Monthly Archives: February 2017

HE: Are Separate Admission Processes for International Students Fair in China?

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international-students-in-china2

On this Friday, a new round of Fudan University Debate will get under way again. As one of the former debate team instructors, my student sent me the first-round debate’s topic: Are Separate Admission Processes for International Students Fair in China? Coincidentally, when searching for this week’s news to share, I happened to see an article posted on the recent newsletter of University World News for the same subject. Thus, our group gives me an opportunity to share this interesting piece along with the controversial topic for discussion.

Here is the news:

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170222122830767

After Tsinghua University announced last year that foreign applicants would not have to take a standardized writing test for undergraduate courses, there were lots of concerns about the unfair admissions procedures that students with foreign passports are gaining relatively easy access to the country’s most prestigious institutions. Recently, Tsinghua published the complete new rules for the admission of foreign students which pushed the topic to the forefront again.

The critics argue that higher education in China is becoming a serious social problem. They believe that if other colleges and universities introduce similar rules, it would increase the education injustice and inequality in China. They also worry about the student quality and compare it to the hard process Chinese outstanding students apply for the U.S. top universities.

Another sensitive issue raised in the article is about the generous scholarship offered by the government for foreign students. Even in Fudan, it is the same situation that the percentage of foreign students who can get scholarships is much higher than domestic students. Some local students’ parents argue that why they pay the tax to subsidize foreign students at the end.

But others defended the policy. The purpose of the new policy is to expand the scope of applications and thus make the process more competitive than before. It is necessary because the percentage of international students is an important measure of a university’s global influence.

What is your opinion on this topic? Do you think whether Tsinghua’s decision is wise or not?

What is the education equity? Does the new admission policy and scholarship policy violate the principle of higher education?

Is it really good to have a rapid increase number of foreign students for Chinese universities?

Do other Asian countries have the similar situation or good example to share?

Related posts:

Ambitious drive for foreign students is paying off

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160916134031945

The number of international student enrollment in China:

http://www.iie.org/Services/Project-Atlas/China/International-Students-In-China#.WLR6dTsrI2w

international-students-in-china

Higher Education in Rural Areas: United States and Japan

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Hello everyone!

Here is the presentation on higher ed in rural areas that I presented last Thursday.

Key Points:

Both the U.S. and Japan are experiencing rural-urban migration. In small college towns, this causes both the town and college to fail.

In Japan, this problem is exacerbated by its historical population aging and decline.

In the U.S., states are solely responsible for education at all levels (with the exception of federal funding mostly being funneled towards Pell Grants, veterans benefits (both are forms of financial aid to students) and research-specific grants). States, cities, and the colleges themselves must work together on policies to revitalize their dying towns and colleges.

In Japan, the national government has more power over its local/municipal/prefectural governments than in the U.S.. Japan has recognized its demographic dilemma and enacted a national plan to revitalize certain areas. This type of national-level policy would be very unlikely, if not unconstitutional, in the U.S..

Questions:

Can some of the policies enacted in Japan be implemented at the local level in the United States?

How much power does Japan have at the local level to create its own solutions? (This question I really don’t know! I’d love some insight).

Thank you!

US_Japan_Rural_HigherEd

The reform of the Law Schools in Japan/Korea and the relation to the Western Model

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Hi all! This is Hiro.

Thank you for yesterday’s amazing discussion about Law School reforms!!

Below is my presentation slide. The key points are;

Korea: strong quantity control by government, but delay abolishing traditional bar exam for three times, also corruption

Japan: loosened quantity control, preliminary exam as a shortcut, mismatch between demand and supply

Both: Inconsistent policy

 

Please share any comment or further insight about law school reforms in these two or any other countries. Thank you!

 

HE presentation (Japan&Korea Law School)-1hoquei

Is intercultural education possible in today’s university with the model of higher education as it exists?

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In the past weeks we have been talking about the current trends in higher education such as (1) globalization where now the world becomes the horizon and the actual market, (2) the need for internationalization in Asia, and the perception than a more internationalized university is better (3) integration in Europe, that started with the Bologna process, (4) and a common objective of placing education at the center, because of the knowledge economy.

