International

Groups representing English-language training programs for international students are objecting to a new federal interpretation requiring separate accreditation both for free-standing programs and those affiliated with colleges and universities that have their own accreditation. The Department of Homeland Security is interpreting a new law to require both types of institutions to have their own accreditation. But a joint statement from the American Association of Intensive English Programs and University and College Intensive English Programs asks for clarification to specify that programs that are part of an accredited college or university should not need separate accreditation. Accreditors review such programs, the statement says, and other federal laws recognize this accreditation.

The parents of two Chinese students at the University of Southern California who were shot and killed while in a parked car near the campus have sued the university, charging it misled them about safety issues, The Los Angeles Times reported. The suit says that the university incorrectly claims on its website that it is "ranked among the safest of U.S. universities and colleges, with one of the most comprehensive, proactive campus and community safety programs in the nation." After the two were murdered last month, the university continued to provide "clearly misleading" information on safety, the suit says. A lawyer for the university said that the institution is "deeply saddened by this tragic event, which was a random violent act not representative of the safety of USC or the neighborhoods around campus. While we have deep sympathy for the victims' families, this lawsuit is baseless and we will move to have it dismissed."

Cuba's universities have cut enrollment by nearly 26 percent, The Miami Herald reported. The cuts are largely motivated by the country's need to cut spending. The programs seeing the largest cuts are in the social sciences.

Officials at the University of Oxford's Brasenose College have become alarmed over students wearing pajamas to breakfast in the dining hall, BBC reported. As a result, a memo was sent to all students stating that "this practice evinces a failure to distinguish between public and private spaces in college." The memo added: "I trust that this slovenly practice will cease forthwith." Martha Mackenzie, president of Oxford University Students' Union, said that students wear pajamas to breakfast because "for students, the colleges become their homes over the three years that they're there, so that's why you can begin to see a more informal approach as they become more relaxed."

The Russian government is planning to launch a new program in which it will pay for 2,000 students a year to start degree programs in science, business and the social sciences abroad, but the students must pledge to return to Russia after graduation, Nature reported. The students can pick their university abroad, but it must be one of those ranked by Times Higher Education.

The election of François Hollande as France's president also marks a breakthrough in French higher education, Le Monde reported. Hollande is the first alumnus of HEC (a business-focused university) to become president, and he's the first French president to have attended a business school. (More typical educational backgrounds have been at the nation's elite military or civil service-oriented institutions.) Le Monde noted that "the HEC phenomenon" is evident in a range of powerful people in French society who are its graduates. They include business leaders, as is to be expected, but also Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization; Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Rémy Pflimlin, president of France Télévisions; and Louis Dreyfus, chairman of the executive board of Le Monde Group. The rise of these HEC-educated officials represents "profound change in the French elites."

 

Nakba, the Arabic word for "catastrophe," is the name given by Palestinians to the day Israelis mark their anniversary as a nation. Tel Aviv University, resisting pressure from government officials and others, is permitting a student group to have a "Nakba Day" event today, The Jerusalem Post reported. Critics say that universities, as they are supported by the Israeli government, should not associate with activities many see as questioning the right of the Israeli state to exist, and Israeli law bars the use of public funds for such activities. The education minister called university officials to lobby them to cancel the event. University officials said that they were complying with the law by requiring the student organizers to pay for the event and associated security costs.

Students who set up the event said that free speech should include important discussions of the Palestinian perspective. Dan Walfisch, a history and philosophy major and an organizer of the ceremony, said of the event: "It will not include rejection of Israel’s right to exist. Our goal is only to recognize the suffering of the Palestinian people because we see mutual recognition as a condition of having a shared existence in Israel.”

The Indian Cabinet on Thursday cleared two key pieces of higher education legislation that now can move forward for Parliamentary review, The Times of India reported. One bill would require accreditation for all higher education institutions. The other bill would set a process for designating some universities as research excellence hubs.