HE News Brief 8.2.11

February 8th, 2011Colombia, HE News, HE Reforms, Regional, sweden, Tuition Fee Hikes, UK, University Rankings0 comments

by Abby Chau

• With 45% of young people now vying for a place at university, competition is at its toughest. The Russell Group has just announced a list of A-level subjects which would make students more competitive at finding a place at top universities.  At least two core subjects such as English, maths, biology, chemistry, and geography are advised to be taken. This announcement comes at a time when a report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute shows that in 2003, 6% of applicants were not offered a place and in 2010, this has more than doubled to 14%.  The applicants who did not find a place were more likely to be less qualified.
  Full Story: The Economist
• The Swedish Agency for Higher Education Services recently announced a drastic 75% decrease in the number of foreign applications to the fall semester. This is the first test of a series of new fees which includes application and tuition fees for foreign applicants. Non-EU, E.E.A or Swiss applicants must now pay $140 in application costs and some universities are able to ask them to cough up approximately $30,000 in tuition fees. Tuula Kuosmanen, director of the agency, said that Denmark saw a similar decline in foreign applications when they introduced fees in 2006, but applications eventually recovered.
  Full Story:  New York Times
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