Lecturers may go for 'Strike' in UK

Tens of thousands of university students could have their final year exams and graduation ceremonies disrupted this summer after lecturers warned they may strike over job losses. 

The University and College Union (UCU) which represents lecturers may go for industrial action to oppose at least 14,000 job cuts on campuses across the UK. This could coincide with final exams in June and graduations later on in the year. Sally Hunt, the UCU's general secretary, speaking at the union's annual conference in Manchester, warned that if discussions about redundancies broke down, there could be a national strike. 

There have been at least 15 strikes over job losses at universities since March. Higher education institutions are grappling with cuts of £1.2bn between now and 2013. These include £200m that was slashed from their budgets last week. In March, more than three-quarters of universities in England were told they would have their budgets cut for this September – some by nearly 14%, prompting warnings of larger class sizes, further job cuts and a deterioration in the quality of courses. 

The UCU's representatives on campuses were reporting new redundancies each day, 

Hunt said she wondered how long "this will remain a local action", adding: "Soon our members will want us to take this to a national level and make a national response too." 

Academics at Westminster University have said they will not mark essays and exams in protest over plans to cut 50 posts. A university spokesman said it was taking "every reasonable measure to minimise the impact" on students. 

Meanwhile, academics today accused the government of forcing them to spy on international students. They claim new visa rules, under which academics must report an overseas student who fails to enrol, miss lectures or drops out of a course, are against academic freedom. The rules were devised so officials could keep track of the whereabouts of international students. 

Lecturers called for the union to put up a legal challenge to the points-based immigration scheme. They said they would be prepared to appeal to the European court of human rights if necessary. 

Courtesy guardian.co.uk

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.

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

Asian University Leaders seeking to Improve International Ties

Gold Coast, Australia 

At a conference here on Australia's east coast that drew hundreds of higher-education leaders from the Asia-Pacific region this week, educators called for equal partnerships with Western institutions and agreed that they needed to become more flexible to adapt to a rapidly changing economic environment. 

Asia Pacific Association of International Education's annual meeting was generally positive, with many feeling that Asian higher education is coming into its own, university representatives from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and elsewhere agreed they need to step up their international activities. 

Asian universities have to be very domestically oriented, and their self-esteem is very high within the nation. But they are very limited and their standards are not global.On the contrary, Western universities still set the standards, and Asian universities are always falling behind. 

To tackle those problem, Asia Pacific Leaders program will be created, in which top university students will study, volunteer, and learn the local culture in a neighboring country's university,as declared by Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee said 15 Asian countries and 22 universities are participating. 

The association, which is only five years old, has grown each year—a sign that Asian universities are increasingly interested in developing a regional identity. This year's annual conference drew 900 attendees—300 more than expected—and more than double the sponsorship of the previous year, organizers said. 

Arun Sharma, deputy vice-chancellor for research and commercialization at the Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, gave the opening address. He called for an end to what he described as a mercantile approach to higher education, in which Western countries export their programs to Asia and then repatriate the profits. 

For the Australian universities in attendance here, much of the talk was about restoring the country's international reputation, particularly in India, following several highly publicized attacks against Indian students last year. Many university representatives here said they were also eager to draw in students from outside their home country. Some universities are doing so by creating Western style institutions or programs within existing universities. 

Mr. Lee noted that while American universities have time-tested academic programs, Asian universities are in an age of experimentation. But there was one area in which American universities could improve, he added: outreach. Only about 30 Americans attended the conference. Some Asian educators, he said, feels that American higher education could risk insularity if it does not also start to innovate and get involved with Asia. 

We know very well that Asia is a big market in which all economic giants have already participated so as American Universities need to do. 

Online Degrees Verification

The government has appointed a task force to create a national database of academic qualifications to ensure confidentiality, authenticity, online verification and easy retrieval of degrees . In the private sector, software and insurance industry groups currently manage their own database to prevent fraud.According to the website of the ministry of human resource development (HRD), there are a total of 490 government-recognized universities in the country with around 2.54 million students getting a graduate or postgraduate degree every year. Apart from this, 9.5 million students clear their secondary school examinations.The database will not just stock documents virtually, but also create a system for storing hard copies, said Sanjay Dhande, chairman of the government-appointed task force and director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. 

