Author Archive for beth

US: Shifting Balance of Foreign Students

Published on December 4, 2009 in News and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

From Sarah King Head, University World News.

Although a recent report applauded the fact that the number of foreign students attending American colleges and universities hit a new peak in 2008, a disaggregation of the data reveals worrisome underlying trends in undergraduate and graduate student numbers.

More than 670,000 foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities in 2008-09, an 8% increase from the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors 2009 report. Not only is this the largest percentage increase since 1980-81, it is the third consecutive year significant growth has occurred.

According to IIE president and CEO Allan E Goodman, “American higher education continues to be highly valued throughout the world. US campuses offer unparalleled opportunities for creativity, flexibility, and cultural exchange. Students from all over the world contribute substantially to their host campuses and to the US economy.”

To Read More…

Global: Huge Expansion in Overseas Campuses

Published on December 2, 2009 in News. 0 Comments

From Geoff Maslen at University World News

A rapidly growing number of universities across the world are establishing branch campuses in other countries. In fact, the number has almost doubled to 162 in the past three years alone and has jumped eight-fold since 2002. Although the US continues to dominate with its offshore campuses scattered around the globe, more countries have become involved as hosts and providers.

A report by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education* says that among the host countries, the United Arab Emirates is the clear leader, hosting a quarter of all international branch campuses in the world.

The report says that of the existing campuses, only 35 were operating before 1999. Since September 2006, at least 49 new campuses have been established – 30% of the current total – with three new ones to be opened soon. In the same period, five international branch campuses have closed.

To read more…

Islamic World: Plan to Reform Nations’ Universities

Published on November 16, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

From Wagdy Sawahel, in University World News.

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.

The institutions were selected using international and regional university rankings, as well as their readiness to meet the demands and their likely impact on the development of knowledge-based economy.

To read more…

Iran: Misconduct Prompts Call for Ethical Standards

Published on November 5, 2009 in News. 0 Comments

From Wagdy Sawahel, in University World News.

As a result of plagiarism and academic misconduct scandals associated with the country’s newly appointed Science Minister, Iranian professors in US-based universities and research centres have called on their peers at home to uphold high ethical standards, including safeguarding the integrity of the academy, curriculum, scholarly contributions and publications.

Despite questions being raised about his academic credentials, the Iranian parliament approved the nomination by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of 52-year-old space scientist Kamran Daneshjo as the country’s new Science, Research and Technology Minister.

Daneshjou, the former election chief who oversaw the disputed vote tally in June, is a professor at the Tehran-based school of mechanical engineering of the University of Science and Technology, the same institution from which Ahmadinejad graduated.

Global: US Again Leads World Rankings

Published on November 3, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

From Geoff Maslen, in University World News.

American universities again dominate the latest Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings as they have for the past six years. Released last Friday, almost a week earlier than expected, the rankings place US universities in all but three of the top 20 spots with Harvard, Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley in first, second and third spot, and the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Tokyo the only outsiders at fourth, 10th and 20th respectively. The top 10 universities are unchanged this year from the rankings drawn up in 2008.

Of the top 50 universities, 36 are US institutions although University College, London, came in at 21, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at 23, Japan’s Kyoto University at 24, Imperial College, London at 26, Toronto at 27, British Columbia at 36, Pierre and Marie Curie University – Paris 6 at 40, Manchester at 41, Copenhagen equal 43 with University of Paris Sud (Paris 11) and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute at number 50.