HE News Brief 19.7.10
by Abby Chau
A shake-up of England’s Higher Education system and Australian anxiety over international students – here are this week’s news stories:
- News outlets have been furiously reporting Business Secretary Vince Cable’s announcement of a new vision for higher education. Cable is proposing to Lord Browne, who will be reviewing the state of higher education in the autumn, that a new graduate tax should replace the current system of government loans in order to subsidize higher education. Under this new system, graduates with higher paying jobs will make more graduate contributions. These proposals have been widely panned, some arguing that not only will Conservatives reject such a plan but that such an initiative will further hamper social mobility.
Full Story: BBC News
More: Guardian
- Angolan Minister of Higher Education Maria Cândida Teixeira announced that the country will be going through an aggressive review of their higher education institutions this year. Results of the audit will be published and institutions who perform poorly will be overhauled. Committing to this initiative with resources rather than mere rhetoric, Teixeira hired 42 new officials in order to achieve this target.
Full Story: Angola Press
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HE News Brief 13.07.10
by Abby Chau
A gay-friendly university ratings and Abu Dhabi’s ambitious goals for 2018 – here are this week’s news stories:
- At the Saudi Arabia and Japan: A Dialogue for the Future Seminar held recently in Tokyo, the two nations heralded the need for further educational collaboration. According to the Saudi Ambassador to Japan Abdul Aziz Tukistani, Japan is the second largest trading partner of Saudi. Full Story: Arab News
- As a new fiscal year begins in the states, public colleges are experiencing a tough time as federal stimulus money dries up. Hawaii slashed their educational budget by 26%, and Florida has laid off 21 tenured and 34 tenure-track professors after $82 million was cut from their budget.
Full Story: USA Today
- Executive Director of Strategic Affairs Rafic Makki delivered Abu Dhabi’s Higher Education Strategic Plan recently. Under the Economic Vision 2030, the country plans to move away from oil based revenue and develop a research and knowledge-based workforce. The government plans to invest 1 billion dollars to accomplish this Vision with the goal of having two Abu Dhabi universities ranking on a global Top 100 by 2018.
Full Story: University World News Continue Reading
California Higher Education: a system in peril
by Abby Chau
They were told that there’s no low-hanging fruit. Just one month before the crucial Californian budget deadline at the end of June, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told his constituents, who once enjoyed the status of ranking 8th in the world for their economic prowess, that they were essentially broke and that cuts to the state budget would be long and deep. Schwarzenegger exclaimed, “California no longer has low-hanging fruit. As a matter of fact, we don’t have any medium-hanging fruit. We also don’t have high-hanging fruit. We literally have to take the ladder from the tree and shake the whole tree.”
With house foreclosures and record unemployment plaguing the Golden State, recession-vulnerable public expenditures like welfare programmes and higher education are on the chopping block. The Daily Californian reported that in January of this year, Schwarzenegger planned on suspending the new competitive Cal Grant awards and cutting the budget on educational enrolment growth. With the proverbial knife slashing educational expenditures, many people don’t remember that back in 2004 and in the name of a fiscal crisis, Schwarzenegger, along with the help of then UC President Robert Dynes and California State University Chancellor Charles Reed, was quick to cut the purse strings of public education in favour of privatisation by signing the Higher Education Compact.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “the compact substantially cut base public funding for higher education, required both UC and Cal State to impose large and rapid tuition increases as a permanent source of operating revenues, and committed our universities (in the compact’s own words) to ‘continue to seek additional private resources and maximize other fund sources available to the University to support basic programs.’ Continue Reading
HE News Brief 8.6.10
by Abby Chau
From a French higher education revolution to a growing American uneasiness about their ranking, here are this week’s news stories:
- The second Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Higher Education was supposed to take place in April but due to the Icelandic ash cloud, it was postponed. Stakeholders of this conference, from Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern States, seek to establish dialogues and agreements based on the 2007 Cairo Declaration which, akin to the Bologna Process, aims to harmonise higher education and promote knowledge sharing within member states. This editorial argues against the wholesale acceptance of Bologna and cautions against the so-called neoliberalism of internationalisation and privatisation.
