Australia
Overseas Education Provision Fraught with Peril
Universities seeking to maximize their profits through overseas partnerships face a minefield of problems, a new study specifically examining the Australian education export industry warns.
The findings are based on interviews and 10 case studies of relationships between Australian universities and their offshore partners in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. According to the study, Australian universities have signed more than 1,000 agreements with offshore universities, industry associations and private providers. It warns that an absence of trust, commitment and good communication, especially in the “early interaction” phase of the relationship, often threaten ventures. Other factors that can spell failure include: low commitment from the Australian university; failure to identify the key roles and responsibilities of the partner; failure to establish “win-win” relationships’; and the departure of key personnel. The instances and magnitude of failure, the report states, is higher in those universities at the beginning of the international learning curve.
The report, “Catch Me I’m falling”: Key Factors in the Deterioration of Offshore Education Partnerships, was published in the March edition of the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management.
— The Australian [1]
May 26, 2004
International Enrollment Growth Continues
Australian universities are attracting more foreign students than ever before and have captured 10 percent of the world market for students seeking an English-language education, according to a report released in July. The country is gaining ground on the United States and Britain – despite a drop in applications (see brief below).
Australia’s growth is in the high-demand disciplines of business studies and information technology (IT), according to Vision 2020: Forecasting International Student Mobility, authored by IDP Australia [2] and the British Council [3]. The report states that Asia provided almost 56 percent of the 1,096,000 international students enrolled in English-speaking universities in 2003, and it predicts that by 2020, when international numbers are expected to hit 2.6 million, more than three-quarters will be Asian. The limited number of student openings at home is spurring the rise in the number of Asians traveling abroad to receive an education, the study says.
In 2003, Australia’s largest markets were from China (16,780), Malaysia (12,200), Hong Kong (9,480), Indonesia (8,890) and Singapore (8,690). According to the study, 36 percent of all students receiving a business education in Australia were foreign, as were 20 percent of those receiving IT instruction. In addition, the United States had more than 58 percent of the English-language market last year, and Britain almost 24 percent.
— Sydney Morning Herald [4]
July 15, 2004
IDP’s Back Against the Wall
Universities are urging Australia’s international education marketing and recruitment company, IDP Australia [2], to sort out its internal problems, which come at a critical time for the industry. IDP is poised to slash costs and close some of its overseas offices to rein in an unexpected deficit. In addition, applications from overseas students were down 10 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year. However, this drop has not filtered through to enrollments, which still are reportedly showing a firm increase.
IDP has suffered a US$2.8 million turnaround in its 2004 budget forecast. It now expects to post a US$1.1 million loss instead of a US$1.72 million profit. The agency says three main factors are affecting the international education industry in Australia: increased competition from mature markets in Southeast Asia and traditional markets; structural fee changes with respect to international price setting in the context of domestic fees; and the relative increase in the value of the Australian dollar over the last 12 months.
IDP employs approximately 700 people in 50 offices across the world. Of those, 130 are in Australia. Earlier this year, the agency sacked its country director in the United States.
— The Australian [5]
Aug. 18, 2004
— IDP news release [6]
Aug. 12, 2004
China
Beijing University Addresses Tenure Issues
In an attempt to stimulate the initiative and creativity of faculty members at Beijing University [7], the institution has begun reforming its deep-rooted academic tenure system.
Previously, lectureships were widely regarded as lifelong employment contracts revocable for only the most serious violations of university regulations. As of February, however, only professors can now enjoy tenured positions – associate professors, lecturers and assistant professors cannot. Rather, they are offered contracts of up to 12 years. At the end of the contracted period, a decision to offer a tenured position will be made on the basis of the quality and quantity of the candidate’s academic output.
The changes at Beijing University follow human-resource reforms at one of the capital’s other elite universities, Qinghua University. Traditionally, Qinghua’s professors came largely from the ranks of their graduating doctoral students – a system critics say fostered nepotism and corruption. After introducing the so-called “Hundred Man Plan” in the applied mathematics department in 1998, only one of the 21 members of the department who are younger than 45 graduated from the university.
— Xinhua News Agency [8]
June 18, 2004
International Education Expo a Hit
The government hosted its first international education fair in August, with 114 overseas universities from 12 countries and regions and 248 domestic educational institutions in attendance.
