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
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05 Desember 2011
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
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
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
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
31 Januari 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
12 Juli 2010
US: Stopping Student Cheats by Learning Trickery
The US frontier in the battle to defeat student cheating may be at the testing centre of the University of Central Florida, writes Trip Gabriel for The New York Times. No gum is allowed during an exam: chewing could disguise a student's speaking into a hands-free cellphone to an accomplice outside.
The 228 computers that students use are recessed into desk tops so that anyone trying to photograph the screen - using, say, a pen with a hidden camera, in order to help a friend who will take the test later - is easy to spot. Scratch paper is allowed, but it is stamped with the date and must be turned in later. When a proctor sees something suspicious, he records the student's real-time work at the computer and directs an overhead camera to zoom in, and both sets of images are burned onto a CD for evidence.
Taylor Ellis, the associate dean who runs the testing centre within the business school at Central Florida, America's third-largest campus by enrolment, said that cheating had dropped significantly, to 14 suspected incidents out of 64,000 exams administered during the spring semester. As the eternal temptation of students to cheat has gone high-tech, educators have responded with their own efforts to crack down.
Full report on The New York Times site, July 5, 2010
The 228 computers that students use are recessed into desk tops so that anyone trying to photograph the screen - using, say, a pen with a hidden camera, in order to help a friend who will take the test later - is easy to spot. Scratch paper is allowed, but it is stamped with the date and must be turned in later. When a proctor sees something suspicious, he records the student's real-time work at the computer and directs an overhead camera to zoom in, and both sets of images are burned onto a CD for evidence.
Taylor Ellis, the associate dean who runs the testing centre within the business school at Central Florida, America's third-largest campus by enrolment, said that cheating had dropped significantly, to 14 suspected incidents out of 64,000 exams administered during the spring semester. As the eternal temptation of students to cheat has gone high-tech, educators have responded with their own efforts to crack down.
Full report on The New York Times site, July 5, 2010
28 April 2010
Indonesia: Supreme Court Annuls University Autonomy Law
David Jardine
A controversial university autonomy law sponsored by the ministry of national education has been annulled by Indonesia's Supreme Court. Opponents of the legislation claimed it gave unfair assistance to the offspring of wealthy families.
A lobby bringing together students' and parents' groups has defeated the ministry on a sensitive issue. A number of student protests had been violent, notably in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.
The autonomy visualised by the ministry would have enabled universities to generate up to one-third of their operational funds in the form of tuition fees and 'donations'. In a country with notorious systemic corruption, it was the latter that alarmed opponents most.
The law envisaged the government providing half the funding for higher education institutions. But the court rejected this argument, judging it was based on the invalid assumption that all higher education institutions were equally able to comply.
The panel of judges ruled that there were "obvious disparities" which, they said, hampered the educational process.
The government's response to the ruling came from as high up as Vice-President Boediono who claimed it would have a "massive impact on the national education system".
Nonetheless, the government is prepared to abide by the judgement.
The government is thus faced with drawing up another plan covering university finances. This may be bad news at a time when the ministry has tripled the allocation for university science and maths research programmes. That is a moot point given that the University of Indonesia (UI) has stated its ambition to become the regional centre for climate change studies.
Meanwhile UI has said it is happy to get on with "facts on the ground" where the court ruling is concerned. Its fees vary widely, from $11 to $824 a semester.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0121, 25 April 2010
A controversial university autonomy law sponsored by the ministry of national education has been annulled by Indonesia's Supreme Court. Opponents of the legislation claimed it gave unfair assistance to the offspring of wealthy families.
A lobby bringing together students' and parents' groups has defeated the ministry on a sensitive issue. A number of student protests had been violent, notably in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.
The autonomy visualised by the ministry would have enabled universities to generate up to one-third of their operational funds in the form of tuition fees and 'donations'. In a country with notorious systemic corruption, it was the latter that alarmed opponents most.
The law envisaged the government providing half the funding for higher education institutions. But the court rejected this argument, judging it was based on the invalid assumption that all higher education institutions were equally able to comply.
The panel of judges ruled that there were "obvious disparities" which, they said, hampered the educational process.
The government's response to the ruling came from as high up as Vice-President Boediono who claimed it would have a "massive impact on the national education system".
