Hedda Blog

Many of us are in need of higher education data, whether it be for a paper, thesis, dissertation or simply intellectual enhancement. Here are a few noteable websites that are good resources for higher education data. Please add any other websites containing higher education data that you find helpful in the comments section.

International Higher Education Clearinghouse
"The IHEC website directs scholars, administrators, and other professionals to current resources to support research and practice in international higher education."

Atlas of Student Mobility
"Project Atlas tracks migration trends of the millions of students who pursue education outside of their home countries each year. Data are collected on global student mobility patterns, country of origin, as well as leading destinations for trans-national higher education."

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
"A special review is examining the organisation, management and delivery of tertiary education in 23 countries, while OECD has also worked on guidelines for cross-border education."

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
"Global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication."

United Nations Development Programme
"You can access statistical data from the Human Development Report (HDR) and resources to help you better understand these data. You will also find helpful information about the human development index (HDI) and other indices, links to other background materials, data resources and on-going debates and discussions on human development statistics."

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association has launched a website to provide a forum for current and prospective students, as well as for graduates of the 80 European joint master courses. For registered users, there is a message board, database to find other students, newsletters, and information about Erasmus Mundus conferences and news. For visitors to the site, information about the Erasmus Mundus programmes is available. Check it out!

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new report published by UNESCO, Global Education Digest 2007, finds major disparities among the education budgets in wealthy countries and developing countries. This edition highlights the spending patterns, using a variety of indicators, from primary to higher education in 200 countries. Here is an overview of some of the findings:

"Governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend only 2.4% of the world’s public education resources. Yet about 15% of the school-age population lives in these countries, according to the Digest. In contrast, the United States, which is home to just 4% of the world’s children and young people, spends 28% of the global education budget. This is mainly due to the large numbers of university students and the relatively high costs associated with this level of education."

"East Asia and the Pacific has the second-highest share of global public spending on education at 18% (after the North American and Western European region). Yet governments in the region are investing considerably less than their share of global wealth at 28% of GDP and the school-age population (29%). "

"The opposite scenario is found in South and West Asia, where 7% of the world’s public education resources are spent on 28% of children and young people. A more balanced situation emerges in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region which accounts for 8% to 9% of global education spending, the school-age population and global wealth. "

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're back...in Aveiro, Portugal!
By: Leasa Weimer, HEEM Student

It's our second year in the HEEM master's programme and we have moved to Portugal to finish up our final semester of coursework before we hunker down and write our thesis in January. After a three month summer break, life (as we know it) is back to normal. We have all moved to Portugal with stories of our summer experiences; traveling through Eastern Europe, interning in South Africa, studying in Japan, working at the night market in Thailand, celebrating the new millennium in Ethiopia, traveling in Australia, and living in Portugal. Some have been changed by their summer experience, while others had another commute in the organic self-discovery of life. Yet, we have come back together as if no time has passed. We had our first week of classes (in the Economics of Higher Education) and our human capital is on the rise again as we are now in paper-writing mode as well as preparing for our final thesis presentation due in 4 weeks. Life is back to normal! The routines have started to form; same supermercado, the walk to campus, skype dates with friends and families, the favorite cafes, reading about the Economics of higher education, text messages from classmates, and caffeine breaks during classes. Here is a glimpse of life in Aveiro...

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Second Life is an internet-based, 3-D, virtual world that is created by its 6 million users from around the globe. It is a digital continent, where you (as an avatar) can experience everything from entertainment, to a marketplace (where real buying and selling transactions occur), to classroom lectures. Higher Education Institutions in the United States and the UK are joining this trend and hosting Second Life virtual campuses as a tool for learning, teaching, research, and recruiting. The Guardian reports that over 15 universities in the UK have spent several thousand pounds on purchasing Second Life "virtual land" to build their virtual campuses, among those are Edinburgh and Oxford. Below is a promotional video about the University of Ohio virtual campus in Second Life:

Harvard Law School has built a virtual courtroom for students to practice their skills, and in August 2006 a Harvard professor held its first class in Second Life. Case Western Reserve University has bought a virtual campus to recruit new students by giving online virtual campus tours. Texas State University has built an island, Bobcat Island, where anyone can meet up and socialize with others in the sandbox cafe, visit the on-line exhibits of the gallery, or attend an on-line conference in the Bobcat Den.

What do you think about Universities using Second Life as a tool for learning, teaching, research, and recruiting?

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The annual flagship publication of OECD "Education at a Glance" has just been released. This publication enables the 30 member countries to see its performance in light of others' through current and comparable indicators. The main areas of focus in the publication are:
-Participation and achievement in education
-Public and private spending on education
-The state of lifelong learning
-Conditions for pupils and teachers.

This year, the overarching conclusion that can be extrapolated from the publication, according to the executive summary, is that higher education systems continue to grow and expand. On average, over 50 per cent of high school/upper secondary graduates are entering higher education at some point in their lifetime. Just 40 years ago, only 1 in 10 graduates entered higher education. With the findings in "Education at a Glance", OECD concludes that the expansion of higher education has had a positive effect on individuals and national economies.

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the United States, one of the important funding sources for higher education is donor money. In 2006, U.S. colleges and universities touted over $28 billion U.S. dollars in donor funding, approximately 10% of the $300 billion price tag of higher education last year. With the continued influction of the cost of higher education, exceeding the annual rate of inflation, donors are starting to feel like they need a stronger voice to demand excellence, quality, and accountability. A new nonprofit organization, Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), will work to represent donor interests. There are four main areas CEHE will work to change:

Accountability: CEHE wants college and university administrators to be more accountable for their successes and failures with more management responsibility.
Governance: CEHE wants college and university trustees to understand their moral and fudiciary responsibility, rather than hold the view that the college/university they serve is infallible.
Effective Giving: CEHE will help donors structure gifts to actualize specific goals and obtain a visible return on the investment.
Oversight: CEHE will also help donors monitor and evaluate the results of their gifts.

CEHE Executive Director Frederic J. Fransen said, "The Center for Excellence in Higher Education is convinced that any serious effort to transform higher education must come from the outside. It won't happen from within. Those who support higher education with their voluntary contributions are uniquely qualified to bring about these needed changes."

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Venezuela’s President Chavez announced in May a new initiative to increase higher education in his country, "Mission Alma Mater". The first phase of this new program is to contruct 28 national universities in various areas around the country from 2007 to 2012. "There will be 11 new national universities, in addition to 13 regional ones, and 4 new technical institutes," explained Chavez. But the reform doesn't stop at building new universities, Chavez also announced that university staff will receive a pay raise and backpay from the last 15 years and retirement benefits. Additional funds will be allocated to increase scholarships, renovate cafeterias, and to purchase more computers. Furthermore, the university entrance exams will be eliminated and only a highschool diploma will be needed to enter higher education.

Posted by Hedda blog administrator at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)