Regional
EU Countries Missing European Education Benchmarks
European countries have achieved just one of five education benchmarks that the European Union wants met by the end of the decade, while progress toward the other four has been moderate, according to a recent report from the European Commission.
During a March 2000 meeting in Lisbon, EU leaders agreed on a strategy to make the continent “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy by 2010”. As part of efforts towards achieving that goal, common objectives for improving the education and training systems in Europe were outlined in 2002. The five benchmarks include reducing the dropout rate to 10 percent, cutting by at least 20 percent the percentage of low-achieving pupils in reading literacy and ensuring that at least 85 percent of young people will complete upper secondary education. The other two targets involve an at least 15 percent increase in the number of tertiary graduates in mathematics, science and technology (MST), and steps to reduce the gender imbalance and create conditions for 12.5 percent of the adult population to participate in lifelong learning.
Based largely on 2005 statistics, the EC annual report on progress towards meeting the Lisbon objectives in education concluded that the EU has succeeded in meeting only the benchmark for MST graduates, whose number has increased by over 170,000, or by more than 25 percent since 2000.
– Southeast European Times [1]
January 28, 2008
Continent-wide Doctoral Council to be Established
A new European council for doctoral education and research is set to be launched under the oversight of the European University Association [2], an organization representing 800 universities. The mission of the new body will be to strengthen the international dimensions of European doctoral programs, monitor trends outside Europe and support institutional strategies.
– The Times Higher Education Supplement [3]
Czech Republic
Government to Secure Higher Education Loans for Study at Home and Abroad
Government-guaranteed loans for university students in the Czech Republic will be made available from 2009 to cover study and living costs. Students can apply for the loans regardless of their intended study destination. The government hopes to broaden access to higher education for lower-income students.
– AEI [4]
January 30, 2008
Denmark
Government to Reward Efficient Universities
In a bid to reduce the length of time it takes universities to graduate their students, the Danish government announced recently that it will reward universities whose students complete their studies within a certain period of time.
New Grading System Introduced from August 2007
Danish education authorities introduced a new 7-point grading system effective from August 2007. The new system replaces the 13-point scale for all state-regulated secondary and tertiary institutions. At the tertiary level, equivalencies are also provided for the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). In addition to the 7-point scale, pass/fail assessment may also be used. 02 is the minimum grade for passing an exam.
The new 7-point grading system is as follows:
| 7-point Grading Scale | |||
| Grade | Description | ECTS | Old scale (00-13) |
| 12 | For an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material, with no or only a few minor weaknesses. | A | 13 11 |
| 8 – 9 | For a very good performance displaying a high level of command of most aspects of the relevant material, with only minor weaknesses. | B | 10 |
| 7 | For a good performance displaying good command of the relevant material but also some weaknesses. | C | 9 8 |
| 4 | For a fair performance displaying some command of the relevant material but also some major weaknesses. | D | 7 |
| 02 | For a performance meeting only the minimum requirements for acceptance. | E | 6 |
| 00 | For a performance which does not meet the minimum requirements for acceptance. | Fx | 5 03 |
| -3 | For a performance which is unacceptable in all respects. | F | 00 |
World Education Services suggests the following grade equivalencies:
| Danish Grading Scale | |
| Danish Scale | WES Conversion |
| 12 | A |
| 10 | B+ |
| 7 | B |
| 4 | C+ |
| 02 | C |
| 00 | F |
For more suggested grade equivalencies, please visit the WES Grade Conversion Guide <http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/ [5]>.
– Danish Ministry of Education [6]
August 2007
France
Licence Ready for Reform
Reform of France’s three-year undergraduate licence degree will begin next September as part of a Ministry of Higher Education and Research plan to halve the high failure rate of first-year university students. The new degree will be less narrowly focused, more progressive and geared to professional needs, and will provide extra help for students in difficulty.
The government announced the plan in December following negotiations between university and student representatives. The new licence is being touted as a genuine national diploma that would qualify graduates for employment or for further studies. Nearly half of all first-year students currently fail their first year. The new diploma will have a much more general-education focus during the first year. A narrower focus of specialization will be introduced from the second year.
To ensure success for as many students as possible, increased funding will be available for colleges which specialize in short technical and vocational courses, such as university technology institutes.
– University World News [7]
January 20, 2008
Macedonia
Government Official Resigns after Forged Diploma Accusations
A senior official in the Ministry of Defense, Liljana Sterijovska, resigned in late January after being accused of forging the diploma that she submitted as part of her credentials for the job of state secretary to the ministry. The diploma in question is in economics and is allegedly from Belgrade University [8].