Nonetheless, the government is prepared to abide by the judgement.
The government is thus faced with drawing up another plan covering university finances. This may be bad news at a time when the ministry has tripled the allocation for university science and maths research programmes. That is a moot point given that the University of Indonesia (UI) has stated its ambition to become the regional centre for climate change studies.
Meanwhile UI has said it is happy to get on with "facts on the ground" where the court ruling is concerned. Its fees vary widely, from $11 to $824 a semester.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0121, 25 April 2010
10 Maret 2010
Malaysia: Terror-accused Students Remain in Detention
Tunde Fatunde
The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMTC) has protested to the Malaysian government over the arrest in January of 50 people at the International Islamic University near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. They are believed to include at least two students from Nigeria and others from Ghana, Kenya, Syria and the Sudan. Although 38 of those arrested were later released, 12 remain in custody and were accused of having links with Al-Qaeda. Two of the Nigerian students are likely to be deported - another incident involving students and religious extremism that is causing the Nigerian authorities concern.
The previous incident involved former Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was arrested in the US after allegedly trying to blow up an American aircraft en route from Amsterdam last Christmas day.
In its letter of protest to the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, the OMCT says it is seriously concerned about the fate of the 12 individuals, in particular because of the 60-day detention for investigation allowed under the Internal Ssecurity Act.
"Previous detainees under the ISA have reported to have been interrogated and tortured during that initial detention time," the organisation says.
Malaysian security agencies are believed to have swooped on an audience attending a lecture at the Islamic University campus in Senangor. The packed audience was listening to a lecture by Syrian Islamic preacher and fiery orator Sheikh Aiman Al Dakkak, who advocated the need for Muslims to destroy the infidel Christian America and Europe.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0114, 07 March 2010
The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMTC) has protested to the Malaysian government over the arrest in January of 50 people at the International Islamic University near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. They are believed to include at least two students from Nigeria and others from Ghana, Kenya, Syria and the Sudan. Although 38 of those arrested were later released, 12 remain in custody and were accused of having links with Al-Qaeda. Two of the Nigerian students are likely to be deported - another incident involving students and religious extremism that is causing the Nigerian authorities concern.
The previous incident involved former Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was arrested in the US after allegedly trying to blow up an American aircraft en route from Amsterdam last Christmas day.
In its letter of protest to the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, the OMCT says it is seriously concerned about the fate of the 12 individuals, in particular because of the 60-day detention for investigation allowed under the Internal Ssecurity Act.
"Previous detainees under the ISA have reported to have been interrogated and tortured during that initial detention time," the organisation says.
Malaysian security agencies are believed to have swooped on an audience attending a lecture at the Islamic University campus in Senangor. The packed audience was listening to a lecture by Syrian Islamic preacher and fiery orator Sheikh Aiman Al Dakkak, who advocated the need for Muslims to destroy the infidel Christian America and Europe.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0114, 07 March 2010
02 Maret 2010
Indonesia: Level University Entrance Playing Field
David Jardine
Confusion over higher education entrance requirements continues across Indonesia.In response, the Ministry of National Education plans to review this year’s arrangements for conducting entrance examinations.
The ministry is particularly keen to have state universities operating a transparent system which is at the same time 'friendly'. The review, due to be completed next year, is to address admissions policies at 84 state universities and technical institutes.
Deputy Minister Fasli Jalal, former Director-General of Higher Education at the ministry and an energetic advocate of reform in that sector, said: "People are getting confused by the whole process."
The confusion derives, Jalal said, from lack of transparency about the number of places available at the various universities and how many were allocated for certain tests. He said the ministry was annually inundated with public complaints from parents and students regarding the vast range of entrance tests and admissions procedures across the country.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0113, 28 February 2010
Confusion over higher education entrance requirements continues across Indonesia.In response, the Ministry of National Education plans to review this year’s arrangements for conducting entrance examinations.
The ministry is particularly keen to have state universities operating a transparent system which is at the same time 'friendly'. The review, due to be completed next year, is to address admissions policies at 84 state universities and technical institutes.
Deputy Minister Fasli Jalal, former Director-General of Higher Education at the ministry and an energetic advocate of reform in that sector, said: "People are getting confused by the whole process."
