Regional

Dual Degrees Gain in Popularity Worldwide, Less so in the US

The New York Times reports that U.S. institutions of higher education are behind the trend curve when it comes to developing joint- and dual-degree programs, which currently are much more popular in Asia, Australia and, above all, Europe.

Dual degrees, where a student graduates with diplomas from two educational institutions — sometimes in two countries — are still comparatively rare in the United States. True joint-degree programs — where two universities agree on a course of study and award students a single diploma in the name of both institutions — are rarer still. However, that is rapidly changing, partly because the European experience has been so successful and partly in response to a change in perception on the part of American employers, who are looking for graduates who can operate in an international arena.

According to a survey by the Institute for International Education in New York, European universities offer twice as many dual- or joint-degree programs as American universities. This, in large part, is due to the desire to foster European integration under the common framework of the Bologna process, a 1999 agreement aimed at standardizing academic degrees and qualifications and encouraging student mobility across Europe.

In Europe, such ties are nurtured, and often brokered, by the Erasmus Mundus program, which subsidizes joint master’s and doctoral programs across national borders. But even in Europe the path from dual degrees — the academic equivalent of living together — to the full marriage implied by joint degrees is strewn with obstacles. Joint programs have to be fully endorsed by the relevant faculty members of both institutions.

– The New York Times
March 28, 2011

Regional Ranking for Latin American universities

With no Latin American universities appearing in the top 100 of any of the major international ranking of the world’s best universities, several countries in the region have decided to create a regional index that excludes universities from the rest of the world.

Under the auspices of the Instituto Internacional de la Unesco para la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe (IESALC), a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) higher education regional agency, a meeting was held in early May to expedite the creation of the new regional ranking. It said it will be “an alternative regional project” that will “suit the needs” of Latin American schools.

According to Pedro Henriquez Guajardo, head of the Venezuela-based IESCALC, in an interview with the Miami Herald, “these [international] rankings don’t meet Latin American needs, because they use indicators that are not applicable in the region.”

Critics say that the international rankings don’t take into account Latin American universities’ social work for the poor, and that they are biased in favor of English-speaking nations, because peer reviews are largely conducted with English-speaking academics, and because most academic publications are written in English. In addition, Latin American universities tend to be much larger than those in other parts of the world, which, they say, hurts them in rankings that weigh in students-per-professor ratios.

– Miami Herald
May 7, 2011

Brazil

Government to Award 75,000 Study Abroad Scholarships

In April, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff announced plans to award 75,000 study abroad scholarships to Brazilian students between now and 2014.

Presented as a collaboration between the Brazilian government and the private sector, the scholarship campaign announcement came shortly after President Obama’s visit to Brasilia in March, when he advocated for 100,000 exchanges between the US and Brazil over the next two years. The initiative also defines international education as a high priority in the newly elected Brazilian president’s agenda.

– Folha
April 26, 2011

Canada

University Ends Ranking Boycott

Queen’s University is ending its boycott of the Times Higher Education international ranking, citing last year’s change in methodology by the publication, and the impact of staying out of those and other international rankings as the drivers behind the decision.

A statement from Queen’s noted that appearing in international rankings is key to attracting students from China and India. The statement quoted Chris Conway, director of institutional research and planning, as saying that “Queen’s is still concerned because the rankings focus mainly on research volume and intensity, and although Queen’s is one of Canada’s top research universities, our quality undergraduate student experience and out-of-classroom experience are not fully captured.”

– Queens News Release
April 28, 2011

Looking Abroad for Credit-Transfer Protocols

A report by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges looking into the issues involved in transferring academic credit from one institution to another says that Canada can learn from other countries and perhaps adapt the strategies that they use.

The report “Transferability and Post-Secondary Pathways: The Role of Canadian Colleges and Institutes,” says that transferring credits from one institution to another or one province to another is a disjointed process that is often based on individual institutional agreements or arrangements to transfer credits for a group of courses as a block. It says Canada needs a national approach urgently and should look at what is happening in both the United States and Europe to help students become more mobile, and to help mitigate financial and time loss due to repeating courses unnecessarily when they transfer.

