An American online university started by an Israeli entrepreneur has opened an operations centre in the West Bank, writes DD Guttenplan for The New York Times. Shai Reshef, the founder of University of the People, a non-profit institution that offers free online education to students in more than 120 countries, said his agreement with ASAL Technologies, a Palestinian software and information technology services company based in Ramallah, was just the first stage of a plan to move the university's entire back office to the West Bank.
University of the People uses specially adapted open course materials to offer courses in business administration and computer science. "Those are the skills most likely to help our students find jobs," said Reshef, an entrepreneur who started and sold two for-profit education companies before putting $3 million of his own money into his new venture.
Based on a peer-to-peer learning model in which students teach one another, the university has also recruited volunteer mentors from Brigham Young, Columbia, Harvard, Insead, New York University and Yale. Tuition is free.
More on the University World News site
More on the New York Times site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0201, 11 December 2011
12 Desember 2011
Islamic States: Central Asia University Links to Grow
A representative body of the ministers of higher education and research from Islamic countries agreed, during a meeting held in the last week of November in Azerbaijan, to expand higher education cooperation with Central Asian countries.
The decision took inspiration from an earlier high-level meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic nations, held in Kazakhstan on 29 June this year, which adopted an 'Action Plan for Cooperation with Central Asia'.
The plan aims to increase coordination between the countries of Central Asia and other member nations of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in higher education, research, health and economy.
To kick-start greater cooperation, the OIC's Pakistan-based science committee, COMSTECH, signed a memorandum of understanding with Baku State University of Azerbaijan. The memorandum was signed on 24 November during a ceremony held at the university's campus in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
"Within the framework of this memorandum of understanding, we shall facilitate exchange of postgraduate students and university researchers, assist in university teacher qualification improvement, and start joint projects besides organising joint conferences on current issues and trends in university-level research," Atta-ur-Rahman, the former chief of Pakistan's Higher Education Commission and current head of COMSTECH, told University World News.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0201, 11 December 2011
The decision took inspiration from an earlier high-level meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic nations, held in Kazakhstan on 29 June this year, which adopted an 'Action Plan for Cooperation with Central Asia'.
The plan aims to increase coordination between the countries of Central Asia and other member nations of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in higher education, research, health and economy.
To kick-start greater cooperation, the OIC's Pakistan-based science committee, COMSTECH, signed a memorandum of understanding with Baku State University of Azerbaijan. The memorandum was signed on 24 November during a ceremony held at the university's campus in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
"Within the framework of this memorandum of understanding, we shall facilitate exchange of postgraduate students and university researchers, assist in university teacher qualification improvement, and start joint projects besides organising joint conferences on current issues and trends in university-level research," Atta-ur-Rahman, the former chief of Pakistan's Higher Education Commission and current head of COMSTECH, told University World News.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0201, 11 December 2011
05 Desember 2011
Lecturers "Reluctant to Seek Higher Education"
Most Indonesian university lecturers are reluctant to pursue higher education, from either domestic or foreign universities, in order to broaden their knowledge and horizons, said an official.
“We are offered so many scholarship programs by local and foreign universities, but only a few of our lecturers have taken these great opportunities,” Dewa Ngurah Suparta, professor of agriculture at the University of Udayana in Denpasar, said on Tuesday.
Suparta is secretary of the joint program between the National Education Ministry’s Director General for Higher Learning Institutions and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
The JSPS has offered 10 scholarships at several top-notch universities in Japan as well as financial support for research projects in science and humanities.
“There are many more foreign institutions which have opened doors for Indonesian lecturers to upgrade their educations,” added Suparta.
He encouraged lecturers from universities across Indonesia, especially those located outside Java and Bali, to apply for the scholarships.
Since 2008, the Indonesian government has provided 1,000 scholarships for local lecturers to continue their graduate and post-graduate studies in local and foreign universities.
“The government has allocated Rp 3 trillion [US$330 million] for scholarships, but only 300 lecturers, mostly from big universities, have taken the opportunity,” he added.
More on the The Jakarta Post
“We are offered so many scholarship programs by local and foreign universities, but only a few of our lecturers have taken these great opportunities,” Dewa Ngurah Suparta, professor of agriculture at the University of Udayana in Denpasar, said on Tuesday.
Suparta is secretary of the joint program between the National Education Ministry’s Director General for Higher Learning Institutions and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
The JSPS has offered 10 scholarships at several top-notch universities in Japan as well as financial support for research projects in science and humanities.
“There are many more foreign institutions which have opened doors for Indonesian lecturers to upgrade their educations,” added Suparta.
He encouraged lecturers from universities across Indonesia, especially those located outside Java and Bali, to apply for the scholarships.
Since 2008, the Indonesian government has provided 1,000 scholarships for local lecturers to continue their graduate and post-graduate studies in local and foreign universities.
“The government has allocated Rp 3 trillion [US$330 million] for scholarships, but only 300 lecturers, mostly from big universities, have taken the opportunity,” he added.
More on the The Jakarta Post
Indonesia: New Audit for State Universities
In an attempt to evaluate their effectiveness, Indonesia's education and culture ministry will implement an audit of programmes at state universities next year. Deputy Education Minister Musliar Kasim told The Jakarta Post recently that the audit would determine whether programmes at state universities were really needed and efficiently implemented.
"We will start to implement the audit in March next year, as soon as we have prepared the human resources," he said. Musliar said that the programmes audit was suggested by Vice-President Boediono as he had received various complaints from people about increasingly expensive tuition fees at universities.
Previously, the vice-president had said the government would audit educational institutions to lower the education budget. He added that the government would be able to provide more scholarships by implementing such an audit.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0200, 04 December 2011
"We will start to implement the audit in March next year, as soon as we have prepared the human resources," he said. Musliar said that the programmes audit was suggested by Vice-President Boediono as he had received various complaints from people about increasingly expensive tuition fees at universities.
Previously, the vice-president had said the government would audit educational institutions to lower the education budget. He added that the government would be able to provide more scholarships by implementing such an audit.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0200, 04 December 2011
20 September 2011
Materi Kuliah Statistika Nonparametrik (Fakultas Peternakan UNPAD)
Materi kuliah Statistika Nonparametrik di Fakultas Peternakan Uninersitas Padjadjaran mencakup: konsep dan prosedur perhitungan dasar statistika, prinsip dan prosedur uji hipotesis statistik, uji statistik nonparametrik untuk kasus sampel tunggal, kasus dua sampel, dan kasus k sampel, model pengukuran korelasi dan uji signifikansinya, serta aplikasi uji statistik nonparametrik untuk penelitian sosial ekonomi peternakan.
Setelah menyelesaikan perkuliahan Statistika Nonparametrik, mahasiswa akan dapat memilih uji statistik nonparametrik yang tepat untuk penelitian Sosial Ekonomi Peternakan.
Bahan ajar untuk keperluan perkuliahan, dapat di download di website:
1. Fakultas Peternakan Unpad (http://peternakan.unpad.ac.id)
Bahan Ajar Statistika Nonparametrik
2. Universitas Padjadjaran (http://pustaka.unpad.ac.id)
Bahan Ajar Statistika Nonparametrik
Setelah menyelesaikan perkuliahan Statistika Nonparametrik, mahasiswa akan dapat memilih uji statistik nonparametrik yang tepat untuk penelitian Sosial Ekonomi Peternakan.
