As Economy Wavers, Online Enrollments Climb Annual study finds double-digit gains in online education, in part due to fuel costs, surprising some who predicted the rate would eventually flatten.
Professors increasingly bemoan student "incivility" in the classroom. But provosts discuss the steps colleges should take to deal with faculty members who mistreat students.
Encouraging Interdisciplinarity Consortium of research universities considers steps to support cross-departmental research by making changes at faculty and administrative levels.
Making Higher Ed Research Matter Association of scholars who study academe contemplate ways to make their work more relevant to those who shape policy.
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With a "Yes we can" attitude and a five point platform for higher education, President-elect Obama represents a changing face for higher education and Americans are hopeful. Obama's platform targets loan programmes, access to higher education, community colleges, science and technology, and affirmative action.
CANADA: Benefiting from Bologna Philip Fine
The Bologna process, the initiative that tries to smooth the jagged edges off Europe's differing degree and credit structure, has caught the world's attention in a big way. From the Caribbean to Canada, from China to Australia, the plan designed to solve a European problem and that then brought in bordering countries now has nations far beyond those borders looking at some academic retooling.
The international community should explicitly recognise crimes against educators as crimes against humanity or war crimes, a conference of 150 Iraqi ministers, MPs, university presidents and international experts was told last week. Hosted in Paris by Unesco, in collaboration with the Qatari Foundation, the conference heard that more than 250 academics had been killed in a "campaign of terror" since the fall of Saddam Hussein, in targeted attacks.
Academics in Saudi Arabia are the best paid on earth while scholars in China are the worst off, according to a pioneering just-published global study of salaries conducted by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education in the US. The average academic salary across 15 countries surveyed is US$4,050 a month in purchasing power parity dollars - and lecturers can expect to earn triple their country's per capita estimate - International Comparison of Academic Salaries: An exploratory study.
The New Zealand government has settled the last of the claims made against it by Maori tertiary institutions for capital funding that will put them on an equal footing with other public tertiary institutions. At $50.6 million (US$29.8 million), the figure agreed with Te Wananga o Raukawa last month adds to nearly $10 million already paid to the institution and brings the total value of settlements for the three public wananga to $169 million.
The International Finance Corporation has established an online discussion on what it calls "the evolving regulatory context for private education in emerging economies". Dr Svava Bjarnason, a senior education specialist with the IFC, says the purpose is to provide a forum for stakeholders to discuss key questions relating to the evolving nature of regulation of private education.
A noticeable rise in targeted attacks on education staff, students and institutions in a number of countries constitutes a highly damaging assault on the provision of and access to education in the places worst affected. The dramatic increase in deliberate attacks in recent years and the subsequent loss of life are the result of an abhorrent tactic of sacrificing the lives of innocent young people and those trying to help them develop their potential for the sake of political or ideological aims.
Makki Marseilles A controversial decision by the European Court of Justice is likely to have far-reaching effects on higher education in Greece. The court's decision, based on the 89/48 EC directive, held that the Greek rules on recognition of diplomas are contrary to community legislation. Moreover, the court ruled that only member states where a diploma was awarded may verify its basis, thereby denying any form of control, academic or administrative, to the host member states.
HE RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
"As we progress into the 21st century, the international dimension of higher education is becoming increasingly important and at the same time, more and more complex. There are new actors, new rationales, new programmes, new regulations, and the new context of globalisation," writes respected internationalisation scholar Professor Jane Knight in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters, titled The Global University.
Globalisation has embraced the university, as it has other sectors. Many academics appreciate the benefits that cross-cultural exchange allows as the ivory tower turns global. Knowledge now belongs to a worldwide arena in which we are all connected, writes Dr Fengying Xu in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters. But "there are enormous challenges for teaching, studying and research inside this globally-interdependent context".
From campus to Capitol and back againIn America, it is common for academics to play a prominent political role. Jon Marcus reports
Still no call from No 10?In the UK, the gulf between the political and the academic worlds seems all but unbreachable while Americans flit easily between lecture halls and halls of power. Matthew Reisz examines why Whitehall seems so inhospitable to scholars, while Jon Marcus looks at why Washington is so accommodating...
Vocational university envisaged as a way to meet expansion targets
Commons committee chair calls for evidence on ‘dumbing down’ as inquiry starts work
Etiquette guide for staff covers personal grooming, dress and fine dining
Many years ago, Frank Burnet fought for modularisation and credit transfer. The war was won, but the victory was pyrrhic
Moving house is the perfect way to begin a new chapter of your life, says Mary Warnock, even if those around you think you’re mad
Devil’s advocate Milton expert Stanley Fish refuses to demonise the administrator and warns against influencing the moral character of students
Japan and South Korea want their universities to attract overseas academic talent, but doubts persist about their readiness for the global market. Michael Fitzpatrick reports
For three decades, Laurie Taylor's fictitious university and its characters have mocked the absurdities of campus life, writes Matthew Reisz
A convenient way for busy students to squeeze education into their packed schedules, online courses are offering the added benefit of spending less on transportation, making education a little more affordable in a time of record high gas prices. This fall, area colleges are reporting rapid growth in enrollment of online courses, and administrators say whether the institutes are offering computer-based lessons or setting up new learning sites in communities away from Springfield, it's all about making education more accessible -- physically and financially -- to students.
The report is 
