The Germans have been comparing themselves to another country also famous for its rather generous grading practices, the United States. They have looked at the cases of Princeton and Harvard universities, where unusually high percentages of students receive “As.” These elite U.S. universities enroll top students, and many assert that the high-grade distribution at those institutions simply results from the academic strength of their students. Germans comment that one reason professors in Germany give so many top grades is that they do not want to send students to the unemployment line by marking them with anything less than a top grade.
— Der Spiegel [25]
Dec.19, 2002
New Degree Programs
The Technical University of Darmstadt [26] will offer this winter a new interdisciplinary master of science course in traffic engineering called “Traffic and Transport.” The two-year program offers courses in engineering, law and economics, with a thesis required in the fourth term
The accrediting agency AQAS [27] has recently accredited the new adult education master’s degree program at the University of Kaiserslautern [28], the bachelor and master of computer science programs at the University of Koblenz-Landau [29] and the bachelor of pop music and media at the University of Paderborn [30]. All programs are accredited for five years.
— Deutsche Welle [31]
March 6, 2003
Humboldt University to Freeze Enrollments
Enrolling approximately 6,000 students each semester, Berlin’s Humboldt University [32] has decided to close off all matriculation for the winter semester 2003-04. Berlin’s two other public universities — Freie Universität [33] and Technische Universität [34] — are expected to follow suit, but have agreed for the time being to limit enrollments to an elite group of top-percentage students.
In response to budget shortfalls, the city government has announced that university
funding will be reduced next year by between 200 and 600 million euro (US$226 million and US$678 million.) Humboldt University has agreed that no new students will be accepted until the Berlin Senate can guarantee enough funding to ensure that all freshman students can finish their degrees. Furthermore, university officials said no new teaching staff will be recruited and departing faculty will not be replaced. The situation, unprecedented in the history of German universities, is due to the capital city’s catastrophic financial situation: Berlin is broke.
Classes in all three universities have long been oversubscribed, with tutorials frequently attended by more than 100 students. Books are scarce and largely out of date, and teaching staff is demoralized and overworked. The situation again brings up the highly contentious issue of university tuition fees, although Berlin’s 120,000 students can breathe easy for the time being. Berlin’s Education Minister Thomas Flierl has confirmed the government coalition’s decision not to consider the introduction of tuition fees in the near future.
— The Guardian [35]
May 27, 2003
Foreign Enrollments Continue to Grow
The number of foreign students choosing Germany as their study destination almost doubled between 1993 and 2001, from 35,000 to 63,500, according to the March 19 Frankfurter Rundschau.
The lander of North Rhine-Westphalia is the most attractive for international students. There were 206,100 foreigners in German higher education institutions in 2001, with 62 percent from European countries. Of those, 138,000 gained a degree.
— Frankfurter Rundschau [36]
March 19, 2003
Hungary
Jewish University Opens
The Open University for Jewish Studies opened in Budapest in February, delivering a two-year course to resident and distance-learning students across Hungary, which has the largest Jewish community in Central and Eastern Europe.
The university is open to any applicant who has a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The Jerusalem-based L.A. Pincus Foundation for Jewish Education in Diaspora and the Rabbinical College of America [37] in New Jersey sponsor the university.
— The Budapest Sun [38]
March 13, 2003
Ireland
Irish Weigh Chinese Market Against Fraud Issues
Once an extremely popular market with the Chinese, Ireland is confronting serious fraud problems associated with Chinese visa applications. It is paying the price as its popularity as a study destination cools off.
Obtaining an Irish student visa has become a process that can take up to a year or more, the main reason being the prevalence of fraudulent documents, which are common in China. In an attempt to address the problem and to make inroads into the 14-month waiting period, all visa applications are now checked at a new visa office in Beijing. As of March 1, new applicants will be processed within six weeks.
Officials from the Beijing office estimate that, from past experience, almost half of all Chinese applications are fraudulent. One anecdotal example describes an agent explaining that 29 of 40 applications submitted were fraudulent, but could you please get a move on with the 11 genuine ones.
— Higher-Edge [39]
April 2, 2003
Italy
Yearly Exams to be Reintroduced
The education sector of the National Alliance has decided that a yearly evaluation will be reintroduced at institutions of higher education across the nation.
Students with unacceptable grades will be kept down. The concern of the education sector is that an evaluation every two years, as defined in reform laws, will lead to ambivalence in first-year students, who will only worry about their second year of study.