Sponsored by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission [9] and the China Scholarship Council [10], the exposition is expected to become an annual event. More than 20,000 visitors attended the fair on opening day, according to state-run newspaper People’s Daily.
— People’s Daily [11]
Aug. 25, 2004
Fudan, Columbia to Offer Business Journalism Classes
To upgrade the proficiency of business journalists in China, Columbia University [12] has joined forces with Fudan University [13] to provide financial and business courses.
Both universities have highly regarded journalism programs. The courses are part of the New-York based university’s efforts to help train media in developing nations on how to report financial and business news. According to officials from Shanghai-based Fudan University, upgrading China’s business new coverage is a top goal. Lecturers include Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz; Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Jonathan Kaufman of the Wall Street Journal; David Armstrong, chief editor of the South China Morning Post; Columbia School of Journalism professor Anya Schiffrin and directors of media giants in the Asia Pacific Region.
— People’s Daily [14]
July 18, 2004
Qinghua, Beijing Universities Top New Rankings
A new ranking system, which for the first time separates science and technology institutions from those specializing in the humanities and social sciences, recently released its results.
The research for the rankings was conducted by a nongovernmental organization, Research Center for China Science Evaluation, which adds credibility to the results. The rankings were published in the education supplement of China Youth Daily on July 8. As well as publishing national rankings, the survey offered rankings by cities, provinces and municipalities. Previously, rankings lumped China’s 1,863 universities and colleges with vastly different specializations into one exhaustive list.
The top 10 scientific and technological programs are (in descending order):
- Qinghua University [15]
- Beijing University [7]
- Zhejiang University [16]
- Fudan University [13]
- Nanjing University [17]
- University of Science and Technology China [18]
- Shanghai Jiaotong University [19]
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology [20]
- Xi’an Jiao Tong University [21]
- Sun Yat-Sen University [22]
The best social sciences programs are:
- Beijing University
- Renmin University of China
- Beijing Normal University [23]
- Fudan University
- Wuhan University [24]
- Nankai University [25]
- Qinghua University
- Zhejiang University
- East China Normal University [26]
- Sun Yat-Sen University
— The Straits Times [27]
Aug. 11, 2004
Bribery Scandals Rock Public Faith in University Admissions
An attempted extortion of thousands of dollars from a newly admitted university student in August has unleashed a volley of criticism from the media and public into the fairness of the state admissions system. The scandal has undermined the public’s faith in the admissions examination that, despite its flaws, is regarded as a rare tool for upward social mobility in China.
The scandal erupted when officials from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics [28] (BUAA) placed a call to the parents of a student from Guangxi province demanding the equivalent of US$12,000 to guarantee her place in the freshman class, despite the fact that she had just recently received notice of her acceptance. Angered, the family notified a state-run television station, which promptly aired the story. The story was then picked up the next day by many national newspapers.
The ensuing public outcry is understandable considering the difficulty of gaining seats at top Chinese universities and the level of stress senior school students go through to achieve high grades on the admissions examinations. Although Education Ministry officials have tried to quell public dismay by stressing that this is an isolated case, the consensus in the press is that this far from the case. Indeed, a number of other cases of admissions blackmail or extortion have since surfaced, including at the Xi’an University of Science and Technology and at the Xi’an University of Finance and Economics. The ministry has issued an urgent notice forbidding universities to demand extra fees from incoming freshmen. The media are calling for greater transparency in admissions and better publicity of the decision-making process.
— Xinhuanet [29]
Aug. 19, 2004
India
New University Inaugurated
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University officially opened Aug. 19 in the state of Jammu. The new university, inaugurated by President APJ Abdul Kalam, is offering programs in management and information technology in its opening semester. Two more departments, biotechnology and Indian philosophy and culture, are scheduled to begin classes at the start of the next academic year.
— The Statesman [30]
Aug. 20, 2004
Accreditation Council Establishes Appeals Panel
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council [31] (NAAC), established by the University Grants Council [32] (UGC), has accredited 110 universities and 1,434 colleges across India. After years of criticism over the ratings’ credibility, the NAAC this year created a committee for institutions to appeal their ratings.
The NAAC rates higher-education institutions affiliated to the UGC and has a grading system [33] ranging from A++ (best) to C (worst). In many states, such as Maharashtra, an institutional NAAC rating is mandatory, and UGC funding allocations are tied to those ratings.