The group was appointed by the HRD ministry, which oversees education, in January this year. Verification of degrees will be cheaper and quicker if the project is implemented.“We have prepared the road map of implementation, of which the first and foremost is that a law needs to be enacted to give legal standing to the database,” Dhande told Mint over phone from Kanpur. The task force, also entrusted with identifying a registered depository that would create the database, has formed two sub-committees to look into the matter. 

Dhande said only registered depositories are being considered for the job.Another official of the task force, requesting anonymity since he is not authorized to speak to the media, said universities and various education boards will also be asked to upload documents online as the database is implemented.

He also said that legislation for the database is expected to be in place by September-October. 

Academic certificates from school to graduate and postgraduate levels, including professional degrees, will be mandatorily registered with the depository through the respective boards, universities and other institutions once the legislation is passed, with information retrievable on payment of a fee. 

Nasscom, the country’s information technology (IT) industry group, launched the National Skills Registry (NSR), a centralized database of employees for independent background checks, in January 2006. 

Till date, 83 companies have joined NSR, comprising more than 70% of the workforce in IT and allied services. 

USA needs Higher Education Students, Marketing and Quality

SCORES of cash-strapped US state universities are preparing to open their doors to foreign undergraduates, posing a serious challenge for Australian universities, as declared by US Study centre chief Geoff Garrett.

Another issue for Australian international education sector which is under focus for restriction of migration pathways , increased student visa financial requirements, student welfare, perceived racism and associated shortfalls in marketing of international education,and the high Australian dollar has made Australia much less competitive.Now this can be a real challenge to Australia’s ELICOS, university preparation and under graduate market in India, China and other Asian markets.

British students agitate for teaching quality. HUNDREDS of Manchester University engineering students have become the latest British undergraduates to stage a revolt against poor-quality teaching.
Predictable, if you charge fees students,clients, users or stakeholders demand a service as opposed to turning a blind eye. 
The number don’t add up in maths class. AUSTRALIA has a numeracy problem and they are not addressing it. TAFE(largest vocational education and training provider in Australia ) can help meet participation target. VICTORIA is being urged to create a fund for TAFE to finance delivery of degree programs with universities.

Universities suffering from decreasing international enrolments would surely be tempted to cooperate on degrees with TAFE. And It is good for TAFE sector with its resources to deliver degrees with practical internships, in addition to pathways.

Major Education Pact between Australia and India

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday that Indian students continued to come to Australia for higher studies and the government had not "prevented them" from doing so, as the two countries signed a major deal on education.

Mr. Sibal told reporters as the education pact between India and Australia was signed that New Delhi wants to take the "relationship forward" with Canberra. 

A joint ministerial statement was signed to expand the education exchange programme, Australian news agency AAP reported on Thursday. 

An India- Australia Education Council comprising experts from both countries will now be set up. The relation between India and Australia had become sour following the fatal stabbing of Nitin Garg on January 2, 2010, in this city. A travel advisory had also been issued to Indian students coming to Australia. 

Mr. Sibbal addressed the conference and laid stress on the fact that India is fully aware of what is happening in Australia and hoped the Australian government would take strong steps to ensure security of Indian students .He admitted also that attacks on Indians have surely declined

However it is recently revealed that international student numbers were down nationally three percent and 12 percent in Victoria. The drop in Indian student numbers in Victorian institutions was 40 percent, from 6303 to 3761

Best ‘USA Colleges and Universities’

It is marvelous that these elite institutions are offering scholarships to the talented students in today’s world .

US Schools That Offer admission to International Students - under a need-blind admissions policy, a college or university will admit students regardless of their ability to pay, and for any students that cannot afford the pricetag, the university awards scholarships and other institutional aid to make up the difference.Now there are eight US schools that offer need-blind admissions to international students - Amherst College is the most recent to join this elite group, for school year 2008/2009. Basically, if you can get in, you can afford to go - they are:

1.     MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in  
  Massachusetts

2.     Harvard University in Massachusetts

3.     Princeton University in New Jersey

4.     Yale University in Connecticut

5.     Williams College in Massachusetts

6.     Middlebury College in Vermont

7.     Dartmouth College in New Hampshire

8.     Amherst College in Massachusetts

The Talented students must clear the preliminary process and should get admission into these esteemed group of institutions of USA.

USA’s Best Value Colleges for 2010

Princeton Review of The Institutions of USA

For the second consecutive year, The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU), one of America's most widely known education services and test-prep companies, has teamed up with USA TODAY, the nation's most widely read print newspaper, to present a list of the 100 "Best Value Colleges" of the year.

