International News

Foreign campuses teething pains

In a kind of educational gold rush, American universities are competing to set up outposts in countries with limited higher education opportunities. American universities — as well as Australian and British ones, which also offer instruction in English — are starting, or expanding hundreds of programmes and partnerships in booming markets such as China, India and Singapore.

And many are now considering full-fledged foreign branch campuses, particularly in oil-rich West Asia. Already, students in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar can attend an American university without the expense, culture shock or post-9/11 visa problems.

"Where universities are heading now is toward becoming global universities," says Howard Rollins, the former director of international programmes at Georgia Tech, which has degree programmes in France, Singapore, Italy, South Africa and China, and plans for India. "We’ll have more and more universities competing internationally for resources, faculty and the best students."

The demand from overseas is huge. At the University of Washington, the administrator in charge of overseas programmes receives about a proposal a week. "It’s almost like spam," says the official, Susan Jeffords, whose position as vice-provost for global affairs was created just two years ago.

Traditionally, top universities built their international presence through study-abroad sites, research partnerships, faculty exchanges and joint degree programmes offered with foreign universities. Yale has dozens of research collaborations with Chinese universities.

Overseas branches, with the same requirements and degrees as the home campuses, are a newer — and riskier — phenomenon. While New York University’s Persian Gulf campus in Abu Dhabi is on the horizon, George Mason University is up and running — though not at full speed — in Ras al Khaymah, another one of the emirates.

George Mason, a public university in Fairfax, Virginia, arrived in the Gulf in 2005 with a tiny language programme intended to help students achieve college-level English skills and meet the university’s admission standards for the degree programmes that were beginning the next year. George Mason expected to have 200 undergraduates in 2006, and grow from there. But it enrolled nowhere near that many, then or now. It had just 57 degree students — three in biology, 27 in business and 27 in engineering at the start of this academic year, joined by a few more students and programmes this semester.

The Ras al Khaymah campus has had a succession of deans. Simple tasks such as ordering books take months, in part because of government censors. Local licensing, still not complete, has been far more rigorous than expected. And it has not been easy to find interested students with the Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and English skills that George Mason requires for admission.

Aisha Ravindran, a professor from India with no previous connection to George Mason, teaches students the same communications class required for business majors at the Virgina campus — but in the Arabian desert, it lands differently. Ravindran uses the same slides, showing emotions and lists of non-verbal taboos to spread the American business ideal of diversity and inclusiveness. She emphasises the need to use language that includes all listeners.

And suddenly, there is an odd mismatch between the American curriculum and the local culture. In a country where homosexual acts are illegal, Ravindran’s slide show suggests using "partner" or "life partner", since "husband" or "wife" might exclude some listeners. And in a country where mosques are ubiquitous, the slides counsel students to avoid the word "church" and substitute it with "place of worship".

The Ras al Khaymah students include Bangladeshis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Indians, Iraqis, Lebanese, Syrians and more, most from families that can afford the $5,400-a-semester tuition. But George Mason has attracted few citizens of the emirates.

Declining low-income enrollments

The number of students from low-income families at top-ranking US universities is in decline, a study has found. An analysis by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education identified both short and long-term decline at 30 prestigious universities between 1983 and 2006. Students from low-income backgrounds fared only marginally better at the 30 leading liberal arts colleges examined by the journal.

The trend, which the journal describes as "disappointing and baffling", has persisted despite dramatic growth in top-tier university endowments and financial commitments at many leading universities to attract promising students from low-income families. The study is based on the proportion of undergraduates receiving federal Pell Grants, which are reserved for students from families typically with incomes below $40,000 (Rs.16 lakh).

In the short term, between 2004 and 2006, the number of low-income students fell at nine of the ten wealthiest universities in the US — the exception being Harvard University, where the proportion of undergraduates from low-income backgrounds rose from 9.4 to 11.9 percent.