The confusion derives, Jalal said, from lack of transparency about the number of places available at the various universities and how many were allocated for certain tests. He said the ministry was annually inundated with public complaints from parents and students regarding the vast range of entrance tests and admissions procedures across the country.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0113, 28 February 2010
16 Februari 2010
Plagiarism Dilemmas in University Management
Wendy Sutherland-Smith
Paper in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
Universities face constant scrutiny about their plagiarism management strategies, policies and procedures. A resounding theme, usually media inspired, is that plagiarism is rife, unstoppable and university processes are ineffectual in its wake. This has been referred to as a ‘moral panic’ approach and suggests plagiarism will thwart all efforts to reclaim academic integrity in higher education. However, revisiting the origins of plagiarism and exploring its legal evolution reveals that legal discourse is the foundation for many plagiarism management policies and processes around the world. Interestingly, criminal justice aims are also reflected in university plagiarism management strategies.
More on the University World News site
Paper in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0111, 14 Februari 2010
Paper in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
Universities face constant scrutiny about their plagiarism management strategies, policies and procedures. A resounding theme, usually media inspired, is that plagiarism is rife, unstoppable and university processes are ineffectual in its wake. This has been referred to as a ‘moral panic’ approach and suggests plagiarism will thwart all efforts to reclaim academic integrity in higher education. However, revisiting the origins of plagiarism and exploring its legal evolution reveals that legal discourse is the foundation for many plagiarism management policies and processes around the world. Interestingly, criminal justice aims are also reflected in university plagiarism management strategies.
More on the University World News site
Paper in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0111, 14 Februari 2010
More Academics and Students Suffer Attacks
Brendan O’Malley
Unesco’s new global study, Education under Attack 2010, reports that in a hard core of countries, academics and students are suffering serious human rights violations, ranging from assassination to torture and death threats, mainly at the hands of government or government-backed forces. The study was launched in New York last week and presented to US policy makers in Washington. A new alliance of education, human rights and child protection agencies, held in New York at the offices of Human Rights Watch, sought a common agenda of co-operation to prevent attacks on education and ensure that perpetrators are punished.
More on the University World News site
* See also a case study from the Unesco report of a Zimbabwean academic who escaped death threats from the Mugabe regime.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0111, 14 Februari 2010
Unesco’s new global study, Education under Attack 2010, reports that in a hard core of countries, academics and students are suffering serious human rights violations, ranging from assassination to torture and death threats, mainly at the hands of government or government-backed forces. The study was launched in New York last week and presented to US policy makers in Washington. A new alliance of education, human rights and child protection agencies, held in New York at the offices of Human Rights Watch, sought a common agenda of co-operation to prevent attacks on education and ensure that perpetrators are punished.
More on the University World News site
* See also a case study from the Unesco report of a Zimbabwean academic who escaped death threats from the Mugabe regime.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0111, 14 Februari 2010
03 Februari 2010
Measuring Student Learning, Globally
Nearly two years after the Bush administration said it would not participate in an international experiment aimed at developing a global assessment of student learning, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday formally announced the launch of the effort - with the full participation of the United States and the Obama administration - reports Doug Lederman for Inside Higher Ed.
The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project aims to gauge whether it is possible to develop "reliable and useful comparisons of learning outcomes" that are valid across countries with different cultures and languages, said Richard Yelland, who heads the Education Management and Infrastructure Division at the OECD. The experiment will focus on producing three separate measures: one designed to measure general skills, and two in disciplines, economics and engineering. The Australian Council for Educational Research will lead a consortium that will develop the discipline-specific tests.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0109, 31 Januari 2010
The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project aims to gauge whether it is possible to develop "reliable and useful comparisons of learning outcomes" that are valid across countries with different cultures and languages, said Richard Yelland, who heads the Education Management and Infrastructure Division at the OECD. The experiment will focus on producing three separate measures: one designed to measure general skills, and two in disciplines, economics and engineering. The Australian Council for Educational Research will lead a consortium that will develop the discipline-specific tests.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0109, 31 Januari 2010
10 Desember 2009
Military of Indonesia Seeks Help from Top Universities
David Jardine
In an attempt to boost their professionalism, Indonesia's sometimes notorious armed forces - the TNI - have agreed to cooperate with the Ministry of National Education. The ministry will direct TNI to top state universities that it hopes will aid the military in achieving its aims.
