June « 2009 « Transcript Research

Indian Update for the Week

On June 30, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

We tried to make it a week without updating on India, but it didn’t happen. As it is, we’re going to summarize three news articles about proposed changes in India in this single post, but all 3 are recommended reading. Naturally, it’s possible that none of these will come to fruition, and it’s equally possible that it may take decades, but it still feels like we’re sitting on the edge of our seats to see what’s going to come out of the Human Resources Development (HRD) in the next 100 days.

Here are the most exciting highlights:

- making 10th year certificate (SSLC) optional – relying instead on internal assessment – and operated by central board rather than state-wide

- getting rid of the the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education and Distance Education Council and replacing them with the to-be-established Commission for Higher Education and Research

- cancelled of Deemed to Be Universities status & time limit to get up to par for those previously granted this temporary designation (as previously reported here)

- IITs and IIMs be upgraded to universities

- academic reforms (semester system, credits, and revision of syllabi also reported here previously) spread beyond just universities to other central educational institutions

- establishment of 100+ new polytechnicsand, 100 new model degree colleges, and 10 new NITs to meet educational needs

- national testing along the lines of the GRE for university admission

- aligning all levels of teacher education under higher ed

- identifying top 1500 colleges and upgrading them to universities

Wow. That is a VERY ambitious list! It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of the next 100 days…

Education Panel Wants UGC, AICTE Scrapped (Times of India)

HRD Ministry’s Proposal Draw Mixed Response (Hindu.com)

100 Days Programme of HRD Announced (IndiaEduNews.net)

Farewell to British DIUS

On June 29, 2009 / Europe & the United Kingdom / Comments Off

The Department for Innovation, Universities, and Skills (DIUS) has been dissolved after just two short years. University and college oversight has now been lumped into the new Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS). The article below gives a brief (though quite opinionated) summary of the former department and asks some good questions about the future of higher education review and financing. For the time being, the BIS website continues to link to the Department for Children, Schools, and Families (DCSF) website for its lists of Recognized UK Degrees and degree awarding institutions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/16/mike-baker-dius

Mozambique Changes to Education

On June 28, 2009 / Africa / Comments Off

Mozambique just passed a new law on higher education that will bring its degree structure in line with the majority of other African degrees. Currently, the premier first degree, the licenciatura, is a five-year program (except in medicine, which lasts seven years). According to this new law, the title of the degree will remain the same, but it will become a three-year program. In addition, students will earn course credits rather than just take a final exam at the end of their program. The second level of higher ed, the Master’s degree, will last from 18 to 24 months. Like most of the world, the third tier will culuminate in a doctoral degree after a minimum of three years.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200906260885.html

Liberian Nursing Schools

On June 27, 2009 / Africa / Comments Off

Twenty-eight nursing schools were shut down in Liberia because they were operating illegally, according to the National Commission on Higher Education.

http://liberiabroadcastingsystem.com/news/article_2009_06_20_1520.html

India again

On June 24, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

Once again, we’ve got updates on Indian higher education. The University World News had two separate articles this weekend. The first discusses the deemed university status previously mentioned here but also includes more details about bribery and admissions standards. The second article linked below contains much more detail about the history of public education in India, dropout rates in secondary school, the basic structure of higher education, disparities between prestigious institutions and “degree-awarding mass colleges,” a small list of good colleges, and research and teaching, all which culminate in the 11th Five Year Plan.

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090618200456244

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090618190739932

Nigerian Entrance Exam Updates

On June 23, 2009 / Africa / Comments Off

Amid all of the other changes Nigerians are hoping for with respect to education, rumors have circulated that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been nixed. Not so, says the registrar of that organization. He has clarified that the new Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME) will consolidate the previous exams – the Universities Matriculation Exam (UME) and the Monotechnics Polytechnics and Colleges Education Exam (MPCE) – so that students will only have to pay for one exam but have the chance to attend six institutions: 2 universities, 2 polytechnics, and 2 colleges of education. In addition to lowering exam costs for students, the unified exam should also result in a unified admissions calendar for institutions, lead to an increase in enrollment at tertiary institutions, as well as allow for faster exam results.

More information can be found online at http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=146721

Malaysian Polytechnics

On June 22, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

Malaysia is stepping up efforts to increase higher educational offerings at their non-university institutions and to revamp their image as a provider of high quality education (especially in light of the gaffe earlier this month when thousands of students erroneously received admissions letters to USM who weren’t actually admissable). Among their different strategies is the possibility that polytechnics will be able to issue degrees and not just diplomas or technical certificates. This would be a big change to the educational structure and allow more students the opportunity to study degree programs instead of just the more vocational diplomas.

More information can be found online at: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090621-149880.html

ICFAI University

On June 19, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

It appears that ICFAI is coming under fire yet again. The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India has a history of being on questionable lists. Now, it appears they are embroiled in a mess with granting franchises to private companies to run centers that are off campus and outside of their government-approved jurisdiction.

For more information: http://www.samaylive.com/news/after-deemed-universities-now-private-univ-under-ugc-radar/634732.html Also, check out the archives of the yahoo group inter-l for even more backgroud info on ICFAI.

