University news from the West

Unwelcome complements
Scientists say degree courses in complementary therapies and alternative medicine are 'baloney' and 'mumbo-jumbo'. CAM academics disagree passionately. Zoe Corbyn checks out the fray

Big bang theories
Sex is researched across many disciplines, but there are no certificated courses in sexology in the UK. Matthew Reisz considers some of the scientists who are focusing on sexual functioning and behaviour

Feeding a fine hunger
Whatever their social and cultural backgrounds, students will flourish if we take them seriously and impart a love of our subject, says Frank Furedi

Obama on Higher EdPresident-elect has called for reform of loan programs, a tuition tax credit in exchange for service, new investments in research, and a broader concept of affirmative action.

Canada Tops U.S. in Faculty Salaries, Report FindsResearch center starts new project to compare academic salaries in 15 countries. For senior professors, Saudi Arabia leads by far.



SPECIAL REPORT: The global crisis and universities
The effect of the world financial upheaval on higher education institutions around the globe varies markedly from one nation to another, depending on the extent that their banks and currencies have been affected by what is taking place in America and Europe.

Universities in countries experiencing an economic downturn, with consumer confidence shattered and unemployment on the rise, are already curtailing their spending and some have begun putting off staff.

Even if they face no immediate threat, many institutions that rely for a significant part of their income on student fees – and foreign fees in particular – will be gravely concerned by the problems confronting local students in taking out loans, and the rapid slowing of economies in countries whose students go abroad to study.

For universities that have come to rely on the money paid by Chinese students enrolled offshore, the thought of large numbers staying home is alarming.

Our correspondents report:
US: Waiting for the worst
Geoff Maslen
Reports from the US suggest that American universities have yet to feel the full impact of the monetary cyclone that has shattered the financial sector and left the world's most powerful nation facing a full-scale depression. The air of confidence displayed on many US campuses, however, may be masking fears that no one person and no institution will be spared.

CHINA: Fall in student numbers expected
UWN correspondents
Far fewer students from China will go abroad to study next year as a result of the global crisis which is already having an impact on Chinese industries - especially those relying on the export market. UWN China correspondent Michael Delaney reports that the Chinese economy is slowing and companies across the nation have begun laying off workers with the result that many families do not have the money even for living expenses, much less foreign study. Universities heavily reliant on the fees from these students will be in serious trouble.

UK: Crisis, what crisis?
Diane Spencer
So far, British universities are taking a sanguine approach to the financial crisis. John Denham, the Higher Education Secretary, claimed that no institution was in jeopardy despite 12 English universities having £77 million (US$133.3 million) at stake through the failure of Icelandic banks. Oxford has £30 million, 5% of its overall cash deposits, invested in three of Iceland's troubled banks and subsidiaries while Cambridge faces losses of £11 million, 3% of its deposits.

SPAIN: Universities hit by sweeping cuts
Rebecca Warden
Even before the global financial crisis struck, Spain was confronting an economic recession. It was the effects of that downturn that has led to universities in Madrid facing the threat of major cuts that could leave them unable to pay staff wages. Their main funder, the regional government of Madrid, cut its block grant for fixed running costs by 30% late in September without prior notice. Now universities in Valencia are also threatened by similar action.

AUSTRALIA: Crisis has already arrived
Geoff Maslen
Universities Down Under had begun reducing their outlays, and their staffing numbers, even before the full effect of the financial turmoil on the global stock markets had been felt. Falling investments, shrinking government grants and growing concern about the overseas student market are increasing pressure on institutions to slash their costs and, in the past month, more than 500 academics and general staff have been laid off or are facing redundancy.

SOUTH AFRICA: Universities taking financial knocks
Karen MacGregor
The international financial crisis is impacting on universities in South Africa in various ways, including lower returns on investments and a weakened currency that is making imports more expensive. The crisis is exacerbating pre-existing strains on finances while the prospect of cuts to public spending on universities as a result of an economic downturn is of great concern, says the vice-chancellors' body Higher Education South Africa.

GREECE: Truth of the myths and the myths of the truth
Makki Marseilles
If there is something positive from the financial meltdown it is the complete and total collapse of several myths: that there is no money for education (or health, or the environment, or pensions), and that the neo-liberal market can be self-regulating for the benefit of the consumer - to mention just two.

FRANCE: No plans to reduce university spending
Jane Marshall
France has no intention at present of cutting its planned funding for higher education and research as a result of the global financial crisis, the Education Ministry says. The sector is the government's highest priority, and ambitious and costly reforms include renovation and updating of campuses and introducing university autonomy.

GLOBAL: How other countries are faring
The global financial meltdown has not yet hit some countries as much as it has the US where the crisis began. Those nations still faring reasonably well include Russia, Germany, the UK, France, New Zealand, some Asian and African nations, and even America's next-door neighbour, Canada.




The Presidential Perspective on Academic Freedom
Academic leaders discuss Middle Eastern branch campuses, restrictions on so-called "sensitive" research, and other topics related to academic freedom -- including confusion about the term.

Clicker U.
Large universities report that once they start using student response technology in class, popularity grows -- as do policy issues.

Academic Freedom Under Many Assaults
Conference explores the state of free inquiry at "universities in dangerous times."


If Yale Is An Indicator The Ivies Are Not Hurting For Donations steven bell
By all accounts, September was not a good month for the American economy. Stock prices plummeted, and 159,000 jobs were lost, the worst such decline in five years. But at Yale, it was a record month for fundraising. Figures obtained by the News show that the University raked in over $28.25 million in donations last month, more than double the $14 million raised in September last year. Most of Yale’s most generous donors are not facing unemployment or foreclosure; some are so wealthy that even the most dramatic downturn has a negligible effect on their ability to give.

Facts Suggest US Higher Education Is Not Recession Proof steven bell
Higher education in the United States has been viewed as recession-proof, but the global financial crisis is already having an impact. Here are some facts about enrollment, endowments, and finances at the nation's colleges universities. For the nation's public universities, which educate three out of four students, state subsidies covered a little over half of their budget costs last year, down from two-thirds in 1998.

Many IHEs Reporting Cuts To Their IT Budgets steven bell
Nearly half of public universities and public four-year colleges in the United States reported central IT budget cuts in fall 2008, according to new research released Wednesday by The Campus Computing Project. That's up significantly over last year. At the same time, open source software is looking more appealing to campuses wiith about a fourth reporting a "high likelihood" that they will migrate to an open source LMS within the next five years. Large percentages of institutions experiencing cuts in fall 2008, including 45.4 percent of public universities (up from 16.3 percent in 2007) and 44.4 percent of public four-year colleges (up from 16.7 percent in 2007)

A Quick Guide To Understanding Author's Rights steven bell
Author's Rights, Tout de Suite, the latest Digital Scholarship publication, is designed to give journal article authors a quick introduction to key aspects of author's rights and to foster further exploration of this topic though liberal use of relevant references to online documents and links to pertinent Web sites.