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22 janvier 2012

Les écoles d'ingénieurs en appellent aux entreprises

Les EchosPar Isabelle Ficek. A l'approche de la présidentielle, la Conférence des directeurs des écoles françaises d'ingénieurs (CDEFI) lève le voile sur ses propositions pour diversifier le financement de l'enseignement supérieur, et en particulier des écoles, qui forment chaque année 31.000 ingénieurs quand les besoins pour les entreprises en France sont évalués à 40.000. « C'est un défi que nous sommes prêts à relever, mais la question du financement est évidemment cruciale », souligne Christian Lerminiaux, président de la CDEFI. Et ce d'autant que l'Etat, « s'il a favorisé ces dernières années l'enseignement supérieur, trouve ses limites », poursuit-il. Les moyens de fonctionnement 2012 des écoles d'ingénieurs dépendant du ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur n'augmentent en effet que de 0,9% (contre 3,5% l'an dernier) et, a confirmé hier le ministre Laurent Wauquiez, de 1,4%, en comptant la masse salariale. La CDEFI propose d'associer au financement des écoles « ceux qui ont besoin de la ressource ». En clair, les entreprises.

Une des pistes consisterait à faire financer la formation par une entreprise, l'étudiant formé devant ensuite travailler un temps défini pour celle-ci. Un système qui, estime la CDEFI, permet aux entreprises d'avoir des étudiants formés « selon leurs desiderata ». Autre piste, celle d'une augmentation de la taxe d'apprentissage. La hausse des frais d'inscription est aussi une option « si des mécanismes sont mis en place pour les étudiants », les écoles d'ingénieurs ayant augmenté à 24% la part de leurs étudiants boursiers. La CDEFI a imaginé un « chèque mission étudiant », possibilité pour les établissements d'embaucher pour quelques heures les étudiants, avec une exonération des charges sociales. Enfin, la CDEFI plaide pour la diversification des formations et en particulier un développement de la formation tout au long de la vie, source de revenus importante.
Les EchosBy Isabelle Ficek. As we approach the presidential election, the Conference of Directors of French Engineering Schools (CDEFI) unveils its proposals to diversify the financing of higher education, particularly schools, which form each 31,000 years when the need for engineering companies in France are estimated at 40,000. "It's a challenge we are ready to face, but the issue of funding is obviously crucial," said Christian Lerminiaux, president of the CDEFI More...
22 janvier 2012

Universités: fronde sur les budgets 2012

Les EchosPar Isabelle Ficek. La répartition des dotations 2012 pour les universités a provoqué hier la colère des syndicats qui dénoncent une « régression ». Le gouvernement défend sa « priorité ».

Le torchon n'en finit pas de brûler sur les moyens alloués aux universités. Hier, les représentants de la communauté universitaire ont massivement boycotté une séance plénière du Conseil national de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (Cneser), qui devait débattre de la répartition des moyens aux universités. Dans une déclaration commune, les organisations allant du Snesup-FSU en passant par l'Unsa, la CGT, la CFTC, la PEEP ou encore l'Unef ont expliqué ce « signe de profonde réprobation et de colère » contre ce qu'ils considèrent comme un manque de « transparence » du ministère, évoquant « la volonté de camoufler un peu plus la réalité budgétaire des établissements », qui gèrent « la pénurie ». Elles demandent des détails sur « les critères » de répartition.
http://www.lesechos.fr/medias/2012/01/17/275908_0201845264685_web.jpgLe ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, qui dédramatise ce boycott, a annoncé hier une augmentation du fonctionnement des universités pour 2012 de 1,2% en moyenne (+25,2 millions d'euros), nettement moins importante que les années précédentes (+3% en 2011 et +6% en 2010) et plus faible que le taux d'inflation prévu (1,7%). Les variations vont de 0% (Cergy, Marne-la-Vallée, Artois) à 6% (Le Mans), 20 universités se situant en moyenne à +3,5%, afin, précise le ministère, de poursuivre le rattrapage pour des établissements « pas assez dotés ». L'exonération des droits d'inscription des boursiers a aussi été compensée. « Je me suis battu pour obtenir le maximum [...] dans un contexte contraint », a justifié dans un entretien à l'AEF le ministre de l'Enseignement supérieur, Laurent Wauquiez, qui souligne une hausse moyenne de 25% depuis 2007.
Emplois gelés

