Jan./Feb. 2001 Volume 14, Issue 1 BREAKING NEWS World Education Services Signs New Partnership With Embark CONTENTS COVER PAGE Return to cover page PRACTICAL INFORMATION Implementation of the Bologna Declaration REGIONAL NEWS Africa The Americas Asia & Pacific Commonwealth of Independent States Europe Middle East FEATURE Island Programs: Myths and Realities in International Education INFO Masthead: Learn more about eWENR and its editorial staff. Workshops: See a listing of upcoming workshops sponsored by WES. Search or Browse WENR Archives: View back issues of this newsletter or search for specific words or terms. Useful Links: See a list of Web sites that may be helpful to eWENR readers.

Regional News  The Americas    Ministers of education from almost 50 Latin American and European countries convened in Paris last autumn to sign an agreement aimed at establishing common ground on which to foster greater cooperation in the various areas of higher education between the two regions. In an effort to strengthen the newly formed intercontinental alliance, the conference participants established a concrete framework for action called the Especio de Ensenanza Superior Union Europa/America Latina/Caribe (UEALC), or the Unified Space for European, Latin America and Caribbean Higher Education. The ministers proposed that this agreement help facilitate the exchange of knowledge, transfer of technology and circulation of students, teachers, researchers, and administrators. Five countries (France and Spain in Europe, and Brazil, Mexico and San Cristobal in Latin America) were named to coordinate the action plan. Ministers from these countries will meet regularly to evaluate projects and devise new strategies once every four years. The objectives of the UEALC are: • To make diplomas and degrees more compatible between all participating countries • The promotion of student and teacher mobility • Implementing a system of compatible credits • Supporting and promoting distance-learning ventures • Exploring the possibility of creating a virtual library. — www.holahoy.com Nov. 6, 2000 BOLIVIA Parliament has approved government plans to open a new public university in February. The institution, to be called the Universidad Pública y Autónoma de El Alto, will be the first in Bolivia to be administered by an "inter-institutional" council under the jurisdiction of the education ministry. The council will include representatives of the university's executive committee, in addition to representatives from local trade unions, parents' committees, the local student federation and the Catholic Church. Ministry officials said that the university is to teach mainly technical subjects and practical skills, with the aim of combating poverty in El Alto, one of Bolivia's largest urban centers. Most of the city's 700,000 inhabitants are indigenous Indians who feel that the country has forsaken them. Education Minister Tito Hoz has applauded the government proposal for an "ideologically different university" and said that the model would "help overcome the defects of our system and sensitize it to the needs of the global market." He further explained that the move sends a clear message to other universities that they will have to break with tradition. — Times Higher Education Supplement Nov. 7, 2000 BRAZIL Brazil's grueling college entrance exams, a system known as the vestibular, are coming under attack from a growing cohort of critics. The exam has become more competitive in recent years due to the shrinking number of university places, particularly in the low-tuition public universities. Ten years ago, 700,000 students contended for 500,000 slots. Compare that with the1.6 million students who are competing for 800,000 or so places today. According to many experts, the vestibular is the single most stressful experience that a Brazilian adolescent will ever have to endure. The country's leading newspapers not only publishes the correct answers to the exams once they are over, but they also advise parents on how to console students who fail to make the grade. Although many countries around the world have highly competitive all-or-nothing placement exams, Brazil's system is unique in that each university prefers to administer its own exam instead of basing its entrance requirements on a standardized, national test. Hence, students can pay exam registration fees of up to US$150 for each university they apply to. Preparatory courses for the exam cost as much as US$600, and it is not unusual for students to study 14 hours a day. Another criticism of the vestibular system is that it requires students to make a binding commitment to a specific field of specialization or major when they register for the exam. Students cannot change their specialization once they enter college. The calls to abolish or at least reform the current system are nothing new. Back in 1966, Brazilian universities were authorized to use other selective processes other than the vestibular to admit students. Since then, the government has been trying to promote a standardized, nationwide exam as an option for high school students. However, the current system is firmly entrenched and critics feel that it will be some time before it can be uprooted and replaced with a more equitable alternative. — New York Times Dec. 29, 2000 Following a long legal battle, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has won the right to reassume to its original name: the University of Brazil. The university's name was changed in 1965, when the military government decided to rename federal universities, ostensibly for administrative purposes. — The Times Higher Education Supplement Dec. 8, 2000 CANADA Former President Clinton's recent call