– Southeastern European Times [9]
January 29, 2008
United Kingdom
New Diploma Likely to be Rejected by 40% of Universities
A recent survey of admissions officers at universities in the United Kingdom has revealed that almost 40 percent are unlikely to accept students with new Diploma qualifications. The Diploma is being introduced by the government as an alternative to the traditional A-level.
According to the survey, carried out by the 1994 Group [10] of major research universities, 38 percent of admissions tutors are “unlikely” or “very unlikely” to accept Diplomas. Just under half (48%) said they were “very likely” to accept them. The first Diplomas are to being introduced this fall – and the reaction of universities has been seen as important for their future credibility.
This might seem like bad news for the Diploma, but the chair of the 1994 Group, Steve Smith told the BBC that it is more a case of universities saying “wait and see” rather than an outright rejection. “We want to make the Diplomas work,” says Professor Smith. “So we want the government to engage more closely with universities to make sure that the Diplomas can have equal esteem.”
– BBC [11]
January 23, 2007
Science Doctorates on the Decline
Scientists in the United Kingdom are warning that the number of people undertaking science doctorates is declining in proportion to overall numbers, after a report [12] by the Royal Society [13] revealed that doctoral degrees in science have fallen from 65 percent to 57 percent of all PhDs for UK students in the past 10 years.
Doctoral degrees in general rose by 79 percent in the UK in that time but physics, chemistry, engineering and technology have failed to grow, the study says. Lower fees and scholarships should be used to encourage science study, it says.
– The BBC [14]
January 31, 2008
Overreliance on Single Source Countries for Foreign Students a Grave Risk Warns British University Official
Universities that rely heavily on enrolling foreign students from one country run the risk of failure according to David Gillingham, Coventry University’s [15] pro vice-chancellor for enterprise. Specifically, Gillingham believes too many British universities are over-reliant on Chinese students, and that no institution should have more than 20 percent of its international student body from one country. Currently, there are at least six universities in the United Kingdom that enroll more than 20 percent of their foreign students from an individual country.
Although Professor Gillingham declined to name any institutions, the Times Higher Education Supplement identified seven British universities that have more than 1,000 Chinese students, including the universities of Warwick [16], Manchester [17] and Loughborough [18]. The top ten recruiters of Chinese students account for 12,000 of the 50,700 studying in the UK – 24 percent of the total.
Professor Gillingham said that Coventry, like many others, had suffered in the late 1990s, when a financial crisis in Southeast Asia precipitated a dramatic decline in the number of students coming to Britain from the region. He told the Times Higher Education Supplement that Coventry takes no more than 15 percent of its foreign students from any one country, and actively seeks new markets.
– The Times Higher Education Supplement [19]
January 24, 2008
International Undergraduate Applications Up 10.7%
A growing number of international students applied to UK universities this year, according to early-round application figures [20] from the University and College Admissions Service [21] (UCAS). Overall, there was a 10.7 percent rise in applications from non-EU international students year-on-year. The greatest increases were from Bulgaria, Canada, Norway, Singapore and China.
By the January 15 deadline, 430,489 people overall applied to full-time undergraduate programs at British universities and colleges – a rise of 8.9 percent – bumped up by nursing and midwifery diploma applicants who were included for the first time. Excluding those applicants, there was still an overall rise in applicants of 6.7 percent or 26,517.
– UCAS news release [22]
February 14, 2008
(Scotland)
Scottish University Plans China Foray
Glasgow Caledonian University [23] plans to set up a campus in China, according to a recent report in the Times Higher Education Supplement . The campus would operate with a Chinese partner that pays capital costs and owns the infrastructure, while the UK institution teaches and awards the degrees.
If the plan goes ahead, the campus would be the first to be set up in China by a UK teaching-led university and the first major Scottish-Chinese joint venture. The university also operates the Caledonian College of Engineering in Oman, [24] which was launched in 1996.
The news from Glasgow came on the heels of a visit to China by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, accompanied by five UK vice-chancellors, all from research-led institutions: University College London [25] and the universities of Liverpool [26], Oxford [27], King’s College London [28] and Nottingham [29]. Both Liverpool and Nottingham have established campuses in China. Speaking to the media after a meeting with Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, in Beijing, Mr. Brown called for a large rise in the number of partnerships between UK and Chinese universities.
– The Times Higher Education Supplement [30]
January 24, 2008