Louis Vogel, président de la Conférence des présidents d'université (CPU), qui avait assuré aux « Echos » en décembre ne pas vouloir participer au groupe de travail du ministère sur la répartition des moyens, ce qui revenait, selon lui, « à répartir la pénurie », a dit hier « ne pas pouvoir être favorable à un budget dont la dominante est la stagnation des crédits », regrettant, « si on tient compte de l'inflation et de l'accroissement des charges, une régression de fait en euros constants ». S'il a salué les efforts pour 20 établissements, il a aussi pointé l'autre sujet d'inquiétude des universités, celui de la masse salariale (près de 80% du budget des universités), annoncée hier en hausse de 1,5% pour 2012. Il a appelé de nouveau de ses voeux un groupe de travail sur « son calcul et l'actualisation de la masse salariale ». Certaines universités ont, en effet, dû geler des postes et des formations. Le Snesup évalue à 1.000 le nombre d'emplois gelés. Interrogé, Laurent Wauquiez a répondu être « dans le cadre de l'autonomie de décision des universités » et ne pas avoir « de chiffres globaux. » Il a, en revanche, réaffirmé vouloir travailler sur le système de répartition des moyens et la masse salariale. Une nouvelle séance du Cneser est prévue lundi prochain.
Les EchosAf Isabelle Ficek. Fordelingen af bevillingerne for 2012 universiteter i går forårsagede vrede fagforeningerne, der rapporterer en "regression". Regeringen forsvarer sin "prioritet".
Kluden kan ikke stoppe afbrænding på de ressourcer, der afsættes til universiteterne.
I går, repræsentanter fra universitetsverdenen overvældende boykottede et plenarmøde i Det Nationale Råd for Højere Uddannelse og Forskning (CNES), for at drøfte fordelingen af ressourcerne til universiteterne. Mere...
22 janvier 2012

Refonder l’appareil de formation des métiers industriels

Par Paul Santelmann, Responsable de la Prospective à l’AFPA. En 2001 les entrées en formation continue dans les domaines de la production représentaient 9,9% de l’ensemble de l’activité des organismes de formation. En 2009 cette proportion est tombée à 7%. Or les secteurs de l’industrie et du BTP représentent plus de 21% des emplois quant au nombre de salariés relevant des métiers des techniques industrielles et de la construction, il pèse plus de 25% de l’ensemble. Il y a donc une sous-représentation des salariés de l’industrie et du BTP dans l’usage de la formation continue dont une des utilités est pourtant l’adaptation aux évolutions technologiques particulièrement foisonnantes dans ces secteurs.
En ce qui concerne les 4 millions d’emplois de type industriel (mobilisant des compétences technologiques), ils sont répartis ainsi: 4% d’ingénieurs, 26% de techniciens et agents de maitrise (TAM), 50% d’ouvriers qualifiés et 20% d’ouvriers peu qualifiés sachant que les frontières entre ces catégories sont assez poreuses (notons que 54% des TAM sont de niveau infra-BAC et ont un profil proche des ouvriers hautement qualifiés). Cette sédimentation témoigne de la complexité des besoins de formation continue dans un contexte de dévalorisation des métiers industriels, de repli de l’emploi global dans ce secteur et d’évaporation des qualifiés (nombre de jeunes formés aux métiers de l’industrie n’exercent pas dans ce secteur). Plus largement, le faible poids de la FPC dans l’industrie interroge alors même qu’il y a convergence pour souligner l’importance d’une relance de cette activité.

