Afghanistan

Ground Broken on New U.S.-Sponsored University

Afghan President Hamid Karzai in March launched the construction of the American University of Afghanistan. The private, liberal arts university is scheduled to open in September 2006 for 1,100 undergraduate students. The language of instruction will be English.

The U.S. Agency for International Development is funding the initial start-up and operating costs and certain construction costs for the university, which will be based in Kabul. The US$17.7 million federal grant was officially announced during a brief visit to Afghanistan in late March by Laura Bush, U.S. President George W. Bush’s wife. The university initially will offer business, management, information technology and other professional courses.

Another US$3.5 million in grant money is being given to the International School of Afghanistan, which will provide U.S.-style schooling for Afghan children in grades K-12. Private donors, including an Afghan mobile phone company, are also involved.

— Associated Press
March 22, 2005

Australia

2 Top Schools Forge Own Way in International Recruitment

Australian National University and the University of Sydney will collaborate in research, teaching and recruitment to boost their international presence, the two institutions announced in February.

Officials from the universities hope the agreement will place the two institutions at the forefront of international recruitment, becoming magnets for top students, academics and research funding. The agreement is intended to lead to new cooperative research programs, as well as joint bids for new centers and resources. Joint graduate coursework degrees and honors degree programs are also planned.

The two universities acting in tandem hope to better compete with the world’s best research universities — particularly those in the United States — in attracting the best staff and students. As well as sharing resources and funds, the universities will share the costs and requirements of international marketing. The universities will embark on a joint international recruitment tour this year.

— The Australian
Feb. 23, 2005

International Enrollments Grow; Slower Growth Forecast

International student enrollment grew 6 percent across all education sectors in Australia in 2004, but the federal government has warned of softening growth.

Australian Education International (AEI), a branch of the Department of Education, Science and Training, said in February that higher education enrollment increased 12 percent between 2003 and 2004. However, AEI warned the English-language sector is flat. The new figures represent softening growth and enrollment trends; however, AEI is not as gloomy about the international outlook as IDP Education Australia (see November/December 2004 issue of WENR). IDP blames the softening figures on the country’s financial woes and the strong Australian dollar. In 2004, IDP reported that year-on-year applications to Australian institutions in the first six months of 2004 were down 10 percent compared with the same period in 2003. AEI downplayed the significance of the strong dollar and emphasized increased international competition, Australian provider-fee increases and an expansion in the offshore delivery of programs by Australian institutions.

In its February news release, AEI said Australia has more international students than ever. Asia is still the main market, making up more than three-quarters of overseas students. There has been strong growth during the past two years in China (44 percent), India (83 percent) and South Korea (28 percent). In 2004, 66,000 new foreign students enrolled in Australian university courses. This was up from 2003, when there were 62,000 commencing students. Declines in enrollments have been recorded in some of the country’s traditional markets, notably Indonesia and Singapore, but also in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

— AEI news release
Feb. 16, 2005

Australian Schools Earn U.S. Accreditation

Four Australian universities recently gained national accreditation in the United States through the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), a voluntary accrediting association devoted exclusively to distance-learning providers.

Deakin University, Monash University, the University of New England and the University of Southern Queensland all became in January the first Australian institutions to be awarded accreditation from DETC. While DETC-accredited schools are not eligible for federal grants, they are eligible for benefits through the military. This means that present or former military personnel can apply for tuition assistance if studying at the newly accredited Australian universities via distance learning.

The DETC has been the standard-setting agency for correspondence study and distance-education institutions since it was established in 1926. Currently, more than 80 distance-education institutions are DETC-accredited.

— DETC news release
January 2005

Reforms Would Boost Number of Overseas Universities

International colleges and private universities would be encouraged to set up shop in Australia as part of the government’s plans for a second wave of higher education reforms.

Outlining a push to drop strict guidelines that stop overseas and privately run institutions claiming the title of university in Australia, Education Minister Brendan Nelson said he believes the measures would offer students greater choice. Political opponents and academics warn the plan could cause quality standards to drop, and thereby devalue the reputation of Australian programs and rob the word “university” of meaning.

The new reform agenda, “Building University Diversity,” follows controversial changes enacted recently that allow publicly funded universities to increase their fees 25 percent. Nelson insists the next wave of reforms is necessary, and is a result of free trade agreements with the United States, Singapore and Thailand, which forbid discrimination against overseas universities and private colleges.

If implemented, the changes would also present a dramatic departure from the rules governing publicly funded universities. Current regulations require universities to demonstrate a focus on both teaching and research. Instead, universities could choose to become research-only institutions or teaching-only education providers. Strict rules currently regulate how privately run institutions operate, prompting claims that publicly funded universities are enjoying an “unfair” advantage in the education market.