This trend is set against a backdrop of soaring endowments at many of the universities and colleges involved. The total endowment of the ten wealthiest US institutions exceeds $140 billion, encouraging many to allocate more resources to student financial aid.

The latest figures from the US department of education show that Harvard spent $82 million on financial aid in 2006 — accounting for 0.3 percent of its endowment value. Yale University also spent 0.3 percent, Stanford University 0.4 percent and Princeton University 0.5 percent. The three universities’ annual endowment yields are between 15 and 20 percent.

However, the journal argues that throwing money at the problem is not the answer. Its editorial on the subject says: "Contrary to what one might expect, it appears that there is no strong correlation between the generous new fiscal measures and success in bringing low-income students to a campus. The only sure conclusion is that money alone will not do the job. Other measures such as aggressive recruiting are necessary. Particularly, it appears that university and college admissions officials need to plan more visits to public high schools in a wide range of working-class communities."

Varsities size up the competition

Australia will never have a world-leading university such as Oxford or Harvard unless funding is dramatically increased, says Alan Tobson, chairman of Australia’s Group of Eight elite universities. The country cannot expect to compete with the international elite unless it is better supported by government, business and philanthropy, he said in an interview with The Australian.

Prof. Robson’s view is mirrored by Richard Larkins, the incoming chairman of Universities Australia, the national body representing 38 higher education institutions. Larkins says the government needs to do "substantially more" to help institutions compete. "To be competitive internationally with the top-ranking universities there does need to be substantially more funding available to Australian universities," he says.

The comments come as a timely reminder of higher education’s needs for the new Labor government of prime minister Kevin Rudd, although Robson says there’s optimism that the new administration will address the problems the sector is facing. According to him the areas to be addressed include the decline of federal funding per student, worsening staff-to-student ratio and the growing pressure on universities to fund research infrastructure.

One factor hindering Australian universities, according to Vicki Thomson, director of the Australian Technology Network of Universities, is the relative lack of philanthropy compared with the US. She argues that Australia is better placed to strengthen its university system as a whole, rather than trying to elevate one or two institutions into the world top ten.

Simon Marginson, chairman of higher education at the University of Melbourne, says Australia cannot expect to compete with top universities in the US, whose higher education spending last year was 18 times that of Australia’s budget. He believes Britain and Canada are better sparring partners. "We are up against the sheer size of American universities — it’s the economic, technological and social powers of the country," says Marginson.

Measures being taken by prime minister Rudd to address the challenges in higher education include plans to increase the number of full fee-paying places, providing 11,000 more places for priority courses such as teaching and engineering, and A$202 million (Rs.73 crore) more for scholarships.

Rising popularity of British varsities

The UK is challenging US supremacy as the most popular destination for international students, according to a study of more than 11,000 students. A survey of students from 143 countries by the research firm i-graduate found that 95 percent rated the UK an "attractive" or "very attractive" place to study, compared with 93 percent for the US.

Although the US remained ahead of the UK in the "very attractive" category — scoring 60 percent compared with 52 percent — it was also seen by more international students as an "unattractive" destination.

According to the report, one of the main reasons the UK has fared so well is its reputation as a very safe place to study — a factor students identify as their top priority. Britain was ranked as "good" or "very good" for personal safety by 96 percent of respondents, even with Canada and Australia, and better than the US which was ranked ninth of 18 countries at 86 percent.

Another student priority is the reputation of qualifications. The US tops this category, with 99 percent rating it "good" or "very good", but the UK was a close second, with 97 percent. Canada, Germany and France all scored 95 percent.

The UK and US were ranked equally as the most expensive places to study, but respondents believed it was easier to get a student visa for the UK than for the US. The UK scored badly in graduate employment opportunities, with students believing it was the hardest country in which to get a job.

The report concludes: "It appears that the UK is beginning to challenge the supremacy of the US in terms of popularity among prospective students. However, this might simply be a sign that the US is losing more ground than the UK to emerging smaller competitors, who are collectively increasing their share of the international student intake."

