Brazil
Public Schools Gain from Rapid Adoption of Internet Technologies
In Brazil, the spread of communications technology is proceeding at record speed. Internet usage statistics are breaking records every month. A new federal government initiative looks to keep public schools on top of this trend. Launched in early April, the initiative aims to increase Internet access for the poorest segments of Brazil’s population, while also targeting up to 37 million students and teachers across the country.
The program, titled Broad Band in Schools, is designed to establish broadband Internet connections at 55,000 public schools, and is part of a broader program known as the National Program of Computing in Education. Telephone operators have ensured that all the schools would have free access to Internet-based services. All schools are scheduled to be wired by late 2009. And the city of São Paulo, South America’s largest metropolis, plans to expand its network of 238 free Internet centers to 300.
– World Politics Review [1]
April 3, 2008
Chile
Apollo Acquires Chilean University in First Foray Abroad
Apollo Global Inc., a recently launched subsidiary of Apollo Group [2], announced in April that it has agreed to acquire Universidad de Artes, Ciencias y Communication [3] (UNIACC), an accredited, private arts and communications university in Chile.
This is Apollo Global’s first acquisition since it was created in 2007. In partnership with the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, Apollo is looking to build a global portfolio of campuses in those countries it deems to have attractive demographics, good levels of economic growth and a regulatory environment that is open to foreign direct investment in the education sector. Chile has evidently been targeted as such a country.
According to Apollo officials, UNIACC represents good value for shareholders, while Chile’s stable economic environment, strong student enrollment trends, and openness to foreign investment provide prospects for long-term stability. In addition, private-sector enrollment growth is particularly strong in Chile, outpacing enrollment in the public sector. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of UNIACC’s operations for Apollo is its leadership in online undergraduate teaching. In 2004, it became the first Chilean institution to offer a fully online undergraduate program, which represents future growth prospects internationally within the region.
– The Business Journal [4]
February 18, 2008
Canada
First Nations University Given Green Light
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada [5] has reinstated the First Nations University of Canada [6] to full membership status, effective immediately, saying the university had made sufficient progress toward resolving the governance issues that led to the institution being placed on probation a year ago.
The university, which is the only aboriginal-controlled university in the country, is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, and also has campuses in Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Last April, the association gave the university one year to establish independence from one of its governing agencies, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
Membership in the universities association serves as a de facto form of accreditation in Canada, and a university that loses its membership could lose federal financing as well.
– Leader Post [7]
April 1, 2008
United States
Number of International Graduate Applicants Stalls
According to a new survey from the Council of Graduate Schools [8], the growth in international graduate student applications to U.S. colleges and universities has slowed considerably in 2008 as compared to last year’s figures. The survey found that the number of international applicants grew only 3 percent in 2008, after gains of 9 and 12 percent in the preceding two years.
More than a third of institutions (38 percent) indicated that they had seen declines in international student applications from 2007 to 2008. In addition, 65 percent of graduate schools that have consistently participated in the survey say they still have not recovered from post-September 11 declines.
A total of 157 graduate schools responded to the survey, for a 33 percent response rate. The numbers from the top three sending countries – India, China, and Korea – tell different stories. Applications from India, which had increased 26 and 12 percent in the last two years, were flat in 2008, as were applications from Korea. Applications from China increased 12 percent in 2008, a slowdown from 19 percent growth in 2007.
According to a council news release, possible explanations for the slowdown include perceptions of the United States as dangerous and unwelcoming (and in fact difficult to enter due to visa issues), alongside increased competition from other countries hoping to attract international graduate students. Australia, Britain, France and Germany, for instance, have conducted national marketing campaigns and have stepped up financial support. In addition, domestic markets are beginning to improve capacity and quality standards.
– Council of Graduate Students [9]
April 14, 2008
U.S. News 2009 Ranking of Graduate Schools Released
Always contentious, yet stubbornly influential, U.S. News & World Report released a ranking of top graduate schools [10] across a number of disciplines:
- Business: Harvard [11] and Stanford [12] Universities tied for the No. 1 spot, followed by the University of Pennsylvania [13].
- Law: Yale University [14] followed by Harvard [11] and Stanford [12] sharing second place.
- Medicine (research): Harvard [15], followed by the Johns Hopkins University [16] and Washington University [17].
- Engineering: MIT [18]followed by Stanford [12] and the University of California at Berkeley [19].
- Fine arts: Rhode Island School of Design [20] followed by Yale [14] and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago [21].
– U.S. New and World Report [22]
March 28, 2008
Illinois Community Colleges See Benefit of Study Abroad… Beyond Europe
The College of Lake County [23] began a Chinese language curriculum this year, and this summer the two-year college will send a group of students to the northern Chinese town of Xi’an for a semester-long study abroad experience; something very few community college students engage in, especially to destinations beyond Europe.
Educators say it is important for community colleges to offer more study-abroad options because the schools tend to serve low-income, minority and non-traditional students and can give the opportunity to those who might otherwise have no chance to study overseas.
Last year, the U.S. Education Department [24] awarded Lake County College a two-year, $115,000 grant. The school was one of four community colleges in the country awarded the Title VI-A grant, which provides funding for international education programs. In China, the courses will be taught in English. Students are required to take two classes—history of Chinese culture and society, and Chinese art and literature. Electives will include economics, American history, non-Western civilizations, American literature and English composition.
The cost of the program is about $4,000 per student and includes air travel, visas, room and board, insurance and tuition. By contrast, a similar program through the University of Illinois [25]—minus airfare and other expenses—cost more than $10,000. To help participants foot the bill for the program, the College of Lake County Foundation has provided $25,000 in scholarships.
According to a 2007 survey by the Institute of International Education [26], only 136 community colleges nationwide indicated that they offered study abroad. The American Association of Community Colleges [27] lists 1,195 community colleges in the United States. The group’s figures show that community college students make up just less than half of all U.S. undergraduates, but according to the Institute for International Education’s survey, they made up fewer than 3 percent of the 223,534 American students who studied abroad in 2005-06. The vast majority of those students traveled to European destinations. However, China and destinations in Latin America are quickly gaining in popularity, especially among “heritage students” seeking to study where their families originated.
China hosted 8,830 U.S. study abroad students in the 2005-06 school year, up 38 percent from the previous year, according to the Institute for International Education’s survey. The United Kingdom topped the list of destinations, but China ranked second in year-on-year growth behind Argentina.
– Chicago Tribune [28]
March 24, 2008
UMass Announces Plans to Offer Online Programs in China
The University of Massachusetts [29] announced in early April that it will offer 40 online courses to students in China beginning in the spring of 2009. However, there remain a number of hurdles to clear if the plan is to come to fruition. Perhaps the most important of which is the fact that the program hasn’t actually been approved by China’s Ministry of Education [30], which has become increasingly cautious with regards to overseas providers in recent years, suggesting a potentially bumpy road ahead.
While many universities have gotten on the China bandwagon over the last decade, largely through joint venture agreements, China’s Ministry of Education has slowed approvals to a trickle in response to concerns about quality and cost.
Other problems may arise because of the ministry’s uncertainty about online curricula and the fact that UMass is not forming a partnership with a Chinese sister college. UMass is officially working with China’s Continuing Education Association and the Cernet Edu Corporation (an education and research computer network in China), although UMass officials say it also has a “strong relationship” with prestigious Tsinghua University [31].
David J. Gray, chief executive of UMass’s distance-education unit, UMassOnline [32], said the institution will select courses from its pre-existing catalog to submit for official vetting and recognition by the education ministry. These courses will probably be marketed for spring 2009 enrollment even if the university is still seeking ministry approval, Mr. Gray said. (Any of UMassOnline’s 1,500 courses can already be taken by students in China, but the course credits are not officially recognized by the Chinese government.) UMass plans to offer 40 online classes, four certificate programs and one master’s degree program. The new program could eventually serve some 5,000 students a year throughout the country, generating $5 million a year. UMass officials are confident the plan will be approved by this fall.
– Boston.com [33]
– Chronicle of Higher Education [34]
April 1, 2008
Engineering Students to Spend Time Studying Overseas
Typically, science and engineering students do not incorporate study abroad into their academic programs; however, that is set to change at one school where study abroad is set to become an integral part of the engineering curriculum.
In the coming years Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [35] will actively promote study abroad as an important part of the engineering program. The Troy, N.Y. institution has launched the Rensselaer Engineering Education Across Cultural Horizons [36] (REACH), which initially will collaborate with the Technical University of Denmark [37] and Nanyang Technological University [38] in Singapore. Officials expect future collaborations with a host of institutions in Asia, Europe, South America and eventually Australia and Africa. For most students studying engineering at RPI, going abroad will become an integral part of the undergraduate experience. And the institute will receive 500 to 600 foreign students for a semester to replace the ones abroad.
While the program will be phased in, it is expected that within six years study abroad will, for most students, be a requirement for graduation.
– RPI news release [39]
April 11, 2008
Foreign Science Ph.D.s Returning Home in Higher Numbers
The percentage of foreign students who received doctorates in science and engineering in the United States and who chose to stay in the country after graduation has dropped slightly over the last few years, according to a study released in April [40] by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education [41] and financed by the National Science Foundation [42].
Using tax records, the study found that 66 percent of foreign students who received their doctorates in 2003 were still in the United States as of 2005. The “stay rate,” as it’s called, peaked at 71 percent just a few years earlier. The findings appear in a report on the study, “Stay Rates of Foreign Doctorate Recipients From U.S. Universities, 2005.” [43]
Students in the fields of computer, electrical, and electronic engineering were most likely to stay, the study found. Those in agricultural sciences, economics, and the other social sciences were the least likely to stay.
– Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education news release [40]
April 7, 2008
“Optional Practical Training” Period Extended to 29 Months for Tech Students
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has more than doubled the amount of time foreign students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can stay in the United States without a work visa after graduation. The rule was changed in response to an overwhelming domestic demand for skilled-workers.
Under the new rule, students will be able to stay in America for “Optional Practical Training” for 29 months after graduation, up from 12 months, without a work visa. According to an outline of the official rule change, the department declared the shortage of H-1B visas an “emergency” that justified making the rule change without notice or comment.
This year and last, the cap for H-1B visas — given to skilled workers — was reached almost immediately after the application window opened at the beginning of April. Because H-1B applicants must have a college diploma in hand to apply, students who graduate after April 1 this year were shut out of the process. High-tech companies, which complain that the United States is not doing a good enough job training domestic talent in science and math, have been lobbying Congress to increase the visa cap.
– Department of Homeland Security news releases [44]
April 4, 2008
British P.M. Calls for Greater Trans-Atlantic University Cooperation
Citing the “special relationship” between Britain and America, Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for “a far higher level” of cooperation between British and American universities than currently exists, in an op-ed article [45] published in April in The Wall Street Journal.
Published during his visit to the United States, the Prime Minister’s article talked to existing scholarship programs such as Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright, as examples of programs that “have been bringing U.S. and U.K. students into each other’s countries for decades.” However, he wanted to encourage “many more British and American university students to have the chance to study across the Atlantic.”
A study group headed by the principal of King’s College [46], in London, and the president of New York University [47] will “examine how cooperation between U.K. and U.S. institutions can be intensified, starting with the potential for expanding faculty and research exchanges,” Mr. Brown wrote. The two institutions are already among the first to receive money from a new grant [48] awarded jointly by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities [49] and the Joint Information Systems Committee [50], a British advisory body that promotes information technology in higher education.
– Wall Street Journal [51]
April 16, 2008
Business Leaders Give Online Degrees Respect
According to an online survey of business executives across the United States, the more they know about online degree programs, the more likely they are to find degrees awarded by them to be as credible as those awarded by traditional campus-based programs.
The Excelsior College/Zogby International survey results reveal that among those who are familiar with online or distance learning programs, more than four in five (83%) strongly believe that a degree earned via an online program is as credible as one earned through a traditional campus-based program. Sixty-one percent of chief executive officers and small business owners nationwide said they were familiar with online or distance learning programs.
Other findings show that the credibility of an online degree is derived from the institution’s accreditation status, the quality of its graduates and the name of the institution awarding the degree. Only 5 percent of those surveyed cited as a consideration whether or not the college or university was fully online or was part of a traditional campus-based program.
– Zogby news release [52]
April 17, 2008