Currently, just three private institutions — Bond University, University of Notre Dame Australia and Melbourne University Private — are allowed to claim the title of university.

— The Australian
March 2, 2005

China

German, Chinese Universities Jointly Establish Research Lab

The University of Saarland and Jiao Tong University in Shanghai have opened a joint research laboratory. The facility will be used for research into computer linguistics and the development of related software. The laboratory is the result of a cooperation project between the two universities, which have been working together since 2002.

— German Academic Exchange Service
March 11, 2005

Disparity Continues in Access to Education

As part of China’s 10th five-year educational plan, a working group announced that a gap exists between rural and urban populations, and the gap continues to widen as national education levels increase.

According to the Research into Equity in Chinese Higher Education working group’s report, 51.5 percent of rural residents vs. 16.3 percent of urban residents have achieved only an elementary education. The proportion of those that have received no more than a junior middle school-level education are 41.5 percent vs. 32.4 percent, respectively. Six percent of rural residents and 21 percent of urban residents have attained a senior high school education, and only 0.02 percent of rural residents have received a university education, vs. 5.63 percent of their urban compatriots.

In response, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced a new policy at the March opening of the annual National People’s Congress. The policy is designed to remove fees for 14 million students in the country’s poorest counties, with a goal of achieving free primary education for all rural students by 2007.

— Chinanews
Feb. 24, 2005
— New York Times
March 13, 2005

China Increases R&D Expenditure; Fewer Nationals Study Abroad

China’s research and development expenditure has reached a record of approximately US$22.3 billion in 2004 – an increase of almost 20 percent from 2003 – according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Meanwhile, Ministry of Education figures reveal a slight decrease in the number of students traveling overseas for education purposes in 2004.

Read together, the figures suggest that the overseas Chinese student market may be declining, as institutions at home become better equipped to service the domestic demand for quality tertiary education and as the state continues to invest in research. This, of course, has consequences for such countries as Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore. These nations have all seen exponential increases in the number of foreign students enrolling at their universities, more often than not in recent years spearheaded by huge growth in enrollments of Chinese students.

— People’s Daily Online
March 1, 2005

Chinese-Language Institutes to be Established in France, New Zealand

A Confucius Institute will be established soon through the collaborative efforts of Nanchang University and France’s University of Poitiers, where the college will be located. Auckland University in New Zealand also has announced plans to establish a similar institute, to promote the learning of Chinese at both secondary and tertiary levels.

The Confucius College program (see November/December 2004 issue of WENR) was designed by China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOTCFL) to promote Chinese-language teaching and distribute learning materials on a global scale through a network of colleges. NOTCFL envisages the establishment of 100 such colleges in the “near future.”

— People’s Daily
March 12, 2005

Fiji

New University Set to Open Amid Controversy

Several top academics from Fiji’s University of the South Pacific are jumping ship to work at the newly established University of Fiji. The government has expressed its reservations about the new institution because it has not yet approached the Ministry of Education with details of its operation. The new institution has said it is waiting for the ministry to establish a formal framework for the recognition and accreditation of institutions of higher education.

The new university is located in the Western Cane area of the island and is looking to draw students from both Fiji and other island nations in the South Pacific, who will pay the same fees as domestic students. The University of the South Pacific, established in 1970, is located in Suva, the capital, and has campuses on a number of other Pacific islands.

— Pacific Islands Development Program
Feb. 23, 2005

India

IIMs Increase Access

After 2004’s fee and autonomy controversies (see May/June 2004 issue of WENR), the Indian Institutes of Management are now preparing to promote greater access to their management programs by creating new programs, increasing the number of available seats and greatly expanding financial aid opportunities.

Last year’s controversies were sparked by former Minster of Human Resource Development Shri Murli Manohar Joshi’s decision to slash fees at all IIMs. The decision ultimately was reversed and then set in stone with the surprise ouster from power of Joshi’s BJP party in the general election. However, the management schools have seen fit to provide a record level of financial assistance for the upcoming academic year, in part because of the claims of elitism that spurred Joshi’s reforms. The six leading IIMs are also offering additional programs and increasing their intake of students in many existing programs for the new academic year, which begins in July.

Admissions to all IIMs are based on competitive examinations. After a meeting of school directors in June 2004, it was decided that no qualified student should face financial difficulty in accepting a place at an IIM. Consequently, a means test has been established that guarantees eligibility for financial aid to students whose parents earn less than US$4,600.

