'Culture Cards' - A Step to Rejuvenate Relationships.

Over 1.6 lakh international students, including those from India will be given a 'Culture Card' by the Victorian government which will enable them to attend some of the city's best cultural events.

The 'Culture Card' was launched on Tuesday by Skills and Workforce Participation Minister Bronwyn Pike, Committee for Melbourne CEO Andrew MacLeod and North Melbourne Football Club Captain Drew Petrie.

The new move will give international students living in Victoria a virtual key to some of the state's best attractions as according to official s said . Pike said the Culture Card would ensure international students get the best from their study experience in Victoria.

Majority of 1.65 lakh international students, majority of whom are from India and China.

Pike said the Culture Card was part of the local Government's plan to ensure international students get a warm welcome when they arrive in Victoria. "Combined with the Culture Card, we now have a suite of services that are providing international students with the support, information and assistance they need." MacLeod said Culture Cards would be distributed through universities and education providers when international students arrive in Melbourne.

courtesy ndtv.com

Elite universities ponder over 'bond issues' to raise funds

The UK's elite universities are considering proposals that would allow them to raise potentially hundreds of millions of pounds on the financial markets by issuing bonds . 

Selling the bonds – long-term debts issued by companies – would enable them to reduce their deficits and dependency on the taxpayer. A university would have to pay back, with interest, the amount it borrows – likely to be £100m or more – on a specific date in say 30 or even 50 years time. 

The Russell Group of 20 leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge state that, at present, the state does not provide sufficient funds to cover the cost of teaching undergraduates and universities are left with a shortfall. It says institutions that raised cash in this way would be far less dependent on taxpayers' money. A group of universities would allow a large bond issue, capable of attracting "major investors", it said. The bonds could even be marketed to alumni, who might be encouraged to buy them at lower than market rates. 

The Russell Group made the argument for issuing bonds in its submission to a cross-party review on university funding and tuition fees led by Lord Browne, the former BP chief executive. The review will report in the autumn. 

Fram Dinshaw, finance bursar at St Catherine's College, Oxford University, said this would be a good idea, if the loan was "properly structured", because it would be "a way out of the dependency on state funds". 

In January this year, it was revealed that Cambridge University was planning to raise up to £400m from its first bond issue. Ivy League universities in the US, such as Harvard and Princeton, have issued bonds for several years. 

One problem which may arise is that bond markets are inflexible and can make it impossible to pay back the debt early. 

courtesy Guardian.co.uk

Regulations to set 'Standards' of Universities in UK

Students have a right to expect contact time with lecturers and reasonable class sizes, says vice- chancellor 

Universities would face financial penalties if their lecturers teach for only a few hours a week, or class sizes exceed an acceptable limit as it appears in the future. Professor Paul Wellings, chair of the 1994 Group of 19 small research-intensive universities, recommended all students be given minimum expectations of contact hours with lecturers, class sizes and feedback. Wellings, the vice-chancellor of Lancaster University, was giving evidence to a cross-party review into tuition fees, led by the former BP chief executive Lord Browne. The review will report this autumn. Wellings said the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the organisation that gives public funds to universities, should issue penalties if institutions fail to live up to students' expectations will be chaged.

courtesy guardian.co.uk

Indian Universities ' Leap Forward' to Abroad

MUMBAI — Indian universities too have been looking in the foreign to set up their own institutions and to better equip students for the demands of the global economy.

Some top Indian higher education institutes have had foreign annexes for several years but expansion plans aim to offer students a chance to broaden their horizons and give them an edge in the competitive jobs market.

Among them is the private university Amity, which is opening two new global business schools for Indian and international students in New York and San Francisco in July, adding to its existing centres in London and Singapore.

The moves come not just as part of a worldwide trend for international education but as the government in New Delhi looks to improve education standards to maintain India's economic growth in the years ahead.Nearly one in three Indians is under 14 and ministers say that 800 to 1,000 new universities are needed in the next decade to increase the number of students going into higher education from the current 12 percent to 30 percent.

Some foreign universities, many of which already have tie-ups with Indian establishments, including student exchange programmes, have expressed an interest.Foreign companies, for example, have said many Indian graduates, although academically well-qualified, often lack essential "soft skills" required for global business, in particular telephone manner or email etiquette.Amity and S.P. Jain said many of these problems can be eliminated just by mixing with students from different countries, backgrounds and cultures and through a more "all-round" education in and out of the classroom.

The elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, for example, said cultural and sporting activities are increasing on its campus and could benefit students in the long run, including in their future careers.

"I'm sure recruiters look at this," said Jaya Josha from the IIT.

Courtesy AFP

Australian Universities relying on foreign students

Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser says Australian universities have become too dependant on income from foreign students.

Receiving an honorary doctorate at Monash University in Melbourne last night, Mr Fraser hit out at successive federal governments for failing to properly fund universities.

"Governments don't seem to recognise this," he said.