En réalité historiquement les formations industrielles initiales dédiées aux ouvriers et aux techniciens ont bénéficié dans l’après-guerre d’un réel effort de rattrapage par le biais de plusieurs types d’investissement (collèges techniques, FPA, organismes de branche, réseau consulaire, centres d’apprentissage). L’appareil de formation industriel de niveau V et IV (développement des BAC Professionnels) est même, de ce point de vue, hypertrophié. Mais il est également inadapté aux réponses à développer en direction des salariés en place et aux exigences liées aux nouvelles technologies industrielles. Par contre-coup l’appareil de formation continue est sous-développé et compensé par l’implication formative des entreprises elles-mêmes mais avec un certain nombre des travers liés aux structures de formation intégrées.
Aucun état des lieux sérieux n’a été réalisé ces 30 dernières années sur l’état de l’offre de formation industrielle de base (niveau V à III) en France alors que la qualité de l’appareil de formation industriel allemand est une des raisons majeures de la résistance de l’économie de ce pays ! Car c’est bien la production industrielle haut de gamme qui doit être l’objectif prioritaire de notre politique économique illusionnée par le miroir aux alouettes de l’économie servicielle interprétée comme une extension du secteur tertiaire et non comme une hybridation technologique cassant les frontières sectorielles de l’après-guerre!
Le triptyque niveau V, IV et III structuré en formation initiale est désormais inapproprié pour aborder l’éventail des activités de production de type industriel. Les organisations de travail post-tayloriennes et post-fordistes ont bousculé l’ordre largement artificiel des anciennes qualifications ouvrières (manœuvres, OS, OP, OQ, OHQ) dans une logique de resserrement des compétences et de plus grande interpénétration des savoirs. Pour autant le travail ouvrier n’a pas disparu mais a absorbé une partie des compétences de maintenance (micro-maintenance), de l’encadrement de proximité, d’organisation du travail (pôles autonomes) et même de conception (que la maintenance doit maîtriser). De ce fait le CAP traditionnel s’est dévalué car insuffisamment porteur de potentiel d’adaptation mais l’exigence de compétences plus larges en formation initiale s’est traduite, sur le plan de la conception des diplômes, par une logique de poursuite d’études visant à cibler les postes de techniciens (BTS) en évitant les postes de production.
Insuffisamment connecté aux transformations des entreprises et aux travaux de recherche et d’innovation technologique l’appareil de formation dans le champ industriel doit être profondément réorganisé et revitalisé dans ses dimensions et finalités initiale et continue. Cela suppose de dépasser les représentations qui faisaient des écoles d’ingénieurs le seul pivot de l’excellence industrielle! Mais est-il encore temps?
Paul Santelmann, vedúci oddelenia prognóz v AFPA. V roku 2001 položky ďalšieho vzdelávania v oblasti výroby predstavuje 9,9% z celkovej činnosti poskytovateľov. V roku 2009 tento podiel klesol na 7%. Ale v odvetviach priemyslu a stavebníctva predstavujú viac ako 21% pracovných miest v počte zamestnancov na ktoré sa vzťahuje obchodov priemyselné technológie a konštrukcie, váži viac ako 25% z celkového počtu. Takže tam je nízke zastúpenie zamestnancov v priemysle a stavebníctve v užívaní ďalšieho vzdelávania, ktorý nástroj je však prispôsobenie technologickému vývoju liatie najmä v tých oblastiach. Viac...
22 janvier 2012