Full Story: Times of Malta
- According to the Chronicle, France is allowing its 83 universities to become autonomous, cutting off traditional ties to the government. In a major overhaul, Sarkozy also plans on investing billions of euros into creating 10 regional “supercampuses” with the view to compete with American Ivy Leagues. The Chronicle posits that the poor performance of French universities in international league tables has had a hand in ushering in this new system.
Full Story: The Chronicle of Higher Education
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HE News Brief 1.6.10
by Abby Chau
From the Iraq higher education system to a boost in the kiwi economy, here are this week’s news stories:
- During the India-UAE: Leveraging the Knowledge Economy Paradigm forum in Abu Dhabi, both countries pledged more robust cooperation in education. Citing the economic climate and the possibility of a human resource crisis, both India and the UAE said distance learning programmes may be a good way forward.
Full Story: Gulf News
- One of the many legacies the U.S will leave behind in Iraq appears to take the form of an uber expensive liberal arts university. The American University of Iraq, according to this article, has only attracted 375 students as high tuition costs and the impracticality of a liberal arts education are cited as barriers to attract enrolment.(See our 16.3.2010 post for more information regarding the Iraq Higher Education System)
Full Story: Guardian
More: Asharq Alawsat
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HE News Brief 25.5.10
by Abby Chau
From Bahrain’s educational overhaul to UK institutions going private, here are this week’s news stories:
- With the help of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Bahrain is planning an overhaul of its education system, with plans to finalise the project by the end of 2011. This project will focus on infrastructure, quality of education, adult education, raising standards, internationalisation and forming a unified award system.
Full Story: Gulf Daily News
- For-profit higher education companies saw their shares rise when news broke that Deputy Undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education Robert Shireman plans to step down in July. It is reported that Shireman is a major critic of for-profit higher education companies (see our 4.5.2010 news brief for more on this).
Full Story: Reuters
More: Wall Street Journal
- In line with the Bologna Process, Germany plans on investing two billion euros over the next ten years to improve university teaching quality. The money will go toward employing more staff and professors, as well as mentor and tutor programmes. In addition, a new academy has been set up to oversee the Quality Pact for Teaching, which was created to make sure that Bologna is successfully implemented.
Full Story: eGov monitor
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HE News Brief 18.5.10
by Abby Chau
From the new British coalition government to Puerto Rican protests, here are this week’s news stories:
- Rwandan university students negotiate a post-genocidal social and ideological minefield, where talk of the 1994 genocide is muffled by government rhetoric based on a stringent reconciliation policy. According to this New York Times article, after high school, students are sent to ingando, isolated camps where students are taught among other things, that the genocide began with the Belgian colonists. How students will walk this very fine line between the freedom to learn and the campaign of imposed silence will be difficult.
Full Story: New York Times
- Now that the new British coalition government has the keys to 10 Downing, people are watching to see which pre-election promises will be kept. The Conservatives said that tuition hikes may be a possibility while the Liberal Democrats promised to phase out fees altogether in six years. With Conservative David Willetts overseeing universities and Lib-Dem Vince Cable as Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, this will no doubt prove to be an interesting topic to watch.
Full Story: University World News
More: The Guardian
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Visas, another homework for governments towards international education and Latin America students. Part III.
by Liliana Casallas
Part III. UK System & Fact table
In the UK, the process has also been changing. Students from Latin America are able to apply online for the visa. Students who wish to pursue their studies in the UK can use the Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS), which is an electronic reference number that is given to applicants as proof that they have been offered a place at an UK institute. According to the British High Commissioner, Rob Fenn, it is one of the changes in order to move toward a consolidation of one system, which integrates an online application, appointment, biometrics within the ‘point based system’ in order to support the strategy of a centralized decision-making process for each region.
In the case of Latin America, the visa application process has been centralised in New York, where they receive and review applications.