But there is also an important aspect to discuss about universities; in times when most universities are moving towards internationalization, the aspect of interculturality cannot be left behind the discussion. Interculturality has been defined as the interaction of people from different cultural backgrounds using authentic language appropriately that demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the cultures. As Pedota mentions, currently there is a lack of universities that consider indigenous people to enable them to participate in governmental, economic and social structures, neither universities that teach indigenous knowledge as an integral part of the curriculum.

Pedota presents some interesting initiatives that have emerged in Latin America, either as newly created higher education institutions rooted inside indigenous regions, or as conventional universities starting to ‘interculturalize’ its student population, teaching staff, and curricular contents and methods. The idea of diversifying the students profiles and the curricular contents goes in hand with the trend of higher education institutions becoming more efficient, locally adapted, and outcome oriented. The Indigenous Intercultural Universities in Latin America started in the early 90’s with the aim to generate knowledge that is relevant for the communities in which they are located, but also Pedota emphasizes,with the aim to generate a ‘dialogue of knowledges’ among social actors from different cultures. In Intercultural Universities modernity and tradition mix up to take the best part of each. One example is the Indigenous Intercultural University that seeks to respond to the sociocultural, political, economic and educational proposals and expectations of the Indigenous People, without overlooking the academic standards typical of Higher Education. Other examples are the PROEIB Andes in Bolivia, and Intercultural University in Veracruz (IUV) in Mexico.

But is it really possible to achieve interculturality? As stated by Williamson, it will be possible only if the state establishes an obligatory standard for the whole system based on universally applicable laws, and if there is a profound change in the current higher education system and in the communities where social players actually live.

What do you think? Can we still have intercultural universities these days?

Sources:

PEDOTA, Luciano. “Indigenous Intercultural Universities in Latin America: Interpreting Interculturalism in Mexico and Bolivia”. Loyola, University of Chicago. 2011

http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1515&context=luc_theses




WILLIAMSON, Guillermo. “Is the interculturalization of Chile’s universities a real possibility?”. SAGE Journals - Arts & Humanities in Higher Education. Vol 16, Issue 1, 2017.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474022215600924




GUILHERME, Manuela. “Winds of the South: Intercultural university models in the 21st century”. SAGE Journals - Arts & Humanities in Higher Education. Vol 16, Issue 1, 2017.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474022216680599

 

Chimamanda’s Danger of a Single Story

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“When we reject the single story. When we realize that there is never a single story about any place. We regain a kind of paradise.”                  – Chimananda Ngozi Adichie

This is the last phrase of Chimamanda Adichie’s excellent TED talk about the danger of a single story. Although the TED talk was given in 2009, its message, specially about immigrants, is stronger today.  Chimamanda, a Nigerian author, encourages us to avoid single stories (having one single perspective or narrative of a person, community or country) and learn about our peers thoroughly and holistically. She grew up near higher education institutions because her parents were faculty at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, and continued to be close to universities throughout her education. She began her undergrad in Drexel University, then transferred to Eastern Connecticut State University. She did her master’s degree at John Hopkins University, followed by a second masters from Yale University. Additionally, she was awarded fellowships from both Princeton and Harvard Universities.

Higher education is present in her novels as well. Her characters range from academics in the heart of planning revolutions, to Nigerian immigrants facing the challenges of American higher education, both as students and as immigrants. Through her storytelling, the readers are given another perspective of what it means to study in the United States and what international students face when entering a new academic system while getting used to a different culture. In between lines, she highlights the importance of diversity in universities and how international students enhance the educational experience.

Universities are spaces where the danger of a single story can be eliminated. As Chimamanda’s experience meeting her undergrad roommate who had a single story about Africans, cultural and friendship exchanges can help bridge cultural perceptions and share knowledge.  After reading her novels, being an international student myself and coming from a Mexican University with only 5% international students, I question: How can diversity of students and nationalities be encouraged in universities? What type of activities can students and faculty do to avoid the danger of a single story? What are other advantages of having international students in higher education institutions?