It also says Britain should see the US as its main competitor and resist the temptation to pursue the "mass market" if it wishes to maintain its reputation for quality. "It is also important to note that two thirds of students choose an institution rather than a country first. The reputation and marketing efforts of individual institutions are therefore very significant factors in the market."

Says Pat Killingley, the British Council’s director of higher education UK: "The survey reinforces the UK as a leader in higher education, but fierce competition from the US and Australia shows how essential education is on the global stage."

Top public schools found guilty of cartelisation

Fifty top public (i.e private exclusive) schools in Britain including Eton College and Harrow who were told to pay £3 million (Rs.2.4 crore) into a fund for families of former students after it was found they unfairly shared information about their fees, are receiving a rash of unwelcome publicity in this island kingdom. The schools had agreed to make five annual payments of £600,000. However, 1,250 applicants for the first wave of handouts have been turned down.

These revelations come at a sensitive time for some of Britain’s best known public schools, which are under pressure to show they deserve to retain charitable status, worth a total of £100 million (Rs.7,400 crore) a year.

The Schools Competition Act Settlement Trust, a charity set up to deal with cartelisation claims, said it had not given out £125,000, a fifth of the total, because it wanted to be "cautious" in its first year. The money is meant to help former pupils of the elite schools pay for their continuing education. The decision to hold some of it back, has met with angry response.

Leading private schools were implicated in the fee-fixing scandal following a lengthy investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2005. The schools were accused of acting as a cartel to artificially increase their fees, although this claim was dropped from the final settlement. The schools pleaded they did not know that their long-standing practice of sharing information on fees had been made illegal by the Act. They admitted a technical breach and agreed to pay a penalty of £10,000 each. The schools are paying a further £600,000 a year to the charity.

It is estimated that 40,000 former pupils could be eligible for bursaries from the trust. In December, having received 1,700 applications, it decided to give out 250 bursaries of £1,500 (Rs.1.2 lakh) and 200 grants of £500. To be eligible, applicants had to be a pupil at one of the schools after September 15, 2001, be between the ages of 18 and 30 and still be in education. They must also have started at the school at least six years before being given a bursary.

Fee-charging schools’ finances will come under increasing scrutiny this year as the Charity Commission develops tests of whether they contribute to the public benefit. Guidance for all charities was published recently, and specific consultation with independent schools is due to start soon.

Lengthening list of challengers

Time was when INSEAD in Fontainebleau, near Paris, was the top business school in Europe, with no competition. In Europe the only schools that could call themselves rivals were the London Business School (LBS) and IMD in Switzerland. Its one-year MBA course is still famous for the experience of mixing with students from a wide range of countries. Internationally, it holds its head up with the top American schools, and its 33,000 alumni form a powerful network covering the top echelons of global business. But now the heat is on for INSEAD, as a crowd of rivals has come forward, including a new, generously funded school in Berlin.

HEC, the original French business school in Paris, with a proud 127-year history, now tops the latest Financial Times ranking of European schools, ahead of both INSEAD and LBS. In another ranking of the world’s top 100 business schools by the Economist Intelligence Unit, INSEAD comes 17th. That puts it behind seven other European institutions, including Barcelona’s IESE, Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa and Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, which all make it into the top 15.

One INSEAD insider says that the school is "rattled" by the latest rankings and by all the new competition. The school is obsessed with rankings, says an employee. Much management time goes on "gaming" the ratings to ensure a good score. The EIU rankings are based on student surveys asking about career openings, the overall educational experience, salary effect and networking potential. Those of the Financial Times look mainly at return on investment, in terms of the boost to a salary. Soumitra Dutta, dean of external relations at INSEAD, says that rankings "are not always most helpful" because of all the different methodologies used. In other words, they are a nuisance.