"At the same time as withdrawing funds from universities, they're trying to interfere more in the way universities are run and what universities are doing. In older days I think we did better," he said.

He also says Australia's immigration policies will discourage students from studying here.

"People overseas know when we behave in inhumane or uncompassionate ways," he said.

"It resonates around the world in a way that does Australia great damage".

"You can easily see how that would flow into the students, if the students have an alternative of going to America or Canada or Britain or whatever."

Courtesy ABC News

CAMBRIDGE students are elegible for CLAT

Now, a Class 12 Cambridge student can appear for Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), for admission to any of the 11 national law schools in India.On Thursday, the National Law Institute University in Bhopal confirmed that students affiliated to University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) are eligible to sit for CLAT. The test will be conducted on May 9.

“Cambridge students are already eligible to sit for medical and engineering entrance tests in India, and so I am delighted that the path has been opened for them to sit for CLAT,” said Ian Chambers, CIE regional manager, South Asia. “The legal profession is a popular career choice for Cambridge students, and this new ruling will open doors for them to study law in India.”

In India, more than 230 schools are registered with CIE. The Association of Indian Universities recognises Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International A-Level as equivalent to Class 10 and Class 12 level respectively.

Courtesy hindustantimes.com

Indian version of TOEFL

New Delhi, May 11 - With the demand for English language skills increasing across the country, India has come up with its own standardised English language test on the lines of TOEFL and IELTS.
 

The English and Foreign Language University in Hyderabad has formed the All-India English Language Testing Authority that will conduct the first standardised test on May 30. "Both TOEFL and IELTS are tests needed by the US and the UK respectively for students and professionals wanting to study or work in those countries. It is not taken widely by Indians or even those wanting a proficiency certificate for the Indian market," said Vice-Chancellor Abhai Maurya.

The tests will have three levels - Class X, graduation and post-graduation - and students will be awarded proficiency certificates. "We are already in talks with the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) to conduct an English proficiency test for Class X pass-outs since they will have no board exam from this year," said Maurya.

At Rs 1,500 the test is much cheaper than its foreign counterparts, which cost around Rs 8,000 per sitting. The test will include reading and writing and subsequently test speaking and listening skills. The testing authority is also talking to University of Cambridge, which conducts various assessment tests worldwide.

Government schools have also woken up to the importance of teaching students the Queen's language. Seven states, including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Punjab, have tied up with the British Council, India, to train their English teachers.Government sources

 

GRE, becoming an alternative for GMAT.

In 2005, the Stanford Graduate School of Business took a step that was unprecedented among top-ranked schools—it began to accept the GRE from applicants. And it hasn't regretted the change.

School officials say they made the decision because it seemed nonsensical to accept the GRE from candidates applying to their Ph.D. programs but not from their M.B.A. applicants. Officials also wanted to make the business school more accessible to students who wished to co-enroll in two graduate programs. Rather than being forced to take the GRE and GMAT to gain acceptance into separate programs, they can join bothe of them by going through one exam only.

In the years since Stanford's policy change was made, hundreds of M.B.A. programs have followed suit. According to Educational Testing Services, which administers the GRE, 334 business programs accept the GRE, up from 150 when ETS began tracking the data. Officials at ETS believe that the rapid acceleration over the last several years will continue because accepting the GRE allows schools to strengthen their applicant pools: Every year, more than 600,000 people take the GRE, while only about 270,000 take the GMAT

While the majority of business schools now accepting the GRE are smaller, less-renowned programs, several other top-ranked business schools have followed Stanford's lead. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business, and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business stand third, seventh, and 14th, respectively.

Now that so many schools are giving the applicants an option between the tests, it's important for business school candidates to know which exam is right for them. Graduate exams are not cheap, so cost is a factor as well. The GRE costs roughly $140, which is $110 cheaper than taking the GMAT. While that difference may seem negligible as a one-time payment, many students opt to take the tests multiple times. Given that the GRE is less expensive and allows students to apply to a broader range of graduate programs, some experts feel it's the test that makes the most sense for a broader number of students, especially those unsure if business school is right for them.

Courtesy usnews.com .

Not too Late for September Admissions

High school seniors who haven't applied to college yet need not get despaired. The National Association for College Admission Counseling has published a list of 240 colleges that are still accepting applications for fall admission for freshmen and/or transfer students.

As of May 4, 226 of these schools have space for freshmen students, and 240 have space for transfer students. Also, 239 still have at least limited financial aid available and 236 have housing available for these students. More schools will add their names to the list throughout the summer, NACAC says. Schools that fill up will also be dropped off the list, as NACAC plans to update the list frequently through August 31, when the counselors' organization plans to take the list down from its site.

Students also have hundreds of other college options for this fall. NACAC only surveys the association's 1,200 members, which include four-year, not-for-profit colleges and universities. In addition, most of the nation's 1,116 community colleges accept fall applications throughout the summer, as do many for-profit colleges, and many of the almost 1,000 four-year colleges that don't belong to NACAC.