Neue DAAD-Präsidentin plant neue Austauschprogramme für Unis

http://www.epapercatalog.com/images/zeit-online-epaper.jpgSeit Anfang Januar ist Margret Wintermantel Präsidentin des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes. Sie will mehr ausländische Studenten nach Deutschland holen.
Noch drängen Abiturienten aus geburtenstarken Jahrgängen und doppelten Abiturjahrgängen an die deutschen Hochschulen. Überfüllt sind sie auch wegen der Aussetzung von Wehr- und Zivildienst. Doch der demografische Wandel ist da, bald wird er Unis und Fachhochschulen erreichen. Um das hohe Niveau seines Wissenschaftssystems zu halten, müsse Deutschland mehr tun, um ausländische Studierende anzuziehen, sagte Margret Wintermantel, seit Anfang Januar Präsidentin des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD) am Montag in Berlin. Sie wolle dazu beitragen, dass die Zahl von jetzt 245.000 bis zum Ende des Jahrzehnts auf 300.000 steigt.
Doch wie sollen die unterfinanzierten Hochschulen die derzeitige Überlast und notwendige Internationalisierung ihrer Studierendenschaft stemmen? Über Gebühren für Nicht-EU-Ausländer, wie sie zuletzt Berlins früherer Wissenschaftssenator Jürgen Zöllner vorgeschlagen hat, "müssen wir in den Gremien des DAAD diskutieren", sagt Wintermantel. Auch als DAAD-Präsidentin bleibt sie bei der Position, die sie in der seit 2006 von ihr geleiteten Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK) vertritt: "Um die Grundfinanzierung der Hochschulen zu sichern, brauchen wir privates Geld von Stiftern oder durch Gebühren."
Wintermantel bleibt HRK-Präsidentin bis Ende April

Bis Ende April wird Wintermantel (65) beide Präsidentschaften ausfüllen, dann wählt die HRK einen neuen Chef, der sofort antreten soll. Beim DAAD steht ihr ein ebenfalls neuer Vizepräsident zur Seite, Joybrato Mukherjee (38), seit 2009 Präsident der Universität Gießen.
Mehr Geld vom Austauschdienst stellt Wintermantel den Hochschulen für ihre Internationalisierungsstrategien in Aussicht. Der DAAD werde dafür eine neue Programmlinie aufbauen. Fördern wolle man Universitäten und Fachhochschulen, die sich mit einer neuen Strategie auf bestimmte Partner in der Welt und ausgewählte Forschungskooperationen konzentrieren.
Steigen soll auch die Zahl der deutschen Studierenden, die ins Ausland gehen – von derzeit einem Drittel auf die Hälfte aller Studenten. "Die globalen Herausforderungen der Zukunft können nur Menschen bewältigen, die internationale Erfahrung haben, die empathiefähig mit anderen Kulturen umgehen und die eigene Perspektive kritisch infrage stellen können", sagte Wintermantel.
22 janvier 2012

Time for results in fight against research fraud

http://savevca.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/the-australian_logo1.jpgBy Bernard Lane. THOSE who denounce fraudulent research face greater risks than the perpetrators, the journal Nature says in an editorial.
"For colleagues considering blowing the whistle, the risks are glaringly huge [because of] Britain's ludicrous libel laws,'' the journal says.
It says many in science would prefer not to talk about research misconduct, which is widespread according to a meeting of experts in London last week.
"A big part of the problem is the lack of perceived risk associated with misconduct,'' Nature says.
"Some fraudulent researchers might be sociopaths who don't care about the rules, but many others simply believe that they can anticipate the outcome of a research project, and see no downside to fabricating the required results to save time, or tweaking results to achieve a stronger signal.
"Either way, stronger action and punishments are needed to discourage such misbehaviour.''
The journal says the US Office of Research Integrity has the power to deny funding to researchers who are caught but quotes an expert who believes the office misses major misconduct.
"And the ORI can't initiate investigations: institutions must conduct their own inquiries first.''
Australia's own Research Integrity Committee, which opened last February, was established because in the past serious allegations have ended in multiple inquiries and a sense of paralysis.
Like its US counterpart, ARIC is limited to a review of how a university or medical research institute has handled a complaint of research misconduct.
It can make recommendations to the chiefs of the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
ARIC checks complaint-handling by institutions against a 2007 code for responsible conduct of research.
In the UK, Nature says, funding councils and universities plan to craft a "concordat'' of good practice in research, to which institutions would pledge themselves.
"This is laudable, but unlikely to strike fear into fraudsters and fabricators,'' the journal says.
ARIC is supposed to publish information about its work, without identifying individuals or institutions, at least once a year.
An ARC spokeswoman said the committee had finished one review, and another case had been referred to it for comment. She would not say the result of the review that had been finalised.
ARC chief executive Margaret Sheil said the committee was too new and the cases too few to decide how it would report.
"Until we get a body of data to think about, we don't really know how to present the data,'' Professor Sheil said.
Asked whether ARIC would publish information allowing the public to judge how institutions handled complaints, she said: "I think we will, I just don't know exactly what form that will take''.
She was not surprised that only two cases had come to ARIC since last February.
She pointed out that ARIC was not delving into past complaints and it took time for new complaints to work their way through an institution inquiry before a dissatisfied party could seek to involve ARIC.
She doubted claims that serious research misconduct was widespread.
"Cases where someone sets out to intentionally mislead or fabricate data are not very common at all,'' she said.
In its editorial Nature calls for the UK government to launch an anonymous survey on research misconduct, perhaps followed by a parliamentary inquiry and report.
"Funders and universities could then work together to establish common definitions of what counts as misconduct, and how it will be punished,'' Nature says.
"And if a reform of the libel laws goes ahead, journals and other scientists would be able to do more to highlight and expose miscreants.''
22 janvier 2012

