Regional
News
BRAZIL
Teaching
Hospitals Call State of Emergency
Twenty of 45 university teaching hospitals controlled by Brazil's Education
Ministry have declared a state of emergency after cutting essential services
in response to mounting debt.
—
The
Times Higher Education Supplement
Dec. 13, 2002
CANADA
Undergraduate
Admissions Requirements Continue to Rise
At its highest level in years, the bar for entry into most Canadian universities
is expected to rise again this fall.
Some universities
have cut-off marks near 90 percent, as institutions across the country
have gradually raised grade requirements over the years for entry into
undergraduate programs. More high school students are fighting for a limited
number of places.
One example
is the University of Toronto's arts
program, which has seen its cut-off mark rise from 74 percent in 1991
to 80 percent in 2002. Officials from the University
of Alberta have stated that they have reached a peak in the number
of students that they can accept and the only way to curb rising admissions
is to raise the standard required for incoming students. They envision
a cut-off mark of 80 percent for their science program this fall, up from
70 percent in 2002.
In Ontario,
where both Grade 12 and Grade 13 classes are graduating together this
year because of the provincial government's move to discontinue the fifth
year of secondary school, students are feeling increased pressure to raise
their marks. Some university officials worry that this will lead to some
high schools inflating grades to give their students a better chance of
getting into college.
—
The
Globe and Mail
Jan.
18, 2003
Quebec
to Require Therapists With Master's Degrees
By 2010, Québec will require entry-level physiotherapists and occupational
therapists to have a six-year master's degree, compared to the current
requirement of a four-year bachelor's degree. Social workers will also
be required to have a master's degree; the Ordre
Professionnel des Travailleurs Sociaux du Québec has announced
that it will make a master's in social work its entrance qualification
within the next few years.
The move
to raise academic credentials is simply a natural progression, the groups
involved say, as leaps in scientific knowledge require therapists and
social workers to increase their professional qualifications.
To date,
Québec is the only province to consider advanced requirements.
Speech pathologists and audiologists have already instituted a master's-level
entry requirement.
The master's-degree
course for both occupational therapists and physiotherapists will incorporate
all the practical training offered in today's undergraduate curriculum
plus new training in areas such as marketing, operating a business and
evidence-based practices — those drawn from a practitioner's own
research or that of others.
—
The
Globe and Mail
Jan. 29, 2003
COLOMBIA
University
Campus Used as Arms Dump
Security agents uncovered bombs, grenades and other weapons at one of
the Bogota campuses of Colombia's largest public university a week after
suspected leftist rebels launched a mortar attack from the campus.
The Nov.
22 attack, launched from National University
in Bogota, was blamed on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
No one was injured in the attack, but the campus was closed for a week
as a result. A campuswide search resulted in the discovery of the arms
cache.
—
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 13, 2002
World
Bank OKs $200 Million for Higher Education
The World Bank has approved a US$200
million loan to improve the quality and equity of higher education in
Colombia.
The Higher
Education Financing Reform Project will make available a mix of grants
and loans to able students from the poorest backgrounds so that they can
complete their university studies in a country that has seen the percentage
of high school graduates going onto tertiary education drop from 55 percent
a decade ago to only 37 percent in 1999.
The money
will also be used to support top university researchers and to encourage
them to remain in the country and create doctoral programs and centers
of excellence. A research center will also be financed to study the performance
of graduates in the labor market.
—
World Bank Group
Dec. 23, 2002
CUBA
More
U.S. Students Choose Cuba as Study Destination
Officially off-limits to U.S. citizens since 1963, Cuba is becoming a
study destination for a small but growing number of U.S.-based students.
School year 2000-01 saw a 64 percent increase in students from the United
States, for a total of 905, and the number is expected to grow as reports
for the following year are released.
In order
for students to legally visit the only communist country in the Western
hemisphere, their schools must obtain a license from the U.S. Department
of Treasury prohibiting students from engaging in commercial enterprise
during their visit. Once obtained, students must apply to the Cuban government
for a visa.
Interest
in Cuba as a study destination has been described by some as a chance
for students to look at a communist system compared to a capitalist system,
while exploring transition issues facing a developing nation. For many,
Cuba is seen as a land of mystique. Recent visits from celebrities, such
as acclaimed film director Steven Spielberg, to the island and their calls
for an end to the embargo on Cuba suggest a softening of U.S. attitudes
toward Cuba.
