Regional
Universities Internationalize Through Consortia
The consortia model of internationalization allows universities to combine their strengths in setting up new centers of learning abroad, reports International Focus, drawing on a number of examples to highlight the model.
In Shanghai, students at the Sino-British College [1] (SBC), a joint venture between the nine UK universities which make up the Northern Consortium [2] (NCUK) and the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology [3], can choose to study either a degree from Liverpool John Moores University, Huddersfield University, Sheffield University or a pathway course leading to degrees from all nine UK universities in the consortium. The plan is to progressively add more in-country degree programs from the other partners as the project develops. This multi-university international campus is the first of its kind in China. There are currently 2,000 students enrolled, mainly from China but also from other countries. Including its other programs, NCUK currently has 3,700 students across 10 countries, with 20,000 having studied for a consortium degree in its 25-year history.
Elsewhere, the Universitas 21 [4] network – which includes the universities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow – has set itself a goal of ‘capitalising on opportunities for greater shared/multi-partner delivery.’ It already runs a successful summer school, held this year at the Tecnólogico de Monterrey [5] in Mexico.
Governments are also recognizing the strengths of the consortium model. In April, Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, invited a consortium of international universities to set up the Center for Urban Science and Progress [6] (CUSP) in downtown Brooklyn. The initiative is led by New York University and NYU-Poly and includes the University of Warwick, the University of Toronto and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In 2011, Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology were given the green light to build a $2 billion, two-million-square-foot campus on Roosevelt Island in the city.
Mayor Bloomberg was not the first public leader to invite a consortium of universities to set up a world-class institution. Each of the schools and centers that make up Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University [7], the brainchild of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is being developed by a leading international university. From the UK, University College London leads the School of Engineering. Faculty and curriculum for the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology [8] in Saudi Arabia were set up by an ad hoc consortium of the University of Texas, the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University.
– International Focus [9]
July 2012
Countries Compete to Lure and Keep Foreign Students
Europe, like much of the rest of the world, increasingly needs well-educated workers. Many European businesses see value in workers who hold a domestic degree but bring an international background to the job.
Experts say that most European countries are trying to attract foreign students in the hope that once trained they will stay and join the work force. As in the rest of the world, student migration is booming in Europe. In 2010, just under 850,000 non-Europeans were studying there, up from almost 660,000 in 2005, according to UNESCO figures. European countries, however, have a harder time retaining foreign students after they graduate than “destination” countries like Australia, Canada and the United States, in part because the path to citizenship is seen as easier there and opportunities for social mobility are greater.
Though some European nations naturally attract students from specific countries — France, for example, enjoys popularity among Africans from French-speaking nations — other countries are trying to increase their popularity among foreigners. A study released this year by the Migration Policy Group [10], a non-profit organization, compared the strategies and success rates of five European countries — Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden — in attracting and retaining non-European students.
The Netherlands, for example, was found to do well in retaining students in comparison with the other countries, not only because of its respected postsecondary institutions and relative good value of degrees, but also because bureaucratic forms were easily available and because English is widely spoken in the country, facilitating integration into society.
When doctoral students were asked whether they would be staying in their host country of choice, those who answered from the Netherlands were more likely to want to stay than those answering in France or Britain. Germany was found to have the highest percentage of students willing to say for the long term, with 12.5 percent predicting that they would stay five or more years after finishing their studies.
Under a new law, Germany gives recently graduated foreigners more time to find employment — 18 months rather than 12 — and has made obtaining permanent residency easier for them, especially if they are fluent in German. Overall, however, a vast majority of students said that the quality or reputation of the university and study program was the most important factor in determining where to go.
In June, the McKinsey Global Institute published a study predicting that the global economy would need an additional 38 million to 40 million college-educated workers by 2020. While many of these new jobs will be in Asia, Europe will need at least 16 million to 18 million more highly skilled workers, the study predicted.
