Canada: Surge in International Applications

Canadian universities are reporting a rise in international applications, most notably from the U.S. and India. While official mobility trends for 2017 aren’t yet available, there is enough individual institutional reporting to indicate a significant upward trend. The University of Alberta received 25 percent more international applications, with a staggering 120 percent increase from India and a 50 percent increase from the U.S. Meanwhile there was an eighty percent spike in U.S. applications to the University of Toronto, which also saw a significant increase in interest from Turkey, up 68 percent, and India, up 59 percent. Similar numbers are being reported across the country–specifically large gains from India. Many higher ed professionals point to the shifting political climate as a catalyst for this trend, however several recruiters also factor in a rise in international interest that predates the nationalist movements taking hold in the U.S. and Canada. Canada has experienced a steady increase in international applicants in recent years as the country’s universities have invested in recruitment strategies and the dollar remains relatively low, easing access to education. See related article, this issue: Migration Paths: How Do Highly Skilled Workers Make Their Way to Canada?

ICEF Monitor
April 4, 2017

U.S.: Universities Face Online Security Threat

According a study by the Digital Citizens Alliance, there is a vast marketplace of university email address login credentials, totaling nearly 14 million on the dark web (a part of the internet that is completely anonymous and only accessible with special software). The institution hit the hardest is the University of Michigan, with over 122,000 credentials for sale. Pennsylvania State University, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and Ohio State University are also popular. Massachusetts Institute of technology has the highest number of available login credentials per capita. This security breach leaves universities and their students vulnerable to the dissemination of highly sensitive information of personal and professional nature.

Inside Higher Ed
March 31, 2017

U.S.: Proposed National Budget Would Affect University Research

The new presidential administration’s proposed budget would reduce funding to the National Institutes of Health by twenty percent, which would impede research and innovation at universities across the U.S. and globally. The budget is expected to be finalized by the end of April. Also on the chopping block are federally funded arts, education and science programs, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Community and Public Service, which administers the AmeriCorps program, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants program, and the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

Inside Higher Ed
March 16, 2017

Ecuador: Secondary and Tertiary Educational Access on the Rise

Ecuador’s strategic efforts to provide equitable access to education over the past ten years have proven effective according to a recent study from the National Education University in the capital city of Quito. The number of student enrollments has increased thirty percent at the secondary level, and fifty-nine percent at higher education institutions. This dramatic upward trend puts educational access rates in Ecuador on par with the highest performing countries in the world.

Telesur
March 16, 2017

U.S.: Drop in International Interest Could Impact Tuition Revenue

Between 2007 and 2012, international student enrollments helped to spur 20 percent-plus growth in tuition revenue for U.S. institutions, according to a study by the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. Widespread indicators, including application numbers at campuses across the country, research reports, surveys, and more indicate that, like international student numbers, expected tuition streams may well begin to dry up . Universities that have increasingly come to depend on higher tuition rates, such as many of the top public research universities, are bracing for the worst in terms of budgets and possible tuition increases for domestic students.

Time
March 14, 2017