Regional
African, South American Universities Deepen Alliances
Nations in Africa and South America plan to deepen their alliances by cooperating in areas of mutual interest, including higher education, science and technology. The plan was approved by heads of state at the second Africa-South America Summit [1] held on Venezuela’s Margarita Island in late September.
Working groups were formed to promote cooperation in education, science and technology, and communications, as well as in agriculture and the environment. Responsibility for implementing the programs will rest with Senegal and Venezuela, Brazil and Cameroon, and Guyana and Uganda respectively.
The groups will establish an education network linking the universities and institutes of the two regions. They will also initiate joint research projects, knowledge and technology transfers, exchanges of scientists and technical experts, as well as workshops, symposia and conferences.
The third Africa-South America Summit will take place in Libya in 2011.
– University World News [2]
October 4, 2009
Brazil
Racial Quotas Gain Traction in Higher Education
The BBC reports that there are more people of African descent in Brazil than in any country outside the African continent, but points out that the higher you go in Brazilian society the less evidence there appears to be of that reality. Critics say part of the blame lies with a system which has often failed to provide equality of access to higher education, though recent years have seen some improvements, spurred in part by affirmative action measures adopted by some universities.
Many of Brazil’s state universities have, since 2003, adopted affirmative action policies or quotas to boost the number of non-white and poor students on their rolls. Six years later higher education in Brazil is no longer the domain of a mostly white elite, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education. Not only has Brazil introduced quotas for black Brazilians and graduates of public high schools, but it has also opened 10 public universities and dozens of new campuses in poor areas in an effort to expand access to higher education for the underprivileged.
In Rio, which was early to adopt affirmative action policies at its public universities, 20 percent of public university places are reserved for poor black and indigenous students, and the same number for students educated in the much criticized public school system. Those parents who can afford it often opt to have their children educated in more expensive private schools, giving them a considerable advantage when it comes to highly competitive university entrance exams – especially for prestigious courses such as law and medicine.
Despite the progress, the issue of race and quotas is still a very sensitive one and continues to be highly controversial in a country that has long considered itself a racial democracy and where descendants of slaves officially make up nearly half of the country’s 190 million people. Opponents of the racial quotas argue that poverty, not race, is the main obstacle to getting a university education in Brazil. The country’s more than 130 public universities are free, and competition at most of them, particularly the 55 federal universities, is fierce. Private universities enroll approximately 80 percent of the 4.5 million students in the higher-education system. But in a nation where per capita income is just $7,350 a year, and the distribution of wealth is among the world’s most unequal, most families cannot afford to send their children to private universities.
In addition, public-school graduates usually cannot afford to take the yearlong preparatory courses for university admissions exams, further limiting their chances of gaining admission to highly competitive public universities.
Data from the 2000 census showed that just 2 percent of university graduates were black and 12 percent were of mixed European, African, and American Indian descent (pardos). Nearly one in four Afro-Brazilians were illiterate, compared with one in 10 whites. Blacks and pardos also earned on average half the salary of whites, inequalities that have remained virtually unchanged for a century.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [3]
October 11, 2009
– BBC News [4]
November 1, 2009
Canada
Enrollments from Overseas Surge
Despite a reputation for being immigrant-friendly, Canada has not faired nearly as well as other English-speaking nations when it comes to international student recruitment, lagging well behind the United States, Australia, and Britain in total international enrollments.
However, with the adoption of more aggressive recruitment strategies, relationship-building efforts abroad, strong student-support services at home, and a new centralized national branding and marketing campaign, the dynamic appears to be changing. This fall, Canadian universities are reporting record international enrollments, according to informal polling by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The University of Toronto [5] enrolled 6,462 undergraduate and 1,652 graduate international students this year, or roughly 11 percent of its total enrollment. The University of Alberta [6] reported a 45 percent increase in newly registered foreign students, to nearly 2,000. The University of Prince Edward Island [7] announced 32 percent growth in its international student population, to 441, or 10 percent of its enrollment. At McGill University [8], where international students account for 18 percent of total enrollment, the number of new foreign undergraduates rose 17 percent this fall.