– New York Times [11]
August 11, 2012
Financial Crisis Pushing Students from South to North
Students from countries in southern Europe are migrating to universities in the north in search of better post-study work opportunities. The evidence suggests that students from countries such as Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, and Italy are increasingly looking at study and work opportunities in more stable economies with lower unemployment rates – notably the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Sweden – as a way to avoid the worst of the economic downturn in their home countries where youth unemployment rates are at record highs.
The Telegraph [12] reported in August that Italian interest in study abroad is up by more than 180 percent, while in Greece, Spain and Portugal, interest is up by 162, 157 and 140 percentage points respectively.
A recent study [13] conducted by university student associations in Portugal found that 69 percent intended to emigrate after graduation, while EU-funded study abroad website Study Portals has reported that enquiries from Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal have soared by more than 80,000 in 2012 compared to last year.
– ICEF Monitor [14]
August 31, 2012
Finland
Russians Catching Chinese as Top Source of International Students
The number of Russian students in Finland has doubled over the last decade, and they are now close to overtaking China as the top foreign student nationality
Russians are particularly keen on applying to universities in the southeast, such as the town of Lappeenranta. For some, such as Vyborg residents, the trip from home is actually shorter than the domestic ride to St. Petersburg.
In 2011, the top five sources of foreign students were: China (2,129), Russia (2,107), Nepal (976), Nigeria (938) and Vietnam (904).
– YLE [15]
August 8, 2012
Germany
Most Degree Programs Now ‘Bologna-Compliant’
German universities began introducing bachelor and masters degrees 10 years ago as part of the continent-wide harmonization of degree structures known as the Bologna Process, and now the transition is essentially complete, with a reportedly good degree of acceptance among students and industry.
“Developments over the last few years have shown that opting for a Europe-wide higher education reform was the right decision,” said Higher Education Minister Annette Schavan.
“Never before has student mobility been as high as it is today, and never before has studying taken so little time. Introducing the bachelor degree as an early degree qualifying for a profession offers graduates many options to plan a career.”
By last winter semester, 85 percent of Germany’s more than 15,000 programs of study had been made Bologna compliant. The fachhochschulen, or universities of applied science, have been quicker to introduce the new degrees than traditional universities. Interviews among the fachhochschul graduating class of 2006 showed that 39 percent had dropped out of their bachelor studies; by 2010, the number was down to 19 percent.
However, a regular complaint among students has been that too much content is being crammed into the three-year bachelors programs, resulting in an excessive workload. Nonetheless, half of the 2010 graduating class obtained their bachelor degrees in 3.5 years, whereas half of university students graduating from universities with a diplom, the old university degree, had taken over six years, according to the education ministry.
The new degrees also appear to be successful in the labor market. According to the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln – Cologne Institute for Economic Research – the majority of employers are satisfied with the new system.
– University World News [16]
August 12, 2012
Foreign Students Attracted by New ‘Blue Card’ Work Rights
Academics and students from abroad are being lured to Germany by the new ‘Blue Card,’ reports Deutsche Welle. Just months after it was introduced, the new visa has received huge interest from non-European migrants, according to government officials interviewed by Deutsche Welle.
The Blue Card helps recent foreign graduates of German higher education institutions obtain work and residency permits. “Those with a university degree and a job with an average annual salary of 44,800 euros will be allowed stay in Germany for up to four years. And, for engineers and scientists, the salary requirements for a permit are even lower, as Germany is in great need of their skills and expertise.”
Currently, of the roughly 245,000 foreign students enrolled in universities across Germany, about 100,000 of them are from outside the European Union. Before the introduction of the Blue Card, it was notoriously difficult for graduates to manage the bureaucratic hurdles of earning the right to work in Germany, so most left.
The new laws, which were introduced in August, allow international students to work an additional 30 days (120 total) per year while they study in Germany. Before, graduates wishing to remain in Germany had to find a job within a year. Now, they have 18 months and are permitted to work during that time to support themselves. They can now also compete on an even footing with EU citizens for jobs. Previously, non-EU graduates were only offered positions if it was determined that there were no suitable German or EU candidates. Blue Card holders are also eligible to obtain a permanent residence permit after two to three years.