Bahan ajar untuk keperluan perkuliahan, dapat di download di website:
1. Fakultas Peternakan Unpad (http://peternakan.unpad.ac.id)
Bahan Ajar Statistika Nonparametrik
2. Universitas Padjadjaran (http://pustaka.unpad.ac.id)
Bahan Ajar Statistika Nonparametrik
07 Juli 2011
Professors: Cash Cows or Intellectual Leaders?
There are lots of books and articles about university leadership and management. But the role of 'full' or 'chair' professors rarely, if ever, gets a mention. This seems a curious omission. The reason for it is that universities have gradually converted the role of professors into narrowly defined knowledge entrepreneurs. My own research shows that professors often feel excluded or marginalised within their own institutions as a result. Why has this happened?
There was a time when a 'full' or 'chair' professor would be an all-rounder. They would teach, conduct research and probably also be the head of department. This latter role was essential in the days before the rise of managerialism, when university senates were still powerful. Professors were influential members of such bodies as of right. Without a professor as head an academic department would be effectively unrepresented.
But the expansion of higher education has withered the power of senates and the relative influence of professors. Academic self-governance is in retreat and professors are increasingly seen as cosmopolitans rather than organisational 'locals'.
As higher education has globalised and massified, the role of professors has unbundled. The 'research' professor has replaced the all-rounder as the default model.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0178, 03 July 2011
There was a time when a 'full' or 'chair' professor would be an all-rounder. They would teach, conduct research and probably also be the head of department. This latter role was essential in the days before the rise of managerialism, when university senates were still powerful. Professors were influential members of such bodies as of right. Without a professor as head an academic department would be effectively unrepresented.
But the expansion of higher education has withered the power of senates and the relative influence of professors. Academic self-governance is in retreat and professors are increasingly seen as cosmopolitans rather than organisational 'locals'.
As higher education has globalised and massified, the role of professors has unbundled. The 'research' professor has replaced the all-rounder as the default model.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0178, 03 July 2011
Academic Freedom Reports Worldwide
An Iranian student activist and prisoner of conscience remains in solitary confinement after 37 days in prison with interrogation completed. Charges against a Colombian academic arrested two yeas ago, accused of links with left-wing guerrillas, have been dropped, and he has been released. A student pilot in Iran has been jailed for a year over Facebook activities, including interviews with international media and publicising political activity. A constitutional law scholar in China has gone missing, believed detained in relation to high numbers of independent candidates running in local elections.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0177, 26 June 2011
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0177, 26 June 2011
14 April 2011
VIETNAM-INDONESIA: US to Enhance Education Ties
A trade mission led by the US Department of Commerce's Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sanchez and comprising representatives from around 60 US universities and colleges began a trip to two of the fastest-growing markets in Asia, Vietnam and Indonesia, from 2-9 April, the official Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported.
The mission aimed to attract more Vietnamese and Indonesian students to the US, as well as to open doors for sharing faculty and research. It is part of an US President Obama's goal to double US exports in five years. Higher education ranks among the top 10 US exports Sanchez said.
Sara Schonhardt reported for Voice of America in Jakarta that the US wants to double the number of Indonesian students in America.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0166, 10 April 2011
The mission aimed to attract more Vietnamese and Indonesian students to the US, as well as to open doors for sharing faculty and research. It is part of an US President Obama's goal to double US exports in five years. Higher education ranks among the top 10 US exports Sanchez said.
Sara Schonhardt reported for Voice of America in Jakarta that the US wants to double the number of Indonesian students in America.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0166, 10 April 2011
Universities Sign up for UN Academic Impact
Alison Moodie
For the last six years the United Nations has been pursuing a novel idea: gathering academic research globally into a practical framework. Last November, the idea finally came to fruition when Secretary General Ban Ki Moon launched the UN Academic Impact in New York. So far, nearly 600 universities have signed up to participate, making the initiative one of the fastest-growing cooperative measures of its kind.
The Academic Impact aims to put the vast resources of universities worldwide at the disposal of the UN in an effort to expedite the agency's ability to cope with global problems in a more efficient and coherent manner. "Academic institutions have an invaluable role to play in strengthening the work of the United Nations," said Ban Ki Moon at the launch.
The initiative was conceived as an additional tool in the UN's arsenal to bring more attention and focus to the larger aim of implementing the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight targets that respond to some of the world's toughest challenges such as poverty, HIV-Aids and child mortality.
Educators and development experts increasingly agree that higher education can be exploited far beyond the confines of the ivory tower, and can play an important role in economic and social development.
"The alignment between the aims of the UN and the aims of education really aren't much different," said J Michael Adams, President-elect of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), the lead member organisation of the Academic Impact and President of Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
"We're all committed to building and creating a successful, prosperous world, yet there are very few linkages between the UN and universities," he told University World News.
The UN has laid out 10 broad guiding principles that center around ideals such as human rights, sustainability, peace and educational opportunities. Each participating university is required to undertake at least one project that satisfies one of the designated principles.
For example, a university committed to the principle of promoting sustainability through education, may come up with a way that a housing development can be built quickly following a natural disaster. The UN will then step in and put the idea forward to the relevant agency, and devote its considerable resources to putting the idea into action.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0166, 10 April 2011
For the last six years the United Nations has been pursuing a novel idea: gathering academic research globally into a practical framework. Last November, the idea finally came to fruition when Secretary General Ban Ki Moon launched the UN Academic Impact in New York. So far, nearly 600 universities have signed up to participate, making the initiative one of the fastest-growing cooperative measures of its kind.
The Academic Impact aims to put the vast resources of universities worldwide at the disposal of the UN in an effort to expedite the agency's ability to cope with global problems in a more efficient and coherent manner. "Academic institutions have an invaluable role to play in strengthening the work of the United Nations," said Ban Ki Moon at the launch.
The initiative was conceived as an additional tool in the UN's arsenal to bring more attention and focus to the larger aim of implementing the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight targets that respond to some of the world's toughest challenges such as poverty, HIV-Aids and child mortality.
Educators and development experts increasingly agree that higher education can be exploited far beyond the confines of the ivory tower, and can play an important role in economic and social development.
"The alignment between the aims of the UN and the aims of education really aren't much different," said J Michael Adams, President-elect of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), the lead member organisation of the Academic Impact and President of Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
"We're all committed to building and creating a successful, prosperous world, yet there are very few linkages between the UN and universities," he told University World News.
The UN has laid out 10 broad guiding principles that center around ideals such as human rights, sustainability, peace and educational opportunities. Each participating university is required to undertake at least one project that satisfies one of the designated principles.
For example, a university committed to the principle of promoting sustainability through education, may come up with a way that a housing development can be built quickly following a natural disaster. The UN will then step in and put the idea forward to the relevant agency, and devote its considerable resources to putting the idea into action.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0166, 10 April 2011
Gender, Power and Managerialism in Universities
Kate White, Teresa Carvalho and Sarah Riordan
Our research compares higher education in Australia, South Africa and Portugal, which has to varying degrees moved from a collegial to a managerial model. Its objective is to explore the role of senior managers in consolidating and interpreting new managerialism and perceptions of potential effects on gender.