Putin praises Russia’s ‘educational revolution’

http://en.ria.ru/i/eng/rian.gifAn “educational revolution” is transforming Russia’s society and economy, Russian Prime Minister and presidential hopeful Vladimir Putin wrote in an article published on Monday in the Izvestia daily.
“Russia’s main hope is a high level of education, especially for our young people,” Putin wrote.
Fifty-seven percent of Russians between 25 and 35 years old have higher educations, a level matched only by Japan, South Korea and Canada, Putin said in the article.
“Demand for education is skyrocketing” in the 15-25 age group, with 80 percent of young men and women aspiring to or receiving higher education, he wrote.
Even if the Russian economy is at times unable to absorb so many professionals, “there is no way back,” Putin wrote. “It’s not people who should try to adjust themselves to the existing structure of economy and labor market – it’s economy that should change to allow citizens with high level of education and high demands to find a decent job.”
While the Russian constitution guarantees the right to higher education free-of-charge, the lackluster showing of Russian universities in recent global rankings has triggered a spate of national discussion.
Not a single Russian institution is included in the top 200 of the 2011-2012 Times of London Higher Education rankings. Only two Russian institutions have been included in the rating, Moscow State University in the top 300 and Saint Petersburg State University in the top 400.
Foreign rankings have been repeatedly criticized by Russia’s top education officials and university staff as lacking fairness, objectivity and transparency. Education Minister Andrei Fursenko has said he believes a lack of information about programs and graduates from Russian universities provided to rating agencies is partly to blame for their poor showing.
In August, Putin called for the urgent modernization of Russia’s higher education system so that it meets the demands of today. He promised to allocate some 70 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) to create an innovative educational infrastructure in Russian universities in the next five years.
Higher education budget expenditures have more than tripled since 2005, reaching 390 billion rubles (almost $14.5 billion) in 2011.
22 janvier 2012

