By Megan Rogers. Eight years ago, a national survey on adult literacy offered data on the extent to which Americans -- even those with college credentials -- were declining in their proficiency to do the basic kinds of reading people use in everyday life. The finding, published just as President Bush and his education secretary, Margaret Spellings, were cranking up a national commission on the state of higher education, was often cited as evidence of the failings of colleges and universities. A study released today could have a similar effect, because it not only questions Americans' literacy, but also taps into concerns in some quarters about the country's declining standing in the worl. Read more...
12 octobre 2013
Troubling Stats on Adult Literacy
A Euro Welcome in English
By Jack Grove for Times Higher Education. A growing number of master's programs are being offered in English, a study suggests. A total of 6,407 master’s programs in the language were offered on the Continent as of June of this year – a 38 percent rise over the 4,644 courses available just 18 months earlier, according to a report by the Institute of International Education. That total was 10 times higher than the overall number offered in 2002, says the report. The study is based on course listings from the Study Portals website, which provided information from 1,200 public and private universities in mainland Europe. Programs in English account for almost a third of the 21,000 master’s courses advertised on the site in continental Europe, the report indicates. Read more...
Going Global
By Elizabeth Redden and Paul Fain. Laureate Education is big. Like 800,000 students attending 78 institutions in 30 countries big. Yet the privately held for-profit university system has largely remained out of the public eye. That may be changing, however, as the company appears ready for its coming out party after 14 years of quiet growth. Laureate has spent heavily to solidify its head start on other globally minded American education providers. In addition to its rapid growth abroad, the company has courted publicity by investing in the much-hyped Coursera, a massive open online course provider. And Laureate recently made news when the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank subsidiary, invested $150 million in the company -- its largest-ever investment in education. Read more...
Two-Tiered Tuition is Back
By Paul Fain. A small group of California community colleges can now experiment with charging more for high-demand courses.
Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a controversial law that will allow up to six colleges to give two-tiered tuition a try with extension courses in summer and winter terms. Officials at one of those institutions -- Long Beach City College -- said the college would participate in the voluntary pilot program. Read more...
'Free' fees does not help poor attend Scottish universities
By Simon Johnson. The abolition of tuition fees has not encouraged more Scottish children from poor families to go to university, according to an expert report that raised major doubts whether the flagship SNP policy is good value for taxpayers. Researchers from Edinburgh University also discovered that there has been a slight increase in deprived youngsters attending English universities despite charges of up to £9,000 per year south of the Border. Read more...
OECD: English school leavers 'among least literate and numerate in the developed world'
By Graeme Paton. School leavers in England have lower levels of basic skills than their grandparents and now perform worse than young people in almost every other developed nation, according to a major international report. Research by the respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that 16- to 24-year-olds lag close to the bottom of global league tables in literacy and numeracy. Read more...
Oxford vice-chancellor: student tuition fees should be 'closer to £16,000'
By Graeme Paton. Oxford should be able to charge close to £16,000 in annual student tuition fees to reflect the full cost of an undergraduate education, according to the university’s vice-chancellor. The existing cap on fees in England should rise to partially plug a £70 million a year funding shortfall that risks undermining Oxford’s status as one of the world’s best universities, it was claimed. Prof Andrew Hamilton used his annual oration to call for an overhaul of the existing tuition fees system which was only introduced two years ago. Read more...
Student finance: Make sure it all adds up
By William Ham Bevan. A balanced budget is essential to stress-free studying. William Ham Bevan talks to an expert, a parent and a student to get their tips for budgeting. Starting university means taking control of the purse-strings, and even before they go, there’s plenty students can do to improve their financial skills in preparation for next year. Here, a money expert, a parent and a student share their tips for wise budgeting. Read more...
Graduates: take advantage of alumni services
By Rozina Sabur. The benefits of university life and higher education don’t have to stop once you graduate, says Rozina Sabur. There are a number of benefits to being part of an alumni network. Joining a community of thousands of graduates – often from all over the world – can open up all sorts of opportunities, so it's worth looking into the services your university provides. Read more...
More European universities teaching students in English
By Graeme Paton. Rising numbers of European universities are offering courses taught in English in a bid to tempt students away from leading British institutions, it emerged today. Figures show that the number of English language-based courses taught in countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden has soared by 38 per cent in just over a year. Read more...