— Corriere Della Sera [40]
April 1, 2003
Latvia
Government Ousts Russian Language From High Schools
The government plans to switch to Latvian as the main language of instruction in the country’s 149 state-funded minority high schools in fall 2004.
Minority high schools will be required to teach at least 60 percent of classes in Latvian, the official language; 40 percent can be taught in minority tongues, usually Russian.
Critics say the new legislation will have a negative impact on minority students’ ability to learn. They say the switch will deprive the 10,000 students in minority schools of their native language and cultural environment. Proponents of the measure point out that the change will help minority students compete on equal terms in the job market and public life.
Almost 30 percent of the population in Latvia is ethnic Russian; at least 40 percent speak Russian at home.
— RFE/RL [15]
May 23, 2003
Macedonia
Albanian-Language University Moves Closer to Accreditation
In an effort to soothe ethnic hostilities, the Macedonian government has moved closer to officially recognizing Tetovo University (TU), which for nearly 10 years has taught ethnic Albanian students. The university’s status has long been a contentious issue between Albanians and the Macedonian majority.
The university was established in 1994 by a group of Albanian intellectuals, and has been the institution of choice for Albanians ever since. Many Albanians prefer to attend TU’s 13 faculties rather than go to officially recognized Macedonian-language institutions, despite the absence of state funding. In July 2000, the international community provided funds to establish the University of Southeast Europe in Tetovo. Most Albanians dismissed the funding as inadequate, believing that education should be provided from state funds rather than from private institutions.
A new official stance was taken in March to start talks between TU authorities and the Albanian section of the government, the Democratic Union for Integration. The agreement incorporates registration of the university as a legal institution, for which the state is obliged to provide appropriate funds.
Talw Geramitcioski, deputy minister of education, said on March 31, “The process of legalization has started…but we should expect that it would only be applied to those TU faculties which meet the standards required by law.” He believes evaluation and accreditation will take more than nine months.
Legalization of the university will bring recognition to the certificates of Albanian students who, up to now, have not been accepted by the state institutions. Macedonian media speculated that there are approximately 8,000 TU graduates.
— Institute for War and Peace Reporting [41]
April 14, 2003
Spain
Business is Booming
International student recruitment in Spain is mushrooming and is expected to grow further with the adoption of the new shorter degree courses in line with the provisions of the Bologna Process.
Overall, the number of foreign students at Spanish universities has shot up 60 percent over the past five years. However, they account for just over 1 percent of enrollments overall. Moroccans make up the largest single group, followed by the French and Germans. Most foreign students in Spain are studying at the postgraduate level, and more and more are coming from Latin America.
Felicidad Rodríguez, Cádiz University [42]’s vice rector of international relations, said, “During the past few years, Spanish universities have made big efforts to boost visibility. Latin American students, who traditionally looked to the U.S., are looking more and more to Europe and see Spain as a bridge.”
Spanish universities have put a lot of effort into setting up exchange programs aimed at Latin America. But universities are beginning to offer more short programs taught in English. Changes are expected to accelerate when the degree structure driven by the Bologna Process is complete.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
April 18, 2003
Sweden
Transcripts to be Bilingual
To promote student mobility in Europe, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education has announced that all diplomas granted by Swedish institutions of higher education will now come with an English course-by-course description of studies.
— The Swedish-French Association for Research [43]
Switzerland
Agreement Boosts Equivalency with Germany
A new educational equivalency agreement between Germany and Switzerland includes art and music colleges in the already existing framework that recognizes credentials from institutions of higher education in both countries.
The new agreement is meant to encourage exchange and cooperation between institutions in the two countries, and will allow students greater freedom of movement between the two countries for educational purposes.
— Deutsche Welle [31]
March 28, 2003
Turkey
Cabinet Shuffle Delays Reforms
The largest reform of Turkish higher education since the 1980 military coup has been delayed by a Cabinet reshuffle in March that saw the architect of the reform package, Education Minister Erkan Mumcu, transferred to the Ministry of Culture.
The deposed education minister had come to verbal blows with the head of the higher education authority Yök, which was created after the generals seized power in 1980.
When announcing his reforms, Mumcu said he was setting universities free. His planned reforms included transferring power back to individual universities and disbanding Yök, which currently has sweeping centralized powers, including the selection of deans and senior faculty members, and the power to dismiss academic staff.