Sceptics have pointed out the TNI has yet to be taken to account for the late 1990s killings of demonstrating university students in Jakarta and the disappearance of some 14 activists at the hands of the Army Special Forces, Kopassus.
Colonel Guntur Wahyudi, a spokesman for the military, said the planned co-operation with the national education ministry would be part of a TNI drive "to be more professional and innovative". "It is the ministry that will direct us to universities that fit our needs," Wahyudi said.
Under the plan, some university lecturers from top state institutions will teach at the Indonesian Military Staff and Command College in West Java. Among the areas Wahyudi has pinpointed are management skills, technology and human rights.
Given the abuses for which the TNI is known, the latter reference can either be seen as a breakthrough or a cynical ploy. Whether inclusion of human rights on the proposed scheme of co-operation brings about an improvement in the TNI's abysmal rights record remains to be seen. It most certainly poses a challenge to the academics charged with teaching the programme.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0104 06 Desember 2009
In an attempt to boost their professionalism, Indonesia's sometimes notorious armed forces - the TNI - have agreed to cooperate with the Ministry of National Education. The ministry will direct TNI to top state universities that it hopes will aid the military in achieving its aims.
Sceptics have pointed out the TNI has yet to be taken to account for the late 1990s killings of demonstrating university students in Jakarta and the disappearance of some 14 activists at the hands of the Army Special Forces, Kopassus.
Colonel Guntur Wahyudi, a spokesman for the military, said the planned co-operation with the national education ministry would be part of a TNI drive "to be more professional and innovative". "It is the ministry that will direct us to universities that fit our needs," Wahyudi said.
Under the plan, some university lecturers from top state institutions will teach at the Indonesian Military Staff and Command College in West Java. Among the areas Wahyudi has pinpointed are management skills, technology and human rights.
Given the abuses for which the TNI is known, the latter reference can either be seen as a breakthrough or a cynical ploy. Whether inclusion of human rights on the proposed scheme of co-operation brings about an improvement in the TNI's abysmal rights record remains to be seen. It most certainly poses a challenge to the academics charged with teaching the programme.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0104 06 Desember 2009
23 November 2009
Harmonised Test goes International
Anca Gurzu
Asia is witnessing a dramatic increase in demand for graduate business education as more candidates in the region are writing an American standardised admission test and choosing to study closer to home. A new analysis released by the Graduate Management Admission Council, known as GMAC, the US-based association representing leading graduate business schools worldwide, shows that the number of students in Asia taking its graduate management admission test has increased 75% between 2005 and 2009.
This demand has outpaced that of all other regions. North America saw a 30% increase in examinations taken during the same period, Europe increased by 25%, and the Middle East and Africa by 43%.
"In Asia, especially India and China, we are seeing both a rapid economic growth rate and a population boom," says Alex Chisholm, a senior analyst at the council. "Having a graduate education gives people the ability to stand out and get a better job."
The test, created in 1954, is a critical part of the admission process for many business schools around the world. According to the council, the test was taken 265,613 times worldwide in the testing year 2009 (ending in June), bringing the global test volume up 7.55% from the previous year.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0102 22 November 2009
Asia is witnessing a dramatic increase in demand for graduate business education as more candidates in the region are writing an American standardised admission test and choosing to study closer to home. A new analysis released by the Graduate Management Admission Council, known as GMAC, the US-based association representing leading graduate business schools worldwide, shows that the number of students in Asia taking its graduate management admission test has increased 75% between 2005 and 2009.
This demand has outpaced that of all other regions. North America saw a 30% increase in examinations taken during the same period, Europe increased by 25%, and the Middle East and Africa by 43%.
"In Asia, especially India and China, we are seeing both a rapid economic growth rate and a population boom," says Alex Chisholm, a senior analyst at the council. "Having a graduate education gives people the ability to stand out and get a better job."
