CONTENTS

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Bologna Country Updates: Southeastern Europe

REGIONAL NEWS
Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Middle East
Russia & CIS

FEATURE
Iraq's students say, 'Welcome back, professor'

AUSTRALIA

IDP Predicts Increased Growth

International student numbers could increase more than sevenfold to 850,000 by 2025, according to the higher education marketing body IDP Education Australia. A recent cooperation deal with India on student and program exchanges have education professionals predicting that India will overtake China as the largest source market for overseas students within 20 years.

The research conducted by IDP Australia demonstrates that with only “natural” growth, there will be at least 560,000 overseas students studying in Australia in 2025 – a fivefold increase from the 115,000 this year. In the most optimistic scenario, international students would outnumber their domestic peers. To cope, Australia’s 38 universities would have to accept thousands more international students and there would have to be an explosion in the number of private providers.

The research also shows Australia is vulnerable to shifts in perception of the quality of its university courses. If quality is not maintained, overseas numbers have the capacity to drop sharply.

— The Australian
Oct. 29, 2003

Beijing, Sydney to Form English-Language Partnership

Australia’s largest private English-language provider and Beijing’s Qinghua University have formed a partnership that will lead to a network of 100 English-language centers across China over the next five years.

Sydney-based Australian Center of Languages (ACL) and the School of Continuing Education at Qinghua University formally sealed the agreement in October to create the Qinghua International English Language Centers. The Chinese government recently designated Qinghua University the country’s leader in continuing education, a fact that ACL hopes will open up even more opportunities.

— Campus Review
Oct. 29, 2003

Foreign Providers Could Receive Subsidies

Public universities in Australia face the loss of federal grants should private local and foreign institutions demand increased funding under international trade agreements. Under the conditions of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the government could be required to provide subsidies to foreign universities offering courses to Australian students, or to those operating onshore. This follows the government’s decision to extend the Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme to students from eight private institutions, including Bond University, which is Japanese-owned.

Under GATS, any funding available to domestic suppliers must also be made available to foreign suppliers. Although the government argues it can discriminate between foreign and domestic private providers regarding subsidies, researchers argue that a case could be brought before the World Trade Organization now that the government is funding local private colleges and universities. Those opposed to GATS argue that equal provision of government subsidies would almost certainly lead to a reduction in funding of public institutions. The concerns are particularly timely as negotiations are taking place over a free trade agreement between Australia and America. Although there has been little interest from overseas universities gaining access to the Australian market, the extension of funding to private institutions could generate greater interest from foreign universities and governments.

— Campus Review
Nov. 5-11, 2003

CHINA

China, France OK Mutual Recognition of Credentials

An agreement signed by France and China has formalized recognition of each country’s higher education credentials. According to the agreement, Chinese students who wish to enter the French higher education system will be able to do so if they have passed the Chinese college-entrance examination, and vice-versa. Students who have completed their first year of study at a Chinese institution of higher education can register for their second year of study at an equivalent French institution.

The agreement also applies to graduate studies, in which completion of first-tier studies qualifies students to enroll in master-level studies. Chinese graduates of four-year programs can apply for the second year of postgraduate studies in France in the same or similar major. The two countries also reached an agreement on doctoral studies, whereby students can conduct research under the guidance of both Chinese and French mentors and defend their thesis in either country. Germany and Britain also formally recognize Chinese credentials.

— People’s Daily
Oct. 22, 2003

Number of Students Taking TOEFL Exam Drops

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam appears to be losing its attraction in China, with a sharp drop in the number of Chinese taking the test. China Daily reports its sources from the National Examination Center under the Ministry of Education said it is still hard to say whether the number of TOEFL participants this year hit a record low.

In Beijing, TOEFL takers totaled approximately 10,000 this year, a sharp decline from more than 30,000 in previous years, and 100,000 in peak years, Beijing-based China Youth Daily reports. Many attribute the decline to the increased complication of securing U.S. study visas, the increasing popularity of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the concerted efforts by the United Kingdom and Australia to attract more overseas students.

— Xinhua News Agency
Nov. 18, 2003

INDIA

International School-Leaving Qualifications Gaining Popularity

Globalization is starting to change the face of examination systems in India, reports India Today. A growing number of schools are adopting such international examinations as the International Baccalaureate (IB) in lieu of the traditional Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations or the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) as more Indian students seek access to global institutions of higher education.

There is a growing feeling that the CBSE-ICSE qualifications no longer prepare students for the challenges of higher education in India and abroad, whereas the IB is perceived to be more rigorous and demanding. Officials from Delhi Public Schools say they have been trying to realign the CBSE to international standards, but it has been a struggle. A number of independent schools have chosen the easier option of adopting the IB and other international programs, such as Cambridge and EDEXEL examinations. According to the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organization, India now boasts 13 authorized IB schools, and 20 new schools are lining up.