– The Chronicle of Higher Education [9]
October 12, 2009
US Students in Canada Top 10,000
The Canadian Embassy in Washington says 10,000 Americans are now studying in Canada, and it wants those numbers to increase, so it is holding college fairs [10] in five U.S. cities this fall that will involve more than 30 Canadian universities. Many American students find that the Canadian system of public colleges and universities provides quality at bargain prices, according the Philadelphia Inquirer. [11]
– Philadelphia Inquirer [11]
September 28, 2009
Ontario Gets Tough with Diploma Mills
Ontario has announced tough new measures to combat the operations of illegal private colleges in the province. According to an October news release from the provincial government, such colleges and businesses would face fines of up to C$250,000 (US$270,000) “for taking advantage of students.”
The province is also beefing up its policing efforts by increasing the number of inspectors who will have the power to levy fines. In addition, it is also asking members of the public to act as watchdogs and report suspicious operations. It is also starting a public-awareness program to alert potential students about unregistered private colleges.
“We will use every enforcement tool at our disposal to protect students and put a stop to businesses masquerading as legitimate colleges,” said John Milloy, minister of training, colleges, and universities, in a written statement. “We’re taking action to make sure these businesses put student protection first.”
The move comes in response to a damning report [12] by the provincial ombudsman, who said Ontario was “abjectly inept” in policing rogue institutions and had never filed charges against any such college.
– Government of Ontario [13]
October 28, 2009
Comparative Educational Indicators Released
The Canadian Education Statistics Council has published a report [14] on Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009. This first edition provides a comparative statistical analysis of the educational systems in Canada (at provincial/territorial level) and those of OECD Member countries. It includes the higher education level and provides data on finance, access, educational attainment, and economic benefits.
– CMEC [14]
September 2009
International Student Numbers Increase as Report Reveals Economic Value of Education-export Industry
A report [15] from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada [16] (AUCC) shows that 2009 undergraduate and graduate enrollments are up 38,000 from 2008 to a total of approximately 870,000 students, and that Canadian institutions attracted an additional 7,000 international students this year versus the year prior. The number of full-time undergraduate students increased by more than 4 percent, while graduate enrollments grew by more than 7 percent. Together, total enrollments were up by 4.6 percent, the largest increase in six years.
A separate report [17] shows that international students contributed C$6.5 billion (US$6 billion) to the nation’s economy in 2008, more than did two other key sectors of Canada’s economy: lumber and coal exports. The figure, which does not include exports of educational services, illustrates why the federal government has recently placed a much higher priority on promoting Canada as a destination for international students.
The financial information comes from a report commissioned by Canada’s department for foreign affairs and international trade. The report, “Economic Impact of International Education in Canada,” measured the economic impact of visa students who were in the country longer than six months and found that they spent “in excess of C$6.5 billion on tuition, accommodation, and discretionary spending.” It also credited international study in Canada with creating over 83,000 jobs and generating more than C$291 million in revenue. There were 178,227 international students in Canada in 2008 according to the report.
– AUCC news release [15]
October 22, 2009
– RKA, Inc [17]
July 2009
Ecuador
Documents Related to New Law on Higher Education Posted
The Consejo Nacional de Educacion Superior [18] (CONESUP) has posted on its website [18] several documents related to the government’s project of a new higher education law, including a comparative study of the legislation in nine Latin American countries and Spain (Legislación Comparada de Nueve Países de América Latina y España [19]).
– CONESUP [18]
October 2009
Mexico
Secondary School Level Diploma to be Nationally Standardized
The Bachillerato will be organized at the national level. This decision is part of the higher secondary education reform (Reforma Integral de Educación Media Superior) that is being developed to improve the quality of the education system and access to higher education.
– Ministry Education [20]
September 1, 2009
United States
Student Visa Issuances Down 25% from India
From October 2008 to September 2009, 25 percent fewer student visas were issued to Indian students than in the year prior through the same timeframe. In absolute numbers, that is a drop to 25,860 from 34,510. Most believe the drop comes from greatly reduced financial aid opportunities in troubled economic times rather than any visa constraints.
