Bulgaria

50% of High School Leavers are Looking to Study Abroad

According to data presented at an education forum in Sofia in May, there are approximately 80,000 Bulgarian students currently studying abroad, primarily in the European Union.

According to Professor Anna Nedyalkova, President of the Varna Free University and head of the Association of Private Universities in Bulgaria, over 50 percent of Bulgarian high school seniors considering tertiary study options apply to schools abroad. In the past three years, the number of Bulgarian students in the U.K. alone has tripled. A total of 10,020 foreign students studied in Bulgaria during the 2010-11 academic year. Most came from Turkey, Greece and Macedonia.

– Novinite
May 9, 2011

France

Government Officials Lay Out Foreign Student Recruitment Plan

Alain Juppé, Foreign Affairs Minister, and Valérie Pécresse, Minister for Higher Education and Research, outlined a national strategy in May designed to increase the number of foreign students at French institutions of higher education. The plan was announced at the opening of a meeting with official representatives and students from nine member countries of the G8 and G20, of which France currently holds the presidencies.

The government wants to increase to two-thirds the proportion of international students in France at the graduate level from the current 50 percent. In addition, there are plans to raise the intake of foreign students studying under partnership agreements between French and international institutions over the next three years from 20 percent of total foreign students to 50 percent. Currently there are approximately 278,000 foreign students enrolled in French higher education. This makes it third largest exporter of education, behind only the United Kingdom and the United States.

Juppé’s aim is to “attract students of high potential, especially those from developing countries,” in such disciplines as science, engineering, law, economics and management. Campus France would increase its efforts abroad to promote French studies and set up a quality charter for those in receipt of French government bursaries. Currently these students number 16,000.

– University World News
May 15, 2011

Germany

New Bachelor Degrees Favor the Poor

Students taking Germany’s new bachelor degrees are more likely to come from poorer families than students in old-style, more academic pre-Bologna degrees. According to the findings of a new report, nearly 20 percent of students are finding the workload overly demanding.

Bachelor degree students have a greater overall workload and less time to take on a part-time job than their peers on diplom and magister programs, according to a survey by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Student Welfare Service.

There is also a greater share of bachelor students with a poorer family background and with parents without academic degrees. According to the BMBF, this indicates that the new degrees could be encouraging more people from the lower income backgrounds to undertake university degrees.

Magister and diplom degrees used to be the rough equivalents of masters in arts and sciences. Under the Bologna reforms, Germany is phasing out the old degrees and introducing bachelor of arts as first degrees and masters as a second degree, although there is as yet no proper equivalent for the diplom in the natural and engineering sciences.

The authors of the report, Studierende im Bachelor-Studium 2009 (Bachelor Students in 2009) drew on statistics provided by the Higher Education Information Service (HIS), a German agency for higher education statistics. HIS interviewed approximately 5,500 bachelor students, and the results were compared with responses from about 1,300 students in the old diplom and magister programs, which are still gradually being replaced by bachelor and master programs.

Bachelor students at universities spend 42.8 hours a week studying and doing a part-time job, and those at fachhochschulen (universities of applied science) spend 43.6 hours doing the same. This compares with 41.7 hours and 42.2 hours respectively for students enrolled in the old programs.

– University World News
April 24, 2011

Greece

EU: Lift Restrictions on Private Universities or Face Legal Action

Greece will be facing legal action from the European Union unless it meets demands from Brussels that it lift restrictions currently preventing private colleges from competing on an equal footing with state-run universities.

Many of the restrictions were introduced in 2008 by the then-conservative Greek government, which sought to regulate quality at private colleges in a sector with greatly varying standards. The new regulations include provisions that private colleges provide a $715,000 bank guarantee in order to cover the refund of all student tuition fees and staff wages in the event of a closure – an order, according to the European Commission, in direct violation of the E.U. laws on freedom to offer and receive services. Other conditions relating to faculty qualifications at institutions with foreign university franchise agreements were also deemed to constitute undue intervention by the Greek state.

Some colleges have worked around the rules, others have closed down. Last fall, 30 institutions had their licenses approved, while 10 others faced official rejection. It is these rejections, and the criteria behind them, which the E.U. now considers as ‘undue intervention’ by the Greek state, according to the official warning letter issued by Brussels to Greece.

While the conflict plays out, private colleges, for the time being, face another barrier. The Greek state does not recognize the certificates they issue to graduates as equal to degrees given by Greek state universities — essentially barring private school graduates from working in the public sector.

But behind the recent E.U. action is a larger debate between government and academic officials, who say that the private colleges are not a fair substitute for traditional state universities and technical colleges, and the colleges themselves, which say that the competition from the private sector is necessary to improve the state of Greek higher education.

– The New York Times
April 10, 2011

Kosovo

Bottom of the European Higher-Education League

Universities in Kosovo have the lowest rate of attendance in the European Union, according to a recent article in the Southeast European Times. While there are 50 students per 1,000 inhabitants in the E.U., Kosovo has just 30 students per 1,000 inhabitants, according to the ministry of education.