The reasons for comparing gender, power and managerialism in these three countries are that they offer different historical perspectives of higher education.
Australian and South African universities were traditionally based on the British model and have national Equal Opportunities (EO) legislative frameworks. Australia has had equal opportunity legislation since 1984 and affirmative action in the workplace legislation since 1986, and South Africa introduced EO legislation and policy after the first democratic election in 1994.
While equal treatment of men and women has been guaranteed since 1976 in the Portuguese constitution, and specific legal frameworks have been developed to promote equality in the workplace, there are no affirmative action plans in higher education.
Despite different academic structures, these countries have relatively higher levels of participation of women in senior leadership positions when compared with other developed countries, although the percentage of women at rector-vice-chancellor levels remains low.
Australia has a higher female to male ratio of economic participation and opportunity (participation, remuneration, advancement of women as technical-professional workers and in senior positions) - while Portugal and South Africa are significantly lower. All three countries have similar ratios of females to males in educational attainment, and health and survival. But there is much higher political empowerment (women in parliament) in South Africa than in Australia and Portugal.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0165, 03 April 2011
Our research compares higher education in Australia, South Africa and Portugal, which has to varying degrees moved from a collegial to a managerial model. Its objective is to explore the role of senior managers in consolidating and interpreting new managerialism and perceptions of potential effects on gender.
The reasons for comparing gender, power and managerialism in these three countries are that they offer different historical perspectives of higher education.
Australian and South African universities were traditionally based on the British model and have national Equal Opportunities (EO) legislative frameworks. Australia has had equal opportunity legislation since 1984 and affirmative action in the workplace legislation since 1986, and South Africa introduced EO legislation and policy after the first democratic election in 1994.
While equal treatment of men and women has been guaranteed since 1976 in the Portuguese constitution, and specific legal frameworks have been developed to promote equality in the workplace, there are no affirmative action plans in higher education.
Despite different academic structures, these countries have relatively higher levels of participation of women in senior leadership positions when compared with other developed countries, although the percentage of women at rector-vice-chancellor levels remains low.
Australia has a higher female to male ratio of economic participation and opportunity (participation, remuneration, advancement of women as technical-professional workers and in senior positions) - while Portugal and South Africa are significantly lower. All three countries have similar ratios of females to males in educational attainment, and health and survival. But there is much higher political empowerment (women in parliament) in South Africa than in Australia and Portugal.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0165, 03 April 2011
Rankings Bring Asia out of the Shadows
Kevin Downing
Are Asian institutions finally coming out of the shadow cast by their Western counterparts? At the 2010 World Universities Forum in Davos, a theme was China's increasing public investment in higher education at a time when reductions in public funding are being seen in Europe and North America. China is not alone in Asia in increasing public investment in higher education, with similar structured and significant investment evident in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
While in many ways this investment is not at all surprising and merely reflects the continued rise of Asia as a centre of global economic power, it nonetheless raises some interesting questions in relation to the potential benefits of rankings for Asian institutions.
Interest in rankings in Asian higher education is undoubtedly high and the introduction of the QS Asian University Rankings in 2009 served to reinforce this. The publication of ranking lists is now greeted with a mixture of trepidation and relief by many university presidents and is often followed by intense questioning from media that are interested to know what lies behind a particular rise or fall on the global or regional stage.
In 2010, universities in Asia did particularly well in terms of their annual rise in the QS World University rankings. For example, mainland China now has six universities in the top 200, Hong Kong five, Taiwan one, Singapore two, Malaysia one, Thailand one, Japan eleven and South Korea four.
Contrast this with the position just one year previously when the figures were mainland China six, Hong Kong four, Taiwan one, Singapore two, Malaysia none, Thailand one, Japan 10 and South Korea three.
In other words, from these South East Asian countries alone another four universities have achieved World top 200 status with the accompanying advantages in terms of global brand exposure.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0165, 03 April 2011
Are Asian institutions finally coming out of the shadow cast by their Western counterparts? At the 2010 World Universities Forum in Davos, a theme was China's increasing public investment in higher education at a time when reductions in public funding are being seen in Europe and North America. China is not alone in Asia in increasing public investment in higher education, with similar structured and significant investment evident in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
While in many ways this investment is not at all surprising and merely reflects the continued rise of Asia as a centre of global economic power, it nonetheless raises some interesting questions in relation to the potential benefits of rankings for Asian institutions.
Interest in rankings in Asian higher education is undoubtedly high and the introduction of the QS Asian University Rankings in 2009 served to reinforce this. The publication of ranking lists is now greeted with a mixture of trepidation and relief by many university presidents and is often followed by intense questioning from media that are interested to know what lies behind a particular rise or fall on the global or regional stage.
In 2010, universities in Asia did particularly well in terms of their annual rise in the QS World University rankings. For example, mainland China now has six universities in the top 200, Hong Kong five, Taiwan one, Singapore two, Malaysia one, Thailand one, Japan eleven and South Korea four.
Contrast this with the position just one year previously when the figures were mainland China six, Hong Kong four, Taiwan one, Singapore two, Malaysia none, Thailand one, Japan 10 and South Korea three.
In other words, from these South East Asian countries alone another four universities have achieved World top 200 status with the accompanying advantages in terms of global brand exposure.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0165, 03 April 2011
29 Maret 2011
Why There Are Not More Women University Leaders
Su-Mei Thompson and Lisa Moore
Over the past half-century, women have made tremendous gains in the workplace all over the world. Hong Kong is a shining example of this. Since 1993, the number of women employed as managers and administrators has increased by 108% and the number of women employed as professionals has increased by 104%. However, despite more women being prevalent in the workplace than ever before, they are still under-represented in decision-making positions across industry sectors and professions. And despite the fact that academia would seem to be a natural profession where women should thrive, the statistics and studies reveal that the leadership potential of women remains untapped in academia as in so many other areas. On the surface, the academic world in Hong Kong is filled with women. Employment rates in universities are nearly equal - 55% men to 45% women. But in fact, this parity applies only in lower ranking positions. At the lowest level, that is supporting academic staff and supporting research staff, the number of men and women is almost level. Among junior academic staff, however, men outnumber women by two-to-one.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0164, 27 March 2011
Over the past half-century, women have made tremendous gains in the workplace all over the world. Hong Kong is a shining example of this. Since 1993, the number of women employed as managers and administrators has increased by 108% and the number of women employed as professionals has increased by 104%. However, despite more women being prevalent in the workplace than ever before, they are still under-represented in decision-making positions across industry sectors and professions. And despite the fact that academia would seem to be a natural profession where women should thrive, the statistics and studies reveal that the leadership potential of women remains untapped in academia as in so many other areas. On the surface, the academic world in Hong Kong is filled with women. Employment rates in universities are nearly equal - 55% men to 45% women. But in fact, this parity applies only in lower ranking positions. At the lowest level, that is supporting academic staff and supporting research staff, the number of men and women is almost level. Among junior academic staff, however, men outnumber women by two-to-one.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0164, 27 March 2011
23 Maret 2011
Academic Freedom Reports from Around the World
Noemi Bouet
After weeks of violence in Burkina Faso, in which at least six students died, the government has shut down all universities until further notice. The Yemini army has injured 98 students while attempting to halt protests on campuses. In Sudan, 100 students and youths have been arrested since January and many have reported severe mistreatment and torture. An Iranian history lecturer has been dismissed after publishing critical articles, and the Iranian Ministry of Education has announced new restrictions on students abroad. In Malawi, lecturers striking against interference in academic freedom have defied a presidential order to go back to work.
