A Pakistan Day ceremony was organised by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and Campus France in Paris last week with the aim of bringing French institutions of higher learning closer to Pakistani universities so as to enhance collaboration for developing human resources and strengthening research in Pakistan’s institutions, reports The News. Read more...
Universities agree to publish 'real' admissions rankings
Australia's most powerful universities have fallen into line over university admissions standards, recommending wholesale changes in the wake of a Fairfax Media investigation that brought the sector's integrity into question, writes Eryk Bagshaw for The Sydney Morning Herald. Read more...
New university group unveiled
A new network of leading European universities is set to launch this year in a bid to enhance the research capacity of institutions on the continent, writes Ellie Bothwell for Times Higher Education. Read more...
Nobelists convince president to back off on science cuts
Some of France’s most illustrious scientists were outraged – and last week, their president listened. After meeting five Nobel laureates and a winner of the Fields Medal, French President François Hollande has cancelled more than half of an unexpected €256 million (US$286 million) cut in research and higher education budgets that had caused consternation in the country's scientific community, writes Martin Enserink for ScienceInsider. Read more...
Non-European graduate students to pay tuition fees
The University of Helsinki has announced its decision to impose tuition fees of €13,000 to €18,000 (US$14,500 to US$20,000) on its postgraduate students from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, reports Aleksi Teivainen for Helsinki Times. Read more...
University education demand levels off
The era of strong government-subsidised growth for universities appears to have ended with new figures showing the number of offers to students to enrol in undergraduate courses grew by only 1.2% in 2016, writes Tim Dodd for Australian Financial Review. Read more...
Universities to provide courses for retirees
Universities and colleges are responding to the rapid growth in the population of older people in Ireland by offering retirees a chance to develop a second career, writes Carl O’Brien for The Irish Times. Read more...
Two universities to accept MOOC credits for first time
Two major universities are set to allow students to earn course credits which will go towards their final degree through massive open online courses, or MOOCs, for the very first time in the United Kingdom, writes Aftab Ali for the Independent. Read more...
Professor criticises performance-based funding formula
Facing budget constraints and demand for greater accountability in higher education, states are tying public college and university funding to the institutions’ ability to retain and graduate students. But a new paper from the Century Foundation argues that such performance-based funding models are reinforcing disparities within public higher education and doing little to move the needle on completion, writes Danielle Doublas-Gabriel for The Washington Post. Read more...
Poor Scots 'squeezed out of university by cap on places'
Scottish school leavers from poor backgrounds are being squeezed out of university by Scottish National Party government policies, according to a highly critical expert report that concludes the most eminent institutions are becoming more middle class, writes Simon Johnson for The Telegraph. Read more...