The test, created in 1954, is a critical part of the admission process for many business schools around the world. According to the council, the test was taken 265,613 times worldwide in the testing year 2009 (ending in June), bringing the global test volume up 7.55% from the previous year.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0102 22 November 2009
Isalmic World: Plan to Reform Nations’ Universities
Wagdy Sawahel
The 57 Islamic states have approved a plan to upgrade their universities as a means of achieving world-class status, as well as reforming them to become "functional developmental institutes" providing valuable resources for business, industry and society.
The plan was announced at a workshop, Achieving Excellence in Higher Education, in Ifrane in Morocco earlier this month. It was organised by the Islamic development bank of the 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Al-Akhawayn University. The conference consists of countries from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The aim of the plan is to build a critical mass of world-class scientists and technologists in targeted science and technology areas, while also promoting relevant research and development outcomes for the private sector.
Fifteen institutions, five from Africa, Asia and the Arab world, were identified to carry out the upgrades and reform, and to promote scientific research in agriculture, nanotechnology and information and communication technologies.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0101 15 November 2009
The 57 Islamic states have approved a plan to upgrade their universities as a means of achieving world-class status, as well as reforming them to become "functional developmental institutes" providing valuable resources for business, industry and society.
The plan was announced at a workshop, Achieving Excellence in Higher Education, in Ifrane in Morocco earlier this month. It was organised by the Islamic development bank of the 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Al-Akhawayn University. The conference consists of countries from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The aim of the plan is to build a critical mass of world-class scientists and technologists in targeted science and technology areas, while also promoting relevant research and development outcomes for the private sector.
Fifteen institutions, five from Africa, Asia and the Arab world, were identified to carry out the upgrades and reform, and to promote scientific research in agriculture, nanotechnology and information and communication technologies.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0101 15 November 2009
11 November 2009
Indonesia: Call to Not Revoke University Entry Test
The Regional Representatives Council, or DPD, has urged Indonesia's Education Minister Muhammad Nuh to delay a plan to recruit state university students based on their national final school examination results, writes Hasyim Widhiarto for The Jakarta Post. State universities currently recruit most of their students through admission tests.
Sulistiyo, head of a DPD committee overseeing education, religion and people's welfare, said last week that the plan required a thorough discussion with experts and schools before its implementation.
It was "common" for schools to violate national examination procedure to help their students pass the test, which meant school-leaving results did not actually represent the real achievements of students, Sulistiyo said in a statement.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0100 08 November 2009
Sulistiyo, head of a DPD committee overseeing education, religion and people's welfare, said last week that the plan required a thorough discussion with experts and schools before its implementation.
It was "common" for schools to violate national examination procedure to help their students pass the test, which meant school-leaving results did not actually represent the real achievements of students, Sulistiyo said in a statement.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0100 08 November 2009
02 November 2009
Indonesia: $29 Million Nanotech Initiative
Wagdy Sawahel
Indonesia will spend US$29 million to foster communication between industry and universities to encourage the use of nanotechnology and improve the nation’s industrial competitiveness.
The initiative was announced by the Ministry of National Education which will provide $26.5 million with the remaining funding ($1.59 million) coming from the Ministry of Industry.
The fund will be used to support 60 nanotech research projects in universities and research centres, focusing on applications for industry including ceramics, textiles, food, environment, energy, and information technology and communications. The research projects will be identified by the Indonesian Nanotechnology Society, Masyarakat Nanoteknologi Indonesia or MNI, which is staffed by industry representatives and academics.
Zulkarnain Jalil of the graduate school of materials science at the University of Indonesia said the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology was planning an integrated and coordinated national effort from government, academia, industry and public.
As well as the nanotech fund, several strategic initiatives were needed, including strengthening policy-making institutions and formulating nanotech policy guidelines, establishing research and educational institutions and infrastructure and formulating scientific human resource development plans, he said.
The MNI promotes nanotechnology in Indonesia and organises awards to honour researchers, technologists and policy-makers who have developed, published, and facilitated nanotechnology. It also coordinates a number of research and educational projects including one for early education in nanoscience for young students.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0099 1 November 2009
Indonesia will spend US$29 million to foster communication between industry and universities to encourage the use of nanotechnology and improve the nation’s industrial competitiveness.
The initiative was announced by the Ministry of National Education which will provide $26.5 million with the remaining funding ($1.59 million) coming from the Ministry of Industry.