Studying with ERASMUS

http://s352267760.websitehome.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/LogoAsianC8.jpgBy Dylan Kwok. Located in the northeastern part of Europe, Finland is situated between Sweden and Russian. As the daughter of the Baltic Sea, it not only shares the same time zone with the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but also Greece and Turkey. If we draw a circle with a five-hour flying radius and Helsinki in the center, it will cover the Arctic villages in the north and the Mediterranean towns in the south. This Nordic EU member may seem remote, but flying to Helsinki in facts takes only 8 hours from Beijing. With the national airliner providing direct flights from 11 major cities in Asia to Helsinki, this northern world design capital has becoming more popular among travelers flying between the two continents.
The egalitarian education system of the country has also made Finland a popular destination for international applicants. The number of Asian students who seeks upper education has been increased in the past decades. There are several major reasons that attract foreign students to pursue their graduate degree in Finland, including: the tuition-free master degree programs offered in English, various world-class facilities available on campus and the EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students aka ERASMUS. Established in 1987, the ERASMUS program supports students to undergo exchange programs between different European Universities during their studies. “Walk ten thousand miles. Read ten thousand books.” The classic Chinese proverb has definitely inspired many Chinese students including a Hong Kong media artist Chow Yik.
Yik studies Visual Culture in Aalto University’s Pori campus. Famous for its annual jazz festival, Pori is a coastal city on the southwest border of Finland. Studying in a medium-sized city, Yik was able to fully experience the nature in this country of thousand lakes in her first year. From picking mushrooms and berries; to winter swimming in avanto after Finnish sauna, her days in Pori has enriched her perspective in art and media. Being in the smaller town also encouraged her to attend different school organized trips and oversea projects including an Arctic visit to Tromsø (Norway) two workshops in Vilnius (Lithuania) and Istanbul (Turkey). Thanks to the Erasmus program, she is now on a one-year exchange in France at école supérieure des beaux-arts de Nantes Métropole. Not only that she can now travel around central Europe easily, she has even visited Morocco in Africa!
The Pori-based student is planning to finish her thesis in Helsinki after her exchange, so that she can visit the rest of Scandinavia to complete her Grand Tour. This extensive experience has widened her horizons. She has also made more friends from different countries. But I believe the most valuable insight she has acquired, is the new way to look at her own country, and the most unique insight one can gain from studying overseas.
A Hong Kong native, Kwok has been practicing spatial design since his graduation in 2009 from the University of Art and Design. Having lived in various cities in East Asia, North America and the Scandinavia in the past decades, Kwok has experienced different educational settings in ideologically contrasting societies. He is now working on projects related to livability, innovation, and design activism.

22 janvier 2012

Why Now is the Time for Online Higher Education

http://www.ibtimes.com/data/blogs_main/career-wise.jpgBy Careerealism. There has never been as good a time to earn a graduate degree online as now. Top-ranked schools are offering high-quality programs, technological advancements make the learning experience incredibly robust and students can work towards a degree while maintaining their jobs and family lives. For those worried about the reputation of online degrees, that too has improved remarkably.
Two-thirds of academic professionals rate online programs as good or better than their in-person counterparts, according to U.S. News and World Report. One education consultant says 65 percent of managers view online degrees on the same level as those from brick-and-mortar institutions. With online programs finally receiving serious resources and respect, the time is right to start learning online.
Online higher education
has grown tremendously in recent years and the offerings have become increasingly sophisticated, which means students have more options to choose from, and better ones at that. Students can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees online in fields like business, nursing, engineering, teaching and many more. In recognition of the growing demand for online education and the need to separate the high-quality programs from the rest, U.S. News and World Report will release a new set of rankings specifically for online offerings in January 2012.
The most attractive component of online higher education for many students is the ability to attend top schools, like the University of North Carolina, Georgetown University or the University of Southern California, without having to relocate. Online students can keep their jobs, continue to pay their bills and support their families while advancing their careers simultaneously.
Even in fields like nursing and teaching where clinical and classroom time is necessary, the right school makes it possible; Georgetown nursing graduate students complement online learning with clinical experiences in their own neighborhoods, and USC teaching students upload videos of their teaching to receive feedback from professors and mentors, to stay on track towards earning their teacher certification despite being hundreds of miles away.
Technology enables students to learn from a distance, and recent advances are major drivers behind the increase in quality of online education. Students can attend live video classes with other students and professor, interacting as they would in a physical classroom through their computer’s webcams. Social networking tools are built into many online degree programs so students can ask each other for help, form study groups or simply socialize and make friends. While many fear they will be disconnected from professors, online students can reach instructors through e-mail or set up one-on-one video calls to receive feedback and help with coursework. Some programs even offer mobile applications, so students can keep up with their courses while away from their computers. With such robust technology, the online learning experience goes beyond mimicking the on-campus one, and aims to make learning better and more effective.
Online programs have other distinct features that make them attractive, like opportunities for travel and developing immediately relevant skills for the workplace. MBA@UNC offered at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business, one of the best online MBA programs, require their students to attend at least two immersion weekends at different locations around the world, like San Francisco, Singapore and London. These serve as an extension of the classroom learning, allowing MBA students to develop leadership skills, connect with business leaders from around the globe and better understand the international business environment.
Graduates of the top online degree programs that have an on-campus counterpart are indistinguishable from other alumni in the school’s perspective. They have access to the same resources after graduation, are members of the alumni network and, most importantly, receive a degree of equal quality. The unique learning environment, however, often makes them even stronger employees. “The students really have to hone their writing skills and their ability to articulate in an online format,” online education consultant Danielle Babb told Fox Business. “When they’re done with their programs, a lot of their employers are finding that it’s a huge benefit to the company because they are able to articulate more clearly in writing, they’re earning promotions, and they’re being looked at as the go to expert in their field.”
This article was written by Social Media Outreach Coordinator, Harrison Kratz on behalf of CAREEREALISM-Approved Partner, 2tor – an education-technology company that partners with institutions of higher education such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to deliver their accredited MBA program online.
22 janvier 2012