– Deutsche Welle [17]
September 5, 2012
Russia
Education Reform Bill Inches Forward
A hotly debated education reform bill that aims to cut significantly the number of higher education institutions in Russia, leaving a smaller group of better-funded and internationally competitive universities, is slowly moving forward as the new semester gets underway.
Already three years in the making, the bill promises the biggest shake-up of schools and universities since the 1990s, giving students more choice over the subjects they study and changing how universities are funded. In late July, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev sent the bill to the State Duma. It is expected to be signed into law by the end of the year.
The bill has been criticized by the University Professors Union for failing to increase teachers’ salaries, therefore doing nothing to prevent corruption, and knocked by Communists for narrowing the curriculum, allowing students to drop subjects in the ninth grade. Others criticize plans to reduce the number of students, as they fear that poorer children will be less able to go to university, thus increasing social tensions. Meanwhile, focusing on top-tier universities means that some good departments could close and some regions risk losing their institutions altogether.
Problems in Russian universities mirror the story of the last two decades: falling student numbers reflecting demographic decline, corruption, low wages and resulting brain drain, central control, and poor quality outside the major metro areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
– Moscow Times [18]
August 31, 2012
The Netherlands
Dutch Universities Lure International Students with English-Taught Programs
The Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education [19] (nuffic) released an overview of Dutch international academic mobility figures recently, with the data showing that a record 69,450 international students were engaged in some form of higher education in 2011-12. Just over 60,000 were engaged in full diploma programs (41,000 EU, 19,400 non EU), with the rest on shorter ‘credit mobility’ programs. Of that total, 56,131 were attending publicly funded institutions, up from 53,129 in 2010-11
The total number of international students represents 8.4 percent of the total student body (up from 8.1 percent), with the largest source countries being Germany (26,050), China (5,700), Belgium (2,900), Spain (2,200) and France (2,150). Many of these students are studying on one of The Netherlands 1,156 English-taught programs (232 undergrad, 870 masters, 54 PhD).
– Nuffic [20]
August 2012
United Kingdom
Government to Continue Strict Oversight of Private Colleges Enrolling International Students
Britain’s Home Office has said that it will continue to mandate a system of “educational oversight,” which requires private higher education colleges to pass inspections carried out by the Quality Assurance Agency. The new requirements, introduced last year, led to 172 colleges losing the right to recruit international students because they failed to apply for oversight by the September 2011 deadline.
In a July statement, the Home Office said that providers would be fully inspected every four years, although inspections could be brought forward if colleges experienced a “material change in circumstances.” This could include a “sudden increase” in student numbers; a significant change in the programs offered; or a merger or acquisition of a new branch.
In June, the UK Border Agency released the results of pilot interviews done by staff to assess whether international students who had applied for visas were coming to the UK for purely academic reasons. Interviewers raised concerns over the genuineness of 58 percent of further or higher education students coming to the UK to study at a privately funded college. For university students, the figure was 16 percent.
– Times Higher Education [21]
July 24, 2012
Publishing House to Teach Degree Programs
Pearson, a major international publisher and education firm, is to become a for-profit private higher education provider. The firm is opening Pearson College [22], teaching a degree program validated by existing London universities.
The business and enterprise degree, taught in London and Manchester, will have about 40 places this year. The college says it will be for “students who are serious about succeeding in business.”
Pearson says this will be the first time an FTSE 100 company has directly delivered a degree course. It will be seen as a significant symbolic step into UK higher education from a major player in the education market. Tuition fees will be £6,500 (US$9,400) per year – below the average for universities, many of which are now charging £9,000 per year.