— India Today
Nov. 10, 2003

Engineering Curriculum to Be Reformed

After consultations with universities, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) is set to introduce a new curriculum plan that will see the introduction of the cumulative grade-point average system by the academic year 2005-06.

Grades – not marks – will be given in examinations. In addition to encouraging student mobility within India, it is hoped the plan will increase compatibility with international institutions. According to the new standards, those who score 85 points and above will be given an A grade, 65 to 84 a B, 50 to 64 a C, and below 50 a D. Course content will be changed to reflect a curriculum encompassing 10 percent humanities and social sciences, 15 percent basic sciences and engineering sciences, 10 percent technical arts, 15 percent free electives and a 50 percent allotment for the major discipline.

— The Times of India
Sept. 23, 2003

Cheating Cuts Short University-Entrance Exams

The government canceled the Common Admission Test (CAT), the entrance exam to business schools — including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) — after it was discovered that a syndicate was selling copies of the exam from a New Delhi hotel room. The suspects may also have sold other exams, including those for entrance to pre-medical programs.

Students, who were in the middle of the two-hour exam, will now have to retake it at a later date. The saga has potentially serious implications; earlier tests may have been leaked as well. If true, the reputation of the highly competitive IIM and Indian education in general could be tarnished if the full extent of the problem is discovered and proven to be as widespread as some believe. The IIM CAT has been rescheduled for Feb. 15. For other schools, the revised date is still uncertain.

— The Tribune
Nov. 23, 2003

JAPAN

Foreign Students Top 100,000

Japan has achieved its goal of hosting 100,000 foreign students, a target set two decades ago, the Education Ministry said in November. As of May 1, the number of foreign students studying in Japan totaled 109,508, up 14.6 percent from 2002.

— Japan Today
Nov. 12, 2003

MALAYSIA

What is a University College Anyway?

Many colleges in Malaysia are now aspiring for an upgrade to university-college status. But what this means exactly is unclear for both the universities and for the Education Ministry, which cannot offer much more in the way of clear definition than a very general guideline.

According to Star Online and based on feedback from newly upgraded university colleges and ministry sources, the title is meant for mid-level institutions – higher than a private college but not a full-fledged university. The institutions are able to offer their own bachelor’s degrees but not master’s-level courses. According to the National Association of Private Educational Institutions (NAPEI), private-sector institutions go through three phases of development. The first phase allows an institution to offer diploma and higher national diploma programs, and then franchise to offer degree programs from local and overseas universities. After receiving “due recognition” for quality and market relevance, institutions can be elevated to university-college status, and in phase three, the institution may phase out franchised programs and replace them with their own curriculum. And, according to NAPEI, if the university college establishes a good track record, over time it can apply to be elevated to full-university status.

It should be noted the ministry has not produced any formal documents outlining the criteria for each stage of the incremental process; it is a general understanding in the private-education industry that this is the general format. It should also be noted the establishment of the Universiti Tenaga Nasional and Multimedia University did not follow this process.

— The Star Online
Nov. 23, 2003

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

CSU to Provide Postgraduate Studies

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is set to provide postgraduate studies to lecturers at primary teachers colleges in Papua New Guinea. As part of the Virtual Colombo Plan (VCP), a joint initiative between the Australian government and the World Bank, CSU will deliver a master of education course to 40 scholarship recipients under a US$1.03 million AusAID-funded contract.

Introduced two years ago, the VCP aims to address the root causes of poverty through the use of information and communication technologies, with a focus on improving education and access to knowledge.

— CSU news release
Sept. 18, 2003

THAILAND

University of San Francisco Comes to Bangkok

The University of San Francisco has recently opened an office for international relations – its first outside the United States – in Thailand. The office will serve as the university’s base for its international outreach efforts and extends its academic ties to Thailand. It will soon offer a master’s finance degree in cooperation with Assumption University.

— Asia Times Online
Oct. 25, 2003

VIETNAM

Foreign Students on the Rise

The number of foreign students studying in Vietnam reached more than 1,000 between 1998 and 2003, according to information presented at a November conference on international cooperation in education in Hanoi. Apart from those studying under bilateral cooperative education agreements, the number of self-paying students has also increased considerably, especially from Laos and Thailand. Foreign students are mainly studying at Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, Danang College, the Institute for Foreign Relations, the Hanoi Foreign Languages College, the Hanoi Teachers College, the Construction College and the CanTho Agricultural College.

— VNAgency
Nov. 21, 2003

Printer-friendly version of this article

E-mail your comments to the editor