Bolivia

Universities for Indigenous Peoples Launched

According to a communiqué from the Bolivian Ministry of Education, the three universities for Indigenous peoples promoted by the government of Evo Morales began their activities in August with a total enrollment of 480 students.

The students were selected in Indigenous communities and will be able to take advantage of scholarships. Guarani-language university at Kuruyuki in the southeastern province of Chuquisaca, will bear the name of the Indigenous hero Apiaguaiki Tumpa. In the town of Chimore, there will be a Quechua-language institution named after Casimiro Huanca. The other university, Tupac Katari, will be established in the Andean town of Warisata, near La Paz, where the medium of instruction will be the Aymara language.

Morales, an Aymara, is the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, a country where the Indigenous population make up around 60 percent of the population of nearly 10 million.

– EFE
August 8, 2009

Canada

Mexican and Czech Students Face Stiffer Immigration Rules

Visa regulations introduced in Canada to stem the flow of refugees have raised concerns in the academic community that students from Mexico and the Czech Republic might face unwarranted barriers to entry. In an attempt to crack down on bogus refugees, the government made a surprise announcement that all visitors from Mexico and the Czech Republic will need visas to enter Canada.

However, the change is likely to affect thousands of foreign students, especially those planning to take short language courses this summer. One Mexican student who has a place at the University of Alberta told the Calgary Herald newspaper: “I need to move fast – I can’t afford to lose my MBA. I’ve already quit my job.”

– Calgary Herald
July 13, 2009

Iranian Grad Students Thinking Canada

According to figures from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the number of Iranians applying to Canadian universities tripled between 2002 and 2006, ranking the nation as the third largest sender of graduate students to Canada. At the University of Alberta, graduate applications from Iranians jumped 60 percent to a total of 618, representing the largest group of applicants from any one country – a position usually dominated by the Chinese.

Speculating on this huge growth, officials at the Edmonton-based university point to the post-election political turmoil in the Islamic republic this summer. However, it is a trend that has been noticed at other schools across the country and was happening even before this summer’s events. In addition to targeted marketing by individual universities and graduate departments, other international admissions officials interviewed by Macleans point to the difficulty Iranians have applying for visas to study in the United States as an additional boon for Canadian universities.

Iranian graduate students in Canada point to blogs and other social networks to help explain the popularity of Canada as a study destination. Canada has reportedly been receiving very positive feedback from Iranian’s studying there, prompting others to do the same.

– Macleans
August 3rd, 2009

Top Universities Make Call for Increased Funds and Federal Oversight

Canadian public universities are the responsibility of provincial governments, but presidents from five of the country’s largest research institutions—the Universities of Alberta, British Columbia, Montreal, Toronto, and McGill—have recently called for a policy that would allow for additional funding to be channeled from the federal government to top research universities in a bid to raise the international standing of Canada’s universities by allowing them to focus on graduate education and high-quality research.

The idea is to develop a focused strategy that plays to each university’s strengths: what the five call a “differentiation” model for higher education—a model, they say, that would be adequately financed as well. The idea is one that many countries around the world are considering. Australia, China, France and Germany, to name a few others, are either moving in that direction or considering plans to do so.

The problem for Canada, however, is that education is essentially a provincial matter, free from federal intrusion. There is no federal education department or ministry, and no national legislation governing the operation of state universities. While university funding comes from a mix of federal and provincial funds, operational support for the institutions is determined by provincial governments, and governed by enrollment figures. Leaders of the five largest institutions say the financing models must change if Canada is to improve the quality of its research universities: More money, simply put, equals higher quality.

More broadly, the five are calling for a national higher-education strategy. While they have shied away from asking for the creation of an education ministry, they argue that without federal coordination of resources, along with a clear vision for the future of Canadian universities, the system will fail to raise its stature internationally.

The leaders of Canada’s research universities have complained for years that they are underfinanced. However, a July interview in the Canadian newsweekly Maclean’s, the five presidents called for more differentiation and funding.  This has generated some hard feelings among those not in their club as the big five already receive more than 40 percent of research funding.

– The Chronicle of Higher Education
August 17, 2009

United States

Arizona State Pushes Three-Year Degree to New Levels

The economic downturn has been cause for a number of universities around the country to offer undergraduate degree programs that can be completed in three years, in a bid to reduce student costs. Now, Arizona State University is pushing to develop a network of lower-priced colleges where students could earn a bachelor’s degree in just three years and at 40 percent the cost of a regular four-year degree.

ASU President Michael Crow said the Undergraduate Colleges @ ASU would offer only a handful of majors to let students fast-track their degrees through a combination of traditional and online courses. The plan will go before a board vote later this year.