This week 30 executives from 13 different countries are entering their fourth month of the first executive MBA course at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin (ESMT). Germany only got round to founding an international business school in 2002, and started small MBA classes two years ago. But a class of 30 students is puny compared with the 920 going through INSEAD this year. INSEAD’s joint campus (it runs a parallel school in Singapore), has 143 teachers compared with ESMT’s 22. But the infant German institution has the financial support to triple the size of its faculty within five years. Its backers span the alphabet of leading firms from Allianz and Axel Springer through BMW, Bayer and Bosch to Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

INSEAD, LBS and IMD face new threats beyond uppity rivals like the Spanish schools and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (both late to embrace business, but rich and rising fast). The forthcoming harmonisation of European university education, under what is known as the Bologna Accord, could also upset them. Europe’s universities will soon adopt a uniform Anglo-Saxon system of bachelors, Masters and doctoral degrees. This is designed to allow greater movement of students around Europe, and has already generated 299 new management Masters degree courses that students can follow straight after an undergraduate degree. It was HEC’s success in these courses which helped it beat all the other business schools in the FT rankings. INSEAD and the other established names no doubt look down their noses at them — but perhaps at their peril.

Malnutrition-fast growth conundrum

Although the latest Unicef State of the World’s Children 2008 reports that 43 percent of India’s children under five years of age are moderately to severely underweight, and a massive 48 percent suffer moderate to severe stunting, child neglect is not a peculiarly Indian problem.

In the distant South American country of Peru, Judin Quicano looks like any other boy of four. But stand him against a standard growth chart and he is almost a head shorter than he should be at his age. His mother says that is just his natural build. Health officials say he is among nearly 30 percent of Peruvian children in his age group who suffer from chronic malnutrition. The figure rises to 90 percent in places such as Lliupapuquio, a village in Apurimac department in Peru’s heavily Indian southern Andes where Judin lives.

The picture is similar in neighbouring Bolivia and Ecuador. What makes the stunting of children’s lives and bodies more shocking in Peru’s case is that the country is enjoying a boom. The GDP expanded by 8.3 percent last year alone, and is some 45 percent bigger today than it was in 2001. Many of the poor benefit from social programmes. The government spends around $250 million (Rs.100 crore) a year on food aid schemes alone, which reach three-quarters of families in poor rural areas.

So why does malnutrition remain so prevalent? One reason is that in the Andes it generally manifests itself as stunted growth. Many Peruvians, often including the parents of the children concerned, believe that people of Andean Indian descent are naturally short. Malnutrition is thus "invisible" because the children are not "super-thin or dehydrated", says Ian Walker, a social-protection specialist at the World Bank. But children who do not eat well in their first two years will face learning difficulties.

Although governments have increased spending on social programmes, they have done little to improve their effectiveness. In Apurimac, mayors complain of duplication, corruption and lack of local control. But the biggest problem is that economic growth is not reaching many parts of the Andes. Official figures put poverty in Apurimac at 74.8 percent in 2006, having increased slightly since 2004. In such places, lack of transport, education and healthcare all conspire against progress, a phenomenon familiar to fast-growth post-liberalisation India.

When he took office in July 2006, President Alan Garcia pledged to cut the incidence of child malnutrition by eight percentage points by the end of his term in 2011. The World Bank and other development agencies are trying to help. Last year the World Bank approved a $150 million (Rs.60 crore) loan for streamlining social programmes to enhance their impact on malnutrition, health and schooling, especially in Andean Indian villages.

There are reasons for hope. In Santa Maria de Chicmo, a district in Apurimac, the incidence of malnourishment in children has been cut from 80 percent to 30 percent since 2000. Most of the credit belongs to a scheme pioneered by Kusi Warma, an NGO whose name means ‘Happy Child’ in Quechua and whose work is backed by the municipal council and Unicef, the United Nations’ children fund. It revolves around a small centre where new mothers bring their children for pre-school education and information about nutrition and health. The task facing Peru is to replicate this success and go beyond it.

(Excerpted and adapted from Times Educational Supplement, Times Higher Education Supplement, New York Times and The Economist)