—
CNN
Jan. 7, 2003
PERU
Government
Concedes to Academic Hunger Strikers
A government pledge of an additional US$25 million for public universities
ended a weeklong hunger strike by students and professors in early December.
In early
November, student and teachers unions began a strike that affected five
of the country's 28 public universities. The strike spread to other campuses
and culminated with student leaders beginning a hunger strike later that
month.
Protesters
demanded US$50 million but settled for half the amount as student-led
protests around the country became increasingly violent.
—
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 13, 2002
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
Louisiana
Dumps Unaccredited Institutions
| Kellogg
Tops MBA Rankings
The
Kellogg School of
Management at Northwestern University provides the world's best
full-time master's in business administration (MBA) program, according
to a new survey by the Economist Intelligence
Unit. The ranking is based on a school's ability to deliver
the most important elements (as identified by students themselves)
that students look for when studying for an MBA.
U.S.
schools dominate the ranking, with nine of the world's top 10 programs.
The top three schools, according to the ranking, are Kellogg, Tuck
School of Business at Dartmouth
and Duke University's Fuqua
School of Business.
The
only non-U.S. school in the top 10 is Switzerland's eighth-ranked
IMD. Europe's other leading schools
are the UK's 11th-ranked Henley
and 13th-ranked Cranfield,
Spain's 16th-ranked Instituto de Empresa
and France's 22nd-ranked HEC.
The
top schools in the Pacific Rim were Macquarie
in Australia and the Shanghai-based China
Europe International Business School, which placed 42nd and
43rd respectively.
The
factors on which the rankings are based are: opening new career
opportunities and/or furthering current careers; personal development
and educational experience; increasing salary and the potential
to network.
For
the complete ranking, please visit HERE
—
Economist Intelligence Unit
Oct. 11, 2002
|
Unaccredited distance-learning institutions have been voted out of Louisiana
by the state Board of Regents.
Operating-license renewals were refused for Bienville, Columbus, Glenford
and Lacrosse. The four operations were the last unaccredited institutions
remaining in the state.
However,
Bienville has already relocated and is said to be operating out of Mississippi,
and so the struggle against unaccredited diploma mills continues.
—
American Association of Collegiate
Registrars and Admissions Officers
Oct. 15, 2002
Junior
Colleges Seek Easier Transfers to Universities
The nation's community colleges, eager to entice the best and the brightest
with promises of huge savings and easy transfer into top universities
after two years, are recasting themselves as wise first choices for serious
students looking to avoid huge debt.
Community
colleges are composing curriculums that so closely mirror those of liberal
arts universities as to make it nearly impossible for picky admissions
advisors to call their students unprepared.
More than
168 community colleges now have honors programs designed to catapult their
students into the nation's best four-year institutions, compared with
no more than 24 just 15 years ago, according to the National
Collegiate Honors Council. At least 68 of those junior colleges started
their honors programs in the last five years.
Some private
universities have even signed agreements with select community colleges
ensuring that when students transfer, their credits will be accepted.
Thirty states have passed legislation to ensure that courses taken at
community colleges count toward graduation at public universities.
For the students
that fall short of honors programs, the outlook is bleak. Only 15 percent
to 25 percent of community college students advance to four-year universities
within a few years, suggesting that tepid transfer rates disproportionately
hurt the poor.
With that
in mind, a coalition of 100 junior colleges signed an agreement in December
with more than 60 historically black colleges, as well as other four-year
universities serving large numbers of Latinos and American Indians. The
covenant allows any of the community college students who earn associate's
degrees with a grade-point average of 2.5 or better to transfer into the
participating universities, no questions asked.
—
The New York Times
Dec. 15, 2002
Columbia
University to Close Online-Learning Program
Fathom, Columbia University's for-profit
online-learning venture, will close after only two years of operation.
The university will retain the rights to the materials produced for Fathom
and retain its chief executive officer as a consultant, who will find
new applications for the materials.
The venture
was designed to sell Web-based courses and seminars from a number of prominent
institutions. Despite extensive media coverage and millions of dollars
invested, it was never profitable. The site is scheduled to go offline
sometime in March.
Fathom's
demise follows those of other prominent for-profit online-learning ventures,
including New York University and Temple
University.
—
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jan.7, 2003
U.S.,
British Universities Forge Alliance
New School University and Britain's
Open University are developing a
distance and online education program aimed at expanding both institutions'
reach in North America and Europe.