After weeks of violence and a major demonstration, the government has shut down all universities across Burkina Faso until further notice, the Washington Post reported on 14 March.
At least six students have died in clashes with the police over the last month. Damage to public offices in the northern city of Ouahigouya, and cuts to social services for students have also been reported.
The government closed universities in response to student protests related to the death of Justin Zongo, a student who died on 20 February while in police custody in Koudougou, west of the capital Ouagadougou.
The Yemeni army wounded 98 students during an attempt to stop protests taking place on university campuses, the Guardian reported on 9 March 2011.
The army violently attacked students who have been camping on campuses since mid-February to protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Inspired by recent popular unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, students at Sana'a University are calling the president to step down.
The government's attempt to control and stop the protests ended with a violent confrontation between the army and the students.
Soldiers used rubber bullets and tears gas to break up the protest and wounded 98 students. According to health workers, a number of students are severely injured.
Seyed Hossein Javdani, a history lecturer at Payame Noor University in Mashad, has been dismissed after publishing critical articles, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported on 7 March.
Javdani was banned from teaching at Payame Noor University after the university security unit and security organisations requested the faculty not to assign him courses at the beginning of the new term. He said he had not been directly informed of his dismissal.
According to Javdani, who is also a member of the central council of Khorasan's Tahkim-e Vahdat Alumni Association (Advar) branch and former secretary of Tehran University's Islamic Association of Democracy Seeking Students, his activities outside the university are not in any measure related to his function and duties as a lecturer.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0163, 20 March 2011
After weeks of violence in Burkina Faso, in which at least six students died, the government has shut down all universities until further notice. The Yemini army has injured 98 students while attempting to halt protests on campuses. In Sudan, 100 students and youths have been arrested since January and many have reported severe mistreatment and torture. An Iranian history lecturer has been dismissed after publishing critical articles, and the Iranian Ministry of Education has announced new restrictions on students abroad. In Malawi, lecturers striking against interference in academic freedom have defied a presidential order to go back to work.
After weeks of violence and a major demonstration, the government has shut down all universities across Burkina Faso until further notice, the Washington Post reported on 14 March.
At least six students have died in clashes with the police over the last month. Damage to public offices in the northern city of Ouahigouya, and cuts to social services for students have also been reported.
The government closed universities in response to student protests related to the death of Justin Zongo, a student who died on 20 February while in police custody in Koudougou, west of the capital Ouagadougou.
The Yemeni army wounded 98 students during an attempt to stop protests taking place on university campuses, the Guardian reported on 9 March 2011.
The army violently attacked students who have been camping on campuses since mid-February to protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Inspired by recent popular unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, students at Sana'a University are calling the president to step down.
The government's attempt to control and stop the protests ended with a violent confrontation between the army and the students.
Soldiers used rubber bullets and tears gas to break up the protest and wounded 98 students. According to health workers, a number of students are severely injured.
Seyed Hossein Javdani, a history lecturer at Payame Noor University in Mashad, has been dismissed after publishing critical articles, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported on 7 March.
Javdani was banned from teaching at Payame Noor University after the university security unit and security organisations requested the faculty not to assign him courses at the beginning of the new term. He said he had not been directly informed of his dismissal.
According to Javdani, who is also a member of the central council of Khorasan's Tahkim-e Vahdat Alumni Association (Advar) branch and former secretary of Tehran University's Islamic Association of Democracy Seeking Students, his activities outside the university are not in any measure related to his function and duties as a lecturer.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0163, 20 March 2011
What International Students Want to Study
Yojana Sharma
Predicting where future international students will come from and what subjects they go abroad to study has become a mini-industry in receiving countries such as Britain and Australia, where some courses are highly dependent on overseas student fees.
Delegates and experts at the British Council's Going Global conference, held in Hong Kong from 11-12 March, agreed that demand for overseas courses from Asian students will carry on rising.
"Overall demand for international education will continue to grow in the low single digits in the next decade," said Tony Pollock (pictured), Chief Executive of IDP Education, an international student placement service.
However, subject choices may be changing as sending countries like China and India become more affluent, students from Singapore prefer to study at their own excellent universities and Malaysia reduces the number of government scholarships for students on expensive overseas courses.
Medicine and related courses in the West have long been popular with students from India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, while business-related degrees and engineering have been the top choice for students from China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
This is according to a survey of 5,000 prospective international students in 14 countries by Hotcourses, a web-based company that advises students on course choice internationally.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0163, 20 March 2011
Predicting where future international students will come from and what subjects they go abroad to study has become a mini-industry in receiving countries such as Britain and Australia, where some courses are highly dependent on overseas student fees.
Delegates and experts at the British Council's Going Global conference, held in Hong Kong from 11-12 March, agreed that demand for overseas courses from Asian students will carry on rising.
"Overall demand for international education will continue to grow in the low single digits in the next decade," said Tony Pollock (pictured), Chief Executive of IDP Education, an international student placement service.
However, subject choices may be changing as sending countries like China and India become more affluent, students from Singapore prefer to study at their own excellent universities and Malaysia reduces the number of government scholarships for students on expensive overseas courses.
Medicine and related courses in the West have long been popular with students from India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, while business-related degrees and engineering have been the top choice for students from China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
This is according to a survey of 5,000 prospective international students in 14 countries by Hotcourses, a web-based company that advises students on course choice internationally.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0163, 20 March 2011
17 Maret 2011
Grade Point Average: A Need for Change
Kay Cheng Soh
Grade point average (GPA) is a historical mistake in two senses. First, it has had an impact on student assessment the world over from elementary school through to university, and in this sense it is historic. Second, it has a very long history, appearing two centuries before the birth of modern-day theories and technologies of quantitative educational assessment; in this sense, it is also historical.
Today, however, we know so much more about educational assessment than the academics of the 18th century, and that there is no reason for continued acceptance of the GPA.
Let's imagine what might have happened in the past. A professor had a pile of students' term papers to assess. He studied them one by one and labelled them as 'Excellent', 'Good', 'Fair', 'Borderline' or 'Poor' according to his expectations based on his academic experience.
From 'Excellent' to 'Poor' there was a decrease in quality, and it was more convenient to label them as grades A, B, C, D and F. These were not convenient either, and were coded as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th classes to indicate the order of quality. As writing 'st', 'nd', 'rd', and 'th' was clumsy to a busy professor, they were now written as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Here we see several things taking place in the professor's mind in a short time: qualities were coded in labels; labels were replaced by grades; grades were translated into ordinals; and ordinals were, for convenience, written in shorthand and appeared as cardinal numbers.
In this process of quality>labels>grades>ordinals>cardinals transformation, the first four stages are fine and right; re-coding does not change the meanings or the nature of assessment. But the last stage of equating 'ordinals' (numeric used for ranking and grading) with 'cardinals' (numeric used for enumerating or counting) changes the meaning and nature of measurement.
