Hedda Blog

With the increase of foreign students studying in China, comes an influx of foreign education providers. In April 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Education released a memorandum, "The Notice on Regulating the Standard of Cooperation of Chinese and Foreign Educational Programs." In this publication the Chinese Ministry censures some foreign degree programs due to what the Chronicle of Higher Education reports as, "poor quality, high cost, and lack of oversight." The Chinese Ministry will become more involved by reviewing foreign institution requests to ensure they meet government's standards. In addition, the Ministry will conduct evaluations of existing programs and become more involved in the oversight of these programs.

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Between September 2006 and June 2007 an external evaluation of the current Erasmus Mundus programme occured. The evaluation looked at results of the programme, as well as qualitative aspects of the implemenation of the programme. Based on these results, impact assessments, results of an online consultation, and brainstorming sessions, the European Commission adopted a proposal for an Erasmus Mundus successor programme on July 12, 2007.

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This entry is a continuation of the series: "Internationalization of Higher Education: Where are Mobile Students Studying?" The Atlas of Student Mobility reports that the U.K. ranks second in the total number of international students studying in the country, with a total number of 344,335 in 2005. In April of 2006, as an extension to the "Initiative for International Education" in 1999, Tony Blair announced key strategies to attract 100,000 more international students (student from outside the EU) within the next five years.

The 4 key strategies are:
1.) Marketing and Communications efforts to position U.K. as a leader in offering international education opportunities,
2.) Ensuring a quality student experience from visa processes to orientation to studying,
3.) Strategic overseas partnerships and alliances,
4.) Expanding into new markets.

Continue reading "Internationalization: Studying in the United Kingdom" »

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is part of a continuing series on "Internationalizing Higher Education: Where are Mobile Students Studying?"

According to the Atlas of Student Mobility, in 2006, there were 564,766 international students studying in the U.S. It is a fact that the U.S. has the highest number of international students studying in their higher education system. However, in 2003/04 the U.S. saw its first decline in the number of international students since 1971. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, it is believed that the decline was due to increased difficulty in obtaining student visa's, more competitive recruitment by other international, english programs, and the increased quality of higher education in student's home countries. In February, a proposal calling for an urgent revision of foreign visa policies was signed by the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange, the Coalition for Employment Through Exports, the Heritage Foundation, Nafsa: Association of International Educators, and the National Foreign Trade Council.

Continue reading "Internationalization: Studying in the U.S." »

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Virtual Iber-American University, composed of eight universities from four Latin-American countries and one university in Spain, is slated to open the virtual classroom later this year. Spain's University of Extremadura; Mexico's University of Guadalajara; Argentina's National Universities of Córdoba, Entre Ríos, and de la Plata; the University of Santiago de Chile; and Brazil's Federal Universities of Santa Maria and Paraná are among the collaborating universities. The goal is to offer low-cost, graduate studies in such areas as sustainable development, teacher training and cultural development. The participating universities will develop a virtual library, cultural resources and other on-line support services for students.
What do you think about the concept of virtual universities? Are the student learning outcomes equivalent to those students who are physically sitting in the classroom?

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Atlas of Student Mobility, 2006 UNESCO Report on International Educational Exchange released the latest figures on student mobility in November 2006. As countries continue to pursue internationalization strategies at the regional, national, state and institutional level, are these numbers driving the process? Why are students pursuing studies in these top 8 destinations?

The top 8 Global Destinations for International Students:
(estimated on 2.5 million students)
United States 22%
United Kingdom 12%
Germany 10%
France 10%
Australia 7%
China 6%
Japan 5%
Canada 3%

Continue reading "Internationationalization: Where are Mobile Students Studying?" »

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)