The credibility of the council’s ratings have been brought into question over allegations that evaluations are based as much on the reception and the quality of accommodation evaluation teams receive from institutions as the quality of education imparted by the school. In Mumbai, for example, Maharashtra’s main city, a number of newer, lesser-known colleges outperformed some long-established and well-recognized institutions this year. Consequently, some believe competing, private-sector organizations would provide less biased inspections than a single, government-backed organization.
The NAAC is attempting to address these charges through the grievance committee. Interestingly, by the end of July, no institutions had approached the committee.
— MidDay [34]
July 29, 2004
Technical Accreditation Board Seeks International Recognition
The National Board of Accreditation [35] (NBA) has applied for membership in the Washington Accord [36], an international association of accreditation boards. The accord is an exclusive club of accrediting agencies from nine countries, membership to which would lend an impressive air of credibility and global visibility to Indian technical education, according to NBA Chairman B.S. Sonde.
Sonde says the NBA has been working toward provisional membership, and a three-member panel visited India in September to assess the NBA’s application. Countries involved in the Washington Accord are the United States, South Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Hungary and Ireland. The NBA was established by the All-India Council for Technical Education [37] in 1987, and has assessed and accredited more than 1,350 programs. It looks at programs in the fields of engineering and technology; management; architecture; pharmacy; hotel management and catering technology; town and country planning and applied arts and crafts.
— The Hindu [38]
May 5, 2004
Chhattisgarh Government Yanks Licenses from 60 Private Universities
In a landmark move, the Chhattisgarh government revoked the licenses of 60 private universities for failure to fulfill conditions required by the recent Chhattisgarh Private Universities Act (see Jan/Feb issue WENR [39]) in the stipulated time limit. State Higher Education Minister Ajay Chandrakar said that only 37 of 97 institutions had met the required licensing conditions.
The law was passed in February in response to the proliferation of private institutions — many of dubious standards — within the state. It requires private universities to buy 25 acres of land upon which to build and to deposit 20 million rupees with the University Grants Commission [32] by the end of June. An official list of institutions with revoked licenses has not yet been released; however, Chhattisgarh-based newspaper RaipurOnline has published a list [40] it compiled from its own research.
— Central Chronicle [41]
July 14, 2004
Universities Given Autonomy in Forging Foreign Partnerships
Universities are no longer required to obtain permission from the Ministry of Education to enter into collaborations with foreign institutions. The decision reverses a 2003 policy instituted by the recently unseated BJP government and is another step to restoring autonomy to the nation’s institutions of higher education.
The policy reversal comes a year before India is set to join the World Trade Organization, which will ease the conditions for Indian institutions to operate abroad and the conditions for foreign institutions to operate in India under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). According to K. Pandey, an educational consultant quoted in the Hindu newspaper, there are currently 35 to 40 foreign universities collaborating, mainly through twinning arrangements, with Indian institutions of higher education.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development [42], responsible for education, has taken a number of steps to increase institutional autonomy since election of the new government in May. The first was to return autonomy to the Indian Institutes of Management in setting their own fees (see May/June 2004 WENR [43]). A controversial policy requiring all private donations to public universities be routed through a government agency was also scrapped recently.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [44]
Aug. 23, 2004
— The Hindu [45]
July 27, 2004
IITs Fear ‘Diluting’ Brand in Singapore
At a meeting with India’s seven Institutes of Technology (IIT) in August, the Human Resources Department discussed two proposals by the government of Singapore for the establishment of IIT education in the city-state.
The first option suggests an IIT be established there and staffed by Indian faculty. The other seeks a twinning arrangement. Indian Express said most of the IIT directors opted for the second option because they are concerned that the IIT brand might otherwise be “diluted.” They feel more time is needed to work out how brand quality can be protected before establishing a presence overseas. The fear appears to be that an unsuccessful experience in Singapore, especially with IIT’s acclaimed undergraduate program, would harm its global reputation. Consequently, officials are said to be leaning toward the establishment of graduate programs in Singapore.
The August meeting was the first of a series to discuss the ramifications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on the Indian higher-education sector. Under GATS, if the IITs were to set up abroad, then India would be required to open up to foreign institutions. Other countries interested in having an IIT presence on their shores reportedly are Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates.
