University World News

CANADA: Invasion of the campus bunnies

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:01:51 +0200

The problems being caused by Thumper and his friends at the Universi...

GLOBAL: Why branch campuses may be unsustainable

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:06:19 +0200

Branch campuses are sprouting around the world, like mushrooms after a heavy rain. According to the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, the number of branch campuses have increased by 43% t...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: A regional tertiary collaboration model

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:49:36 +0200

Five years since its establishment the Southern African Regional Universities' Association, Sarua, has made considerable headway in establishing itself as a credible platform for leadership 'conver...

GLOBAL: Establishing academic standards

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:09:40 +0200

This time last year a UK parliamentary committee of inquiry asked th...

US-UK: Flightless mosquitoes control dengue fever

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:11:59 +0200

A breed of mosquito in which the females cannot fly has been develop...

UK: Recognising faces - it's genetic

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:12:51 +0200

New research from University College London indicates that the abili...

SUDAN: Police surround funeral of beaten student

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:13:45 +0200

Reuters reports that the funeral of a Darfuri student who was ...

US: Importance of research for undergraduates

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:31:53 +0200

A survey of the University of California's 170,000 students has under...

EUROPE: Turning science into commerce

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:33:10 +0200

Europe produces more research papers than the US or Japan but needs ...

EUROPE: The Donostia Declaration

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:34:00 +0200

A meeting of science ministers from across Europe met in San Sebasti...

INDONESIA: Level university entrance playing field

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:35:33 +0200

Confusion over higher education entrance requirements continues acro...

NIGERIA: Minister proposes monitoring students abroad

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:03:38 +0200

Nigeria's Minister of Youth Development has proposed that the governm...

GLOBAL: The poor as providers of innovative solutions

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:57:00 +0200

Economically disadvantaged people can trigger frugal, creative and re-combinable innovations that can stimulate the creation of new pedagogies, products and processes. The model I talk about is 'si...

VIETNAM: Parliament uncovers problems in universities

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:49:49 +0200

Numerous problems have been uncovered by a national assembly standing committee during working sessions with 40 universities, reports VietNamNet. The problems were found...

NIGERIA: UK calls for investment in higher education

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:49:47 +0200

Nigeria's government has been called on to invest significantly in higher education to cater for an increasing number of applicants who are denied access annually, reports This...

UK: Fund degrees with business tax - lecturer union

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:52:51 +0200

Tuition fees should be abolished in the UK and a new business education tax introduced to fund universities, the University and College Union has urged, reports BBC News...

WALES: Minister launches review of universities

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:53:41 +0200

Education Minister Leighton Andrews last week announced plans to review how Welsh universities are run, writes Gareth Evans for the Western Mail. At a higher education c...

KENYA: Thousands to miss places in universities

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:54:44 +0200

About 60,000 candidates who have qualified for public universities in Kenya will fail to gain admission, reports The Nation. This is despite the fact that the Joint Admi...

CHINA: Anger over college entrance bonus point abuses

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:55:02 +0200

An ongoing public survey has shown that almost 80% of Chinese want the abolition of a bonus points policy for some candidates taking the annual National College Entrance Examination, or NCEE, the o...

US: Business the top college major for women

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:56:12 +0200

Business is the number one college major for women and men in America, according to a recent analysis by the AAUW (formerly the American Association of University Women) of the Department of Educat...

US: Layoffs without 'financial exigency'

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:57:04 +0200

One of the ultimate protections of being a tenured faculty member in the US has been being immune from layoff in all but the most extraordinary circumstances, writes Scott Jaschik for ...

US: Taxes support for-profit firms acquiring colleges

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:57:44 +0200

America's ITT Educational Services Inc paid US$20.8 million for debt-ridden Daniel Webster College last June, writes Daniel Golden for Bloomberg. In return, the company ...

PALESTINE: Syndicate announces class suspension

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:58:45 +0200

The Syndicate of Palestinian Universities Union announced the suspension of classes in West Bank institutions last Monday, because of what it called a lack of response to employees' demands by the ...