This is where GPA went wrong. Because ordinals 5(th), 4(th), 3(rd), 2(nd) and 1(st) denoting ranks based on 'subjective qualitative judgement' look exactly like cardinals 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 based on 'objective quantitative enumeration', they were mistaken as equivalents. In short, ranking on quality became counting of quantity.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
Grade point average (GPA) is a historical mistake in two senses. First, it has had an impact on student assessment the world over from elementary school through to university, and in this sense it is historic. Second, it has a very long history, appearing two centuries before the birth of modern-day theories and technologies of quantitative educational assessment; in this sense, it is also historical.
Today, however, we know so much more about educational assessment than the academics of the 18th century, and that there is no reason for continued acceptance of the GPA.
Let's imagine what might have happened in the past. A professor had a pile of students' term papers to assess. He studied them one by one and labelled them as 'Excellent', 'Good', 'Fair', 'Borderline' or 'Poor' according to his expectations based on his academic experience.
From 'Excellent' to 'Poor' there was a decrease in quality, and it was more convenient to label them as grades A, B, C, D and F. These were not convenient either, and were coded as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th classes to indicate the order of quality. As writing 'st', 'nd', 'rd', and 'th' was clumsy to a busy professor, they were now written as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Here we see several things taking place in the professor's mind in a short time: qualities were coded in labels; labels were replaced by grades; grades were translated into ordinals; and ordinals were, for convenience, written in shorthand and appeared as cardinal numbers.
In this process of quality>labels>grades>ordinals>cardinals transformation, the first four stages are fine and right; re-coding does not change the meanings or the nature of assessment. But the last stage of equating 'ordinals' (numeric used for ranking and grading) with 'cardinals' (numeric used for enumerating or counting) changes the meaning and nature of measurement.
This is where GPA went wrong. Because ordinals 5(th), 4(th), 3(rd), 2(nd) and 1(st) denoting ranks based on 'subjective qualitative judgement' look exactly like cardinals 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 based on 'objective quantitative enumeration', they were mistaken as equivalents. In short, ranking on quality became counting of quantity.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
Caution with Offshore Campuses
Establishing a campus in another country requires a vast amount of work, absorbs a huge quantity of the time of senior academics and managers, takes even longer to get the campus up and running - and should only be tried if it meets with the university's long-term strategic plans. This was the view put by Monash University Vice-chancellor Professor Ed Byrne in his address to the 4th annual Australian Higher Education Congress. The Melbourne-based university has four overseas campuses - in India, Italy, Malaysia and South Africa; the first, Malaysia, was established 13 years ago and the latest in India in 2008.
"The first principle in creating an overseas campus is that it must be aligned with the university's strategic plan: it shouldn't be serendipitous or seized if an opportunity arises. It needs a clear, well thought-out, long-term international engagement plan," Byrne said.
The second principle was that "colonialism does not work". This was the model, more developed in the US than in Britain or Australia, where the campus was an "offshoot of the mother ship", a place for students to get some international experience in another country, notably in Europe.
Such a model was limited and, if a university tried to expand the offshoot into a broader university by flying in expatriate staff, it became a "colonial exercise" that would add little to the higher education environment in which it was established
"Overseas campuses should be partnerships with a local institution, the government or other local entities," Byrne said. "So you develop an offshore campus that will work and enhance the overseas country's university experience, rather than just as an offshoot that makes a return for the mothership at home."
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
"The first principle in creating an overseas campus is that it must be aligned with the university's strategic plan: it shouldn't be serendipitous or seized if an opportunity arises. It needs a clear, well thought-out, long-term international engagement plan," Byrne said.
The second principle was that "colonialism does not work". This was the model, more developed in the US than in Britain or Australia, where the campus was an "offshoot of the mother ship", a place for students to get some international experience in another country, notably in Europe.
Such a model was limited and, if a university tried to expand the offshoot into a broader university by flying in expatriate staff, it became a "colonial exercise" that would add little to the higher education environment in which it was established
"Overseas campuses should be partnerships with a local institution, the government or other local entities," Byrne said. "So you develop an offshore campus that will work and enhance the overseas country's university experience, rather than just as an offshoot that makes a return for the mothership at home."
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
A Question of Ethics
Bruce Macfarlane
During the current turbulence in the Middle East, a storm of public criticism engulfed the London School of Economics after it was found to have accepted a £1.5 million (US$2.4 million) pledge from a charity run by a son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. LSE Director Howard Davies accepted responsibility and resigned.
Cambridge University's Deputy Vice-chancellor also came in for criticism for being part of a delegation to the Middle East that included representatives of British arms manufacturers. Other universities in France and the United States have been found to have trained Libyan diplomats.
But the LSE affair is only the latest in a long line of ethical controversies that have affected universities. Back in 2000, in what some saw as the ultimate irony in university corporate sponsorship, Nottingham University accepted £3.8 million from British American Tobacco to establish an International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
During the current turbulence in the Middle East, a storm of public criticism engulfed the London School of Economics after it was found to have accepted a £1.5 million (US$2.4 million) pledge from a charity run by a son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. LSE Director Howard Davies accepted responsibility and resigned.
Cambridge University's Deputy Vice-chancellor also came in for criticism for being part of a delegation to the Middle East that included representatives of British arms manufacturers. Other universities in France and the United States have been found to have trained Libyan diplomats.
But the LSE affair is only the latest in a long line of ethical controversies that have affected universities. Back in 2000, in what some saw as the ultimate irony in university corporate sponsorship, Nottingham University accepted £3.8 million from British American Tobacco to establish an International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0162, 13 March 2011
09 Maret 2011
Plan to Share Lecturers Earns Top Marks in Indonesia
Education experts have lauded a proposed plan by the government that would allow for the transfer of lecturers between universities in a bid to boost the institutions' standings and hence enrollment rates, writes Dessy Sagita for the Jakarta Globe.
Harry Iskandar, secretary at the National Education Ministry's Directorate General of Secondary and Higher Education, announced the plan to share lecturers last week.
"The basic idea is that lecturers who don't meet a set quota of teaching hours at a given university can be lent to another university that doesn't have enough lecturers," he said, adding that the purpose was to improve the educators' reach by allowing them to teach at more than one university.
Muslihar Kasim, chairman of the Indonesian University Rectors Council, said he was "very excited" about the plan. "I believe it will be able to boost Indonesia's poor university enrolment rate as well as improve the image of some universities that don't have enough educators," he said last week.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
Harry Iskandar, secretary at the National Education Ministry's Directorate General of Secondary and Higher Education, announced the plan to share lecturers last week.
"The basic idea is that lecturers who don't meet a set quota of teaching hours at a given university can be lent to another university that doesn't have enough lecturers," he said, adding that the purpose was to improve the educators' reach by allowing them to teach at more than one university.
Muslihar Kasim, chairman of the Indonesian University Rectors Council, said he was "very excited" about the plan. "I believe it will be able to boost Indonesia's poor university enrolment rate as well as improve the image of some universities that don't have enough educators," he said last week.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
Therapeutic Laughter in Higher Education
William C Andress
In 2000 a report came out of the University of California, Los Angeles, indicating that students feel more overwhelmed and stressed than just 15 years ago. The following year an American College Health Association survey suggested that 33% of students felt hopeless, with 22% suffering severe depression at least three times within the previous year.
