Regional

Report: Universities Should Use Transnational Education Strategically

A recent report argues that Western universities should take a more strategic approach to using transnational, or cross-border, higher education as a way to hedge against anticipated declines in international students that may result from the continuing development of higher education capacity in Asia.

A wide range of cross-border activities, including dual or joint degree programs and articulation agreements with local higher education providers, international branch campuses, and distance learning, are included under the definition of transnational education (TNE) put forward in the report from the UK-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.

“TNE allows traditional destination countries to act proactively and position themselves in a fast-changing market by participating in capacity-building efforts in source countries while this opportunity is still available,” states the report, titled Transnational Education vs. International Student Mobility: Substitutes or Distinct Markets? and available at the Observatory website for a fee. “In this way, countries like the UK, the USA and Australia can secure their longer-term existence in local higher education by accessing this market before the gap between supply and demand disappears.”

The report argues that as capacity develops in a given country, demand for TNE will be increasingly shaped by “pull factors” (such as reputation, quality and employability) rather than “push factors” (such as limited capacity of the local higher education system).

– Inside Higher Ed
July 1, 2014

Erasmus Participation Reaches New Highs

A record 270,000 students obtained European Union grants to study or train abroad in 2012-13, according to statistics released by the European Commission in July. The most popular destination countries were Spain, Germany and France. The biggest senders of students, as a proportion of their student population, were Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Finland, Latvia and Spain.

There are 33 countries that have participated in the scheme – all EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Currently, Switzerland is excluded from participation following its anti-immigration referendum result earlier this year.

Erasmus+, the latest version of the mobility program combining Erasmus and other schemes including apprentices and volunteers, was launched last year with a budget of nearly €15 billion (US$20.4 billion) for 2014-20, a 40 percent increase. The program will provide grants for four million people, including two million higher education students and 300,000 staff over the seven years to 2020.

“It will also fund 135,000 student and staff exchanges between Europe and partner countries worldwide,” according to a European Commission press release.

– European Commission
July 10, 2014

Germany

Record Numbers of International Students Enrolled in German Universities

A record number of foreign students are currently enrolled in German universities, according to figures released in July, and half of them stay in the country after graduating, far more than previously thought.

Only the United States and United Kingdom enroll more foreign students, the study from the Education Ministry and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) found. In the winter semester of 2013/14 more than 300,000 international students were at German universities – one in every 10 (11.3%) of those enrolled. That number was up from 282,000 in 2013 and an increase from 246,000 a decade ago.

Engineering degrees and master’s programs were the most popular programs, the report said. In 2013, around 30 percent of Germany’s foreign students were from Asia and more than 55 percent were from Europe. Indian numbers grew significantly year on year, now the fourth largest source of international students behind China in first.

Stay-rate data is based on survey results from over 11,000 international students, with over 30 percent of international graduates planning to stay permanently in Germany, about 40 percent planning to stay for at least 10 years, and just 7 percent planning a short-term stay. Indeed, 64 percent of students questioned have paid, full-time employment; 7 percent are working part-time, 7 percent are self-employed or freelance and only 6.8 percent are looking for a job.

After successful completion of their studies at a German higher education institution, all foreign students have the right to remain in Germany for up to 18 months with no restrictions on work during this job-seeking period.

– The Local
July 16, 2014

Malta

UK Business School Opens Campus

The London School of Commerce, one of Europe’s largest MBA providers, has opened a campus in Floriana, Malta, which will welcome its first cohort of around 50 students in July, followed by a larger intake in September.

The London School of Commerce Malta is one of the many campuses within the London School of Commerce Group. Other campuses are located in Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka, as well as its base in London, which accommodates over 5,000 students.

– Times of Malta
June 16, 2014

The Netherlands

A New Internationalization Plan & Scholarship Scheme

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has called for a “new phase” of education policy that would “mainstream” internationalization. In a letter to parliament, the Minister of Education, Jet Bussemaker, outlined plans to establish a €5 million a year scholarship scheme, improve talent retention and facilitate transnational education.

Encouraging outbound mobility among VET students and engaging alumni organizations were also high on the minister’s list of priorities. The new scholarship scheme will enable inbound and outbound mobility for approximately 10,000 students over the next 10 years with half of total funding coming from Dutch institutions.

