Formation Continue du Supérieur

By John Morgan. Slowing growth in international student numbers could have “a material impact on the sector”, while a financial blow from pensions could be looming. The Higher Education Funding Council for England’s annual report on the ‘Financial health of the higher education sector’, based on 2012-13 results and 2013-14 forecasts, also predicts that the abolition of student number controls will widen the financial gap between individual universities. More...

By John Morgan. The government’s new immigration minister has threatened to make it tougher for education institutions to keep their student visa licences. In a speech likely to dismay universities, James Brokenshire warned that he has “considerable concerns” about some education institutions; rejected fears that immigration policy is harming “world-class” universities as a “ludicrous fiction”; and dismissed anger from academics about the immigration checks they must mount on students. More...

By Matthew Reisz. ‘Gender-hostile’ work environments still high on list of problems. An all-women University of Cambridge college has celebrated its 60th anniversary by surveying its alumnae about their values, successes and the challenges they have faced. Murray Edwards College, founded as New Hall in 1954, contacted 4,700 of its former students and got replies from 954. The results have now been published in a report titled Women Today, Women Tomorrow. More...

By Jack Grove. Tough-minded women are likely to do better in their university studies than men with similar characteristics of “resilience”, a study says. Academics at Leeds Metropolitan University tested around 1,500 students at the start of their first year to see if levels of psychological resilience – deemed “the capacity of individuals to adapt to new challenges” – affected academic performance. More...

By Chris Parr. An online university established to take higher education to disadvantaged students around the world has received accreditation. The University of the People, which offers undergraduate degrees in computer science and business administration, has been accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council in the US just in time for its first graduating class, which is due to complete its studies in April. Although students pay a registration fee determined by the gross domestic product of their country of residence, along with a $100 (£60) administration fee for each exam they sit, those who cannot afford it can apply for a range of scholarships. More...