Nor does the situation seem to be improving. Just last year, the director of campus student health services at Washington University in St Louis stated that "depression and suicide are the largest health issues facing students at this time".
In response to such dire findings, while an assistant professor at Oakland University, 64 kilometres north of Detroit, I submitted a proposal for a course in 'therapeutic laughter'. Its purpose was to use a novel approach to teach students lifelong stress management skills. Support for such a course was strengthened by the increased attention researchers were giving to the subject at such diverse universities as Indiana State, Raleigh Dickinson and Loma Linda.
Interest in laughter's therapeutic value stems from 1979 when Norman Cousins published a personal testimony, An Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. While editor-in-chief of the Saturday Review, Cousins contracted ankylosing spondylitis, a crippling inflammation of the vertebral column. This left him virtually immobile and in extreme pain with a one in 500 chance of recovery.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
In 2000 a report came out of the University of California, Los Angeles, indicating that students feel more overwhelmed and stressed than just 15 years ago. The following year an American College Health Association survey suggested that 33% of students felt hopeless, with 22% suffering severe depression at least three times within the previous year.
Nor does the situation seem to be improving. Just last year, the director of campus student health services at Washington University in St Louis stated that "depression and suicide are the largest health issues facing students at this time".
In response to such dire findings, while an assistant professor at Oakland University, 64 kilometres north of Detroit, I submitted a proposal for a course in 'therapeutic laughter'. Its purpose was to use a novel approach to teach students lifelong stress management skills. Support for such a course was strengthened by the increased attention researchers were giving to the subject at such diverse universities as Indiana State, Raleigh Dickinson and Loma Linda.
Interest in laughter's therapeutic value stems from 1979 when Norman Cousins published a personal testimony, An Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. While editor-in-chief of the Saturday Review, Cousins contracted ankylosing spondylitis, a crippling inflammation of the vertebral column. This left him virtually immobile and in extreme pain with a one in 500 chance of recovery.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
Building Capacity for Higher Education Growth
The growth of higher education is increasingly impacting on the organisational structures and strategic direction of universities in the developed and developing world alike. The 50% increase in student enrolments across the world over the last decade has changed the face of the university sector, with increased institutional diversity, new forms of private higher education and so on.
The literature on higher education clearly demonstrates that middle managers, often drawn from the academic community, are crucial to the processes of development and change. As Professor Ron Barnett of the Institute of Education in London puts it: "Much more than capable management, across the world universities need creative, visionary and effective leadership with a global perspective that understands the capacities of universities in promoting the public good."
Higher education is seen as the key to increasing economic competitiveness with a wide range of strategies adopted by universities to achieve expansion with internationalisation. These include leading universities establishing overseas campuses, and a slew of collaborative ventures between universities within and across countries. Yet, for any country, particularly those gaining in presence on the world stage, the focus is more towards seeking to build world-class universities.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
The literature on higher education clearly demonstrates that middle managers, often drawn from the academic community, are crucial to the processes of development and change. As Professor Ron Barnett of the Institute of Education in London puts it: "Much more than capable management, across the world universities need creative, visionary and effective leadership with a global perspective that understands the capacities of universities in promoting the public good."
Higher education is seen as the key to increasing economic competitiveness with a wide range of strategies adopted by universities to achieve expansion with internationalisation. These include leading universities establishing overseas campuses, and a slew of collaborative ventures between universities within and across countries. Yet, for any country, particularly those gaining in presence on the world stage, the focus is more towards seeking to build world-class universities.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
Universities Respond to Social Media
Facebook has 500 million users and counting, Twitter generates 65 million tweets a day and the latest version of the free blog publishing platform Wordpress has been downloaded more than 32.5 million times. Students are more than ready for social media, said Rahul Choudaha, an international education specialist at World Education Services. "If we're doubting it, then it will be a mistake."
Social media has experienced rapid growth in a very short time. Tweets, blogs, status updates, IM and newsfeeds are just some of the terms that have entrenched themselves in everyday speech. Higher education institutions worldwide have been responding by creating Facebook pages, blogs, interactive web platforms and Twitter accounts.
Choudaha was speaking at the annual Association of International Education Administrators conference held in San Francisco late last month. Along with other digital media experts, he examined strategies to successfully implement web-based and social media initiatives in international higher education.
Social media is perhaps most critical in international education, and can be used to attract prospective students, manage students studying abroad and keep alumni connected after graduation.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
Social media has experienced rapid growth in a very short time. Tweets, blogs, status updates, IM and newsfeeds are just some of the terms that have entrenched themselves in everyday speech. Higher education institutions worldwide have been responding by creating Facebook pages, blogs, interactive web platforms and Twitter accounts.
Choudaha was speaking at the annual Association of International Education Administrators conference held in San Francisco late last month. Along with other digital media experts, he examined strategies to successfully implement web-based and social media initiatives in international higher education.
Social media is perhaps most critical in international education, and can be used to attract prospective students, manage students studying abroad and keep alumni connected after graduation.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011
02 Maret 2011
Universities Need to Challenge Islamism
Universities around the world have failed to do enough to confront Islamism on campus when they are one of the prime targets for recruitment. GEORGE READINGS argues that universities need to ensure they treat Islamist intimidation of students as similar to racism or other forms of abuse.
When Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on board a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, attention was immediately focused on his time as a student in London. In particular, during his studies at University College London, he had posted fantasies about engaging in violent jihad to online discussion forums and, as president of the college's Islamic Society, invited a variety of radical speakers to take part in a 'War on Terror' week on campus.
Abdulmutallab's case is not exceptional. No fewer than 15 individuals implicated in terrorist plots and attacks have had some link to British universities.
Despite the increased awareness of the dangers of extremist activity on campuses in the months following Abdulmutallab's attempted attack, extraordinary events were taking place on another campus just across London, at City University.
Although no violence resulted, a handful of extremists were able to take control of the student Islamic Society and use it as a platform to spread violently intolerant views. They also intimidated gay, Jewish and Muslim students who disagreed with their views, undermining their basic rights and liberties. Members of the society even used its website to post messages supportive of the al-Qaeda linked preacher Anwar al-Awlaki.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0160, 27 February 2011
When Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on board a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, attention was immediately focused on his time as a student in London. In particular, during his studies at University College London, he had posted fantasies about engaging in violent jihad to online discussion forums and, as president of the college's Islamic Society, invited a variety of radical speakers to take part in a 'War on Terror' week on campus.
Abdulmutallab's case is not exceptional. No fewer than 15 individuals implicated in terrorist plots and attacks have had some link to British universities.
Despite the increased awareness of the dangers of extremist activity on campuses in the months following Abdulmutallab's attempted attack, extraordinary events were taking place on another campus just across London, at City University.
Although no violence resulted, a handful of extremists were able to take control of the student Islamic Society and use it as a platform to spread violently intolerant views. They also intimidated gay, Jewish and Muslim students who disagreed with their views, undermining their basic rights and liberties. Members of the society even used its website to post messages supportive of the al-Qaeda linked preacher Anwar al-Awlaki.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0160, 27 February 2011
22 Februari 2011
Higher Education Becomes More Costly
Geoff Maslen
University students are having to meet more of the cost of their higher education in countries with existing mass higher education systems and "ageing demographics" - and the trend towards reduced public spending on universities looks set to continue. A new report, released last week, says governments facing budget-balancing exercises, such as Britain and some US states including California, are already imposing cuts.