Pearson will become part of a growing but still relatively small private higher education sector in the UK. Last month Regent’s College [23] in London gained its own degree-awarding powers, and BPP University College [24], a for-profit university with its own degree-awarding powers, announced it was expanding into health-related degree programs.
– The BBC [25]
August 19, 2012
International Students Left in Limbo After University Loses Right to Teach Them
A total of 2,700 International students in London are facing the possibility of deportation after the university they were attending was barred from admitting students from outside the European Union in late August. The action, taken by the UK Border Agency, was initiated against London Metropolitan University [26] for breaches of tough new immigration rules introduced in April this year. The move has stoked fears about damage to the country’s overall efforts to recruit students.
The university lost its highly trusted status for sponsoring international students after a UKBA investigation found evidence of a “serious systemic failure” that suggested that the university didn’t have the capacity to be a proper sponsor or to have confidence that “the students coming have the right to be here in the first place.” UKBA found that of 101 sample cases, 26 students were studying between December last year and May despite the fact they held no leave to remain in the UK. The university lacked the required processes to prove students were turning up to lectures in 142 of 250 (57 percent) sampled records.
In late August David Willetts, the universities minister, announced a task force led by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) – and which includes Universities UK (UUK), the UKBA and the National Union of Students (NUS) – to start immediately to support affected students and enable genuine students to find another institution at which they can continue their studies in the UK. They have until December 1 to find an alternative ‘highly trusted’ place to study or face deportation. The government has announced a £2 million (US$3.2 million) fund to assist London Met students affected by the UKBA decision, saying it would help legitimate students to meet costs they may incur by moving to another institution.
Meanwhile, London Met has launched legal action in a bid to overturn the government’s decision to revoke its highly-trusted status. While potentially catastrophic for the university itself, which said that the situation had already cost it more than $15 million, the decision seems likely to have implications for many other institutions with regards to reputation and recruiting. Furthermore, the BBC was reporting a few days after the London Met decision, that two unnamed universities feared that their license to enroll international students could also be revoked and had sought legal advice.
– The Guardian [27]
September 3, 2012
Elite and Tier-Two Universities See Lower Enrollments Under Admissions Reforms
Many middle-ranking universities in the UK have suffered a drop in new student numbers as a result of controversial ‘market-based’ government reforms to admissions, according to the results of a survey by the Independent newspaper. Meanwhile, some of the UK’s elite universities have exploited the reforms allowing them to expand to take more of the best pupils – defined as those who score a minimum of A-A-B in their three A-level subjects.
Nonetheless, a Telegraph report, showed that seven out of 24 institutions in the elite Russell Group were still advertising vacancies on more than 1,000 programs days before the start of the academic year. Thirty thousand (or 7 percent) fewer students have secured places on programs this year compared with last year, increasing suspicions that £9,000 (US$14,000)-a-year tuition fees have put off many school-leavers. Leading universities have also been hit by a decline in the number of school-leavers gaining good A-level grades following a drive to make exams harder. David Willetts, the universities minister, said that this summer there was a fall of 5,000 in the number of pupils believed to have gained at least two As and a B.
Hull University said its intake would be 500 fewer this year – and acknowledged that interest in snapping up places through the clearing system had not been as high as in 2011. Brunel University is expecting a shortfall of around 200 applicants this year despite the fact that it cut its maximum intake by 175 places from last year. Other universities to confirm cuts in intake were the University of Chichester and Oxford Brookes. Bristol, one of the Russell Group – which includes the UK’s 24 leading research universities – increased its intake by 600 this year in taking advantage of the opportunity to recruit more A-A-B students.
Academics believe higher education could be witnessing the beginnings of a long-term trend in declining numbers for non-elite universities, as the country’s best institutions expand. In the long run, some observers believe institutions may have to merge to remain viable. The latest figures from UCAS [28] (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) show that overall, 425,858 candidates had secured a place by the end of August – 30,723 fewer than at the same time last year. There were 51,718 fewer applicants, though.
– The Independent [29]
August 27, 2012