Campus Compact is a national coalition of almost 1,200 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum. The link address is: http://www.compact.org
In the court of academia
By Paul De Frijters. One of the stranger beasts to emerge from education reform in recent decades has been the Australian university. Although there are still about 38 of them left in the wild, they are nevertheless endangered. Indeed, their survival is threatened by self-harm – which can extend as far as their taking the axe to perfectly healthy faculties and schools within their domain; for instance, the axing of the arts faculty at the Queensland University of Technology, whose underlying budget at the time was in the black, and where its many students were transferred to other faculties with otherwise low numbers; or the move of the school of economics at the University of Sydney from the business faculty to the arts faculty. More...Tertiary Education-World Bank
The World Bank is working to encourage not only better-quality outcomes from tertiary education worldwide, but also to promote more efficient tertiary education institutions that innovate and respond positively to meaningful performance-based allocation of resources and accountability systems. Such improvements can stimulate economic growth and help to stem the outward flow of highly skilled human capital by supporting cultures of quality and productivity. The link address is: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:20298183%7EmenuPK:617592%7EpagePK:148956%7EpiPK:216618%7EtheSitePK:282386,00.html#activity
Whither the Europe of Knowledge?
By Meng-Hsuan Chou. At the end of the second millennium, the European Union (EU) boldly proclaimed that within a decade it aimed to become the ‘most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world’. This ambition and its renewal through the Europe 2020 strategy have seemingly been forgotten and, indeed, neglected amid the economic crisis. To what extent has the ongoing crisis redefined or transformed the ‘Europe of Knowledge?’ I will answer this by first describing what the Europe of Knowledge is. More...Red de Macrouniversidades de América Latina y el Caribe
La Red de Macrouniversidades de América Latina y el Caribe fue creada en 2002. Su objetivo es poner en marcha programas cooperativos y solidarios relacionados con la movilidad de estudiantes y académicos, de investigación en las fronteras del conocimiento relacionadas con la solución de los más importantes problemas de las mayorías del continente, con el posgrado, con el financiamiento público y con la preservación y el desarrollo del patrimonio histórico de estas importantes instituciones, siempre y cuando las macrouniversidades cuentan con el mayor potencial regional para realizarlos. The link address is: http://www.redmacro.unam.mx/
Should the ‘veil’ be banned in higher education?
By Rosemary Salomone. It seems that the French never tire of debating the role of religion in public life. Or perhaps the concept of laïcité, a uniquely French model of secularism, just keeps tangling them up in political knots. The most recent dispute over the wearing of the Islamic veil by French university students has once again laid bare the problems and paradoxes of a nation struggling to apply a revered historical principle to a rapidly changing social environment. It also reveals how the discourse and practice of laïcité have become caught in a time warp. In early August, the French daily newspaper Le Monde made public “an alarmist report and polemic proposition” prepared by the Secular Mission of France’s High Council for Integration, or HCI. More...Unión de Universidades de América Latina (UDUAL)
La Unión de Universidades de América Latina (UDUAL) se creó en 1949.UDUAL promueve programas encaminados a fortalecer a sus miembros afiliados, a fin de que éstos alcancen la calidad y eficiencia que requiere la universidad contemporánea en respuesta a las exigencias presentes y los retos del futuro, y para hacer de ellos una herramienta eficaz para el desarrollo social, cultural y económico de los países latinoamericanos en pro de una comunidad libre, armónica y genuinamente humanitaria. The link address is: http://www.udual.org/
South Africa - Salary hike demands close large rural university
By Ishmael Tongai. Despite being put under administration and rescued from bankruptcy by the government, Walter Sisulu University, or WSU, is still in a terrible mess. Last week the institution was closed indefinitely over an unresolved salary dispute with workers that had been simmering for more than six weeks.The dispute between workers and the university authorities risks overturning short-term financial stability achieved by the rural institution after years of financial turbulence. More...
Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE)
The Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) is a membership-based forum. IMHE focuses on a wide range of cross-cutting issues. Activities include reviews of higher education in regional and city development, the assessment of higher education learning outcomes, as well as studies on quality teaching. in higher education and the management of internationalisation. The link address is: http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe
Election outcome – More gloom for universities
By Geoff Maslen. Academics and professional staff inhabiting Australia’s 39 public universities could hardly be more pessimistic about the future as the nation head to the polls next Saturday to elect a new federal government. It now seems certain the conservative parties, headed by controversial Opposition leader Tony Abbott, will replace the Labor Party administration that has held office since 2007. The only other certainty for higher education is that no matter who wins, the prospects are grim. More...