Regional
Universities Offer Free Tuition to Internationals in Hunt for Talented Graduate Students
Would-be engineering and science graduate students are taking up high-paying positions in the nation’s booming resources industries leaving universities facing a shortage of local talent in those fields and forcing them to offer free tuition to attract students from other countries. This has especially been the case in the resource-rich states of Queensland and Western Australia.
The School of Engineering at the University of Queensland [1] has attracted more than 30 foreign students by waiving fees worth US$25,000 a year. Overseas postgraduates are also being drawn to the University of Western Australia [2], which introduced a fee-waiver program two years ago. Initially, 40 scholarships were available to foreign PhD students and this has been boosted by another 50 places a year specifically aimed at attracting students from China. The University of Melbourne [3] offers 150 international fee remission scholarships each year to students undertaking a research higher degree program.
Last December, the University of Adelaide [4] signed an agreement in Beijing with the Chinese Scholarship Council [5] under which tuition fees, travel costs and living expenses for PhD and postdoctoral students will be met while they are in Australia. At least 10 of the new scholarships have been offered this year, rising to more than 30 over the next three years. The Australian trend mirrors a more global trend where top universities are increasingly offering financial help for international talent.
– University World News [6]
February 3, 2008
Indian, Chinese MBA Programs Climb the Rankings
The upward trend in the quality of education being imparted by Chinese and Indian business schools appears to be mirroring the rise of the two national economies, according to rankings recently issued by the Financial Times. The Indian School of Business [7], Shanghai Jiao Tong University [8] and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School [9] have each made debut appearances in the Financial Times’ top 100 global MBA programs [10]. And not just the top 100, but the top 50, with Hong Kong ranking 17th, the Indian School of Business ranking 20th and Shanghai 41st. Meanwhile, the China European International Business School [11] maintained its 11th place in the 2008 ranking.
The schools have been recruiting faculty in the United States in the last few years. As faculty quality has improved so the institutions have been able to recruit top students; both indicators used by the FT system to gauge program quality. US business schools continue to dominate, followed by Europeans.
– The Financial Times Global MBA Rankings [12]
January 2008
Bangladesh
American Named as President of Much-anticipated Women’s University
The Asian University for Women [13] has appointed the former president of Oberlin College [14] as its first president. Nancy Dye will head what is being billed as the first private women’s college in the region. College officials hope to attract poorer students from neighboring countries in South and Southeast Asia.
Plans for the university were first announced in 2002, and classes were then slated to begin in 2005. Despite the delays, the project has received widespread international attention and funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other international donor agencies.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [15]
February 5, 2008
China
Peking U. Produces Wealthiest Graduates
Peking University [16] has long been regarded as one of the country’s best universities, and now China Daily reports that the institution has more wealthy alumni than any other university in the country. It leads a new ranking of universities by the number of alumni appearing on Rupert Hoogewerf’s influential China Rich List from 2003 to 2007.
The ranking was released by the China University Alumni Association, which produces an annual ranking of Chinese colleges and universities. Peking University tops the rich-alumni list followed by Zhejiang University [17] and Tsinghua University [18].
– China Daily [19]
January 9, 2008
Foreign Branch Campuses more Fiction than Fact
Inside Higher Ed published a lengthy article in February seeking to establish what had come of a number of high-profile announcements by U.S. universities stating they would soon be establishing branch campuses in China capable of enrolling thousands of students. The conclusion: not much.
The first case study was Kean University [20], which announced in May 2006 that it would “be the first American university to open an extensive and newly constructed university campus on Chinese soil in September 2007.” After consulting university officials, Inside Higher Ed established that the Wenzhou campus is still under review by the national Ministry of Education [21], after having been approved by municipal and provincial governments. The notion of a timetable seems to have been thrown out the window. In another example, the University of Montana [22], which announced plans in 2005 to open a campus by fall 2006, still has its plans sitting in regulatory limbo.
Current government regulations require that foreign educational entities have a Chinese college as a partner in order to operate in the country. Therefore, the overwhelmingly favored model for international education initiatives in China is much smaller in scale, usually in the form of one or two joint degree programs. As of August 2006, more than 1,300 joint programs were operating with 378 more at the candidate stage, according to a report from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, “Sino-Foreign Joint Education Ventures: A National, Regional and Institutional Analysis.”
Other American universities that have either scaled down or completely abandoned previously announced China-campus plans include Oklahoma City University [23] (OCU) and the State University of New York [24] (SUNY). The OCU announcement in 2002 that it had been invited to become the first American university to establish a campus in China has apparently amounted to nothing. SUNY announced in July 2006 that it was in negotiations to open a 5,000-student campus in cooperation with Nanjing University [25]; eight students are currently enrolled in a pilot dual degree program in which students split their time between Nanjing and the SUNY campus at Stony Brook [26]. However, officials are still optimistic the larger vision may one day happen.
