| March/April
2003
COVER
PAGE Education in Poland REGIONAL
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Regional
News
Americas
BRAZILPrivate Universities Remain Most Popular
Entry to public universities is still very competitive in Brazil, meaning that the limited number of places on offer are available only to the best qualified -- children from private secondary school backgrounds -- who receive disproportionate numbers of places in public tertiary institutions. —
The
Times Higher Education Supplement CANADAAtlantic Schools Capitalize on Ontario Double Cohort
Maritime schools are looking to scoop up the cream of the Ontario crop by making offers weeks, or even months, before students might expect an offer from Ontario schools. While Ontario universities have to wait to mail out offers until they receive student marks in April, schools in the East have been moving quickly over the past few years to attract the best students. Many are even asking for decisions from students around the same time that the Ontario university system will be putting its admission letters in the mail. Almost 102,000 Ontario students have applied for university places this fall, an increase of 47 percent from 2002 and 70 percent from January 2001, according to Ontario’s central application body. —
The
Globe and Mail Canadians Ranked as Best Educated
According to new census numbers released in March, Canada has the highest proportion of educated people among the 30 OECD countries, with 41 percent of the working-age population holding a degree or diploma. The United States follows in second with 37 percent, and Ireland comes in third with 36 percent. The Canadian ranks of the educated has grown 2.7 million, or 39 percent, since 1991 -- more than 2.5 times as fast as the adult population over 25 has grown over the same period. The largest increase was at the master’s level, which was up 60 percent in 2001. Those who earned doctorates rose 48 percent since 1991. Canada, the United States and Ireland are followed in the rankings by: Japan, 34 percent; Finland, 32 percent; Sweden, 32 percent; Australia, 29 percent; New Zealand, 29 percent; Norway, 29 percent; and Belgium, 27 percent. —
The
Globe and Mail COLOMBIAViolence, Terror Hit Home With Students
A recent statement by Colombia’s teachers union, FECODE, said 125 schools in Bolivar state were forced to close in late December as a result of ongoing battles between leftist guerillas and right-wing paramilitary groups. In Bolivar, where fighting is intense, “schools have come to be seen as physical spaces where guerillas, paramilitaries and the army carry out political proselytism, based on a foundation of terror,” said the technical secretary of FECODE’s human rights commission, Fabio Zapata. Last year, approximately 290,000 children had to leave school permanently or temporarily due to the forced displacement of 2,900 teachers, he added. Zapata stated that more than 100 schools were destroyed in attacks and 82 public school employees were killed in 2002. FECODE’s slogan this year is “Our schools: Neutral Territory in the Armed Conflict.” —
Inter Press Service NICARAGUAStudents Protest Further Budget Cuts
Rector of the Agrarian National University and President of the National Council of Universities Telemaco Talavera said the number of applicants for university places grows every year, but the amount of money universities receive continues to diminish. The budget for universities in 2003 was set at US$54 million, but financial difficulties led the government to cut US$6.2 million in December, and now a presidential veto has reduced this by a further US$3.4 million, representing a total reduction of about 18 percent. —
SciDev Net UNITED STATES of AMERICACompetency-Based University Gains Accreditation
The university has received accreditation at the associate-, bachelor-, and master-degree levels. Accreditation for the Salt Lake City-based institution comes five years after it opened to much hype over the anticipation of revolutionizing higher education degrees based on student competence in subjects instead of course credits. The university was accredited by four agencies: the Commission on Colleges and Universities of the Northwest Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The four together are called the Inter-Regional Accrediting Committee due to the special circumstances of crossing traditional regional accreditation boundaries. The university has no campus or courses. Instead it administers competency examinations to test whether students have obtained the knowledge necessary to earn a degree. Students can prepare for the exams by relying on their life experiences or by taking online courses offered by colleges and universities around the country that have formed partnerships with the university. Now that the university has earned accreditation, the North-West Association will be in charge of re-evaluations. —
The Chronicle of Higher education North Dakota Targeting Use of Fake Degrees
The bill is currently making its way through the Senate. If enacted, it would be a Class A misdemeanor to use a fake degree for employment, education or other personal gain. The bill defines as a diploma mill any institution that is not accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or by a foreign equivalent. A handful of other states, including Oregon and New Jersey, have similar laws on the books. The number of diploma mills is growing, and lawmakers such as state Rep. RaeAnn G. Kelsch, R-N.D., believe this type of bill will help protect consumers and raise public awareness about the issue. —
The Chronicle of Higher Education Concerns Raised Over .edu Eligibility Expansion
As it stands, use of the domain is restricted to colleges accredited by the six regional agencies and not to institutions accredited by national agencies. The new policy will open the .edu domain up to any college that is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. A list of the qualifying accrediting agencies can be found at Educause’s Web site. There has been some concern that the .edu suffix will somehow confer legitimacy on all that bear its name. Organizations that are not accredited institutions and already use the .edu suffix, including Educause, are not affected by the change, and there have been no efforts made to purge unaccredited users of the .edu suffix. A warning
has been posted on the Oregon Government Office of Degree Recognition
Web page stating that “Some diploma mills and unaccredited schools
have been able to obtain .edu extensions, and there is currently no action
under way to make them cease using such extensions. An .edu extension
means nothing regarding a school’s quality or legitimacy.” —
Community College Times Mergers in Kentucky
• Ashland Community College and Ashland Technical Colleges will become Ashland Community and Technical College. • Paducah Community and West Kentucky Technical Colleges will merge – no name decided yet. • Prestonsburg Community and Mayo Technical Colleges will merge – no name decided yet. —
The Chronicle of Higher Education 3 Colleges
on Probation; 2 Appeals Rejected
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Brazilian students continue to choose private alternatives over public
universities, according to the latest higher education survey. Only three
public universities are in the top 10. The list is topped by the private