This spring,
in what is intended as the beginning of many collaborative projects, New
School Online University will offer a management-development course developed
by The Open University and overseen by the New School University's Milano
Graduate School. The course is part of a planned five-course program
leading to a Certificate in Management. The Open
University Business School is the largest business school in Europe.
—
New School
University news release
Jan. 27, 2003
2 Black
Colleges Lose Accreditation 
The Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS) has stripped two historically black colleges –
Morris Brown College in Atlanta
and Mary Holmes College in West
Point, Miss. -- of their accreditation.
The association,
at its December meeting, cited bad bookkeeping and a lack of faculty members
with advanced degrees in its decision against Morris Brown College. The
college is $23 million in debt and fending off lawsuits from unpaid vendors
and struggling to pay daily expenses. Mary Holmes College, a tiny coeducational
two-year college, is strapped for cash because enrollments have declined
over the years.
Both institutions
have said they will appeal the association’s decision.
Several of
the country’s 103 historically black colleges and universities are
facing the worst crises in their history. Fifteen percent are on warning
or probation status with accreditation agencies. Many of the problems
stem from the lack of funds allocated by state legislatures.
The best-endowed
black institutions are Howard University
in Washington, D.C., with an endowment of $305 million, and Spelman
College in Atlanta, with $220 million. At the other extreme, according
to a Thurgood Marshall Fund study, 26 colleges have endowments of $1 million
to $6 million. Harris-Stowe College
in St. Louis has the smallest, with $796,000, and three others have endowments
of less than $1 million.
Also in December,
SACS placed Louisiana-based Life University
on probation. The school was given a year to prove it can survive the
financial crisis brought on by the loss of its chiropractic accreditation,
which was revoked in June by the Council
of Chiropractic Education.
—
CentreDaily
Feb. 27, 2003
Alabama
Continues College Mergers
The Alabama State Board of
Education voted in January to merge six two-year colleges to form
three new institutions.
Officials
have been working for 15 years to cut the number of two-year institutions
in the state from 43 to 28. The new plan will further reduce the number
of community colleges to 26.
The board’s
plan will merge Harry M. Ayers State
Technical College with Gadsden
State Community College; Douglas MacArthur
State Technical College with Lurleen
B. Wallace Junior to become Lurleen B. Wallace Community College;
and Enterprise State Junior College
with two campuses of George C. Wallace
Community College.
The mergers
are expected to be completed by fall, when they will face review by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
the regional accrediting agency.
—
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jan. 27, 2003
Study-Abroad
Programs Grow in Glitz, Popularity
Despite current global concerns,
the demand for study-abroad programs is very much on the rise, and a surprising
number of colleges are taking overseas study to a whole new level of high-end
learning. More schools are adding courses, expanding destinations and,
in some cases, catering to students with resort-style extras.
“There’s
a feeling of entitlement,” said Chrisoula Georgiadis, assistant
director at Loyola College in Maryland,
which has begun paying for laundry and gym membership for overseas students.
With enrollment up 10 percent nationally since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks and 55 percent in five years, the demand has increased the competition
and recruiting pressure for colleges.
Educators
say everything from the Internet to global turmoil have made today’s
students more interested in world affairs. The tight job market has not
hurt programs, either, with students hoping a year abroad will brighten
up their resumes. The result: About 1,000 colleges now have an overseas-study
office – up 40 percent from five years ago.
Some of these
new programs are stirring debate. With colleges offering free stopovers
in Fiji (Loyola of Maryland) or free private music lessons (The College
of Wooster, Ohio), educators argue that perks like these can distract
even the most conscientious of students from their classroom obligations.
Despite all these perks and often free airfare thrown in, colleges are
not suffering as much as one might expect. Tuition at most overseas schools
is considerably less than in the United States, and although schools will
argue that they have plenty of administrative costs, many students and
parents who do the math might come away feeling a little cheated by the
price tag of a year abroad.
— Wall Street Journal
Feb. 12, 2003
VENEZUELA
Strikes
Halt Higher Education
Six weeks of national strikes
aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez from office have left Venezuela's
universities in turmoil.
Four of the
nation's 22 universities have officially closed, while the majority of
students and faculty from other public universities and the country's
18 private universities have refused to attend class in a show of solidarity
with the strike that began Dec. 2.
Chavez's
government has become increasingly unpopular among the country's academic
community. One reason is that salaries and expenses have not been paid
in more than two months.
The first
term of Venezuela's academic year normally runs from September to March;
however, plans are now being drawn up for universities to completely reschedule
the term's classes.
—
The Guardian
Jan. 13, 2003
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