By Davide Savenije. Higher education faces an onslaught of disruptive forces right now—and no one should be suprised to hear that news. Burgeoning technologies such as MOOCs and mobile devices are disrupting institutional structures from the classroom and across entire campuses. As tech transforms these learning environments, universities must decide whether to resist the change or get out in front of it. To choose the latter option, however, we need to envision what universities of the future will look like—if they exist at all. Read more...

By Joyce Lau. The British government introduced its new International Education Strategy on Monday, with the stated goal of attracting an additional 90,000 university students from overseas by 2018. According to a report released Monday, the education exports industry — which includes everything from tuition paid by international students to the overseas branches of British schools — adds £17.5 billion, or $26.5 billion, to the national economy. Read more...

By David Felsen. Brazilians Want More Investment In Public Services
The street protests did have the effect of raising awareness about Brazil’s unfinished social and economic agenda at home. In response to the government’s rising spending on megaprojects associated with next year’s World Cup of soccer and the Olympic Games of 2016, Brazil’s growing middle class has been calling for more responsive government, better service delivery and more investment in infrastructure. The challenge posed by these protests also creates new opportunities to bring about change to address these issues. One of the most important conversations being had by Brazilians is one that surrounds access to education. At the primary and secondary school levels, educational quality remains low by global standards. Too few Brazilians entering school attain the necessary skills to be able to earn a reasonable living or to pursue post-secondary education. Brazil ranked second from the bottom in the Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment, a recent 2012 global study of 39 countries plus Hong Kong, carried out by the The Economist Intelligence Unit. Read more...

By Jenna Johnson. The millions of college students and parents who will borrow money from the federal government for the coming school year can plan on much lower interest rates than originally offered, as the U.S. House overwhelmingly voted 392 to 31 on Wednesday to approve a Senate plan that would allow interest rates to move with the financial markets. The plan now goes to President Obama, who has already voiced support. House Republican leaders have deemed this a long-term solution, while many Democrats have said this plan will probably need tweaking in future years. Read more...

By Jack Grove. Can the government push through an overhaul of the sector in tough times? Next month Antonio Cabrales will leave his homeland with a heavy heart. Unlike others departing recession-hit Spain, the professor of economics at Carlos III University of Madrid is not emigrating for purely economic reasons.  Although a 20 per cent real terms pay cut recently imposed on Spain’s academics may have hastened Cabrales’ departure, he says that his main reason for moving to University College London, where he takes up a new post in September, is Spain’s stagnant university system. Read more...

By Jessica Lee. Attention marketers: demand is high on mobile devices for higher education info, and online programs from traditional universities are highly sought after, according to new Google research that was revealed during the first Hangout on Air for Google's education team.  The demand for education info in Google's search engine shot up 4 percent, year over year (YOY). Brand-related terms that have the school's name within the query were a key player in the growth. Read more...

By Myra Imran. To approach the youth living in far-flung and underdeveloped areas, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) plans to introduce online learning scheme in the higher education institutions. The policy of new learning scheme will be introduced after extensive consultation with all stakeholders.    
The information was shared by the Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr. Javaid Laghari in an interview with ‘The News’. He said that besides ensuring quality at higher education institutions (HEI), the biggest challenge for HEC is to increase the accessibility of people to higher education by reaching the far-flung and neglected areas. Read more...

By Severin Carrell. Universities Superannuation Scheme says funds face potential crisis under strict EU laws on cross-border pensions. The UK's universities could face an immediate pensions shortfall of nearly £10bn if Scotland votes for independence next year, leaving the pensions fund in crisis. The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which manages funds worth £34bn to pay pensions to hundreds of thousands of lecturers and staff, has warned that EU pensions laws have "considerable implications" for its viability. Under EU rules on cross-border pensions, funds are not allowed to carry deficits and must be fully funded at all times, experts have warned. The rules are extremely strict for schemes that operate across international borders. Read more...

By Holly Brentnall. Cuts in spending and the replacement of academic staff by technology are not the only pressures faced by British academia. Increasingly, education is fashioning students into a productive labor force rather than teaching them more traditional academic ideals. 
Last year’s plans to raise tuition fees in Britain to a maximum of £9000, $13,731 at today’s exchange rate, were coterminous with cuts of £2 billion in funding for education. Universities’ lack of funding caused them to compensate for lost income by hiking up tuition fees. This is perceived as disastrous for Britain’s progression up the global league tables, which, conducted by the Times educational supplement, rank universities by teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. With increasing competition from universities around the world, the UK’s University and College Union warns that Britain is at risk of being left behind. Read more...

By Rebecca Nathanson. Activists and legislators from New York to Oregon look for ways to make college more affordable. On May 1st, as activists across the globe rallied in honor of International Workers' Day, a group of students from universities around New York City gathered in the tiny park in front of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art's Foundation Building, where Cooper Union President Jamshed Bharucha's office is located. While the students spoke about struggles for justice on their campuses, above them, draped from a window, hung a banner that read, "Free Education To All." Read more...