Study abroad before it’s lost to budget cuts

http://www.oncampusweb.com/images/cb3f5d21214db580b9658ba1ba737aa1.gifBy Ashley T. Powell. Study abroad program expansion is slowly dying down as a result of the economic downfall in the United States. Schools of all types are facing budget cuts, but in regards to university curriculums, study abroad programs should be one of the last to be affected.
Study abroad programs are tools that universities around the world use to appeal to potential students. There is something about studying abroad that allows students an unforgettable, beneficial and unique experience as a part of their college years. However, as an undergraduate student passionate about the idea of studying abroad in innumerable countries, it is hard to imagine those dreams being limited.
Universities are opening fewer campuses around the globe, according to a survey by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, a private research group. They also found that since 2004, 14 high-profile international branches have closed.
As universities begin to cut down on these branches, the survey also found that colleges are more willing to a partner with a local higher-education institution. Whatever measures need to be taken to encourage universities to keep branching out their programs should be taken.
Students should take advantage and show an interest in study abroad programs to keep institutions encouraged in continuing program expansion. Studying abroad allows students to experience a whole new world outside of their own while earning credit hours.
While the UA has yet to show any decrease in study abroad branches, students should still see the importance in this academic opportunity and become engaged with study abroad fairs or seek to study abroad themselves.
The UA offers an abundant amount of various grants and scholarships to any student wishing to study abroad. The tools are all here, we just have to utilize them before the decrease in opportunities hits Tucson.
The UA has seen budget changes causing program cuts, salary decreases and a hiring freeze, but study abroad programs should not be one of the various cuts. If so, it will be the students who will have to pay the price of limited study abroad options.
Universities nationwide need to continue expanding their abroad programs by any means possible in order to give students the experience, in its entirety that they deserve.
— Ashley T. Powell is a journalism sophomore. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions.
22 janvier 2012

Quality deficit in higher education

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/bl_logo_h55.gifRed tapism has curbed the supply of institutions, leading to a brain drain. India figured second-last among 73 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment test conducted annually by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) secretariat. This does come as a nasty surprise to those who believed in the prowess of India's scientific and technological manpower. There are, however, three ways of looking at this. First, Indian students aren't smart, despite having access to quality teachers. Second, Indian students are actually smart, but because of want of access to quality education they aren't able to perform well. There is also a third possibility: There are both quality education institutes, and smart students in India. However, these smart students prefer to explore options outside India — for jobs, or for pursuing higher education — leaving the poorer quality students in India.
DEMAND, SUPPLY FACTORS