State universities in Arizona are under increasing pressure from Arizona lawmakers to create more affordable options for higher education. In-state tuition and fees at the state universities rose by up to 54 percent from 2004 to 2008, and rates are increasing sharply again this fall for new students at all three schools.

The Undergraduate Colleges @ ASU is one route the regents likely will consider. Other possibilities include allowing students to transfer more credits from community colleges and offering more online courses. ASU officials want to open the first undergraduate college in fall 2010 in Maricopa County. Eventually, ASU may have five to 15 undergraduate, commuter-style colleges spread throughout the state.

While students would still need to complete the traditional 120 credit hours required for a degree, they could fast-track their degrees by going to school year-round or by taking special assessment tests to move to the next level once they have mastered required material. The undergraduate campuses would be geared toward three-year degrees, but students could opt for the four-year route, which would cost more.

Three-year degrees are a growing trend. At least three private schools are introducing three-year degree options this fall: Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., Lipscomb University in Nashville and Chatham University in Pittsburgh.

– The Arizona Republic
August 3, 2009

Ranking Universities According to Graduate Salaries

When you boil schooling down to pure motivations, job prospects and future salaries will surely be at or near the top for most prospective students. Understanding this line of reasoning, PayScale, a site that collects data on salaries for different professions, believes it can help students answer that question. In August, the company released a data set on the salaries of graduates from hundreds of universities and colleges, as well as salaries and career choices broken down by department/major.

The numbers are from 1.2 million users of PayScale’s site who self-reported their salaries and educational credentials in a PayScale survey over the last year. On its main ranking, the site offers tables that can be ranked by either starting salary or by median mid-career salary (minimum 10 years out of school) by university.

The data include only survey respondents whose highest academic degree is a bachelor’s, as the company is reportedly trying to determine which undergraduate educations are the “best investment”. Therefore, doctors, lawyers and others in high-paying jobs that require advanced degrees are not included in the data set.

Some highlights from the PayScale site:

• Dartmouth College has the highest median mid-career salary.
• Loma Linda University has the highest median starting salary (defined as salaries within five years of graduation), a function of their strong programs in nursing, dental and allied health.
• In general, engineering schools produced the best starting salaries, and represented eight out of the top 10 schools in starting salary. On the other hand, Ivy League Schools are the best bet for mid-career pay, with five out of the top 10.
• Philosophy majors in mid-career earn more than information technology majors in mid-career (probably because most philosophy majors are attending elite schools, a pay-off seen later in one’s career: school choice matters as much as major choice in many cases).

Much more analysis of the rankings is available here. Full rankings are here.

– Payscale
July 20, 2009

International Graduate Admissions Drop

According to a report released in August by the Council of Graduate Schools, there was a year-on-year drop in admissions of international students to U.S. graduate schools this year for the first time since 2004, and students from India and South Korea are applying in significantly fewer numbers.

Admissions from prospective international students declined by 3 percent from 2008 to 2009, with admissions of students from both India and South Korea (two of the largest sending countries) down 16 percent. Applications from India and South Korea fell by 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

While admission numbers fell, application numbers increased by 4 percent from 2008 to 2009, marking the third consecutive year of slowing growth. The largest application increases were from China, which had 14 percent growth — still 3 percentage points lower than the previous year’s growth. China, India, and Korea together account for nearly half of all foreign graduate students in the United States.

The CGS data suggest institutions with lower international enrollments were the most likely to see declines in international admissions. While the schools with the 10 largest international enrollments saw an average 4 percent increase in admissions.

The report, “Findings From the 2009 CGS International Graduate Admissions Survey, Phase II: Final Applications and Initial Offers of Admission,” follows an earlier study on initial application numbers. The council will release a final survey, of actual enrollment figures, this fall.

– Council of Graduate Schools
August 20, 2009

Venezuela

President Signs New Law, Universities Complain

In August, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez signed into law legislation that many university leaders say greatly reduces the autonomy they formerly enjoyed, giving the government much greater control over schools and universities (the only government institutions not controlled by the government).

Cecilia García-Arocha, rector of Venezuela Central University, the nation’s largest public university, was quoted by the Agence France-Presse news service as saying that the law would mean “control of, and impose ideological and political absolutism on, the universities’ responsibilities.” Another Central University official charged that the law would permit the government to control professor training, student-admission policy, and research programs.

The legislation, which was approved by the country’s National Assembly, says that the basis of education is “Robinsonian Bolivarian doctrine” and social humanism, and that education is “open to all currents of thought.” The law prohibits “the diffusion of ideas and doctrines contrary to sovereignty and democratic principles,” or against the medical, educational, and other social “missions” created by President Chávez.

– The Chronicle of Higher Education