Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The United Kingdom Announces Funding Cuts to Two Scholarship Schemes

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced a reduction in the Chevening scholarship Scholarships Programme from £27.3m in 2007-2008 to £18.86m this year and an end to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship plan beginning in 2009-2010. Universities UK argues that this measure is in direct opposition to the United Kingdom’s initiatives to increase foreign student enrollments and may impact British students’ opportunities to study abroad. Current funding levels allow over 1,500 foreign students to study in the United Kingdom every year.

The Chevening Scholarships Programme is the British Government’s flagship for international postgraduate scholars administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

More on this at the following BBC News article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7306689.stm

Monday, March 24, 2008

Korean Universities Have Stepped Up Their Recruitment of Korean-American Undergraduates

I thought the following from today's insidehighered.com was very interesting. A rare but increasing approach to heritage seeking in study abroad.

"Korean universities have stepped up their recruitment of Korean-American undergraduates, some of whom are turning down top American universities, Joong Ang Daily reported. The Korean universities have started accepting the SAT to encourage applications from Korean-American students who are considering institutions in both countries. A proliferation of English-language programs means that the students need not speak Korean."

You can access the Joong Ang Daily article here: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2887771

Friday, March 21, 2008

NASULGC International Research and Development Database

From the March NASULGC News

March 10, 2008-Profiles of nearly 400 overseas research and applied
development projects at more than 60 public universities are now posted
on the NASULGC website as part of the International Research and
Development Project Database
<http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=776&srcid=884>
(IRDPD).

The project profiles, based on data provided during an online survey of
project directors conducted during fall 2007, include: location,
activities, expertise, partnerships, funding, participant training, and
principal contacts. The database can be searched
<http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fnasu
lgc.advcomp.com%2fsurvey%2freport%2findex.cfm&srcid=884&erid=0> by
location, broad fields of expertise, and types of activity.

The project was spearheaded by Peter Koehn, professor of political
science at The University of Montana-Missoula and a NASULGC Faculty
Fellow in Residence. "We now have a database that provides a more
detailed and complete overview of university international research and
development activity than has existed before," said Kerry Bolognese,
NASULGC vice president for international programs. "The database offers
a useful cyber-infrastructural tool for NASULGC, member institutions and
their faculty, and interested agencies." By providing
international-development project data in one location, with links to
available project web sites, NASULGC hopes to develop increased
understanding among the media, the general public, donors, and policy
makers at state and national levels regarding how higher-education
institutions promote international development and engage in
international community service. "As we move forward with this
initiative, provosts might want to consider assigning responsibility to
a senior officer for ensuring participation by campus project directors
in the database, keeping it up-to-date, and monitoring posted profiles,"
Bolognese said.

If you have trouble with the links above you can access the IRDPD here:
http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=776&srcid=884.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

CIS Report on US Security Highlights International Educational Exchange

On November 6, 2007, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Smart Power issued their final report, entitled "A Smarter, More Secure America." The Commission, co-chaired by Richard Armitage and Joseph Nye, was a bipartisan effort to develop a vision to guide America’s global engagement. The Commission report recommends that the United States focus on the following five critical areas:

1) Alliances, partnerships and institutions
2) Global development
3) Public diplomacy
4) Economic integration
5) Technology and innovation

The report is intended as a guide offering the next president of the United States a smart power approach to America's global engagement." It is available for download here: http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_pubs/task,view/id,4156/type,1/

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships

From the CIEE News: March 6, 2007…

CIEE has recently established the Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships, providing support for doctoral research focused on U.S. undergraduate study abroad.We invite Directors of Graduate Studies (or in the absence of a departmental DGS, a Chair) to nominate a qualified doctoral candidate for a Fellowship. These Fellowships, funded through a small endowment, are named after Dr. Charles Ping, President Emeritus of Ohio University and a long-time former Chairman of the CIEE Board of Directors.During the 2008-09 academic year, CIEE will provide up to two $20,000 Ping Fellowships to outstanding doctoral candidates. Please visit the CIEE website here for details about eligibility, requirements, and the nomination of candidates.Please let interested parties know about the Ping Doctoral Research Fellowships. If you have any questions, please contact Mick Vande Berg at mvandeberg@ciee.org.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Forum on Education Abroad Releases Code of Ethics for Education Abroad

On Monday, March 3, 2008 the Forum on Education Abroad released its Code of Ethics for Education Abroad. According to the Forum, their website received over 6,000 hits within the first two days of their release.

