University news from the West

ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Operation 'Cast Lead' shuts universities
Helena Flusfeder
Universities in Israel and Gaza have been caught up in the savage conflict now raging in the Palestinian territory. All five universities in Gaza have been shut down while two were closed in southern Israel. "The academic situation in Gaza is collapsing. People's main preoccupation is to get food and stay alive. They feel that everywhere in Gaza is not safe," said one Palestinian professor.

FRANCE: Universities begin move to autonomy
Jane Marshall
Nearly a quarter of France's 80-plus universities assumed new powers of autonomy on 1 January under the government's Universities' Freedoms and Responsibilities law. The legislation gives the universities control over their budgets, staff recruitment and salaries, and other areas that were previously the responsibility of the state. All universities must adopt the reform by 2012, though academics and students continue to express their opposition.

RUSSIA: Rector calls for sweeping reforms
Nick Holdsworth
The rector of Moscow's Higher School of Economics - one of Russia's top universities - has called for a massive shake up in the country's system of higher education. Yaroslav Kuzminov, (shown here at a conference on the right of Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin), says unrestricted growth of university-level institutions in recent years has left Russia's higher education system a mess with wide disparities in standards of teaching and qualifications.

AUSTRALIA: Upheaval across university sector
Geoff Maslen
A plan to reshape Australia's higher education system, deregulate universities, vastly increase their enrolments, provide students with vouchers to study at the university of their choice and extend government funding to a bigger group of providers are among 46 wide-ranging recommendations being considered by the federal government.

UK: Research activity "world leading"
Diane Spencer
Cambridge University came top of the league again in the latest research assessment exercise carried out by England's higher education funding council, Hefce. The 2008 results, published just before Christmas, will be the last of their kind as the next process will be undertaken with a different method. After reviewing research conducted by 52,400 staff submitted by 159 universities and colleges, Hefce concluded that 54 % of UK research activity came into the top two grades of "world leading" or "internationally excellent".

INDIA-AUSTRALIA: Joint venture research academy
The first joint institution for research and research training in areas of mutual importance to India and Australia has been established between the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, or IITB, and Monash University in Melbourne. The new institution was officially opened at the end of November and is a centre of research excellence in clean energy, water, biotechnology, mineral exploration and computer simulation.





'Doing Diversity in Higher Education'
Editor of new collection of essays discusses the role of professors in welcoming and educating students of all types.

The Impact of a Ban on Affirmative Action
New study projects a 35 percent drop in minority enrollments at the most competitive four-year colleges and universities -- but little gain for white students










Practise what you preach
A lack of quantitative analysis and a tendency to avoid policy-based research has left the study of higher education in the UK in the doldrums

The wizards of Oz
The 'Melbourne model' has prompted universities worldwide to consider broadening undergraduate degrees. But the template does not win over everyone

Academics fear PhD quality is slipping
Staff say that pressures to get more students through quickly are harming standards





For-Profit University Begins A Large Media Campaign steven bell
An online educator is presenting itself to potential students as “a different kind of university.” The school is Kaplan University. A campaign for Kaplan University, which began last week, carries the theme “A different school of thought” and suggests that learning online is a way to develop talent that could otherwise go to waste. The campaign is the first national, multimedia effort for Kaplan University. The campaign arrives as the popularity of distance learning for adults, through online universities and colleges, continues to grow. Read more