In an effort to increase student numbers, the University of Prishtina raised the limit on student admissions. For professors and students, however, higher student numbers may affect the quality of teaching and education in general, as the university faces a lack of accommodation and staff for the increased numbers.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised last year that the government would open new universities in Peja and Gjilan. According to former education minister, Enver Hoxhaj, this “will create more study places and turn the focus away from Pristina University,” the country’s primary higher education institution.

– Southeast European Times
April 13, 2011

Republic of Ireland

Government Announces Plan to Attract More Indian Students

Irish Enterprise Minister Richard Burton announced a plan recently that would see Ireland significantly increase its share of Indian students studying abroad. The plan seeks to double the overall population of international students by 2016. As part of the initiative, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation launched a new trusted agents program to promote Irish higher-level education in India. There are currently 1,000 Indian students studying in Ireland.

The announcement was made in April at a workshop involving 11 Irish institutions of higher education and 25 Indian education agents in New Delhi. The minister estimated that the international education sector is currently worth €900m (US$1.3 billion) to the Irish economy, with every 100 international students who come to Ireland creating 15 local jobs.

– Silicon Republic
April 18, 2011

Higher Education Ireland Brand Launched

The Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation have jointly launched Education in Ireland, the new brand for marketing the Irish higher education internationally. It is one of the commitments in the Programme for a National Government 2011-2016 which aims to double the number of international students studying in Irish higher education institutions by 2016 (see above).

– Irish Universities Association
March 24, 2011

Sweden

Offers of Admission to Foreign Students Drop by More than Half

Foreign students attending Swedish universities will be required to pay tuition fees from next year, a departure from the tuition-free haven that Swedish universities have historically been. As a direct result, this year, universities in Sweden have made 60 percent fewer offers to international applicants than they did last year.

The 10,019 offers of admission (down from 24,515 in 2010) were made to about two-thirds of the 15,000 applicants. Last year there were 132,000 applicants, so clearly there has been an even bigger drop in the applicant pool than in offers of admission and, presumably, the overall quality of students.

Approximately 4,600 of the offers of admission were made to prospective students from outside the European Union, and they will have to pay SEK100,000 to SEK200,000 (US$16,500 to US$33,000) a year in tuition fees. The majority of offers are for master’s programs. There are no figures yet on how many students accepted places, although estimates suggest there will be approximately 8,000 foreign students beginning their studies in Sweden next year.

– The Local
April 1, 2011

The Netherlands

Delft Becomes First Dutch University with a Branch in China

In May, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) opened a research branch in Beijing. It is the first Dutch university to develop such an initiative with China. The branch will be engaged in research on LED lighting. Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen (Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation) conducted the official opening as part of his trade mission to China.

The name of the new branch will be Delft University of Technology – Beijing Research Centre, based at the Institute of Semiconductors within the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). In the first phase of collaboration, the TU Delft branch will appoint a number of PhD students, who will receive diplomas from TU Delft upon completing their studies. The candidates, who will focus on research into improved LED lighting, will be supervised by professors from both TU Delft and CAS.

– TU Delft News Release
May 11, 2011

Turkey

Turks Trained Abroad Stay Abroad

Despite government incentives, Turkish graduates who study abroad are reluctant to come home to a university system that has expanded rapidly in recent years. Some observers have critiqued these expansions as causing as many problems as they have solved. In 1970 Turkey had just eight public universities. The number of institutions had risen to 53 by 2000, and, according to the Turkish Ministry of Education, almost doubled again by 2008. A separate private higher education sector is also thriving in the country.

But according to Servet Çelik in a paper published in the spring edition of the Times Higher Education Review, assistant professor of foreign language education at Karadeniz Technical University, the expansion happened so quickly that a crisis in resources developed and universities could not find the sheer number of academics they needed.

In response, the government set up a sponsorship scheme to help fund graduate students to study abroad in exchange for subsequent academic service at home. It aims to have supported 5,000 researchers by the end of this academic year. But Dr Çelik argues that the scheme is flawed because it does not tackle deep-rooted problems in the Turkish academy, among which are a series of “systemic barriers and oppressive structures” that stymie the ambition of returning scholars.

Although the young academics may find posts, he predicts they will soon become frustrated when they realize that they are unable to affect any real improvements in the quality of Turkish higher education. The system, he says, is over-regulated with nationally defined strict rules and laws that tend to inhibit reform and acts deviating from uniformity. He also argues that the system is plagued by inherent problems including nepotism, low pay, lack of resources, strict institutional hierarchies, low status and burdensome regulation.

Despite the problems, Turkey has had some success in attracting foreign academics. The Council of Higher Education puts the number at 1,310 for the current academic year – up 60 percent on five years ago. Most of them work in Istanbul, and the increase in recent years is attributable largely to the growth in the number of wealthy private institutions.

What is needed, Dr Çelik says, is a complete overhaul of the laws governing higher education, more institutional autonomy and a revamp of universities’ governance structures.

– Times Higher Education
April 14, 2011

United Kingdom

Some Universities Look to Double International Enrollments as Budget Cuts Bite

Some top institutions aim to almost double the number of undergraduates recruited from outside Europe. Durham University is reportedly planning a 97 percent increase in international students and Exeter is proposing a 73 percent increase across some colleges.

