28 avril 2013
Which universities have the richest graduates?
1. University of OxfordNumber of ultra-high net worth alumni: 401. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $127m. Wealthy alumnus: financier Nat. Rothschild.
2. University of Cambridge
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 361. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $258m. Wealthy alumnus: Lord Sainsbury.
3. London School of Economics
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 273. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $129m. Wealthy alumnus: investor George Soros.
4. Imperial College London
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 127. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $130m. Wealthy alumnus: Lenovo founder Danny Lui.
5. London Business School
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 106. Average UHNW alumnus worth: $152m. Wealthy alumnus: Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler.
6. University of Manchester
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 102. Average UHNW alumnus worth: $34m. Wealthy alumnus: economist Joseph Stiglitz currently chairs the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester.
7. University College London (UCL)
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 99. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $45m. Wealthy alumnus: PWC co-founder Edwin Waterhouse.
8. University of Nottingham
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 92. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $34m. Wealthy alumnus: Timpson chairman John Timpson.
9. University of Edinburgh
Number of ultra-high net worth alumni: 80. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $80m. Wealthy alumnus: Art dealer Jay Jopling.
10. University of Birmingham
Number of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) alumni: 68. Average UHNW alumnus net worth: $106m (£69m). Wealthy alumnus: Manchester United chief executive David Gill.
Universities 'forced to lower entry grades to fill places'
By Graeme Paton. Top universities may be setting students up to fail by admitting applicants with D grades at A-level in a bid to fill places, a leading vice-chancellor has warned. Some members of the elite Russell Group have been forced to “significantly drop” their entry requirements to plug a shortfall in demand for degree courses, according to Prof Sir Christopher Snowden.The academic – incoming president of Universities UK, the vice-chancellors’ group – said a number of institutions advertised places for students with A and B grades last year but took in teenagers with Cs and Ds to prevent courses lying empty. Read more...
Why universities should acquire – and teach – digital literacy
By Fionnuala Duggan. Sponsor's feature: A strong digital focus will attract internet-savvy students with an eye on the jobs market. Sebastian Faulks observed recently that ease of access to the internet is leading to a "net loss of knowledge" in this generation of adults, leaving the modern intellectual world in a "kind of catastrophe". But is there another side to this gloomy story? Once time and brainpower are freed up from memorising, will other skills come into play, bringing hitherto unimagined benefits? Read more...Research funding in a time of austerity
By Steven Hill. The UK research system has survived through a difficult period of flat-cash funding, but what are the prospects in the run-up to the next spending review and general election? In the five years I have worked at Research Councils UK the world has changed. As I joined in 2007, the Northern Rock collapse was unfolding, heralding the broader financial crisis that was to have impacts on all areas of society. From my perspective, the last five years in UK research policy have been a period of considerable change, driven by the broader financial environment. Much of this change has been subtle, below the radar, but small effects can accumulate and lead to big consequences. With an interim spending review currently under way, and the next full spending review expected following the general election in 2015, the UK's national academies this week called for continued and enhanced support for research. If heeded, this intervention could mark an important turning point in funding policy. Read more...Technology makes higher education accessible to disabled students
By Fionnuala Duggan. Sponsor's feature: Instead of lugging heavy textbooks about, disabled students now have the option of e-textbooks that present content in a variety of ways to suit the reade. There are over 11 million people with a limiting long-term illness, impairment or disability in the UK. Many of them are using educational resources and completing university courses. Universities have a responsibility to provide these students, and all students, with the necessary learning materials regardless of their accessibility needs. It is here, in the place where educational resources and students with disabilities intersect, that technology has a vital role to play. Technology could operate as the great equaliser. It could – and indeed, it should – help move all students towards a level playing field. This is particularly true in when it comes to learning resources, and specifically textbooks. Read more...Art and design A-level fails to prepare students
By Rebecca Ratcliffe. Students and teachers are criticial of how exams are set and marked, survey by top London arts university shows. Art students are leaving school without the skills needed to study at university level, or the insight required to find a career in the creative sector, research suggests. A survey of students and teachers in schools, colleges and universities, conducted by University of the Arts London (UAL), found more than half had little faith in the content of the present A-level. Of the hundreds who responded to the survey, (55%) had no strong opinion or disagreed that the A-level in art and design prepares students for higher education. Some 58% had no strong opinion or disagreed that the qualification prepares students for employment in the creative industries. Read more...Help on the road to higher education
By Dalina Castellanos. Parent College gives fathers and mothers an introduction to campus life so they can help their teenagers gain admission. Maria Martinez's kitten heels clicked as she trailed behind a recent campus tour at UC Irvine.
Except for those short stiletto heels, Martinez might not have stood out from thousands of other prospective parents touring campuses in California this spring. But unlike most of them, Martinez had never seen the vastness of a large college campus before, and now she struggled to keep up in shoes that are ill-suited for walking. Read more...
Higher Education Institutions Face Revenue Drop Over Visa Delay For Foreign Students
RHB Research expects the earnings of higher education institutions to be affected if the delay in foreign student visa approvals persists.In a research note today, it said that Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), established by the Ministry of Higher Education, had tightened entry requirements of foreign students.
"This could potentially mitigate the misuse of foreign visas and attract quality students.
"But despite early submissions from foreign students, it was revealed that they still faced delays in having applications approved. This delay if left unresolved, could turn prospective students away and potentially affect the revenue of education institutions," it added.
RHB Research highlighted that the earnings of SEG International (SEGi) and HELP International Corp may decrease by 10 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, if their international student base were to be cut by half. Read more...
Darts and sciences
University rankings can lure international students, but some experts fear the league table is unreliable, writes Yojana Sharma. Students intending to study abroad are so used to looking up where universities stand in global league tables that it is easy to forget the rankings are just a decade old - the first was released by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2003, creating a huge international buzz.Since then there has been a profusion of international rankings, mainly published by newspapers and magazines, such as Times Higher Education (THE) and The Guardian in England, and the US News and World Report in America, as well as commercial organisations, such as QS.
International rankings have become so popular that organisations vie against each other to release new lists every year or sub-lists with a tweak - THE's first Asian regional ranking was released on April 10 and QS is planning a Latin American ranking based on "methodology more appropriate to that region".
The main global league tables are timed to coincide with the university applications season - some students wait for the rankings before deciding where to apply. Read more...
Pisa, Timss and higher education: The missing link
By François Therin. THE recent release of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (Timss) ranking has resulted in many articles being released, commenting on the pros and cons of education systems and how they can jeopardise the economy of a country. But is that really the case?I did a little exercise using the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2009 results. Pisa, launched in 1997 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is an international study which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills (including many different reading skills) and knowledge of 15-year-old students.
Besides using the Pisa 2009 results, I also gathered information from the Global Innovation Index 2012 results published by Insead and World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo); and the unemployment rate of 36 countries, mixing countries which ranked at different levels on Pisa and which are at different stages of economic development. Read more...
