Ireland: Returned Emigrants May Miss Out on Free Tuition

A rule made by the Department of Education to limit the number of foreigners availing of “free fees” at Irish universities means that Irish people living outside the EU for as little as three years can face high costs to pursue second or post-graduate degrees at an Irish college. The problem is residency. The rule requires that that students live Ireland for at least three of the past five years to qualify for Irish fees.

Irish Times
December 11, 2017

United Kingdom: Government Plans Two-year Bachelor Degrees

The proposed degrees would offer the same qualifications and will be quality-assured in the same way as a standard degree, but delivered over a shorter, usually two-year timespan. Some observers say institutions fear shorter degrees will decrease tuition fee income and create complications for staff contracts. The proposal would allow institutions to charge up to 20 percent more each year for accelerated degrees, but the overall tuition fee cost of the degree to the student would be 20 percent less than the same degree over three years.

University World News
December 11, 2017

Germany: International Student Enrollments Three Years Ahead of Schedule

Germany has surpassed its long-term goal of hosting 350,000 international students by 2020 three years early, with the latest statistics from German academic exchange service DAAD revealing that international student numbers for the 2016 academic year reached 358,895. The combination of high-quality education with near-zero tuition fees make it a “no-brainer” for many international students to enroll in higher education in Germany, particularly with a growing number of English-taught programs.

The Pie News
November 30, 2017

United Kingdom: Number of British students studying abroad falls 16 Percent, report finds

A reluctance to leave family and friends and a lack of foreign language skills have dampened the desire of UK students to venture overseas, according to a survey of more than 1,000 undergraduates. Just 18 per cent were interested in some form of overseas study, down from 34 per cent in 2015, according to a British Council report.

The Telegraph
November 29, 2017

Europe: U.S. Students’ Top Destination

According to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report, Europe is the top choice for U.S. international students. In 2015/16, 39,140 students from the U.S. studied at institutions in the U.K. Italy, and Spain ranked second and third with 34,894 and 29,975 students respectively.

Forbes
November 13, 2017