Here is the link to the TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Novels by Chimamanda N. Adichie:

Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus, Americanah

 

 

Does a Decreased Supply Mean Decreased Demand? (by Brody Hale)

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Much has been made of the impact falling birth rates will have on many nations in East Asia in recent years. While many of these discussions center around the impact a decrease in the number of young people will have on economic growth and the ability of nations to care for their elderly populations, it is also the case that these demographic changes are having a major impact on university systems throughout the region.

As far back as 2007, the New York Times reported that up to a third of seats in some Japanese Universities were going unfilled on account of the reduced number of students of college age residing within the nation. Similarly, a recent article in University World News noted that Chinese universities are similarly beginning to face decreased demand for their services on account of a shrinking university age population. Conventional wisdom has pointed toward the closure of some of the universities in those nations most acutely affected by population contraction. Might it make more sense however to rethink this strategy, and instead do something quite different? For some time now, the world has seen the U.S. and some other parts of the world such as parts of Europe and Australia as education destinations. A considerable number of students in universities in these parts of the world come from foreign localities.

What if East Asia and China made a concerted effort to style themselves as academic destination nations, and what if they targeted a market of students which has not yet fully been tapped? China has sought to increase its impact in the developing world, especially through the completion of development projects in sub-Saharan Africa. What if, either as part of foreign aid efforts or through some other means, China and other nations in East Asia undertook a vigorous campaign to attract students from parts of the developing world in which access to a university education was not guaranteed, to the empty seats at their nation’s universities? It is certainly the case that the funding mechanism for such a program would have to be developed, but if such a plan as has been outlined here were enacted, the problem of unused university space could be solved, and China along with other nations in East Asia could fundamentally improve access to university education in the developing world.

Sources,

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120106163701271

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/world/asia/22universities.html

Data in public/private funding, public expenditure by country, domestic R&D by sector of performance, private enrollment and institutional share in HE

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Hi all,

Below are the private/public funding distribution in Korea, Japan. Based on the data from OECD, Japan has a higher and stable public funding ratio, and public funding in Korea is catching up. For China, the detailed breakdown indicates that public funding is also increasing rather fast.

These findings coincide the observations in public expenditure per HE student (2000 vs. 2011) and in public expenditure on HE as a percentage of total public education expenditure. At the right hand sides of the axis, we can tell that from 2000 to 2011, Korea, Japan and China have all increased public expenditure on HE. This is not the case of many other Asian countries.

Interestingly Japan and Korea have a higher proportion of gross domestic expenditure on R&D than China. For private enrollment and Institutional Share in HE, Korea is the highest across all Asian countries, Japan more or less similar and China lagging far behind.

Source: OECD

Source: OECD

Source: China Statistical Yearbook 2015

Source: Asian Development Bank

Demographic Changes and the Higher Education Sector

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In light of the upcoming class on the impact of Japan’s demographic challenges on its higher education sector, we found this article on how the Korean government has been dealing with similar problems of an ageing and shrinking population to be an interesting piece for discussion.

Article available at: http://thediplomat.com/2017/02/impeachment-scandals-overlooked-victim-koreas-higher-education/

Falling fertility rates, ageing populations and shrinking workforces are issues in many developed East Asian countries: https://vulcanpost.com/4278/something-bizarre-is-happening-east-asians-are-having-lesser-babies/

The birthrate in Korea has been falling over the last 30 years, resulting in an ever smaller cohort of students entering higher education institutions. The article discusses several strategies that the Korea government has implemented (expansion of student loan programs, reducing funding to universities that perform poorly in rankings) and recommends that Korea needs to “shift to a more globalized platform of education… for longevity”, for instance, through attracting more international students, once again highlighting the prevalence of the discourse and strategy of internationalization and globality in higher education. The author also points out several differences between the situation in Korea and Japan, reminding of us how there are no one-size fit-all solutions, that “best practices” have to be localized.

The main question we would like to pose is therefore:

  • Should governments step in to support higher education institutions which are struggling financially? Or should these institutions be allowed to “fail” as per market logic because they are “inefficient”? What about other considerations e.g. if the university is the only one serving a certain geographic location?