— Indian Express [46]
Aug. 18, 2004
Japan
Report: ‘2009 Enrollment Problem’ to Arrive in 2007
There will be as many university applicants as there are places by 2007, two years earlier than previously anticipated, according to a recent Ministry of Education report. For years, education officials have been worried about how the country’s low birthrate – also called the “2009 problem” – will cause the closure of some schools and affect the way remaining schools are managed.
The parity between the number of places and applicants will likely mean that popular universities will still experience competition for places, while an increasing number of colleges and universities will experience financial difficulties because of an inability to fill seats. The 2009 prediction was contained in a report issued by the University Council – an advisory body to the Ministry of Education. That earlier report said the percentage of high school students who want to attend college after graduation will continue to rise every year until the figure exceeds 60 percent in the 2006 academic year.
In the 2003 school year, however, the figure stood at 55.7 percent; it is predicted to be only 57 percent by 2006. These revised figures reveal a slowdown in the attractiveness of higher education, which may be linked to the widespread perception that a university diploma is no longer an automatic passport to career success. Vocational schools have seen comparatively strong growth in enrollments in recent years. Reflecting the recent ministry report, figures from an organization promoting private universities reveal that almost a third of private, four-year colleges and universities failed to meet their intake quota for the current academic year.
— Daily Yomiuri [47]
July 28, 2004 and Aug. 5, 2004
Malaysia
M. Eng to be Available Domestically
United Kingdom-based Bradford University [48] has reached agreement with Inti College [49] to offer its four-year M. Eng degree program in electrical and electronic engineering entirely on campus in Malaysia.
The arrangement is the first of its kind in Malaysia, and follows developments at British universities that allow talented students to follow a four-year program that gives them a “master” qualification. That qualification, however, has the status of a first-level honors degree. Students that do not qualify for the M. Eng program after two years can continue for a third year to qualify for the B.Eng qualification. Graduates of the M.Eng program can claim partial recognition from professional engineering bodies in the United Kingdom, and, with the fulfillment of work experience requirements, are fully qualified.
Although Bradford and Inti have been cooperating for nearly 10 years, the agreement marks the first time that the three- and four-year qualifications from Bradford will be conducted without a study period in the United Kingdom. Officials from Bradford will continue to monitor overall quality standards.
— The Star [50]
Sept. 12, 2004
Australian Medical School to Open in 2005
Monash University Malaysia [51] (MUM) is set to begin its medical program in 2005 with an initial intake of 50 students. Approved by the Higher Education Ministry and recognized by the Malaysian Medical Association [52], the five-year medical degree will be available at a lower cost than at Monash’s main Melbourne [53] campus.
Until the medical facility is completed in 2007, students will spend their first two years studying at the Melbourne campus — at no extra cost — before returning to Malaysia for their clinical study at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital. According to the Australian newspaper, the Australian Medical Council [54] is discussing with the Melbourne institution whether graduates from the Malaysia-based program will be allowed to practice in Australia without additional study.
— The Star Online [55]
Sept. 9, 2004
— The Australian [1]
New Zealand
Web site Labeled ‘Diploma Mill’ Files Defamation Lawsuit
The owner of Newlands University, which bills itself as a distance-learning institution offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, recently filed a defamation lawsuit against the owners of The Australian newspaper in New Zealand’s High Court in Wellington. An article published in 2003 included the Newlands Web site in a list of “degree mills” said to confer degrees based on “life experience.” Associate Judge David Gendell ruled in August that the Wellington-based Web site could proceed to trial against Nationwide News Pty. Ltd, based in Australia, and which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Sydney-based Nationwide News had earlier tried to have the case dismissed on the grounds that Newlands has no commercial reputation to impugn or else has a bad reputation to begin with. The company also questioned the logic of trying the case in New Zealand, where The Australian has neither an office nor a distribution network. The list in which Newlands University and its sole director allege they were defamed was posted on the newspaper’s Web site under an article titled, “Wannabe Unis.” Nationwide News counsel Bruce Grey also argued that because it is an offense against the New Zealand Education Act for Newlands University to call itself a university in New Zealand or purport to offer a degree, then its “degrees” are worthless, as suggested by the original article, and therefore, no defamation occurred.
However, the Wellington court rejected the publisher’s case for dismissal, noting that while the degrees might not be legally sanctioned and Newlands itself is outside the established university system, “it does not logically follow that the degrees are worthless.” No date has yet been set for trial.