From the demand side, quality education translates into graduates who are employable and have adequate skills to deliver to the needs of corporate India. Be it doctors, engineers, or even MBA graduates, there is a dearth of quality professionals in India. This is precisely why every year corporates like Infosys (service), ITC (manufactured consumer items), Apollo (medical), and L&T (engineering), to name a few, are left with vacant seats, or prefer to recruit people with foreign degrees, rather than employ graduates from India. Yes, there are quality education institutes such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, etc. in India. However, the number of pass-outs from these institutes are either too few in number, or decide to go abroad for higher studies, or even take up work there.
From the supply side, quality of education would be seen in terms of contribution to research and development. This means — education institutes serving as an incubator for developing new technologies that can be of use to the entrepreneurs, to produce goods and services more efficiently. This becomes evident from the number of patents, and research articles, published from universities and colleges. Although there has been an increase in the number of patents applied and research articles published from India, it is far less compared with the more advanced economies.
It is to be noted, per-capita income of any country can be increased either by increase in labour force participation and/or because of technological breakthroughs. The growth performance of the newly industrialised economies in Asia, such as Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, is typically driven by designing curriculum, so that more people can be employed. This model of increasing growth by producing more employable graduates, implies that growth has taken place through increase in labour force participation. On the other hand, the growth process in the West is attributed to technological innovation.
India faces a dearth of both quality teachers and quality education institutes. At a time when deans of Indian origin at Ivy league business schools in the US are making national headlines, in India, the newly-opened IIMs and IITs are scouting for professors. In fact, these newly-opened institutes survive by hiring visiting professors from other institutes and universities in India.
BRAIN DRAIN

A majority of the quality students regard education as they would any other commodity. Pursuing quality education comes with a cost. For example, many MBA students who take bank loans look at education as a return on their investment, that is, the jobs they are likely to get once they get their degree. In that way, most education institutes, especially the MBA ones, have now been transformed into sophisticated placement agencies. If the institutes cannot secure jobs, they are likely to get fewer students.
The preference for IITs and IIMs derives from the fact that the perceived returns from education in these institutes are highest here. Corporates come to IIMs and IITs, not by taking into consideration the patents and research articles published, but by being persuaded that the rigorous screening procedure in these institutes are assurance enough that quality students get in.
During a slowdown, the second-tier institutes provide more value for money for students and corporates. No matter what the business school teaches, the corporates have their own induction programme. During a slowdown, a corporate can hire students at a lower cost, compared with what it would have to offer to tier-1 graduates. Hence, in recent times, some of the IIMs faced difficulties, while second-rung business schools were able to achieve 100 per cent placement.
The other smaller group of quality students who are indeed passionate about pursuing, and not consuming education, typically leaves for the US, Australia or Western Europe, to pursue higher education. Recent evidence also suggests that because of want of adequate seats in medical colleges, students are actually going to the erstwhile Soviet Union, and even learning medicine in their local languages. Net result: India still loses out in terms of brain drain, because of adequate quality education facilities at home.
STIFLING REGULATIONS

Government regulation in higher education hinders supply of quality education. It is all-pervading, whether in terms of determining fees to be charged, or foreign collaboration. When it requires around Rs 6 lakh per year to produce an engineer, and anything between Rs 10-12 lakh per year to produce a doctor, asking a private institute to charge state-determined fees is unreasonable. In this fashion, the privately funded universities cannot survive, leaving aside, hiring quality teachers.
What is however do-able is asking the privately-run institutes to give scholarships to the needy, meritorious students. In fact, most of the successful universities in the US are privately-run. Most of the business schools in China are thriving, and provide a better education because of their collaboration with Universities in the US and Canada — something that isn't possible in India. To open any private institute, no-objection certificates need to be taken from multiple sources, such as the State government, State universities, and government regulatory bodies (for example, UGC, AICTE, etc.), instead of having a single-window clearance mechanism in place.
The government will do better by putting a grievance redressal mechanism in place, where the universities can be tried, or their license cancelled in the event of false promises. In the event of healthy competition, bogus education institutes won't be able to survive. So, let the students decide. Hopefully, this will add to supply of quality education institutes, human capital, and help to sustain India's growth.
(The author is Associate Professor, Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai.)
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