The typical application requirements for the later deadlines include the standard application, application fee, high school transcript, ACT or SAT test scores, and, for some schools, references. Be aware that some colleges charge a late fee on top of the traditional application fee.

Georgia State ‘Gets’ International Education Grant

Georgia State University's 
Robinson College of Business gets a $1.6 million federal grant to start a Center for International Business Education and Research aimed at helping its students compete globally.Georgia State is one of three universities added to the CIBER program this year. It joins 32 other universities nationally that are receiving four-year CIBER grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

"It's really a very elite group of business schools," said Tamer Cavusgil, director of the Institute of International Business at Robinson College, who will also direct the new CIBER program.

The CIBER program was launched by the federal government in 1988 as a way to increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies, said Dr. CavusgilUnder the CIBER program, there will be research projects on how to help U.S. companies sell globally. Study abroad programs will be expanded as will support for internationally focused student organizations such as AIESEC.

Robinson is the largest business school in the South with 200 faculty and 8,000 students. It is one of a handful of universities in the U.S. that offers an international business course taught entirely inSpanish, with plans to offer a second class in French.

In addition to Georgia State, the University of Minnesota and the University of Miami were added to the CIBER program this year.The Georgia Institute of Technology was awarded a grant to continue its CIBER program, which has been in place since 1993.

Australia tries 'Wooing' back students

A welcome desk has been established for Indian and other international students at the airport at Melbourne airport as declared by Australian government official.

Victorian Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation Bronwyn Pike said that students will receive a warm welcome at the International Student Welcome Desk located in the arrivals hall at Melbourne International Airport. 

"A team of local volunteers will now be at the desk during peak arrival times to hand out welcome packs to international students arriving inMelbourne, with information on living, working and studying in Victoria."

"Information and advice about housing and consumer rights will also be provided to international students upon their arrival at Melbourne airport," a statement quoted Pike as saying. 

Australia is trying to woo international students after its image was battered following a string of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney. The assaults have already strained relations between New Delhi and Canberra. 

Pike said the government will provide an Aus $2.7 million support and information package over four years for international students as part of the Aus$14 million 'Thinking Global: Victoria's Action Plan for International Education'. 

The airport welcome desk is open during a four-week period when most international students arrive in Victoria to prepare for the start of the education year. 

courtesy indiaedunews.net

Canada is the 'NEW' destination

The attacks on Indian students in Australia has created a great opportunity for Canada to ramp up enrolment from the country, says the Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) which represents Canadian companies doing business in India. 

Because of stern visa rules and lack of publicity by Canadian institutions in India, only 3,000 Indian students join universities and colleges here, compared to 20,000 in Australia each year. 

Husain Neemuchwala, chairman of the education committee at the C-IBC said, "These unfortunate incidents will cause others to look for alternative destinations for higher education,and Canadian institutions must seize this opportunity,'' Neemuchwala told sources. 

"Being one of the top 'exporters' of international students, India offers them a huge market.'' 

Mumbai-born Neemuchwala said: "If American universities and colleges can attract 70,000 Indian students and Australian institutions 20,000 each year, Canada too should make its institutions more appealing to Indian students.'' 

"Further, the United Nations has rated Canada as one of the best places in the world to live, on the basis of its educational standards, life expectancy, national income and the general quality of life.'' 

With the introduction of a new three-year post-graduate work permit for international students, he said, Canada should become a favourable destination for Indian and other international students who generate $7 billion for the economy each year. 

The mission, which included 54 Canadian universities and colleges, signed 24 memorandums of understanding with their Indian counterparts. IANS 

Lecturers walk out in UK

Implications due to funding cuts in UK Educational system have started showing up.

Thousands of students in colleges and universities were affected by 'widespread disruption' today as planned protests took place over cuts and possible job losses

This has been the biggest outbreak of industrial action in more than two years .

Union members at 11 further education colleges and two universities in London, plus Sussex University, are taking part in the action, which will include a march and rally in Westminster this afternoon.These are the protests against funding cuts for higher education which the UCU says are nearing £1bn , on top of the £340m savings furtherwhich  education must make in the next academic year.

The London universities taking part are Westminster University and King's College London, which is seeing its second action this year.

The FE colleges are Barnet College; City and Islington College; College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London; College of North West London; Greenwich Community College; Hackney Community College; Lambeth College; Lewisham College; Richmond upon Thames College; Tower Hamlets College and Westminster Kingsway College.

Best LAW Schools Of USA

Best Law Schools Specialty Rankings in International Law

Ranked in 2010

1	New York University  New York, NY
2	Columbia University  New York, NY
3	Georgetown University  Washington, DC
4	Harvard University  Cambridge, MA
5	Yale University  New Haven, CT
6	George Washington University  Washington, DC
7.	University of Michigan--Ann Arbor  Ann Arbor, MI
8	American University (Washington)  Washington, DC
9	University of Virginia  Charlottesville, VA
10	Duke University  Durham, NC

Courtesy usnews.com