One of Yök’s primary goals is to protect the Turkish secular state. Hence, for the past five years, Yök has enforced a zero-tolerance policy on the wearing of religious dress in universities, resulting in thousands of female students being barred from higher education.
On taking office, new Education Minister Hüseyin Celik refused to comment on whether he would introduce Mumcu’s reforms. Instead, he called for greater funds for education.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [13]
March 28, 2003
The United Kingdom
Higher Education Mergers
Cardiff University [44] and the University of Wales College of Medicine [45] plan to merge in August 2004. With 39,000 students and an annual budget of £250 million (US$416.6 million), the new Cardiff University will be the biggest higher education institution in Wales. The agreement comes a week after the
University of Glamorgan [46] and the University of Wales Institute [47] in Cardiff agreed on merger plans that will create a student body of 30,000, also with a target start date of August 2004.
The Byam Shaw School of Art [48] in North London will merge with Central St. Martins College of Art and Design [49], one of the five constituent colleges of the London Institute [50], in September. All subsequent degrees will be awarded by the London Institute.
A strategic alliance between higher and further education institutions in Cumbria has spawned a new kind of university. University Ed. Cumbria fills a gap in higher-education provision in Cumbria, which until now had no university. All partners have agreed to label all courses delivered through the initiative as University Ed. Cumbria. They will maintain their identities for all other purposes.
New Degree Courses, Accreditations
Thames Valley University [51] has received a clean bill of health from the Quality Assurance Agency [52], which identified Thames as failing in 1999. The agency endorsed academic quality and standards in its first full review of the university since the special review.
The University of St. Andrews [53] has had its medical doctor degree and medical school reinstated. Both were lost when Dundee University [54] split from St. Andrews in 1966. The Scottish Parliament recently restored the university’s right to offer the research degree.
King’s College London [55] is offering a new online degree in war studies through Britain’s newly launched e-university, UkeU [56]. The master’s degree program on war in the modern world will begin in January and aims to cover all conflicts since 1945.
Royal Holloway [57] in London has introduced an online degree in classics. The classical studies undergraduate program will begin in September and will be available through the University of London External Program. The college is also offering undergraduate e-degrees in history and business management and a master of science in information security.
Anglia Polytechnic University [58] launched a postgraduate medical academy in April. The Centre for Postgraduate Medical Education offers accredited courses for doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals.
The existing collaboration between St. George’s Hospital Medical School [59] and Kingston University [60] is expanding to develop a distance learning-based foundation degree in medicine in association with the e-university, a new pharmacy degree based at Kingston and a Kingston-based foundation year for the St. George’s medical degree.
‘Study While You Work’ Degrees to be Launched
A new kind of degree course in which students graduate after conducting research while working at their full-time jobs is to be launched in July.
To graduate, students will defend their research in front of their peers, who will also judge them at a public exhibition.
Up to 500 people will enter the online pilot at Anglia Polytechnic University [58] (APU) this summer, and 1,000 more will be enrolled by Christmas. Ultralab [61], which already does extensive work for the government on distance learning, will initially work on degrees to be awarded by APU, but other universities are expected to join the program. The nonprofit Ultralab project will also look for links with the increasing number of corporate universities.
Universities that award the degrees — which could range from full honors to foundation — will monitor the quality of the students’ work. The core course will be online and tailored to each student, although external mentors will devise “action research” to be undertaken during work hours.
Stephen Heppel, head of Ultralab’s research unit, launched the project in April. “In each case, after three years remaining in work, or looking after the baby, they will be able to have done enough work to graduate,” Heppel said.
— Financial Times [62]
April 15, 2003
Non-Research Institutions to be Eligible for University Status
Under new government plans announced June 3 by Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge, any institution with degree-awarding powers, at least 4,000 full-time students and a satisfactory quality review will be eligible for “university” status.
Specialist institutions such as art colleges will now be allowed to apply for university
status, providing they have enough students and can demonstrate good teaching. The door has also been left open for private companies with high-quality training programs to gain their own degree-awarding powers. Hodge said ministers are keen to welcome “all organizations which offer high-quality degrees, including those that fall outside the traditional higher education university and college sector.”
Seven colleges in England already have taught degree-awarding powers and will be eligible for university status: University College Northampton [63], Canterbury Christ Church University College [64], Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College [65], Liverpool Hope University College [66], Bolton Institute [67], The London Institute [50] and University College Worcester [68]. They are likely to receive the new status in September 2004.
— The Guardian [35]
June 3, 2003