To date, just two foreign universities, both British, have succeeded in establishing campuses with Chinese partners. The Universities of Liverpool [27] and Nottingham [28] both found a way to get it done, and in quick succession. Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University [29] opened in 2006 as an independent, stand-alone institution rather than a Liverpool outpost, and it more than quadrupled its enrollment to 800 students in two years. Liverpool followed in the footsteps of Nottingham University which first began operations in fall 2004 with Zhejiang Wanli Education, a Chinese education company that paid to build the campus. The campus [30] currently teaches 2,850-students.
– Inside Higher Ed [31]
February 12, 2008
India
Higher Education in India is Overregulated, Advisory Group Reports
A high-level government advisory body reported [32] in January that the Indian government’s “rigid organizational structures with territorial mind-sets” are hampering the reform of the country’s higher-education system. The National Knowledge Commission [33] report states that there is resistance at various government levels to experimentation, new ideas, openness, and accountability in the higher-education system.
The authors of the report seem particularly frustrated that the government has failed to act on the Commission’s non-binding recommendations made in its “Report to the Nation 2006,” published last January, as well as other recommendations it has made since it was formed in 2005. They include the establishment of an independent regulatory authority for higher education that would replace separate regulators for various disciplines, a situation that has created an overregulated, under-governed system. The Commission had also called for “a systematic overhaul” of the nation’s universities, which it said neither preserve autonomy nor promote accountability. The commission’s term ends in October.
– National Knowledge Commission [32]
January 2008
New Universities to Offer Greater Flexibility to Graduate Students
In a bid to offer greater flexibility to students, the Indian government is planning to open 16 new universities over the next five years that would offer six-year integrated programs with two-year graduate and four-year doctoral programs. According to officials at Educational Consultants India Ltd [34], which has been advising the Ministry of Human Resource Development [35], there would be much more emphasis on research, and students would be offered the option of inter-stream mobility in doctoral research.
Similar to the US model, the new universities would run on a semester system with continuous evaluation once students pass the common admission test. At present, Indian universities do not facilitate any change of course after students have enrolled and they have to take an annual test.
– University World News [36]
January 20, 2008
Prevented from Setting up Shop in India, Foreign Universities Work the System
A growing number of universities eager to tap the lucrative Indian student market are forging “twinning” relationships with Indian universities, an arrangement that allows Indian students to begin their studies at an Indian university and then transfer that credit to a partner university abroad. The foreign university will usually end up issuing the diploma. At least 130 foreign universities have built such relationships with partner institutions in India, mainly because the Indian government does not currently allow them to enter the Indian market independently. A majority of the Indian institutions are unaccredited and private.
A raft of often contradictory government regulations and restrictions make it nearly impossible to assess exactly the level of foreign involvement in the Indian education market. However, according to the framers of a government-commissioned study of foreign education providers in India, American institutions run 66 collaborative agreements with Indian partners, while Britain has 59 such agreements. Twinning partnerships constitute the biggest number of arrangements, as they pose the least risk and offer the highest returns for foreign partners who collect a share of the tuition revenue for the Indian-taught section and keep all the revenue once the student has transferred.
Other forms of collaboration among high-profile foreign schools tend to focus on faculty and student exchange, joint research programs and curriculum design. Yet other schools are positioning themselves for a predicted change in national legislation. Georgia Institute of Technology [37], for example, signed an agreement with the government of the state of Andhra Pradesh to establish a campus there when (and if) the federal government passes a bill to allow foreign universities to operate in the country.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [38]
February 8, 2008
Malaysia
Government to Name 2 ‘Apex’ Universities
At least two universities will be granted a greater degree of autonomy than public universities by the end of the year, according to New Straits Times. The initiative is aimed at enabling local universities to react with greater flexibility to changes in the academic, economic and social fields.
A selection committee of academics and industry experts will submit recommendations to the government in June. Under consideration are 32 private and 23 public universities. The new ‘apex’ status for universities was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after launching the “Strategic Plan for Higher Education: Laying the Foundation Beyond 2020” in August last year.
– The New Straits Times [39]
January 16, 2008
UK University Signs Agreement with Kuala Lumpur Education City
A mixed-use campus of universities, high schools, and healthy living and leisure facilities – known as Kuala Lumpur Education City [40] – is currently being developed in the Malaysian capital, and it may soon have a UK partner. Royal Holloway, University of London [41], has signed a memorandum of understanding with the firm KLEC Ventures, the lead company behind the Ministry-of-Education-backed initiative. Kuala Lumpur Education City is expected to have a faculty and student population of about 110,000 and a residential population of 30,000 by 2030.
– Holloway news release [42]
January 31, 2008
Singapore
Australian University Expands its Singapore Operations
Murdoch University [43] announced in January that it will be establishing the Murdoch International Study Centre, a new private venture in Singapore to be opened within six months in collaboration with Singapore Manufacturer’s Federation’s School of Management. [44] The two sides hope to enroll 1,000 new students by the end of the year. The initiative will increase the number of undergraduate programs the Perth-based institution offers in Singapore from 15 to 25. Instruction for the new programs will be provided by local teaching staff, and students will have the option of completing them partly in Singapore and partly at Murdoch’s home campus in Perth, Western Australia.
