HE News Briefs 27.9.11
by Abby Chau
- AUSTRALIA: Visa restrictions have been lifted for international students
- UNITED STATES: Admission officers feel pressure to look at students who can pay their own way
- SAUDI ARABIA: The country has been building partnerships around the world but some warn caution
- SPAIN: Finding it difficult to implement its second year plan for the Bologna Process
- BRITAIN: Tuition fee hikes have made some consider other routes for students Continue Reading
Using rankings to set policy and funding criteria
by Ben Sowter
I recently received an email from a professor at a Spanish university. In a nutshell, his university had revised its funding policy guidelines to include the criterion that PhD students should have taken their undergraduate program at a university within the top 500 in Webometrics in order to be eligible for funding. Before applying this criterion, he had a PhD candidate from the University of Mumbai that was placed 3rd, introducing it dropped her to 7th and ineligible for a grant. The professor pointed out the University of Mumbai’s position of 155 in our ranking but this was dismissed by the committee due to the fact that QS is a commercial entity and thus our observations somehow invalid.
Our response (below) may make for interesting reading – it’s not just about promoting the strengths of the QS approach to ranking but also about how rankings might more responsibly be applied to this kind of context.
Visas, another homework for governments towards international education and Latin America students. Part.II
by Liliana Casallas
Part II. USA and Spain System
In the US actions to create a transparent and efficient process are related to make students a priority so that they may travel in time to begin their course of study, having focused on cutting wait time for interviews. There are also procedures in place to expedite student applicants, even on short notice. From March 2010, the visa programme is moving towards applying through a unique online form (DS-160), replacing three forms previously used. According to an official source, 90% of applications have wait times of less than 30 days for student and business travellers.
There is no current updated information on rejection rates, however, between 2001 and 2005 the rate of visa rejections was 31%. Table III shows the number of student visas issued, which has been growing proportionally since 2006. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are on the top of the list.
| Country | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Brazil | 5,926 | 7,418 | 10,556 | 9,160 |
| Mexico | 7,885 | 7,778 | 7,538 | 6,281 |
| Colombia | 2,933 | 3,317 | 3,961 | 3,912 |
| Venezuela | 1,928 | 2,244 | 2,363 | 2,543 |
| Argentina | 1,115 | 1,061 | 1,117 | 1,076 |
| Chile | 992 | 1,108 | 1,076 | 1,074 |
| Peru | 1,089 | 1,065 | 1,101 | 1,005 |
| Ecuador | 1,144 | 1,067 | 1,005 | 960 |
| Panama | 613 | 499 | 579 | 547 |
| Cuba | 7 | 18 | 21 | 16 |
Table III. Student Visa (F-1) issued for Latin America
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