Regional

Increasing Number of University Mergers Across the Continent

The European University Association (EUA) released a new report in April mapping and analyzing university mergers and concentration processes in 20 higher education systems across the continent over the last 15 years.

The study, University mergers in Europe, analyses mergers from an efficiency angle, exploring the rationale for universities to merge and assessing the role of public authorities in these developments.

The document reflects on the costs and gains associated with mergers, highlighting the following findings:

• Mergers are motivated by a variety of different drivers but it is clear that cost-saving should not be the primary goal. Transition and implementation costs are invariably considerable and easily underestimated; possible savings might only be achieved in the long-term.
• The academic mission must take precedence at all times, and any disruption to achieving academic objectives should be justified by the results of the process. It is important to consider the opportunity costs of the merger as well as possible alternatives, such as strategic cooperation models other than full-scale mergers.
• There is a general lack of evaluation whether before or after completion of the merger. The absence of analytical and comparable information on the topic is an additional difficulty for teams involved in managing a merger.

The report includes a series of case studies which detail success factors and challenges of the different merging processes. The analysis shows that the success of any merger process depends on elements such as: sound pre-evaluation, good planning and implementation; productive relationships with public authorities; inspired leadership fostering trust among, and the involvement of, staff and the wider community.

– European Universities Association
April 24, 2015

Hungary

Higher Education Enrollments Drop 20% in 5 Years

The number of students admitted to higher education institutions in Hungary has fallen by over 20 percent since 2010, according to a report issued by the Center for International Higher Education Studies. This makes Hungary one of the few OECD member states in which the number of higher education students has declined over the past four years, reports Hungary Today.

Although figures are still unavailable for the year 2015, experts do not expect a large increase in the number of applicants and claim that rapid changes in rules applying to university and college admissions have had a negative effect on students’ willingness to study in higher education.

The number of students admitted had stabilized by 2014 following a dramatic fall in 2012 and 2013, after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced his concept of “self-sustaining higher education.” This envisaged dramatic cuts in the number of state-financed places and tuition fees to be financed from preferential student loans. The government backtracked from the original proposal following student demonstrations.

– Hungary Today
March 30, 2015

Norway

Government Embarks on Major Higher Education Reforms

The Norwegian government has begun its biggest series of higher education reforms since 1994, when 98 higher education institutions were merged into 26 university colleges. Minister of Education and Research Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said he expected significantly fewer universities and university colleges would result from the reforms than the 33 Norwegian institutions today.

Under the changes, 14 universities and university colleges are to be merged into five new universities or university colleges. The largest of the new institutions will be the Norwegian University of Technology in Trondheim. The government released a white paper setting out the new reforms. It appears to have based its structural change on similar reforms in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, England, the Netherlands and Switzerland, where the focus was on turning university colleges into universities, often through mergers.

The criteria for achieving university status has been tightened and new universities will require their doctoral programs to have at least 15 doctoral students each, and over time graduate at least 15 candidates each year. Academic recognition of masters and doctoral courses will be transferred to the national quality assurance body NOKUT. This will act under more direct control of the ministry.

Another major aspect of the Norwegian reforms is extending teacher training to a five-year master’s program. This will require greater collaboration between the universities and university colleges.

– University World News
March 30, 2015

Poland

Polish Universities Popular with Ukrainian Students

Polish universities have become increasingly popular with international students over the last few years, especially those from Ukraine. One of the reasons is that Polish universities have started to re-brand themselves as a new education destination in an effort to fill their emptying classrooms.

At the end of communism in 1989, there was a sudden demand for higher education in Poland, as many Poles needed new skills to meet the needs of the new market economy. As a result hundreds of private universities were built throughout the country. But even though Poland’s economy has grown for the past 25 years, the country is now starting to see the effects of an aging population, much like many other European countries. Poland’s fertility rate, at 1.3 children per woman, is among the lowest in the world.

University enrollment today is down 265,000 students versus just three years ago, and private universities are suffering as a result. However, instead of closing, many are trying to recruit international students. Due to its proximity, Ukraine has been a major target of those recruitment efforts. In the past year alone, the number of international students in Poland has increased by 28 percent to a total of 46,101 students. The number of Ukrainian students in the city of Lublin near the border has seen a threefold increase in enrollments. In academic year 2010/2011, there were 1,401 Ukrainian students enrolled in the city’s universities; that has since grown to 4,395. Still, the total number of students in Lublin decreased by around 7,000 overall between 2005 and 2011.

– EuroViews
April 23, 2015

Russia

Massive Cuts and University Closures Planned

The number of Russian universities will be cut by 40 percent by the end of 2016, according to Minister of Education and Science Dmitry Livanov. In addition, the number of university branches will be slashed by 80 percent in the same period.

The institutions are being axed under a federal plan for the development of education during 2016 to 2020. Ministry of Education and Science data indicate that at present there are 593 state and 486 private universities, which have 1,376 and 682 branches respectively. Collectively, the universities enroll seven million students.

Livanov said there are currently five times as many universities now as there were during the Soviet era, mainly due to a mushrooming of low-quality private institutions. These institutions will be the main target of the cuts after an ongoing round of inspections is completed at the end of May. Livanov said that at present there were 100-150 “good” private universities whose further development would be supported by the state. At the same time, the cuts would also affect some state-owned universities.

– University World News
April 17, 2015

Ukraine

Business School Enrollments Grow as War Continues

Master of Business Administration programs have had to adjust to the realities of war in Ukraine, and the realities are proving positive for business schools. Demand is rising as some employees are taking a break from working to enhance their skills at a time of pay cuts and layoffs.

A record 100 students are studying for an MBA at Kyiv Mohyla Business School, compared to 70 in 2013. The school hopes to boost admissions another 30-40 percent in September. The increase in enrollments comes despite a cutback in employer sponsored study opportunities. For instance, almost all the current MBA students at the Kyiv School of Economics are paying for their studies. At Edinburgh Business School in Ukraine, no more than 15 percent of students are sponsored by their employers, according to Natalia Kryvda, the academic programs director there. That’s compared to about a third of students getting such support five years ago.

Even with rising applicants, tuition has remained little changed or risen at most 15 percent, in a recent Kyiv Post survey of six MBA programs, despite a nosedive in the value of the hryvnia, the local currency. The Edinburgh Business School did not raise its fees for MBA programs this academic year, despite doing so for most of its 28 programs throughout the world. The Kyiv School of Economics fixed its short-term prices in hryvnias rather than the Euro as it traditionally has done.

– Kyiv Post
April 23, 2015

United Kingdom

One-third of all International Students Enrolled Via Agents

Figures published by Times Higher Education earlier this year indicate that about one-third of international students who began programs at all levels of study in the UK during 2013-14 had been enrolled via agents.

However, comparing that information with Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data on individual institutions’ total non-European Union intakes reveals significant variation in the reliance on agents. At 37 institutions, the number of students signed up via agents in 2013-14 was equivalent to more than half the HESA figure for international enrollment. In 16 of these cases, agents helped to enroll at least two-thirds of the overseas intake.

In all, 75 out of 144 institutions that provided data to THE via a freedom of information request, released a figure for agent-based recruitment that represented at least a third of the HESA figure for non-EU enrollment. Institutions upgraded to university status after 1992 rely more heavily on agents for international recruitment than older institutions. Of these 21 older research-intensive universities, five (among them Oxford and Cambridge) had recruited no students using agents. Of the 50 institutions that were most reliant on agents, 33 were upgraded to universities after 1992. Based on THE’s data, the average agent fee paid per student in 2013-14 was estimated to be £1,767 (US$2,900).

– Times Higher Education
April 16, 2015