With as many as 70 percent of students saying they would like to stay in the Netherlands but only an estimated 27 percent actually doing so, the minister also said “there is scope for improvement” when it comes to talent retention. “Inbound mobility can have a net positive effect of approximately €740 million,” she said. “In other words, retaining international talent in the Netherlands strengthens Dutch education and the Dutch knowledge economy alike.”

And to support outbound mobility that won’t delay students’ studies, Bussemaker aims to have a “mobility window”– a fixed period in the curriculum for short-term studies abroad– integrated into all study programs. In addition, she intends to work on eliminating barriers to joint and double degree programs, noting the “added value” translational education brings to higher education institutions.

She also plans to build on the country’s established reputation abroad for VET provision by increasing mobility among VET institutions through a proposed €4.5 million subsidiary for foreign study programs and calls for the creation a European level interchangeable credit system.

– The PIE News
July 21, 2014

Republic of Ireland

Sixth English-Language School Closed

The BCT Institute, which taught English and Information Technology, closed its doors in August, becoming Ireland’s sixth private college to close its doors after a Sunday Times investigation into visa fraud in April prompted the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) to revoke visa issuing licenses at a string of schools.

Despite the disruption to genuine students, sector stakeholders have reacted positively to the closure as a way of weeding out bogus operators. Since the scandal broke, former Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn set up a joint Task Force to tighten regulations on the sector and reallocate genuine students to alternative colleges in Ireland.

BCT’s students joined the hundreds of displaced students from other closed schools including Millennium College, The Allied Irish College, Eden College, Kavanagh College and the Irish Business School, waiting for compensation.

– The PIE News
August 7, 2014

Russia

Four More Universities Banned from Enrolling New Students

Russia’s state education watchdog, Rosobrnadzor, has added four universities to a list of educational institutions that will be prohibited from enrolling new students this fall, the agency said in a July statement. The addition of two universities in Moscow and two in Dagestan bring the list of educational institutions blacklisted in recent weeks to 12.

The capital-based universities include the Moscow Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law and the Institute of Foreign Languages. According to Rosobrnadzor’s website, the institutions lacked the requisite educational equipment, library subscriptions and textbooks.

The Russian government has embarked on a large-scale program to improve the quality of higher education. President Vladimir Putin wants five Russian universities to rank among the world’s top 100 by 2020. As part of this effort, the government has put universities under increased scrutiny. At least 77 universities have been stripped of their licenses since the beginning of the year.

– The Moscow Times
July 15, 2014

$300 Million in Additional Government Funds to Top 14 Universities

The Russian government announced in July that it would be allocating 10.15 billion rubles (US$300m) in funding to 14 of its top-performing universities through a targeted initiative that aims to see five of the country’s universities enter the top 100 globally ranked higher education institutions by 2020.

Russia’s best performing university, according to last year’s Times Higher Education ranking, is Moscow State University, which was listed between 225^th and 250^th. The funding, up 16 percent from last year’s US$253 million, will be delivered in three tiers, with Moscow-based institutions the Institute of Physics and Technology, the Higher School of Economics and the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI each receiving 950 million rubles (US$27m). A further four universities, including Novosibirsk State University, the Moscow Institute for Steel and Alloys, the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg and ITMO University in St Petersburg will receive grants of 775 million rubles ($22.5m), while the remaining seven will each receive 600 million rubles ($17.5m).

Key aims of the so-called ‘5/100′ program, which began in 2012, include the promotion of Russian higher education in key markets; building up the academic reputation of leading universities’ scientific research; and “building positions and prestige in the world community, including the rankings,” according to the initiative’s website.

The government has also confirmed that it has allocated more than 4 billion rubles (US$118 million) to fund the Global Education Initiative to enable Russian graduates to study abroad over the next three years. The money will fully fund study for 1,500 graduates – up from the originally specified 1,000 – to enroll on a graduate program at one of the world’s top 300 universities – as ranked by the THE Rankings, QS World University Rankings and the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, provided graduates then return to work for a Russian company for a minimum of three years.

– The PIE News
July 28, 2014

Spain

Spain Removes Admissions Exam Requirement in Effort to Attract International Students

Spain has scrapped its university entrance exam for foreign students in an effort to attract more international students and establish itself as a major destination for overseas study. Only about 74,000 foreign students were enrolled at Spanish universities last year, compared with 425,000 studying in Britain and 300,000 in Germany, official figures show.