— The Times of India
Feb. 6, 2005

Japan

Patriotism Law Postponed

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has postponed its campaign to enshrine a requirement that schools emphasize patriotism in the nation’s education law (see January/February 2005 issue of WENR).

Japan’s national curriculum includes lessons that instill “love of country,” but conservative politicians have been pushing to have it written into law. Although the curriculum does not dictate how teachers should meet the mandate, some school districts, most notably in Tokyo, have called for pledges and songs of allegiance to the Japanese flag. In 2004, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education punished approximately 200 teachers for refusing to stand for the national anthem and flag, which they said are symbols of Japan’s wartime militarism.

— Associated Press
March 16, 2004

Ministry Recognizes First Foreign University

Philadelphia’s Temple University has been recognized as Japan’s first foreign university. With campuses in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, the public U.S. institution enrolls approximately 2,100 students, of which two-thirds are Japanese nationals. Temple University Japan, operating since 1982, offers graduate programs in law, business and education; an English-language preparation program; continuing education courses and corporate education classes.

Official recognition from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology means academic credits earned at Temple will now be accepted by other Japanese universities for transfer. Also, graduates of the university will be allowed to apply for postgraduate studies at other Japanese universities. To meet the required standards required of a “foreign university,” Temple had to meet certain criteria, which include offering degree programs equivalent to those at the parent institution. In addition, the parent institution must have full university status in its country of origin.

— Japan Today
Feb. 15, 2005

Malaysia

Chinese Malays Finally Get Green Light for University

After waiting more than a year, the Chinese Malaysian community in Penang has received official permission to establish an open university. On Feb. 26, the Wawasan Education Foundation – the education arm of Gerakan, the second-largest, Chinese-based political party in Malaysia – received an official invitation from Malaysia’s Higher Education Ministry to establish Wawasan Open University College.

The new institution will give skilled labor the chance to obtain tertiary qualifications in a wide range of largely vocational fields via distance learning. Approximately 5 million eligible workers in Malaysia have no access to further education. The situation is especially pressing in the manufacturing state of Penang, where labor-intensive industry is beginning to relocate production lines to such countries as Vietnam and China, which offer cheaper labor. To avoid the instability that comes with high levels of unemployment, Penang has strived to reinvent itself in recent years as a research center by trying to establish foreign-funded research institutes.

Permission for the establishment of the new Penang university could be viewed as part of that trend. It may also represent a positive trend toward offering increased educational opportunities to the country’s 6 million Malaysian Chinese, who have been crying out for equal access to public universities in the face of government policies that deny admission to many qualified ethnic Chinese in favor of less-qualified ethnic Malays. The new college is planning to offer programs in information technology, science, philology, business management, accounting and art.

— Asia Times Online
March 15, 2005

New Zealand

Export Education Initiative Begins

Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced in late March the launch of four projects to be funded by the Export Education Innovation Program, part of a US$28.5 million international education package in the 2004 budget.

The fund will provide assistance to institutions with a viable and innovative offshore export education plan. Any funding from the plan has to be matched dollar for dollar by the institution. The project aims to expand New Zealand’s success as a destination for international students beyond its borders. Recognizing the country’s limited domestic capacity to receive international students and the increasingly competitive market for mobile students, the government plans to build international partnerships that would aid the establishment of offshore education delivery.

The following projects were selected: Auckland University of Technology’s assistance with the integration of advanced English studies at Jinan University in China; Christchurch College of Education’s professional development programs for English and bilingual school teachers in China; Heurisko Limited’s work with GlobalFieldTrips.com; and Victoria University’s assistance with the delivery of the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation Studies Program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

— Scoop
March 24, 2005

Republic of Korea

University Rankings Made Public for First Time

The Korean Council for University Education, an organization that performs quality assurance evaluations of South Korean universities, has publicized for the first time a ranking of the country’s universities.

The rankings released in February are confined to three major subjects: mechanical engineering, biotechnology and journalism and media studies. Only the top 10 schools on the list were made public.

Korea University tops the list in mechanical engineering (81 universities evaluated), Pohang University of Science and Technology ranks first in biology and biotechnology (75 universities) and Ewha Womans University is first in mass communications, advertising and public relations (58 universities).

— Dong-A Ilbo
Feb. 21, 2005

Foreign Universities Given Joint-Degree Awarding Powers

South Korean and foreign universities will be allowed to grant joint degrees beginning this spring under new regulations passed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development.

The regulations will allow Korean students to take courses offered by foreign universities in conjunction with a local university. The law also allows lectures to be conducted in Korean, English or any other foreign language.