The fund will be used to support 60 nanotech research projects in universities and research centres, focusing on applications for industry including ceramics, textiles, food, environment, energy, and information technology and communications. The research projects will be identified by the Indonesian Nanotechnology Society, Masyarakat Nanoteknologi Indonesia or MNI, which is staffed by industry representatives and academics.
Zulkarnain Jalil of the graduate school of materials science at the University of Indonesia said the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology was planning an integrated and coordinated national effort from government, academia, industry and public.
As well as the nanotech fund, several strategic initiatives were needed, including strengthening policy-making institutions and formulating nanotech policy guidelines, establishing research and educational institutions and infrastructure and formulating scientific human resource development plans, he said.
The MNI promotes nanotechnology in Indonesia and organises awards to honour researchers, technologists and policy-makers who have developed, published, and facilitated nanotechnology. It also coordinates a number of research and educational projects including one for early education in nanoscience for young students.
Source: University World News, Issue No: 0099 1 November 2009
28 September 2009
Improving Student Retention
As a key performance indicator in university quality assurance processes, the retention of students in their studies is an issue of concern worldwide. Implicit in the process of quality assurance is quality improvement. In an article titled "Improving student retention in higher education", published in the latest edition of Australian Universities' Review, authors Glenda Crosling, Margaret Heagney and Liz Thomas examine student retention from a teaching and learning perspective, in terms of approaches that have an impact on students' decisions to continue with or withdraw from their studies. Ways are discussed in which student engagement can be facilitated through teaching and learning programmes.
The authors point out, in conclusion, that the collection of statistical data on student retention is alone limited in its impact on educational quality improvement, which is implicit in quality assurance objectives. One way to improve quality in regard to student retention is to identify influences and causes of student retention and attrition. Engaging students in their studies has been identified as important in retaining students and stemming attrition. Institutions have shared responsibility to facilitate student engagement.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News,Issue No: 0094 27 September 2009
The authors point out, in conclusion, that the collection of statistical data on student retention is alone limited in its impact on educational quality improvement, which is implicit in quality assurance objectives. One way to improve quality in regard to student retention is to identify influences and causes of student retention and attrition. Engaging students in their studies has been identified as important in retaining students and stemming attrition. Institutions have shared responsibility to facilitate student engagement.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News,Issue No: 0094 27 September 2009
02 September 2009
Indonesia: Private Universities Under Threat
David Jardine
Some 700 private universities in Indonesia have been put on notice by the Ministry of National Education that their accreditation will be withdrawn if they do not quickly comply with regulations. The universities are under instructions to re-register with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
Many of Indonesia's 2,700 private universities are run by foundations known as yayasan, which are essentially charities. Yayasan have a rather controversial history especially as the late dictator Suharto used a network of more than 100 of them to hide revenues and to move them around.
Weak law enforcement has made it difficult to police such foundations. The National Education Ministry, however, gave the foundation-run higher education institutes three years up to December 2008 to complete the re-registration process that would bring them under proper supervision but the 700 are still apparently dragging their feet.
Universities are being given the option of changing their status by severing ties with the foundations that run them by becoming managed educational agencies (BHPP) or public educational agencies (BHPM). This would bring them into line with the 2009 Law on Autonomy for Educational Institutions passed last year by the House of Representatives.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News,Issue No: 0090 30 August 2009
Some 700 private universities in Indonesia have been put on notice by the Ministry of National Education that their accreditation will be withdrawn if they do not quickly comply with regulations. The universities are under instructions to re-register with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
Many of Indonesia's 2,700 private universities are run by foundations known as yayasan, which are essentially charities. Yayasan have a rather controversial history especially as the late dictator Suharto used a network of more than 100 of them to hide revenues and to move them around.
Weak law enforcement has made it difficult to police such foundations. The National Education Ministry, however, gave the foundation-run higher education institutes three years up to December 2008 to complete the re-registration process that would bring them under proper supervision but the 700 are still apparently dragging their feet.
Universities are being given the option of changing their status by severing ties with the foundations that run them by becoming managed educational agencies (BHPP) or public educational agencies (BHPM). This would bring them into line with the 2009 Law on Autonomy for Educational Institutions passed last year by the House of Representatives.
More on the University World News site
Source: University World News,Issue No: 0090 30 August 2009
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