– Channel News Asia [45]
January 14, 2008
Government Introduces new Work-Study Opportunities
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower has introduced an internship program for international students and recent graduates between the ages of 17 and 30 to live and work in the island nation for up to six months. The Work Holiday Program (WHP) has been created to attract well-qualified internationals to careers in the Asian knowledge hub.
For a list of WHP employer partners and Singapore job sites visit http://www.contactsingapore.org.sg/whpsingapore [46]. Applicants do not need to secure employment before applying for the WHP. Successful applicants will receive a six-month work pass.
– Government news release [47]
January 24, 2008
Prestigious Indian Institute Rejects Singapore
Indian government officials have rejected a long-standing request from Singapore to establish an Indian Institute of Technology on the island nation, suggesting that such a move would contradict the government’s expansion plans for IITs at home.
The Telegraph newspaper reported in early February that the ministries of human resource development and external affairs were in the process of finalizing a letter to the Singapore government, in which India would officially turn down the opportunity in Singapore, stating IITs cannot, as a brand, ensure academic excellence in Singapore as they are already struggling with a shortage of qualified faculty and funds at home.
The Singapore government initially asked Delhi to set up and run a fully-fledged IIT more than three years ago. Rather than spending scarce funds on a risky Singapore venture, the HRD ministry argued that funds could instead be used to build IITs in India — seven new institutes are now to be set up during the 11th Five-Year Plan.
Singapore then volunteered to meet most of the costs and said India would only need to provide lecturers, course materials and research expertise. But India has officially decided to reject this proposal, instead offering to help improve standards at the National University of Singapore [48] (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University [49] (NTU), the two top engineering institutes there. IIT Bombay has already signed agreements for faculty and student exchange with the two universities.
– The Telegraph [50]
February 6, 2008
South Korea
High School Students to Learn in English from 2010
Schools across South Korea will be required to teach selected subjects in English from 2010, according to government officials quoted by the Korea Herald. English classes must also be conducted exclusively in the language beginning that year.
English-language classes will first be introduced in model schools in rural areas this year, a measure that is hoped will bridge the English education gap between rural and urban areas. The program will be expanded later to ordinary schools, officials said. English-based classes will be in mathematics, science and other subjects in which language differences will have less impact on student comprehension.
Korea’s new government announced in January that it would be eliminating the English section in the College Scholastic Aptitude Test in 2013, and would instead be conducting a new TOEFL-style English proficiency test four times a year. The committee expects the English immersion programs to help relieve parents of the financial burden related to private English classes – estimated at US$15.8 billion a year.
The presidential transition committee announced in January that it plans to hire 23,000 “Teaching English in English” (TEE) teachers between 2009 and 2013 by using 1.7 trillion won from state coffers. The goal is to secure a sufficient number of capable teachers to lead English classes in English. However, there was significant debate about being able to recruit enough suitably qualified candidates who also have sufficient teaching skills.
– Korea Herald [51]
January 25, 2008
Law School Reforms Face Widespread Opposition, Cause Minister’s Resignation
The Korean government is seeking to change the way in which students are selected to law programs and to set quotas on enrollments: moves that are being fiercely challenged by many universities. The controversy forced the resignation of Education Minister Kim Shin-Il in early February, and has also resulted in a class action law suit being filed by 15 law colleges demanding that the Legal Education Committee increase the annual law school student quota to 3,000 from 2,000 and give a chance to more universities while urging that the committee disclose details of selection criteria.
The Education Ministry [52] in February published a provisional list of 25 universities chosen to run new U.S.-style, three-year graduate law programs from next year, accompanied by a quota for each institution. Forty-one schools applied to obtain law school licenses. Universities included on the list have also questioned the fairness of the quotas, complaining that the numbers are so small that running the program will be a loss-making proposition.
Final approval will be given in September after further review, officials said. Seoul National University [53] will be granted a quota of 150 students, and the other 24 universities will be given anywhere from 40 to 120 students, ministry officials explained. Korea University [54] professors have proposed canceling the school’s plans for a graduate law school, as they believe the government-set quota of 120 students is not enough. The university is considering maintaining its undergraduate college of law instead, which admits 250 students per year.
Universities not chosen will likely suffer a significant drop in their rankings as well as financial losses from investments in new buildings and professors. A new graduate law school system is being created to meet the rising demand for lawyers ahead of the opening of Korea’s legal market. The 25 Korean law schools will emulate the US system that requires three years study after completing an undergraduate degree. The national entrance exam for law schools, the Legal Education Eligibility Test, is scheduled for August.
– Korea Herald [51]
January 31. 2008
Vietnam
Government to Train Legal Professionals Abroad
The Ministry of Justice is planning to send 100 Vietnamese legal professionals to educational institutions abroad for training to help smooth the country’s integration into the globalized economy. Selected lawyers will be sent to prestigious international law firms and agencies in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia within the next 21 to 27 months.
– Voice of Vietnam [55]
January 28, 2008