— Korea.net
Feb. 11, 2005

Government to Reduce Number of Universities

The government plans to cut the number of national universities from 50 to 35 over the next two years, according to a report from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. Additionally, the number of students admitted to national universities will be cut 10 percent over the same period to raise the competitiveness of university standards. The plans come partly as a reaction to falling birth rates in the country and partly because of the large growth in new institutions in the 1990s.

The ministry previously had announced it wants to reduce the total number of private universities 25 percent by 2009 to 271. More than 80 percent of South Korea’s universities are private. The number of universities will be reduced primarily through mergers and restructuring, and spurred by financial incentives. The government provides subsidies for both private and public universities, so both have to follow the same rules; however, private institutions enjoy more autonomy. The government cannot, for example, order a private university to close. It can only reduce or eliminate government financing.

The ministry also announced plans to increase government support for “Brain Korea 21,” a program that aims to increase the international standing of the nation’s universities. The program has been running for seven years, and has helped increase the output of internationally recognized research papers from Korean universities. The program also has enabled more than 24,000 graduate students to study in the United States and nearly 2,500 foreign scholars to visit South Korea.

— The Korea Herald
March 28, 2005

Singapore

IIM to Open First Foreign Branch Campus

The prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), one of India’s leading business schools, will soon open its first foreign branch campus in Singapore — the first IIM to open a campus outside India.

Listed in the Wall Street Journal’s top 100 business schools, IIM-B is scheduled to begin classes in the second half of this year at the Queenstown campus of Bhavan’s Indian International School. Faculty will be drawn entirely from the main campus in Bangalore and its partner schools. The school will be designated an IIM-B Research & Management Education Center, and the student body is expected to be drawn mostly from the large Indian expatriate community in the region.

IIM Singapore will offer part-time master’s in business administration (MBA) programs for mid-level executives, executive MBA programs for senior-level executives, short-duration executive education programs for managers and customized executive education programs for companies. Two other business schools on the Journal’s top 100 list also have campuses in Singapore: INSEAD and the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

— Today Online
Feb. 25, 2005

Government Announces New Initiatives in Tertiary Sector

The Singapore government announced in January a number of new higher education initiatives. The initiatives include a 2010 goal of raising enrollment capacity 20 percent at the city-state’s three domestic universities, the creation of a national open university and offering university status to a select number of private institutions.

Speculation in domestic and international media is that many of the initiatives will at first center on the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), which is likely to be the first institution to be upgraded to a university.

In 1992, the government tabbed SIM to operate the Open University Degree Program with Britain’s Open University. As the institute’s distance-learning arm, SIM Open University Center already plays a major role in distance learning it would be the logical choice to form the core of the government’s newly announced initiative to create an independent open university.

Writing for the Observatory on Borderless Education, Richard Garret speculates that the move to grant private institutions university status and degree-awarding powers is part of a process to reduce the number of current foreign programs in favor of a growing number of domestic degrees. If leading providers of foreign degrees such as SIM – which currently offers 62 programs with foreign universities – decide, or are required, to reduce their foreign degree offerings, then a significant portion of the current market will shift from transnational to domestic status. With a number of the bigger players in the private sector exiting the transnational market, foreign institutions would have to develop new alliances, perhaps with less-established institutions.

Although the government of Singapore clearly sees an ongoing role for elite foreign providers focusing on full branch campuses (see above piece on IIM Bangalore) or niche research and development (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technische Universität München), the traditional model of degree-offering partnerships between domestic and foreign providers could be phased out.

— International Higher Education
Spring 2005

Vietnam

American Campus Opens in Ho Chi Minh City

The American Pacific University of Vietnam (APU), a joint initiative between Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and an American-Vietnamese industrialist, opened in January in Ho Chi Minh City.

With 80 percent of the population age 25 or under, Vietnam has been grappling for some time with problems of capacity in the education sector, and one of its most problematic consequences, brain drain. In an effort to counter this, the government has been promoting the development of private institutions to bolster public-sector education. Recently it announced plans to establish four more institutions, in addition to APU.

APU initially is offering English as a second language through language centers; high school programs featuring a dual curriculum meeting both Vietnam Ministry of Education and U.S. Department of Education standards; a college preparatory program; professional development courses and a number of pre-master’s degree certificates.

Roger Williams’ involvement is twofold: Faculty are developing a program to allow students to transfer to Roger Williams University after two years to complete their bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, the arts and sciences and other disciplines; and staff members are establishing a distance-learning curriculum, linking students from Vietnam to Roger Williams in Rhode Island.

The new school opened with an inaugural class of 500 students; a limited number of scholarship places were offered.

— The Brown Daily Herald
Feb. 3, 2005