The Princeton Review's 100 "Best Value Colleges" list for 2010 is based on data compiled and analyzed by The Princeton Review, the education services and test-prep company known for its annual college listings.

Following are the top 20 colleges or universities according to the Princeton Review.

TOP 20 'VALUE' PICKS PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 1. University of Virginia (Charlottesville) 2. City University of New York - Hunter College (New York, N.Y.) 3. New College of Florida (Sarasota) 4. Florida State University (Tallahassee) 5. University of Colorado-Boulder 6. State University of New York-Binghamton 7. University of Georgia (Athens) 8. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg) 9. Texas A&M University (College Station) 10. University of Oklahoma (Norman) PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS 1. Swarthmore College(Swarthmore, Pa.) 2. Harvard College(Cambridge, Mass.) 3. Wesleyan College(Macon, Ga.) 4. Princeton University(Princeton, N.J.) 5. Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) 6. Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) 7. Rice University (Houston, Texas) 8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology(Cambridge, Mass.) 9. Amherst College (Amherst, Mass.) 10. Wellesley College (Wellesley, Mass.) Source:The Princeton Review This year's list keeps the University of Virginia and Swarthmore College in the No. 1 spots for public and private schools, like last year. Several others on this year's list also appeared last year, including Harvard, Florida State and the University of Georgia. Some are new to the top 10, such as the University of Colorado-Boulder, Texas A&M, MIT, Virginia Tech, the University of Oklahoma, Wellesley and Wesleyan College in Georgia.

Academic ratings were based on surveys of students about class sizes and professors' accessibility, as well as student/faculty ratios and percentage of classes taught by teaching assistants. Financial aid rankings came from school-reported data and student surveys, and factored in tuition, fees, room and board. Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors' accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants.

Legal Challenge By English Language Schools

English language schools are planning a legal challenge against the Home Office over fears that the UK will lose thousands of jobs and £400m in income through tighter visa regulations this year. 

English UK, the body representing most language schools plans to seek a judicial review of home secretary Alan Johnson's decision to prevent students with only beginner's English from entering Britain for English language courses. 

The regulations, announced last month, were raised due to concerns about illegal immigration and radicalisation of students at UK institutions following the bombing attempt on a US-bound aircraft on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a British-educated Nigerian. 

The clampdown coincides with sharp cuts to university funding. Vice-chancellors fear that a decision in January to suspend student visa applications from large parts of the Indian subcontinent because of suspected abuse of the rules will affect enrolment numbers. 

English UK, which represents 440 schools and colleges, describes the government's insistence that those who come to learn English must already be competent in the language as an absurd remark. The home secretary has not brought the changes before parliament which is claimed ‘unlawful by the association’. 

The schools claim as many as 100,000 students will be deterred from entering the UK, that £400m in income and 3,400 teaching jobs will be lost, and a further £1bn forfeited in university fees because higher education institutions recruit as many as 70% of their students from among those already studying English language and foundation courses in the UK. 

Many English language schools are based on the south coast, particularly in Brighton and Bournemouth. Others are in Oxford, Cambridge and London. Students come from countries such as South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Turkey, Japan, Venezuela and Vietnam. 

Restricting these students will cause a huge loss to the economy of UK and further create slump in the coming years as far as enrollments are concerned in English Language schools. 

Increase in Admission Indian Students in UK universities

Press Trust of India, Friday April 2, 2010, London

The number of Indian students getting admission in courses in British universities rose by almost a third in the previous academic year, according to official figures. More than 34,000 students from  India studied at British higher education institutions in 2008-09, up 31.5 per cent on the year before. William Lawton, policy adviser at the  UK Higher Education International Unit, said, "The predicted fall in our share of the global market - as a result of other countries wooing  international students - does not seem to have happened." Recruitment may have been helped by a weaker pound, he added, "but it most likely reflects a reputation for good quality and sustained brand strength". The Higher Education Statistics Agency figures also show that Nigerian nationals have overtaken Americans to become the third most numerous overseas-student population in Britain. A total of 14,380 Nigerians came to the UK to study in 2008-09, a 22 per cent increase on the previous year, compared with 14,345 from the US. Arrivals from Saudi Arabia showed the most dramatic rise, up 47.2 per cent. However, this was from a relatively low base, from 3,535 students to 5,205. Students from mainland China remained the largest overseas group at 47,035 - up 3.7 per cent on the year before. However, numbers from Taiwan fell 6.8 per cent to 5,235, and from Hong Kong by 1 per cent to 9,600. Allaying fears that the UK may be losing its grip on the international student market due to it’s point immigration system,  total numbers from outside the European Union who pay the highest fees rose by 9.4 per cent, topping 250,000. Numbers from within the EU rose by 4.9 per cent to 117,660.