GLOBAL: Scientists take steps to defend climate work

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:59:47 +0200

For months, climate scientists have taken a vicious beating in the media and on the internet, accused of hiding data, covering up errors and suppressing alternate views, writes John M Broder for ...

GLOBAL: North America's postgraduate appeal wanes

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:00:37 +0200

Europe is winning the battle to be the most popular region for postgraduate study, writes Michael Prest for The Independent. According to preliminary 2009 statistics com...

CHILE: Six university officials killed in quake crash

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:01:04 +0200

Six Chilean university administrators on a disaster surveillance mission were killed last Monday after their twin-engine aircraft crashed in a wooded area north of Concepci�n, the city near the epi...

CANADA: Invasion of the campus bunnies

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:01:51 +0200

The problems being caused by Thumper and his friends at the Universi...

AUSTRALIA: Academics and the media

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:03:42 +0200

Surprisingly little has been written about academia's relationship with the media in Australia. The exception has been recent interest in defining and naming 'public intellectuals' - people who can...

GLOBAL: Higher education budgets and the recession

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:02:00 +0200

In the midst of the global recession, how have national governments around the world viewed the role of higher education in their evolving strategies for economic recovery? Demand for higher educat...

GREECE: Bologna under attack

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:06:20 +0200

Education Ministers from 46 countries in Europe will meet in Vienna ...

AUSTRALIA: De-mystifying the university

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:06:23 +0200

Following on from the positive response of the Australian public to ...

CHINA: Lax rules aid academic misconduct

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:07:00 +0200

The perception of academic autonomy and freedom in China has been distorted with many cases of misconduct reported, writes Professor Cao Xinglong on the China Law & Policy website. Cao says ...

AUSTRALIA: Higher education service goes global

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:08:25 +0200

An Australian service helping students prepare for joining higher ed...

US: Innovative website helps with study abroad

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:09:29 +0200

An internet-based service informing students how best to live and st...

Australia: Keeping your cool pays off

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:10:29 +0200

New research by the Melbourne Business School will provide members o...

SWEDEN: Lund to employ up to 400 new researchers

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:11:31 +0200

Lund University in the south of Sweden will use a huge accumulated s...

DENMARK: Long-time universities' minister loses job

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:12:24 +0200

In a major reshuffle of government ministerial posts last week, form...

NORWAY: Basic physics evaluated

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:13:51 +0200

An international panel of distinguished physicists has examined 48 research groups involved with basic physics at Norwegian universities and research institutions. Five have been graded as excellen...

GULF STATES-EU: Bi-regional partnerships network

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:16:19 +0200

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,...

EUROPE: Call to back e-library

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:17:26 +0200

Member states of the European Union have been attacked by their parl...

FINLAND: Strike one and you're out

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:18:06 +0200

Less than three months after Finland's new Universities Act came int...

RUSSIA: Student enrolments plummet

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:18:40 +0200

Russian higher education is experiencing a demographic crisis that c...

EUROPE: Give doctorates a wider role

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:20:29 +0200

It is time doctorates were seen as a qualification for all kinds of ...

AUSTRALIA: Universities told to reveal all

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:21:00 +0200

Universities across Australia will be required to reveal more detail...

EUROPE: Student protests at Bologna's 10th year

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:21:43 +0200

As education and science ministers of 46 European countries meet fir...

CHINA-US: PhD students stay on

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:22:57 +0200

More than nine in every 10 students from China who gained a doctorat...

US: Increase access and affordability: task force

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:23:15 +0200

American Vice President Joe Biden released the annual report of the ...

RANKINGS 2: North America leaves Europe and Asia behind

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:24:51 +0200

North American academics are far more willing to share information a...

GLOBAL: First shots fired in ranking war

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:26:13 +0200

The parting of the ways between Times Higher Education and QS...

MALAYSIA: Terror-accused students remain in detention

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:29:00 +0200

The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture ...

US: Students march against funding cuts and fee hikes

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:51:18 +0200

In an unprecedented day of national protest across all sectors of education, the epicentre proved to be Berkeley - where the seeds of student activism were sown more than 40 years ago, writes Jack ...