— The Independent [56]
Aug. 26, 2004
2 Auckland Institutions Merge
As of Sept. 1, the Auckland College of Education has merged with the University of Auckland [57]. It is expected that the combined institution will enroll more than 30,000 students. The college’s Epsom campus will become the primary home for the new Faculty of Education; however, it also will retain campuses at Kaikohe and Whangerei, and the university’s programs at the Manukau Institute of Technology.
— Scoop [58]
Aug. 18, 2004
Initiatives to Re-energize International Education Announced
Minister of Education Trevor Mallard announced in August initiatives to get New Zealand’s overseas profile as a higher-education study destination back on track.
Mallard said Education New Zealand [59] will continue to take the lead in promoting international education and will manage the promotion funding and innovation funding allocated in the 2004 budget. The Education Ministry will focus on the United States and China for its recruitment and institutional linkage efforts – in addition to the already announced education counselor position created in Beijing, a U.S. counterpart will be appointed in Washington, D.C. Countries targeted for postgraduate scholarships in 2005 will be China, South Korea and ASEAN countries, and three Latin American countries identified as being good prospects for growth: Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
In related news, the Federation of Independent English Language Schools [60] (FIELSNZ) recently announced that it will change its name to English New Zealand. The name-change is part of an effort to resurrect the reputation of English-language teaching in New Zealand after the collapses of the Carich Computer Training School in November and the Modern Age Institute of Learning in September in 2003. Those school closures left thousands of international students stranded – most of whom were among the 30,000 mainland Chinese studying in New Zealand at the time.
— Scoop [58]
Aug. 17, 2004
International Student Numbers Declining
Statistics tracking international student numbers released in August by the Department of Statistics [61] show a drop in the number of international students receiving English-language training in New Zealand. The figures show 50,594 students studied with English-language providers in the year ending March 30, a 29.2 percent decline from its peak of 71,503 the previous year.
Statistics were only released for the English-language sector; it is unclear whether the tertiary-education sector has suffered a similar blow, or if the numbers have held up or increased.
— Scoop [58]
Aug. 16, 2004
North Korea
Germany’s Goethe Center Opens Doors
Germany, which has led European efforts to engage North Korea, opened the first Western cultural center in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, in June (see May/June 2004 WENR [43]). The Goethe Information Center – a step below a full-fledged institute – now operates on the second floor of a cultural center next to the Ministry of Culture. It offers uncensored access to Germen reading material and is open to all. North Korea is said to have a comparatively large number of German speakers because of its ties with the former East Germany.
After negotiations over the center were completed, North Korea asked Germany to build a training center for librarians and researchers. Germany expects to begin offering 10-day classes on modern research techniques, including the use of the Internet, in September.
— New York Times [62]
Aug. 20, 2004
Pakistan
Minister: Affiliations with Foreign Universities Not Allowed
No educational institution is permitted to seek affiliation with a foreign university, Minister of Education Zobaida Jalal recently informed the National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of Parliament.
The minister said an institution could run only a collaborative degree program under franchise arrangements with foreign chartered universities. Institutions seeking such arrangements, according to the minister, should be registered with the state and possess the required physical, financial and academic infrastructure, including qualified faculty, according to the guidelines of the Higher Education Commission [63] (HEC).
Recently, there has been a proliferation of unlicensed institutions of higher education of dubious academic quality in Pakistan. These facilities have been disingenuously claiming to offer degree programs franchised from foreign universities to attract unsuspecting students who have failed to gain admission to public-sector institutions. The HEC recently launched a campaign to check the spread of such institutions and take action against them.
— Dawn [64]
Aug. 1, 2004
The Philippines
President Draws Attention to ‘Diploma Mills’
Alarmed by the growing number of graduates unprepared for the workplace, President Gloria Arroyo in August called for the closure of what she labeled diploma mills, or colleges and universities with a high rate of graduates failing examinations of the Professional Regulation Commission [65] (PRC).
The newly re-elected president issued the directive at a town hall meeting, where she had been discussing the government’s seven-point education reform agenda for her next six years in office. She stated that although the government cannot regulate colleges very closely, it can close down schools whose graduates have poor track records in professional licensure exams.
The president argued that the Commission on Higher Education [66] needs to regain its regulatory powers over institutions of higher education to ensure that they are applying rigorous and challenging curriculums that prepare students for licensing exams and their future professions. A fine balance needs to be struck to avoid over-regulation and the stifling of innovation, she added.