– The Times of India [21]
October 11, 2009
California Gets New Regulator of Private Education providers
For-profit providers of educational services in California have been unregulated for more than a year, until now, with the signing in October by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of a bill that will create a new state bureau to monitor for-profit colleges.
The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education will be re-established after the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989, which was allowed to expire January 2007, led to the termination of the previous regulatory agency amid debate about its effectiveness.
The new legislation exempts all regionally accredited institutions from the bureau’s oversight. The bill also presents an automatic licensure process for institutions accredited by national agencies.
– InsideHigherEd [22]
October 14, 2009
8 of 9 Nobel Laureates in Science in 2009 were U.S.-based, Just 3 Educated There
Of the nine science Nobel Prizes awarded in October, eight were awarded to U.S. or U.S.-based scientists, however, largely missed in the triumphal media reports was the fact that only three actually received their formative training in the U.S. K-12 educational system.
This fact appears to suggest that while American universities continue to attract the world’s best scientists with state-of-the art facilities, the nation’s school system is no match. Whether U.S. universities will continue to attract scientific research talent in the numbers it has in the second half of the 20th century is open for debate. An increasing number of naysayers believe that rapidly improving tertiary systems in the developing world will hold on to many more of their domestically produced talent, while also attracting talent from elsewhere.
– University World News [23]
October 18, 2009
IIE Announces Initiative Designed to Build Institutional Relationships with India and China
The Institute of International Education [24] (IIE) announced in October a new initiative designed to help tertiary institutions of education in the US to establish partnerships with universities in China and India.
The two-year International Academic Partnerships Program [25] is being financed with a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education [26]. IIE is looking for 10 institutions interested in developing partnerships in China and another 10 interested in India. Those accepted will participate in webinars and other training on identifying and developing partnerships, will travel to the country to meet potential partners and other key players in international education, and will be provided with further guidance afterward.
– IIE news release [25]
October 2009
Princeton Review Buys Career Colleges and 223,000 Students
First and foremost a test preparation company, Princeton Review [27] has followed the Kaplan [28] model and diversified its portfolio through the purchase of a company that provides career training to adults and has a virtual high school. At a cost of $170 million, Princeton Review bought Penn Foster Education Group, Inc [29]. in October.
The newly acquired 118-year-old company offers online associate and bachelor’s degrees in such fields as business management and paralegal studies, “self-paced” certificates and diplomas in career-oriented fields, and a virtual high school that operates mainly through partnerships with local school districts. The company’s three branches — Penn Foster College [30], Penn Foster Career School [29], and Penn Foster High School – together have 223,000 students in more than 150 countries, its officials said. It is accredited by the Distance Education Training Council [31] for its postsecondary training programs and the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools [32] for its virtual high school.
– Princeton Review news release [33]
October 19, 2009
Tertiary Enrollment Hits Record High in 2008
Almost 40 percent of American 18- to 24-year-olds in 2008 were enrolled in college, a record number, according to a Pew Research Center report [34] released in late October. The rise was driven almost entirely by a surge in students attending community colleges. About 3.4 million, or 11.8 percent, of young adults were enrolled at community colleges, up from 3.1 million, or 10.9 percent, in 2007. Enrollment at four-year colleges was essentially flat, at about eight million, or 27.8 percent of young adults, the Pew report said. The previous record for college enrollment among 18- to 24-year-olds was 38.9 percent in 2005.
The new report, using data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey [35], found that a record 84.9 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds had completed high school as of October 2008, up a full percentage point from the previous year. The percentage of high school dropouts, meanwhile, has been declining. In October 2008, 9.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds had dropped out of school, compared with 10.2 percent in 2007.
While the year-to-year changes are not huge, the longer-term trends show significant shifts. In 1973, only 24 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college, only 80.7 had completed high school, and 15.7 had dropped out of high school.
– Pew Research Center [34]
October 29, 2009