The Selectividad exam, which has been removed with immediate effect, has long been viewed as a barrier to increasing Spain’s relatively low number of international students. It will be removed for Spanish students in 2017-18, with regions set to unveil their own standardized exams.

Although the test did not apply to students from the European Union or China, it was still taken by about 7,000 students in their home countries last year. With the exam scrapped, public universities in Spain now need to raise their tuition fees for international students, which in many cases are identical to those charged to home and EU students, observers say, pointing to the fact that there is otherwise little incentive for universities to recruit internationally.

– Times Higher Education
July 31, 2014

Turkey

Turkey Aims for International-Education-Hub Status

Turkey plans to transform the country into an education hub by allocating US$96 million in scholarships to increase the number of foreign students studying in the country from its current level of 54,000, according to officials.

“Turkey aims to have more than 200,000 international students by 2023,” said Serdar Gündoğan, head of the Turkish Prime Ministry’s International Students Department. Currently 13,000 international students are in Turkey on Turkish government scholarships.

Afghanistan is the largest source, followed by Azerbaijan and Kosovo. Africa’s share has increased in the last three years due to a focused Turkish government policy to attract and fund students from the continent. Nearly 90,000 applications from 176 countries have been filed for the coming academic year, reaching the highest number so far. There were 56,000 international applications in 2013 and 44,000 in 2012.

There are more than 20 scholarship programs available from the Turkey Scholarship program, Gündoğan said. Medicine and engineering are the most popular majors, but international relations and economics are also popular.

– Daily Sabah
July 10, 2014

Ukraine

Young Education Minister Promises Major Changes

At just 29 years of age, Inna Sovsun became Ukraine’s youngest minister ever when her appointment as the first deputy minister for education and science was announced after the fall of Viktor Yanukovych’s government in February. She was a politics lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy when Serhiy Kvit, her rector, took over the country’s education ministry. He asked her to become his second-in-command.

Lack of political experience has not held her back. At the end of their first 100 days in office, Kvit and Sovsun published a comprehensive plan of action and helped to secure passage of a new higher education law (the first since 2002) on July 1.

In an interview with Times Higher Education, Sovsun says she is keen to go further to reform Ukraine’s archaic higher education system.

One big priority is promoting research in universities rather than Soviet-style national research centers. “Only 6 to 7 percent of research funding goes to universities,” she says. “The government spends 0.29 percent of gross domestic product on research. That is very little for a country that should have a strong research-driven agenda.”

Other radical plans envisaged by Sovsun include merging or closing many of Ukraine’s 365 public higher education institutions – far too many for a population of 46 million, she thinks. “Some have only 500 students and 30 academics. You can’t have a university with these numbers.” She is also keen to end Ukraine’s “two-track” university system, which allows applicants denied a publicly funded place on a course to fund their own studies on that same program. Because universities rely on these paying students for funds, entry requirements are often dropped to accommodate them, and almost no students fail, she says.

– Times Higher Education
July 10, 2014

United Kingdom

Non-EU Applications for 2014 Up Versus 2013

For the second consecutive year, the UK has seen strong growth in international applications at the undergraduate level, with non-EU applications submitted by the June deadline having risen 6 percent this year to 69,060. Malaysian applications in particular have been strong.

The report shows applications submitted for 2014/2015 full-time undergraduate programs in the UK since early September until the end of June via the centralized UCAS admissions system. Malaysian applications grew 28 percent, after 26 percent growth last year, from 4,820 to 6,180 placing it third behind China (10,730) and Hong Kong (6,570) as a national source of international applications. Part of the reason for the demand from Malaysia is a strong UK transnational education presence in the country, which allows students to complete part of their undergraduate degree in the UK. Singapore, another strong TNE market for the UK was the fourth largest source of international undergraduate applications (4,290), up 5 percent versus last year.

Chinese applications were essentially flat, while from Hong Kong they were up over 6 percent. Applications from India grew 5 percent to 3,990, making it the fifth largest source of non-UE undergraduate applications.

– UCAS
July 2014

Government Further Tightens Student Visa Regulations

Prime minister David Cameron and home secretary Theresa May announced in late July that from November “tougher rules will be imposed on universities and colleges who sponsor international students to study in the UK.”