to establish an international education policy in the United States, and similar initiatives on the part of Prime Minister Blair in the United Kingdom, have spurred on Canada to formulate a national policy on international education. The Canadian Bureau for International Education is urging the government to take action aimed at reversing the declining international enrollment trend in many of Canada's provinces. In particular, the CBIE has called on the prime minister to work with the provincial governments in developing a pan-Canadian policy. It has also asked the Immigration Ministry to simplify student authorization procedures and to make Canada more attractive to international students. — Canadian Internationalist Summer 2000 CHILE Sylvan Learning Systems has announced plans to acquire an 80 percent stake in the parent company that owns the Universidad de Las Americas (UDLA), one of Chile's leading private, fully accredited institutions of higher education. The agreement follows other Sylvan purchases including the recent acquisition of controlling interests in the Universidad del Valle de Mexico and Les Roches hotel management school in Switzerland. UDLA currently enrolls 5,500 full-time students and offers 20 degree programs in a variety of disciplines. Although the university has one campus located in downtown Santiago, Sylvan plans to develop several satellite campuses in other Santiago districts and in the southern and northern regions of Chile. At present Sylvan International Universities, a leading education provider, owns and operates a global network of four post-secondary institutions with a total of 55,000 students. — EdInvest News January 2001 ECUADOR La Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia (UCC), a "cooperative university" supported by professional associations, occupational unions and cooperatives, has established 18 new branches in Ecuador during the past six years. The university offers degrees in physical therapy, electronic, civil and industrial engineering, and telecommunications. UCC was established in Colombia in 1958 under the name Instituto de Economia Social y Cooperativisimo. It became a university in 1983, and began offering post-graduate programs in 1994. The university first came to Ecuador in 1995, opening a branch in Ambato, next to the city's Universidad Technica, whose rector accused the UCC of essentially selling degrees. By 2000, the branch-university had grown significantly, enrolling 15,000 students, some of whom have gone on to become deputies, judges, mayors and bureaucrats in Ecuador. UCC Ecuador first attempted to gain legalization in August 1995 but received a bad report from the Consejo Nacional de Universidades y Escuelas Politecnicas for not meeting official standards and for "offering illegal academic programs." Despite the negative report, Equador's Congress officially legalized UCC Ecuador in 1997. UCC is now recognized by federations of journalists, lawyers, and even the Congreso Nacional, but condemned by the anti-corruption commission, which has advised its professional associations not to admit the university's graduates. — Vistazo Nov 16, 2000 UNITED STATES In an effort aimed at reeling in more online students from Latin America, Jones International University, located in Englewood, Colorado, recently announced plans to offer several new cyber-programs in Spanish. Early this year, JIU's seven MBA degrees will be made available in Spanish, starting with programs in e-commerce and entrepreneurship. The university plans to do the same with its Internet-based professional education program. JIU first introduced its online MBA program in March 2000. All of these programs are being translated course by course into Spanish. According to JIU's president, Dr. Pamela Pease, the decision to offer courses and degree programs in Spanish is part of the university's mission to expand educational opportunities globally. Internet access in Spanish-speaking countries has skyrocketed in recent years. There are currently more than 13.3 million Internet users in Latin America, a number that is expected to reach 29.6 million within the next three years. Web surfers in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico comprise approximately 80 percent of all Internet users in the region. According to the June 2000 issue of eMarketer, Latin America has the world's fastest growth rate for Internet use, with a 67 percent increase for this year alone. Low PC costs in Mexico, reduced telephone rates in Chile and Argentina, and increased availability throughout the region are all factors contributing to the surge in Internet usage among Latin Americans. — JIU Insider November/December 2000 Yale University announced it is expanding its financial aid for international students and will accept them regardless of their need. Beginning this year, Yale will make available to international students the same type of financial aid offered to American and Canadian students. The decision is part of Yale's strategy to diversify its student body and to enhance its reputation as a global institution. Other American universities, including Princeton and Columbia, are taking similar steps to internationalize their campuses. Since 1993, Yale has doubled its international student enrollment to about 8 percent of its 5,200 undergraduates. However, it wants to attract even more foreign enrollments. The university also announced that it is planning to create centers to study globalization and to educate world leaders. — New York Times Nov. 15, 2000 E-mail your comments to the editor The eWENR staff welcomes your feedback regarding this article or the newsletter in general.  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS