HE news from around the world
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(see also daily news updates on the home page of our website)
New York Times op-ed columnist Bill Keller speculates on the possible technological disruption faced by traditional higher education institutions in the very near future.
UK
After its ties to dubious international universities were exposed, the University of Wales will only retain accreditation for courses it designs and controls itself, according to this article in Times Higher Education.
Rising tuition fees in the UK seem to be inducing thousands of British students to investigate studying abroad, states The Telegraph, reporting from the first Student World Fair held in London.
As of 29 October 2011, US universities will be bound by federal mandate to provide online net-calculators to help prospective students gauge the cost of their college education discloses the Dallas News.
According to this Globe & Mail editorial, Canada’s current undergraduate education system is in dire need of reform with a focus on financial sustainability, as well as improvement of the undergraduate experience and preparation for the real world.
The Independent questions whether college tuition fees are inevitable, considering that Irish universities have fallen in international rankings.
El Pais reports that an international committee, appointed by the Spanish government as an advisory board for its higher education policy (Estrategia Universidad 2015), has proposed a number of mergers between Spanish universities as a measure to make Spanish higher education more competitive.
According to the Hindustan Times, Kabil Sibal, the Indian Minister of HR and Development, has invited top-tier American universities to consider India as a top priority for their international strategy during the first India-US higher education summit, held by the Centre of Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Sibal has also suggested that the Indian authorities should help American institutions set up operations in the country.
The Peninsula reports that Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) will establish universities in China, Europe, and Latin America. These will be similar to the RAF International University in Nairobi, at which recently the foundation stone was laid.
The Australian reports findings in an Australian Education International report that show over a quarter of the country’s onshore students matriculating at Australia’s top universities come from abroad.
University World News features World Bank Report - Putting Higher Education to Work: Skills and research for growth in East Asia - which concludes that though access to higher education has improved greatly in East Asian low- and middle-income countries , there is still a lot of work to be done.
Angela Merkel’s visit in Hanoi in October, as covered by the Saigon Giai Phong Daily, marks the strengthening of ties between Germany and Vietnam. The strategic partnership between the two countries includes a Vietnam-Germany University, funded by the German government, and scholarships for Vietnamese postgraduate students wishing to study in Germany.
Citing the student mobility report Students in Motion, released by the British Council in September, University World News reports that outbound student mobility from China to the US is expected to drop over the next four years, but will rise in Canada and Australia.