International Students can shun UK, thanks to new VISA rules

Last week in UK universities declared that their seats are full.But now they are worried due to the fear that in next session they will have 20% less students as compared to previous sessions.  

The "house full" sign was visible  at most of the country's top universities last week as students snapped up the few spare places in record time.

In April, the government changed the immigration system and introduced a points-based system for, among others, international students applying for study visas. Well, So far, it has not been a success, as far as many in the sector can tell.

To get a visa, international students are now expected to show that they can afford their tuition fees 28 days before they apply, have at least an extra £600 a month and £400 for each dependant in living expenses, and to keep it all in a bank account in their own name for the first year of their study. They also need to show  a biometric identity card and should  have received their exam results by the time they apply.

Agents who apply for UK visa on behalf of students are finding these these requirements  too much and these take take too much time.

Many more student visas are being rejected than in previous years, they say, encouraging students to give up on the UK and opt for Australia or the US for their higher education instead.

Universities hoped that they would find out last Thursday exactly how many student visas had been accepted since the new immigration system came in. But, when the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics published data on immigration, student visa data for the second quarter of this year was nowhere to be found.

Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, the vice-chancellors' umbrella group, says: "Unfortunately, the information published is of limited value to us in assessing how effectively the new immigration system is working. It does not provide data on visa applications and their approval and refusal rates under the different tiers of the new system.”

"This is our busiest period for student visa applications and there are worrying indications of problems with the operation of the system overseas. We know the UK Border Agency is working hard to process applications in time and we are continuing to work with them to identify and tackle issues raised by universities.

"We remain concerned, however, that the system may delay or deter international students who wish to study in the UK." .

Anecdotal evidence indicates numbers of these students are down as much as 20%, in some cases, on what course leaders were expecting this year, says Dominic Scott, chief executive of the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

Brendan Webb, sales and marketing director of Study Group, which runs classes at colleges and universities for international students who want to improve their English, says overseas students are either "not turning up or turning up very, very late" because of the visa problems.

"We have had to postpone some courses by two weeks," he says. "We still don't know when they are going to arrive or be rejected at the border gates. The agents in our regional offices across the world say there have been delays. They have been shouting and screaming about them."

It is estimated that there are more than 340,000 non-EU students at UK universities. They generate more than £1.25bn in fees, spend a further £1.6bn in living costs and contribute a total of around £8.5bn to the British economy each year.

Alasdair Murray, director of Centre Forum, a liberal thinktank, says: "While the short-term damage in terms of disruption and unfilled places could be considerable, it is the longer-term impact which is the real worry.

"Aside from the overall economic benefit generated by overseas students, the fees help cross-subsidise their UK counterparts. The government faces depriving universities of vital funds at the very moment it is scrabbling around for cash to help tens of thousands of extra UK applicants escape the recession. Universities fear that any ongoing fall in overseas student numbers will only exacerbate the looming problem posed by much tighter public spending."

Webb says there is going to be a "big black hole ahead".

"This was going to be the year for the UK in terms of opportunities," he says. "Visa applications are up, but down in Australia, because the UK was seen as more affordable and providing a much wider choice. This is a massive missed opportunity.”

Statements Courtesy guardian.co.uk

There is no doubt that UK has tightened the rules which will lead to depression in UK market regarding students.The rules are too much and take long to be fulfilled up.Well if this scenario remains then the majority of students will move over to USA or other favourite study destinations.

Indian students OUT-COMPETE U.S. counterparts

Tuesday , 30  March  2010,

Washington: Indian and chinese have been going ahead in competition with their  American counterparts by their sheer hard work although though they are not smarter than the latter, a top Obama administration official had said, reported by  Business Standard.

"We are simply being out-competed by children in India and China. They are not smarter than our children. They are just working harder," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the MSNBC television in an interview on 28^th Jan . "I have argued very clearly, and so has the President, that our school day is too short, our school week is too short, our school year is too short." 

Indian and Chinese students go at least 30 to 40 extra days to schools annually than their American counterparts. "It is very well documented that certain children get to a certain point in June, thanks to the hard work of their teachers, and because nothing is going on during the summer, they come back to us in September further behind than where they left. That is heartbreaking. We have to stop that," Duncan said, while thinking of granting more time and resources for students. 