Several other interesting questions that arose after reading the article:

  • What are your opinions on government student loans? Is higher education a socially desirable public good and hence should, or to what extent, should the government subsidize higher education fees? Should higher education be free?
  • Universities often try to attract international students for various reasons, including to increase the university’s revenue. The article points out however, that countries where English is not the main mode of instruction face challenges in attracting English-speaking students. Should non-English speaking universities hence attempt to switch to English as the medium of English for all/certain courses because it is the (economically) “pragmatic” thing to do, or is that objectionable e.g. erosion of culture etc.?

 

The role of information in the higher education system: the Peruvian reform

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HEd v1-1sztxia

After the increase in the supply of universities and the problems in the quality of its management and services, Peru had the urgent need to implement reform.

When the reform was designed by the Peruvian Ministry of Education, the team in charge of its implementation realized they had plenty of questions that needed to be answered but no information to do so. Although an information system was initially considered as a separate component of the reform, in practice measures had to be carried out to answer key questions.

 

How was data-driven decision making carried out?

Considering an information system was not existent… What did the Peruvian Ministry of Education do?

1.Defined key questions that needed to be asked

2.Looked for possible sources of information: (i) Approached the owners of the information and followed bureaucratic procedures to have access to data; (ii) Used  and aggregated already public information; (iii) implemented ways to gather new information (ex. Ad hoc surveys)

3.Analyzed data

 

In the attached presentation you are going to find the three examples of how information allowed the Ministry to design better initiatives that were part of the higher education reform.

 

*** I was particularly involved in data visualization initiatives like the implementation of ponteencarrera.pe and a business intelligence dashboard. If you have questions on these matters, I will be happy to talk to you.

 

The evolution of the balance between private and public funding in Higher Education and trends for the future : the case of Japan

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Thank you for your attention to my presentation! I upload my slides and the abstract of my presentation.

There are three main points in my presentation.
(1) University subsidies from the Japanese government have decreased in the last 10 years. This is because the 18-year-olds population has decreased and the budget of the social security has increased rapidly due to the aging society.
(2) On the other hand, private funding has increased recently. One reason is that universities need to collaborate with companies because it can strengthen universities’ budget. The other reason is that companies think that using universities’ research result is effective in terms of creating innovation.
(3) The government of Japan has several strategies to increase universities’ income from private companies.

Additionally, I added another data about university’ income structure in the case of University of Tokyo and UC Berkeley (see the last slide). Although both of those are public universities, their income ratios are different from each other. The University of Tokyo depends more on the administrative subsidies. This is one reason why the Ministry of Finance in Japan wants to cut the subsidy more.

Finally, I would appreciate it if you could share the following information. ①What is your countries’ situation about the balance between private and public funding in Higher Education and its trend? and ②What is the effective way to increase the income from private companies?

https://edblogs.columbia.edu/inafu6653-001-2017-1/files/2017/02/HE-Sho-Ito-27ehwev.pdf

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Thank you for the many comments! I upload original data about university’s income from industries. The graph I used in the presentation is from the “Digest of Japanese Science and Technology Indicators 2016” by National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) in Japan, but the original data is from OECD Research and Development Statistics except for China. The data is slightly different between NISTEP and OECD, which is because NISTEP modified a little based on each country’s situation.

This is the data from OECD. I found Chilean data, so included it. https://edblogs.columbia.edu/inafu6653-001-2017-1/files/2017/02/Gross-domestic-expenditure-on-R-D-by-sector-of-performance-and-source-of-funds-（OECD）-1dlpbft.xml . And here is the website http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=GERD_FUNDS . You can see each country’s data by selecting “Higher education” as a sector of performance. You can see not only the ratio of business enterprise but also the one of non-profit enterprise or funds from abroad.

Also, since China is not a member of OECD, NISTEP used the China Statistical Yearbook. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2014/indexeh.htm. https://edblogs.columbia.edu/inafu6653-001-2017-1/files/2017/02/China-Statistical-Yearbook-2014-29fo4lt.xlsx .