Simon Study Abroad

On June 12, 2009 / North America / Comments Off

While our work in international education typically focuses on students with non-US credentials, it would be remiss of us to not delight in the recent passing of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act in the US House of Representatives. The bill still needs to get approval by the Senate, but this is a big step.

For more information on the bill or how you can help TODAY, please see: http://www.nafsa.org/public_policy.sec/commission_on_the_abraham/

Common Education in the Commonwealth?

On June 10, 2009 / Africa, Asia, Europe & the United Kingdom / Comments Off

Because we can’t seem to go without an update on India, we wanted to share this fascinating article. At next week’s Commonwealth Minister’s Conference, India is apparently going to argue for a common course structure and educational systems across the Commonwealth to increase student mobility, comparability of degrees, and similar certificates. Hmmm… Sounds familiar…

While we don’t normally report on things that haven’t happened yet (’cause so much can change from week to week especially with respect to education), this was just too tantalizing to pass up. A Bologna-type accord in the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth?! It’s quite likely nothing will come of it, but we will definitely be keeping an eye on things!

http://www.freshnews.in/india-for-common-higher-education-in-commonwealth-countries-145424

Yet More from India

On June 9, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

Wow, India has been busy! Here is yet another article about even more changes coming down the pipe: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/we-do-need-an-over-arching-regulatory-bodya-national-perspective/360358/

This article runs the gamut, discussing more about the recent issue related to Deemed-to-Be Universities, while also addressing the need for a single higher ed regulatory body; reducing the number of affiliated colleges at a single university; increasing the number of state universities; and a quick summary of some academic reforms. They have got their work cut out of them! We’ll definitely be paying a lot of attention to Indian higher ed over the next several months so expect to see yet more updates here.

Indian Review of “Deemed to Be” Universities

On June 8, 2009 / Asia / Comments Off

As with all new governments lately, India is taking a look at its higher ed practices. The new Human Resources Development Minister has asked the UGC to examine the functioning, role, and purpose of those institutions Deemed-to-Be as well as the rationale for that designation. Concerns abound that these institutions are charging students high fees while providing lower quality education and services.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/05/stories/2009060552080100.htm

Here’s a quick refresher on the difference between a University and a Deemed-to-Be University in India: http://www.education.nic.in/uhe/uhe-inst-UGC-DU.asp And here is the current list of Deemed-to-be-Universities: http://education.nic.in/HigherEdu/list-deemeduniv.asp

Positive Review of German Bologna Update

On June 6, 2009 / Europe & the United Kingdom / Comments Off

There’s been a lot of controversy about Bologna-compliant degrees within and without Europe. There have been questions about adequacy of learning, comparability of pre- and post-Bologna degrees, and, most importantly for students, viability in the job market.

As a result, it’s quite refreshing to read a positive article about Bologna reforms in Germany. This article also gives a quick summation of the structure of German education in general to give the changes some perspective. The article concludes by briefly discussing some upcoming changes to German education such as increasing research centers. There’s also a nice bit about the German mindset and how it relates to education.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2200

Summary of French Higher Ed Issues

On June 5, 2009 / Europe & the United Kingdom / Comments Off

This spring has been problematic for French higher education, and we’ve been at a loss as to how (or if) to discuss it while it was ongoing. Strikes, walk-outs, sit-ins, groups walking in circles, reading aloud flash-mob style, and other methods have been used to bring attention to what students and lecturers say is a crisis in French higher education. The longest-running university strike in French history has come to a stalemate as educators and students return to the classroom without making much headway with the government.

These protests have occurred for a multitude of reasons: planned job cuts, reforms to teacher training (including rolling teacher training into universities), planned changes to advancement & promotions, proposed reforms to the teaching/research hours, and other planned reforms by the French government. French President Sarkozy wants to make French higher education more competitive by giving more authority to institutions for hiring, promoting, and quantifying employee work at an institutional level rather than at a national level and giving institutions the opportunity to seek outside funding. The government believes that their reforms will provide a better education for French university students while also increasing the value of their degrees and the rankings of French universities internationally, but protestors believe that students and the country will lose out if higher education is run like a business.

At one point, roughly half of all universities throughout the country were closed or partially closed by the strike. Teachers’ unions, students’ unions, and even administrative staff have banded together to blockade universities and classes in protest of the proposed changes. Entire universities have been closed for weeks. Some students have never even attended some of their classes. While some lecturers have been holding informal course discussions outside of the university system or providing reading lists, the majority of students in French universities have missed most of the semester.

However, even though the government has not agreed to back down, the strike’s organizers have agreed to temporarily stop the strikes. Otherwise, the Ministry has threatened that students will not receive diplomas, university officials will be replaced, police willbe called in to remove protesters, and students will lose all chances to get credit for the semester. Some universities are offering students a few weeks’ worth of catch-up classes and delaying exams by a few weeks while other institutions appear to be expecting students to take their exams as scheduled without preparation or delay. The reality is that many students fear that they will have to repeat the entire year for failing their exams or that they will be unable to get jobs with degrees earned during this tumultous time.

Archive for June 2009