The official time for responses takes between a minimum of 5 to 120 working days but response time depend on the country. Nevertheless, there are records of 90% applications processed in 3 days for Brazil, 5 days for Colombia, 10 days for Mexico and 30 days for Venezuela.
It is too early to state if a offshore centralized decision-making process is favourable for expediting student visas but new tools such as CAS will help with the delays caused by acceptance letters.
Certainly, some countries have an open policy to attract international students and promote higher education, others, are also interested to keep the best fresh minds as part of a strategy to invest in the country. As seen in table IV, countries such as the US and UK run a policy to allow students to work in a particular sector after studying in the country. Contrary, Spain has a strongly restrictive visa application system and processing for applicants whatever they are a student or not. Additionally, as one can see below, there are no clear standards in terms of requirements, time, policy and approval rates.
| Australia | USA | Spain | UK | |
| Visa process |
A1= 14 days A2 = 21 days A3= 90 days |
Up to 60 days (excluding visa interview, delivery) |
No information |
Up to 120 days
|
| Visa Fee (1) |
$540
|
$200 (Plus booking appointment cost and $131 application process fee) |
$80 |
$295 |
| Part Time Work |
Up to 20 hours per week while your course is in session and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks.
|
On-campus employment of 20 hours a week or less. 40 hours for internships upon approval.
|
Allowed but number of hours not defined. |
Up to 20 hours per week while your course is in session and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks.
|
| Staying beyond the authorized stay |
No |
F-1 student – An additional 60 days, to prepare for departure from the U.S. or to transfer to another school. Students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are entitled to legally work under Optional Practical Training for 29 months |
No |
Students are allowed to apply for Tier 1 visa, which allows students who have successfully obtained a degree or postgraduate certificate/diploma in the UK to remain and work for up to 2 years. |
| Approval rate |
2006-07 (93.89%) -Global- |
Average 69% | Not published |
Not published |
Table.IV. Visa facts per country
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
Visas, another homework for governments towards international education and Latin America students. Part I. Australia
by Liliana Casallas
The United States, Cuba, France, Spain and the UK are the main host countries for Latin American students who choose to pursue higher education overseas. Each country has their own policy for student visas. Some of these countries have been working for years to establish a transparent and fair system for international students.
Meanwhile, students take into account eligibility, requirements, timings and the paper work process, additionally to other factors such obtaining a permit to work, visa extensions and the migration programme of the host country.
Australia only hosts 1% of mobile students from Latin America. However, it is worth to review Australia’s immigration policy as it is one of the most recognized immigration systems and is a point of reference for other governments who intend to improve their systems such as the UK.
In 2008-2009, Australia processed 227,924 off-shore applications, 52% of those were online. The process to apply for student visas take up to 90 days depending on the assessment level of the participant’s country of origin, which is a key element of the application process.
Australia recognises the importance of being an attractive country for international students and is working on continuous changes to improve the integrity of the student visa program as well as to help streamline the visa application process.
The US tags its immigration policy as “Secure borders, open doors”, which pursues the dual goals of keeping the US safe and of welcoming qualified students. The US government perceives international educational exchange as a good path to create interpersonal exchanges and cross cultural understanding that helps to create a more stable world.
The governments are looking to strike the right balance between making the visa application process easier to genuine students while setting additional controls to avoid people who may abuse the system.
Australia now seeks to assess students enrolling in more than one course, enabling the government to cancel visas that do not comply with the policy during their stay in the country. The Australian government increased the basic rate of living cost for international student from $12,000 to $18,000 a year, elevating the visa requirement for students to prove they have sufficient funds for living in Australia.
Australia also established five assessment levels in the student visa program, which are related to the immigration risk level. Assessment level 5 is the highest based on the calculated immigration risk posed by students from that country studying in any educational sector (Higher Education and Postgraduate Research). The level of assessment define the time and process of evaluation of the visa application. See table 1, to review process time vs. current performance.
| Offshore | |||
| Students Assessment | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3/4 |
| 75% processing time | 14 days | 21 days | 90 days |
| Actual 75 percentile | 15 days | 21 days | 71 days |
Table 1: Students – performance against service standards
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