The Code of Ethics is divided into the following four sections:

Section I Preamble

Section II Ethical Principles for Education Abroad

Section III Ethical Guidelines: Examples of Ethical Best Practices for Education Abroad

Section IV The Forum Compass: Four Questions to Guide Ethical Decision Making in Education Abroad

The Forum Compass is especially interesting. The Compass’ Four Questions to Guide Ethical Decision Making in Education Abroad are:
1. Is it true, fair and transparent?
2. Does it put the interests of the students first and contribute to their intellectual and personal growth?
3. Does it reflect the best practices of the field?
4. Does it foster international understanding?

The upcoming Forum on Education Abroad annual conference has devoted several session slots to issues related to ethics and standards of good practice in education abroad. Below is a list of related sessions and the presenters and discussion moderators:

- Ethical Standards and Study Abroad: Case Studies
David Comp, Lester Goodchild, Dennis Gordon, Peter R. Kerrigan, Rosalind Latiner Raby, Michael S. Steinberg

- The Ethics of Advisory Board Service
Laurie Black, Kendall Brostuen, Michael Morrison

- Models of Academic Good Practice: Creating Frameworks to Achieve Optimal Academic Outcomes
Dennis Dutschke, MaryƩlise Lamet, Sarah McKenzie, David Rudd

- Conducting and Participating in Ethical Site Visits
Bill Clabby, Barbara Rowe, John Wells, Annagene Yucas

- The Forum on Education Abroad's Code of Ethics: Discussion
William Anthony, Andrea Custodi, Michael Morrison, Carolyn Sorkin, Annmarie Whalen

- The Ethics of Approving Programs
Richard Gaulton, Martha Johnson

- The Intersection of the Australian Quality Practices with the Forum Standards
Cynthia Banks, Rob Castle, Jen Nielsen

-The Ethics of Study Abroad Pricing
Stephen DePaul

You can access the Forum’s Code of Ethics for Education Abroad here:
http://www.forumea.org/documents/ForumonEducationAbroadCodeofEthics.pdf

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR)

On March 4, 2008, the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) was officially launched in Brussels as a move to improve the quality of European higher education and to promote greater student mobility. This register was mandated by the Education Ministers from the 46 countries involved in the Bologna Process and was established by the "E4 Group" which is comprised of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), the European Students Union (ESU), the European University Association (EUA) and the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE).

The EQAR press release can be viewed here: http://www.eua.be/fileadmin/user_upload/files/Press/EQARlaunchpr-FINAL.pdf

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

CBO Cost Estimate for H.R. 1469 Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007

Today, the Congressional Budget Office released the Cost Estimate for H.R. 1469 Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007. You can access the two page document here:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/90xx/doc9017/hr1469.pdf

Sunday, March 2, 2008

College-Bound Students' Interests in Study Abroad and Other International Learning Activities

The American Council on Education, the Art & Science Group and the College Board recently released a report entitled College-Bound Students' Interests in Study Abroad and Other International Learning Activities. Key findings from the report demonstrate student interest in international learning:

55% indicate that they are certain or fairly certain they will participate in study abroad, with another 26% indicating a strong desire to study abroad.

35% plan to participate in an international internship.

37% are very interested in acquiring career-related work experience in another country.

Of those students planning to study abroad, more than 70% plan to become proficient in a second language or learn enough of the language to be able to converse with people who speak that foreign language.

The full report is available on the American Council on Education website at:
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentFileID=3997