The Government currently controls the number of students universities can recruit from Britain and European Union member states because their tuition is subsidized by the taxpayer. However, institutions can admit unlimited numbers of foreign students who are charged up to eight times as much. The highest international fee this year is believed to be £26,250 (US$42,500), which Imperial College charges to take some lab-based programs.

Universities are increasingly turning to foreign students as a lucrative source of income, especially following deep cuts in direct state funding. Last year, 37,079 new undergraduates were recruited from outside Europe – a 12.4 percent rise from the year prior. International fees made up just 5 percent of university income in the late 90s but that figure doubled to 10 percent by 2008/9.

Research by Times Higher Education showed that a number of universities had already set clear targets to increase the number of foreign students recruited by 2014. Exeter said it wanted to recruit 4,000 non-European students within three years. It would require a 73 percent increase across most departments, but excluding the business school.

– The Telegraph
May 2, 2010

Will Tuition Fees Push British Students Overseas?

Outbound academic mobility from Britain is notoriously low, but with the introduction of hefty new caps on university tuition fees to £9,000 (US$14,600) from next year, some are predicting an exodus of British students to more affordable European universities.

That outflow could also increase because of limits on undergraduate numbers. An estimated 180,000 school-leavers and other aspiring students are expected to miss out on places this year because of a surge in applications by those wishing to avoid next year’s fee increase. Universities in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where programs are cheaper and teaching is in English, are frequently chronicled as attractive alternative destinations for British students.

– University World News
April 17, 2011

Universities Likely to Max Out Tuition Caps

In December last year, the British lower house of parliament voted to allow universities in England to raise undergraduate tuition fees almost threefold. Beginning next year, the currently capped £3,350 ($5,500) tuition fees will rise markedly. While the controversial new tuition fee system is not yet set in stone, many universities have already expressed their intention to charge students close to the highest fee allowed, £9,000 ($14,700), despite predictions by the architects of the new policy that maximum fees would be unlikely.

When the government announced its plans for overhauling the fee system, the £9,000 cap was described as an “absolute limit” to be charged by a handful of universities, with most institutions expected to set their rates closer to a “basic threshold” of £6,000 ($9,450).

April 19th was the deadline for institutions to submit their tuition plans, which include provisions for economically needy students, and while the Office of Fair Access has not disclosed how many institutions have requested permission to charge up to £9,000, initial indications are that the average rate charged by universities will be much closer to that figure than to the “basic threshold” of £6,000. Although not all institutions have publicly announced what they plan to charge, an analysis conducted by The Guardian newspaper found that “almost three-quarters of English universities and university colleges intend to charge” £9,000 for at least some programs.

Under the new policy, students at all institutions will pay nothing up front and are required to begin paying back their education loans only once their income has reached a certain level.

Although all institutions have now declared their tuition intentions, April’s deadline marked only the initial step of a process that will involve the Office for Fair Access rigorously assessing each university’s plans. A high degree of negotiating is expected before final fees for each university and each program are announced.

– The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 21, 2011

Will Budget Cuts Cause Struggling Public Universities to be Taken Over by For-Profits?

The Times of London is reporting that struggling British universities that face closure as a result of public financing cuts could be taken over and run by private companies.

Currently there is just one private university in Britain, the University of Buckingham, but the tertiary sector as a whole had a number of private companies entering the landscape. Last year BPP, which was recently bought out by the American company Apollo Group, became the first for-profit institution to be awarded the title of university college, a designation that allows it to award its own degrees.

The Times predicts that the slashing of government financing of undergraduate programs in concert with the new, much higher tuition caps from 2012 “will introduce new market pressures on weaker universities.” London Metropolitan University, for example, has announced it will be cutting its portfolio of programs from 557 to about 160 as it seeks to stay afloat financially.

According to The Times, BPP “is interested in running several universities” and is already negotiating with “struggling establishments.” Initial indications are that most British universities will be seeking to charge the maximum rate of £9,000 ($14,700) starting next year. However, BPP believes that it can offer programs at a lower price, giving it an edge over the competition under the new market realities of British higher education.

– The Times of London
May 5, 2011

New Visa Rules Broken By Scottish University

Scotland’s Glasgow Caledonian University has become the first in the United Kingdom to have its license to enroll international students temporarily suspended by the U.K. Border Agency (UKBA).

The decision came after an agency inspection discovered that 150 Filipino nursing students from the university’s BSC Nursing (Professional Development) program had been working almost full-time. Although this program involves a large quantity of work-based learning, according to new U.K. laws – which came into force in March – foreign students are entitled to work for a maximum of 20 hours a week while studying. Instead, the UKBA inspection found that these students were working full-time in care homes, only attending formal studies for one or two days each month, instead of the required minimum of 15 hours per week.

The university had 28 days to demonstrate to the Home Office that it has addressed the concerns, or it may have its international student “trusted sponsor” license revoked completely. Currently, about 10 percent of the university’s 17,000 students come from overseas.

– BBC News
April 21, 2011