At present, universities would lose highly trusted sponsor status if more than 20 percent of the students they offer places to are refused visas. But that threshold will be cut to 10 percent in November “after a three-month transitional period for colleges and universities to re-examine their admissions procedures before offering individuals places,” the prime minister said in a statement.

Industry observers in Britain fear that the new announcement will add to the perception that Britain is becoming less welcoming of foreign students. A Universities UK spokesman said it was “important to note” that a student visa refusal “does not always equate to a deliberate attempt to abuse the immigration rules.”

“It can relate to a genuine mistake by the applicant in failing to provide the precise documentation…problems that could be addressed easily,” he said. “Using visa refusal rates as a measure to determine the future of a sponsor’s HTS status is a blunt mechanism and could also have a disproportionate impact on smaller institutions.”

For small and specialist institutions with limited numbers of international applicants, the 10 percent threshold could equate to a handful of refusals putting their license in jeopardy.

– Times Higher Education
July 31, 2014

University of Bedfordshire Gets Green Light To Resume International Enrollments

The University of Bedfordshire is the first institution to be allowed to resume international student recruitment following a six-week freeze as part of the UK’s Home Office investigation into suspected exam and visa fraud at a number of universities and private colleges.

“We cooperated with UKVI throughout the audit and I’m delighted that we can resume issuing CAS letters to new international students”

The university, along with the University of West London, had its quota of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) letters enabling it to sponsor Tier 4 students reduced to zero in June pending an audit by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Audits were ongoing and UKVI has yet to announce whether the University of West London’s ability to recruit international students will be reinstated.

Glyndwr University, which was stripped of its Highly Trusted Sponsor status in June, confirmed that it has supplied evidence to UKVI after obtaining an extension, but declined to comment further.

– The PIE News
August 6, 2014

Private Indian University Seeks London Campus

India’s Amity University is searching for a site in London for a 5,000-student campus and is interested in seeking partnerships with English universities “in need of funds to sustain themselves,” according to Atul Chauhan, Amity’s chancellor, in an interview with Times Higher Education.

Amity – providing higher education in India since 1995 and with university status there since 2005 – has seven campuses in India with a total of about 100,000 students, along with international campuses in London, Singapore, New York, California, Mauritius, Romania and, the latest, in Dubai.

Mr Chauhan, who graduated with a joint degree in engineering and finance from University College London and the London School of Economics, described Amity as “very research-focused … Normally private universities are very teaching oriented.”

The Times of India recently reported that of all India’s universities, Amity registered the second-highest number of patents in 2012-13 (140). That was exceeded only by the combined total of the state-funded Indian Institutes of Technology.

Amity set up in London in 2009, and is based in Bedford Square. Its overseas campuses mean Amity students from India “can do a semester in London, a semester in New York, a semester in Singapore”, said Mr Chauhan. Until recently, its London campus had been offering management and business programs under a franchise agreement with Anglia Ruskin University. However, Anglia terminated the agreement citing low enrollment numbers.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has allowed Amity to name itself Amity University [IN] London, despite the fact that Amity does not have taught degree-awarding powers, the key prerequisite for the standard process of gaining the university title in the UK. Mr Chauhan said the ultimate aim in London is to offer a wide range of courses and to expand to 5,000 students.

– Times Higher Education
August 14, 2014

Licenses of 16 Private Colleges Suspended

The UK government has revoked the licenses of 16 private colleges in its investigation into immigration fraud launched in June. The institutions were among 57 centers to have their licenses suspended by the Home Office after the government concluded some 45,000 immigrants may have fraudulently obtained English language test certificates.

In an updated Fact Sheet, the Home Office has said licenses are revoked when the institutions “pose a threat to immigration control” or do not “fulfill their sponsorship responsibilities.”

As UK Visas and Immigration continues to conduct both announced and unannounced visits as part of its investigation, more licenses are likely to be suspended or revoked. The private colleges to have their licenses revoked are:

1. Alpha Meridian College
2. Birmingham Institute of Education Training & Technology
3. Bradford Metropolitan College
4. College of Excellence Limited
5. Eynsford College
6. Hammersmith Management College
7. Katherine and King’s College of London
8. Kinnaird College
9. London School of Technology
10. Midlands Academy of Business and Technology
11. Queensbury College
12. Shakespeare College
13. Stanfords College UK Ltd
14. Superior College London
15. UK Business Academy
16. West London Business College

– The PIE News
August 22, 2014