According to Rep. Cynthia Villar, Congress is set to request that education officials produce a list of alleged diploma mills, accompanied by the actions that have been taken against them.
— Manila Bulletin [67]
Aug. 19, 2004
Singapore
Private School Regains Quality Label
Nanyang Institute of Management, a private school that was stripped of the Spring Singapore [68] quality award in April, recently got it back. The school’s new management has convinced assessors from Spring Singapore, which awards the Singapore Quality Class for Private Provision, that its shortcomings have been addressed.
Spring Singapore awards the quality label to private schools based on good management practices and standards. A new content-related accreditation program is expected to be unveiled in 2005 (see July/August 2004 WENR [69]). The program will attempt to shake off any negative perceptions industry or students may have of private providers that result from the activities of less scrupulous providers in the past.
— The Straits Times [27]
Aug. 27, 2004
Demand Results in Extra Dates for Education Roadshow
The Singapore Tourism Board [70] (STB) has put on education fairs promoting Singapore’s institutions of education in 34 cities across Eurasia and North Africa in the past 17 months. So successful were the fairs in India that an extra four were presented in September, nine months later.
The STB plans to hold 28 more fairs in 2004. They will be held mainly in Asia, but the itinerary also includes Cairo and Moscow. Singapore’s three public universities and three arts institutions are represented at the roadshows, along with the bigger private institutions and scholarship providers. In 2002, the Economic Development Board [71] set a target of enrolling 150,000 foreign students in the city-state’s education institutions, which represents a three-fold increase from the 50,000 enrolled at the time.
— The Straits Times [27]
Aug. 30, 2004
South Korea
Government Looking to Clamp Down on Private Providers
The government recently introduced a bill in Parliament that would give the Education Ministry greater control over private universities and their trustees. The action was spurred by an intensive investigation over the past few months of rampant embezzlement and bribery at a number of private institutions. In addition to the proposed bill, the ministry has demanded the firing of 68 faculty members and administrators at three institutions.
According to one official, cited in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the ministry is considering an audit of every private university that has not been audited in the past 10 years. Until now, private universities were only audited when significant problems were made known. Approximately 83 percent of South Korea’s colleges and universities are private, although they receive substantial subsidies from the government.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [44]
Sept. 24, 2004
U.S. University Branch Campus to Open in 2006
A memorandum of understanding was signed recently by the government of Jeju province and George Washington University [72] (GWU) for the establishment of a branch campus. Preliminary plans envision an opening date of September 2006 and an initial intake of 1,500 students, with an increase to 5,000 after five years. The two parties have agreed on the establishment of a language school, a liberal arts college, a business school and a specialized tourism education college.
According to the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, GWU President Stephen Trachtenberg is especially happy that the Jeju location has the potential to attract Chinese, as well as Korean, students. To accommodate potential Chinese students, the Jeju government already has made recommendations that the student visa period be extended from the current two years to four years for undergraduates and to three years for graduate students.
Washington, D.C.-based GWU is one of the first foreign institutions to take advantage of regulations introduced in 2003 by the Korean government to allow overseas providers to operate in “Special Economic Zones.”
— The Chosun Ilbo [73]
Aug. 16, 2004
Vietnam
U.S. University Offers First Twinned Business Programs
Hanoi University of Technology [74] (HUT) and Vietnam National University [75], in cooperation with Troy State University [76], will begin classes in October for undergraduate and graduate programs in business and marketing. According to Voice of Vietnam, this is the first time that U.S. business degree programs have been offered in Vietnam. At the undergraduate level, bachelor programs in computer science and business administration are offered, while at the graduate level, programs are available in business administration and science in management. Degrees will be awarded by the Alabama-based university, and students will have the option to complete part of the program in the United States.
Franchised programs are a relatively new arrangement in Vietnam. At HUT, an international center known as the International Training Program was approved by the Ministry of Education and Training in April 2002 to allow for the provision of foreign degree programs. HUT’s Web site lists arrangements with universities in Russia, Germany, Japan, the United States and France, among others.
— Voice of Vietnam [77]
Aug. 19, 2004
Training to be Offered at Singapore-Partnered Center
The Vietnam-Singapore Training Center was inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City in August. The center will provide training in English, information technology, tourism, auditing and accounting. It will also offer foundation-level programs that will allow entry to degree programs in Singapore.
— Voice of Vietnam [77]
Aug. 19, 2004