Meanwhile, in emerging countries with burgeoning higher education systems, such as China, India and Brazil, the report says efforts are being made to expand access quickly to new student populations.
Tuition Fees and Student Financial Assistance: 2010 Global Year in Review was prepared by Higher Education Strategy Associates, a Toronto-based company set up last year as an extension of the Canadian Education Project.
The 60-page report reviews the situation facing higher education institutions in 39 countries, including a dozen in Europe and 13 in Asia. It says that although the global situation for tuition and student financial aid policies did not change drastically last year, "major changes to the affordability and accessibility of higher education around the world are on their way".
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0159, 20 February 2011
University students are having to meet more of the cost of their higher education in countries with existing mass higher education systems and "ageing demographics" - and the trend towards reduced public spending on universities looks set to continue. A new report, released last week, says governments facing budget-balancing exercises, such as Britain and some US states including California, are already imposing cuts.
Meanwhile, in emerging countries with burgeoning higher education systems, such as China, India and Brazil, the report says efforts are being made to expand access quickly to new student populations.
Tuition Fees and Student Financial Assistance: 2010 Global Year in Review was prepared by Higher Education Strategy Associates, a Toronto-based company set up last year as an extension of the Canadian Education Project.
The 60-page report reviews the situation facing higher education institutions in 39 countries, including a dozen in Europe and 13 in Asia. It says that although the global situation for tuition and student financial aid policies did not change drastically last year, "major changes to the affordability and accessibility of higher education around the world are on their way".
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0159, 20 February 2011
New Director for Developing World Academy
Munyaradzi Makoni
TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, has a new executive director. Physicist Romain Murenzi is credited with spearheading science-based programmes and development in Rwanda after years of civil war and genocide in the 1990s.
Murenzi replaces Mohamed HA Hassan, who is retiring after almost 30 years of service. He will be based at the academy's secretariat in Trieste, Italy, on the campus of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and will take up the post in the next few months.
TWAS, which promotes scientific excellence for sustainable development, has close to 1,000 scientist members from 90 developing countries. It runs capacity building programmes in the developing world, operating under the administrative umbrella of Unesco and receiving core funding from the Italian government.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0158, 13 February 2011
TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, has a new executive director. Physicist Romain Murenzi is credited with spearheading science-based programmes and development in Rwanda after years of civil war and genocide in the 1990s.
Murenzi replaces Mohamed HA Hassan, who is retiring after almost 30 years of service. He will be based at the academy's secretariat in Trieste, Italy, on the campus of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and will take up the post in the next few months.
TWAS, which promotes scientific excellence for sustainable development, has close to 1,000 scientist members from 90 developing countries. It runs capacity building programmes in the developing world, operating under the administrative umbrella of Unesco and receiving core funding from the Italian government.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0158, 13 February 2011
The Corruption of Ethics in Higher Education
Corruption in higher education is as endemic as in other institutions. One way to cut down on it, argues STEPHEN P HEYNEMAN in the latest edition of International Higher Education, is to survey students and faculty regularly.
Once the dean called me about a grade for the daughter of the rector. The rector was in the hospital. The dean said that he has suffered enough already and that I should not make him suffer any more, so I should give his daughter a good grade. - Assistant professor in Kazakhstan. Admissions were a way to make money. Big money. - Administrator in Georgia.
Universities are commonly thought to be a haven for young adults. No matter how unstable the polity or how dismal the prospects for the economy, education investments are treated as sacrosanct.
Recently, however, it has been discovered that education systems can be as corrupt as other parts of government and the economy; and that values of fairness and impartiality, once thought to be universal characteristics of university systems, can be supplanted by the interests of specific individuals, families, ethnic groups and institutions.
Such misconduct includes the abuse of authority for both personal and material gain. Higher education can be corrupt through: the illegal procurement of goods and services; cheating in the provision of its normal functions (admissions, grading, graduation, housing and academic products); professional misconduct (favouring of family members, sexual exploitation, bias in grading, research plagiarism etc); and cheating in the paying of taxes and the use of university property.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0157, 06 February 2011
Once the dean called me about a grade for the daughter of the rector. The rector was in the hospital. The dean said that he has suffered enough already and that I should not make him suffer any more, so I should give his daughter a good grade. - Assistant professor in Kazakhstan. Admissions were a way to make money. Big money. - Administrator in Georgia.
Universities are commonly thought to be a haven for young adults. No matter how unstable the polity or how dismal the prospects for the economy, education investments are treated as sacrosanct.
Recently, however, it has been discovered that education systems can be as corrupt as other parts of government and the economy; and that values of fairness and impartiality, once thought to be universal characteristics of university systems, can be supplanted by the interests of specific individuals, families, ethnic groups and institutions.
Such misconduct includes the abuse of authority for both personal and material gain. Higher education can be corrupt through: the illegal procurement of goods and services; cheating in the provision of its normal functions (admissions, grading, graduation, housing and academic products); professional misconduct (favouring of family members, sexual exploitation, bias in grading, research plagiarism etc); and cheating in the paying of taxes and the use of university property.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0157, 06 February 2011
31 Januari 2011
SNMPTN 2011: Jalur Undangan dan Ujian Tertulis
Berdasarkan pada Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia Nomor 66 Tahun 2010 tentang Perubahan Atas Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 17 Tahun 2010 tentang Pengelolaan dan Penyelenggaraan Pendidikan dan Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Nomor 34 Tahun 2010 tentang Pola Penerimaan Mahasiswa Baru Program Sarjana pada Perguruan Tinggi yang diselenggarakan oleh Pemerintah, pola penerimaan mahasiswa baru program sarjana pada perguruan tinggi melalui pola seleksi secara nasional dilakukan oleh seluruh perguruan tinggi secara bersama untuk diikuti oleh calon mahasiswa dari seluruh Indonesia.
Berdasarkan hasil rapat Majelis Rektor Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Indonesia di Jakarta pada tanggal 4 November 2010, para Rektor Perguruan Tinggi Negeri di bawah koordinasi Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Tinggi Kementerian Pendidikan Nasional menyelenggarakan seleksi calon mahasiswa baru secara nasional dalam bentuk Seleksi Nasional Masuk Perguruan Tinggi Negeri (SNMPTN). SNMPTN 2011 merupakan satu-satunya pola seleksi yang dilaksanakan secara bersama oleh seluruh Perguruan Tinggi Negeri dalam satu sistem yang terpadu dan diselenggarakan secara serentak. SNMPTN 2011 akan dilaksanakan melalui (1) jalur undangan berdasarkan penjaringan prestasi akademik, dan (2) jalur ujian tertulis dan/atau keterampilan.
klik di sini untuk informasi lengkap mengenai penyelenggaraan SNMPTN 2011
Berdasarkan hasil rapat Majelis Rektor Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Indonesia di Jakarta pada tanggal 4 November 2010, para Rektor Perguruan Tinggi Negeri di bawah koordinasi Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Tinggi Kementerian Pendidikan Nasional menyelenggarakan seleksi calon mahasiswa baru secara nasional dalam bentuk Seleksi Nasional Masuk Perguruan Tinggi Negeri (SNMPTN). SNMPTN 2011 merupakan satu-satunya pola seleksi yang dilaksanakan secara bersama oleh seluruh Perguruan Tinggi Negeri dalam satu sistem yang terpadu dan diselenggarakan secara serentak. SNMPTN 2011 akan dilaksanakan melalui (1) jalur undangan berdasarkan penjaringan prestasi akademik, dan (2) jalur ujian tertulis dan/atau keterampilan.
klik di sini untuk informasi lengkap mengenai penyelenggaraan SNMPTN 2011
Building a New World-class University
Jamil Salmi
In the past decade, the term 'world-class university' has become a catchphrase to describe research universities at the pinnacle of the tertiary education hierarchy, as measured by the various international rankings. Around the world, governments have responded to this global reputational competition with additional funding to promote their national elite universities, as illustrated by the various 'excellence initiatives' in countries as varied as China, Denmark, Germany, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Spain or Taiwan.