The Education secretary told the press that all the students need to improve .The principals and teachers make a vast difference in student’s life and hence they need to apply extra effort or pull them along .

May be they are right.

Sense of Recognition for Overseas Students

26 March, 2010

It is appreciable of Martin Davidson , British council chief executive has raised this issue of taking care of international students rather than treating them only as for their money .

Martin Davidson, British Council chief executive, spoke as the organisation launched its international education conference “Going global”, which is being held in London on 25 and 26 March.

This conference  which will draw together some of the leading figures from international higher education to discuss issues like overseas student security, university rankings and the role of the private sector.

In the UK, it is evident that the international students have become an important source of income, a situation likely to be accentuated by government funding cuts. Here international students have to pay higher fees at undergraduate level. Fees are capped for domestic and other EU students, on the other hand there are also strict quotas limiting recruitment.

He also stressed on the fact that International students have more study options today than ever before, and in this  internet-connected world, It will be devastating if the word spreads that they are treated as ‘cash cows’. In today’s quickly  evolving marketplace, overseas governments will go against foreign universities that are clearly interested only in recruiting students from their country and giving nothing in return.

Well,  it appears that the world education scenario in UK is changing.

Kampus Landing opens HEADQUARTERS in the financial hub of the UK at Canary Wharf, London

In close co-operation with its domestic and international client institutions Kampus Landing is committed to a continuous development of new learning resources leading to an effective, efficient, and enjoyable Learning Experience for all its students regardless of the type or location of their chosen study venue.

In that context, Our Chairman, Mr. Ismo M Kuhanen is pleased to introduce you to Kampus Landing’s new ‘family’ member, Finntrack, which is based in the UK and specializes in the development, design and distribution of business, management and IT related programmes, courses, learner support and staff development units, teaching and learning guides and contents for universities, business schools, colleges, corporations , professional and vocational training and development centres throughout the world, by:

Designing of customised and customisable business, management, and IT related curriculum of programmes, courses and modules to meet the standards required by the British QAA and the recognised international accreditation bodies. See the QAA Subject Benchmark Statements onhttp://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/default.asp

Identifying potential partner institutions, then brokering and facilitating transnational collaboration.

Assisting client institutions in obtaining accreditation with American, British, or other European universities or awarding bodies for dual awards.

Designing quality assurance processes and resources and train teaching staff to follow them.

Attracting and recruiting students for both, classroom and distance learning programmes offered by client institutions in almost anywhere in the world.

Providing online Learning Content Management Systems able to enrol and manage in-class or distance learning module contents for both tutors and learners.

Multi-billion dollar international fake diploma fraud

 A new Report published on 21^st  exposes a multi-billion dollar international fake diploma fraud.

The ‘Accredibase Report' by Eyal Ben Cohen and Rachel Winch of Verifile Limited,is a report based on an 18-month international research project into diploma and accreditation mills - fake Universities and Colleges which con students out of their money and supply fake degrees that deceive employers into offering jobs, sometimes  fatal consequences.

Up till  1,762 fake institutions have been identified , and a  further 1,545 are under investigation currently filed as ‘suspicious' co-author Eyal Ben Cohen

Alarmingly, the US was found to be the world's fake college capital, with 810 diploma mills already declared fake  and many more still under investigation as the Report went to press. More than 35 percent of the diploma mills operate in California, Hawaii, Washington and Florida.UK is the the world's second biggest hub  of fake colleges , the Report exposing 271 bogus institutions, making the UK the centre of Europe's bogus colleges scam.

The British government  has said that it  welcomes any innovative approach that further helps to disrupt the activities of bogus education providers, simultaneously  safeguarding legitimate education and the public."

Multiple ‘fake university businesses' are often run from one address - The ‘St. Regis University' network ran as many as 121 phony institutions all from a single office in Spokane, Washington. This allows the fraudsters to easily shut down one business if the authorities become suspicious, while suffering minimal disruption to the huge profits being generated. Official estimates that the fraudsters are earning  more than $100m every year in only one year of operation.

Fake degrees can help terrorists to infiltrate facilities by securing them jobs inside the country

The ‘con' becomes more sophisticated with fake universities setting up fake accreditation bodies in an attempt to make their qualifications look genuine. These accreditation bodies  may hide their location to make it more difficult to establish their legitimacy.