Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Jiang Yabin. The number of students who went to study abroad through government-sanctioned agencies last year fell 20 percent year-on-year to 10,442, even as the total number of students studying overseas continued to rise, local media reported Thursday.
The 15 local agencies with Ministry of Education approval attracted fewer clients last year as more resources to help students win admission to overseas universities have emerged and a greater number of unauthorized agencies have crowded into the market.
The agencies help students choose a suitable university to attend and then help guide them through the application process, said Cai Jun, a teacher from Shinyway Education, one of the government-approved agencies.
The agencies charge anywhere from 20,000 yuan ($3,216) to 100,000 yuan per client, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post. Read more...

By Ki Mae Heussner. Barely a year into their existence, massive open online course (MOOC) providers, like Coursera EdX and Udacity, are starting to offer certificates that can be put toward university credit. But are full MOOC degrees on the horizon?
When asked that question by New York Times education reporter Laura Pappano on stage at the SXSWedu education technology conference in Austin Wednesday, Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng gave the diplomatic reply:
“Coursera isn’t a university. We don’t offer degrees of academic credit. We’re a humble hosting platform.”
To which Anant Agarwal, president of the nonprofit EdX, quipped: “a very politically correct answer” (drawing a round of laughter from the audience). Read more...

Par Gilles Marchand. Immatures, individualistes, impatients… Le rapport des jeunes au monde du travail alimente depuis plusieurs années une vision assez peu flatteuse. Une vision aujourd’hui ébranlée par la dernière édition de l’Observatoire du travail.
On ne compte plus les études qui s’attachent à décrypter la génération Y, ses attentes et ses perceptions, son rapport au monde du travail. Au risque d’en dresser un portrait-robot figé et plutôt négatif. La 21e édition de l’Observatoire du travail BPI Group/BVA/L’Express, qui s’est intéressée à ce sujet incontournable, révèle pourtant son lot de surprises, et notamment un décalage entre les attentes des jeunes et la perception que leurs aînés en ont.
Le regard porté par les plus de 30 ans sur la jeune génération est plutôt sévère, la jugeant immature (pour 35 % d’entre eux), individualiste (34%) et paresseuse (26%). Ce qui ne les empêche pas de considérer les jeunes comme volontaires (26%) ambitieux (23%) et motivés (23%)! Des jugements ambivalents, qui indiquent à quel point la génération Y échappe à une définition claire et précise. Au risque de fausser la perception qu’elle dégage: seulement 19% des jeunes considèrent la stabilité de leur emploi comme une priorité, alors que plus d’un tiers de leurs aînés pensent que ce sujet est essentiel à leurs yeux. Suite de l'article...

By Zoë Schlanger. In November of last year, Tisch Asia’s 158 students gathered for an emergency meeting. After an email broke the news the night before, NYU administrators flew to Singapore from New York to explain that the school would cease to exist by 2015. It had fallen on hard times. NYU owed Singapore upwards of $9 million. Nothing could be done. A photographer at the meeting began snapping images of the moments that followed, capturing faces marked by shock, disappointment, and disbelief. The campus had been mired in confusion and a sense of precariousness for some time. Almost exactly a year before, in November 2011, Tisch Asia was rocked by the removal of Pari Shirazi, the founder and president of the program. Shirazi was fired for alleged misuse of private funds and embezzlement, charges which she is now fighting in a lawsuit against NYU. Read more...

The Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (USIL), a leading private university in Peru, will receive a $23.5 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to double its capacity and expand access to affordable education programs for low-income students.
IDB financing will allow USIL to double its capacity from approximately 12,000 to 25,000 students over the next ten years.
Moreover, the loan will help USIL establish a new student guarantee fund, support a new technical training institute, and increase its participation in Beca 18, a Peruvian government flagship scholarship program targeting economically disadvantaged youth.
It will also help expand and upgrade USIL’s infrastructure using green technology that permits the reduction of water and energy consumption.
The project, which is also being financed by Banco de Crédito del Peru and the Canadian Climate Change Fund, comes as years of sustained economic growth in Peru has fueled growth of an emerging middle class eager to improve its living standards through high-quality college education. Currently only three out of ten Peruvian high school students have access to higher education. Read more...

Our globalised world has one overriding rule of communication: speak in English. In the cosmopolitan society of the UAE, English is often used in many aspects of daily life, and particularly in education and business. That could give young people who are educated in this county a competitive edge, fluent in the language of globalisation. The cost, however, must be considered. Arabic – and indeed the Emirati dialect – are integral to the culture and tradition of the country. Many students are more comfortable speaking and writing English than Arabic. The loss of the mother tongue threatens an irreparable rupture with the national character and history. Read more...

By Muaz Shabandri. Universities in the UAE will soon be ranked as part of a new system being developed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said: “There will be a (university) ranking system. We are committed to maintaining a high quality of education and we have plans to build a good accreditation system and licensing policies.
His remarks came on the sidelines of the first day of the British Council’s Going Global Conference in Dubai.
“Our focus is always on students. We are fully engaged in global discussions that can help nations strengthen our knowledge economy and compete at a global level,” said Shaikh Nahyan in his opening address to the delegates. Read more...