– Association of Canadian Community Colleges
April 2011

Chile

Universities Strike in Opposition to Education Reforms

On May 12, universities in Chile went on strike to show their opposition to a major reform of higher education recently announced by the government. The strike followed a march of 8,000 people the week before in downtown Santiago.

Students, teachers and staff at the nation’s 25 public universities fear that Chile’s right-wing government will provide greater resources to private institutions while failing to increase funding for public education. Public universities are currently holding high levels of debt because government funding covers just 10 to 20 percent of their expenses.

Students are also opposing a proposed law that would extend the system of government-guaranteed loans to all higher education students. Currently, private university students – who constitute 80 percent of the total student body – have access only to government-guaranteed loans with double the interest rates applied to loans available to students from public universities.

– University World News
May 8, 2011

United States

More Women Earning Advanced Degrees than Men

For the first time, American women are earning graduate degrees as well as bachelor’s degrees in greater numbers than men. Census figures released in April reveal the latest education milestone for women, who began to exceed men in college enrollment in the early 1980s. The findings come amid record shares of women in the workplace and a steady decline in stay-at-home mothers.

Among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million U.S. women have master’s degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men. Measured by shares, about 10.2 percent of women have advanced degrees compared to 10.9 percent of men—a gap which has been steadily narrowing in recent years. Women still trail men in certain professional subcategories such as business, science and engineering.

When it comes to finishing college, roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor’s degrees, compared to nearly 18.7 million men. This difference of more than 1.4 million has remained steady in recent years, with women earning a majority of bachelor’s degrees since 1996. The census numbers come from the government’s Current Population Survey as of March 2010.

– Associated Press
April 26, 2011

Columbia Looks to Build a Presence in Chile and Kenya

According to a recent Columbia University news release, the New York based institution is looking to build its global presence by establishing centers in Santiago, Chile and Nairobi, Kenya. Officials say the Santiago center will open as early as this summer, and the Kenya center could open within the next academic year.

The university already has centers in Paris, Mumbai, Beijing, and Amman, with a center in Istanbul expected to open in the fall. There are also centers planned for Rio de Janeiro and Kazakhstan. The centers will serve as locations for undergraduates to study abroad, intern, and complete research projects.

Plans for the Santiago and Nairobi centers are still in flux, and Vice President for Global Centers Ken Prewitt said that Columbia is working to build ties with Kenya’s government to get the Nairobi center open.

– Columbia Spectator
April 29, 2011

Visa Rules Amended for Graduates from Science and Technology Fields

In line with a presidential desire to reform U.S. immigration policy, in part by making it easier for foreign graduates of American universities to stay in this country, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office announced in May an expanded list of science and mathematics fields whose graduates can stay in the United States for an additional year for more training.

“By expanding the list of STEM degrees to include such fields as Neuroscience, Medical Informatics, Pharmaceutics and Drug Design, Mathematics and Computer Science, the Obama administration is helping to address shortages in certain high tech sectors of talented scientists and technology experts-permitting highly skilled foreign graduates who wish to work in their field of study upon graduation and extend their post-graduate training in the United States,” the office said in its news release.

– Immigration and Customs Enforcement News Release
May 12, 2011

Admissions Group Releases Proposed Position on International Recruiting Activities

The National Association for College Admission Counseling is proposing to make official its opposition on the use of paid agents for international-student recruitment. The association posted a proposed revision to its standard of good practices, banning commission-based recruiting both domestically and overseas.

The use of paid agents is illegal in the United States for domestic recruitment, but that is not the case internationally. While the issue remains controversial, until this point, higher-education associations have largely refrained from taking official positions on the issue. NACAC members and the public are invited to comment on the proposed policy change.

In a recent news release, the Independent Educational Consultants Association stated its backing of the proposed NACAC position

– NACAC
May 18, 2011