In some cases, the government has also encouraged its top universities to merge so as to achieve economies of scale and reach a better position to compete globally. A few countries have even decided to establish new universities from scratch, with the explicit purpose of creating world-class institutions.
Achieving the ambitious result of launching a high quality, new university is easier said than done, however, as building a world-class institution requires more than knee-jerk reactions to the rankings or a massive infusion of government money. This engagement is a complex and lengthy process that only recently has begun to receive careful attention. The following paragraphs outline the most common pitfalls encountered in some of the current projects that aim at establishing a new flagship institution.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0156, 30 January 2011
In the past decade, the term 'world-class university' has become a catchphrase to describe research universities at the pinnacle of the tertiary education hierarchy, as measured by the various international rankings. Around the world, governments have responded to this global reputational competition with additional funding to promote their national elite universities, as illustrated by the various 'excellence initiatives' in countries as varied as China, Denmark, Germany, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Spain or Taiwan.
In some cases, the government has also encouraged its top universities to merge so as to achieve economies of scale and reach a better position to compete globally. A few countries have even decided to establish new universities from scratch, with the explicit purpose of creating world-class institutions.
Achieving the ambitious result of launching a high quality, new university is easier said than done, however, as building a world-class institution requires more than knee-jerk reactions to the rankings or a massive infusion of government money. This engagement is a complex and lengthy process that only recently has begun to receive careful attention. The following paragraphs outline the most common pitfalls encountered in some of the current projects that aim at establishing a new flagship institution.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0156, 30 January 2011
Professional vs Ethical in Student Recruitment
Matthew Ulmer (Manager of Communications for IDP Education)
A goal of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in the US is to ensure principled conduct among professionals in the recruitment of students. In support of this, and as more of their members enlist the services of international student recruiters, the association is currently considering revising and updating its Statement of Principles of Good Practice, or SPGP, in regard to agent use.
IDP Education supports such a revision. Specifically, we call for the association to acknowledge the role of officially recognised and contracted agencies, to affirm that their form of compensation is legal, and to provide colleges and universities the opportunity to define the practice as 'professional' versus 'ethical'.
For prospective students, the primary function of an agent is to serve as a guidance counsellor. Agents are typically university graduates who have built their reputations in the local markets by delivering good service.
They are counsellors in every sense and fill a market niche, as the admissions process overseas is often vastly different from the US model, and public high schools overseas provide little or no college counselling. These types of agents should therefore be viewed like independent counsellors and fall under NACAC's SPGP.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0155, 23 January 2011
A goal of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in the US is to ensure principled conduct among professionals in the recruitment of students. In support of this, and as more of their members enlist the services of international student recruiters, the association is currently considering revising and updating its Statement of Principles of Good Practice, or SPGP, in regard to agent use.
IDP Education supports such a revision. Specifically, we call for the association to acknowledge the role of officially recognised and contracted agencies, to affirm that their form of compensation is legal, and to provide colleges and universities the opportunity to define the practice as 'professional' versus 'ethical'.
For prospective students, the primary function of an agent is to serve as a guidance counsellor. Agents are typically university graduates who have built their reputations in the local markets by delivering good service.
They are counsellors in every sense and fill a market niche, as the admissions process overseas is often vastly different from the US model, and public high schools overseas provide little or no college counselling. These types of agents should therefore be viewed like independent counsellors and fall under NACAC's SPGP.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0155, 23 January 2011
Islamic World: More Science in Higher Education
Ameen Amjad Khan
Higher education and science and technology ministers from member countries of the Jeddah-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have decided unanimously to make curricula in universities of member states more science-oriented.
At the 14th meeting of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), which concluded in the Pakistan capital Islamabad on 13 January, representatives of various organisations including universities agreed to increase science and technology human resource development, establish centres of excellence in universities and promote university-industry collaboration.
As well as 110 delegates from 24 international science and higher education institutions, 26 ministers of science and higher education from Pakistan, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Malaysia, Bangladesh and other countries of the OIC participated in the meeting.
The gathering also emphasised the need to provide enough resources to foster a culture of competitive research in member countries' universities.
"We can make knowledge-based economies only through a research-based education system which focuses on scientific innovation and technological advancement," said Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, inaugurating the meeting on 11 January.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0154, 16 January 2011
Higher education and science and technology ministers from member countries of the Jeddah-based Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have decided unanimously to make curricula in universities of member states more science-oriented.
At the 14th meeting of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), which concluded in the Pakistan capital Islamabad on 13 January, representatives of various organisations including universities agreed to increase science and technology human resource development, establish centres of excellence in universities and promote university-industry collaboration.
As well as 110 delegates from 24 international science and higher education institutions, 26 ministers of science and higher education from Pakistan, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Malaysia, Bangladesh and other countries of the OIC participated in the meeting.
The gathering also emphasised the need to provide enough resources to foster a culture of competitive research in member countries' universities.
"We can make knowledge-based economies only through a research-based education system which focuses on scientific innovation and technological advancement," said Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, inaugurating the meeting on 11 January.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0154, 16 January 2011
Islamic States: E-networking among Universities
Heads of university central libraries have recommended the establishment of a strategic alliance between the central libraries of universities in Islamic countries to help promote scientific research and teaching and improve computer literacy among students and teachers.
It would be created through the electronic networking of the member universities of Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, FUIW.
The library heads also called for cooperation in the development of standardised bibliographical databases and indexes, ensuring the downloading of manuscripts and rare books, and providing technical services such as inter-borrowing, exchange and photocopying.
The recommendations were made during the first regional conference of the heads of the central libraries of the universities of the Islamic world held in Cairo, Egypt, in December under the theme "Towards a strategic alliance for building knowledge societies". More than 100 heads of libraries or their representatives attended from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0153, 09 January 2011
It would be created through the electronic networking of the member universities of Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, FUIW.
The library heads also called for cooperation in the development of standardised bibliographical databases and indexes, ensuring the downloading of manuscripts and rare books, and providing technical services such as inter-borrowing, exchange and photocopying.
The recommendations were made during the first regional conference of the heads of the central libraries of the universities of the Islamic world held in Cairo, Egypt, in December under the theme "Towards a strategic alliance for building knowledge societies". More than 100 heads of libraries or their representatives attended from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0153, 09 January 2011
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