November/December 2003
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
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, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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