The Boston Globe – Jack Nicas

“Massachusetts is the 46th state to make its state schools universities, officials said. On Oct. 26, Bridgewater State, Salem State, Worcester State, Westfield State, Fitchburg State, and Framingham State will officially become universities. Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will not change names.”(more)

China Daily – Staff Writer

“The number of fee-paying international students in New Zealand increased by 7 percent in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said on Wednesday.”(more)

China Daily – Cheng Anqi

“Although the problem of a dearth of employment opportunities for college graduates has shown no signs of abating, young employees are not letting that stop them from changing jobs.”(more)

The Guardian – Roger Brown

“A close study of major developed HE systems shows that market competition for students and research funds makes universities more efficient and responsive, and possibly more innovative. The downside is that unless strong countervailing measures are taken, too much competition reinforces the existing status hierarchy, reduces institutional diversity (as all seek to be “world-class, research-led” etc), diverts resources into prestige building and branding, damages wider participation, balkanises institutions and, paradoxically, threatens quality. Far from increasing the value society gains from its investment in higher education, excessive competition actually reduces it, with the US as the classic case.”(more)

Times Higher Education – Jon Marcus

“For almost 10 years, post-September 11 visa restrictions have combined with high tuition costs to slow one of America’s most reliable export markets: higher education. Growth in the number of international students coming to the US plateaued as other countries gleefully snatched them up. Now American institutions are fighting back, spurred by bottom-line considerations. They have finally shaken off their one-time complacency that the cachet of the US academy was so strong that international students would keep coming, no matter what.”(more)

The Hindu – Aarti Dhar

“Even as the academic community in the country has reacted with a fair amount of scepticism and criticism to the concept of Innovation Universities, the United Kingdom has reportedly indicated its interest in the proposal and possible avenues for collaboration under the U.K. India Education and Research Initiatives (UKIERI).”(more)

Hindustan Times – Staff Writer

“As the world becomes more of a global village than ever, newer challenges are presenting themselves and the metropolis is overcoming them with ease. Whether it’s providing an education in an array of streams, a chance for students to be socially active, offering MBAs the jobs they crave, or giving new industries the right environment to grow…”(more)

The Guardian – Geoffrey Alderman

“At all these privately funded academies the bottom line is very clear: no students, no salaries. These institutions exist only because they offer services for which students – including British students – are willing to pay: typically small group teaching; state-of-the-art learning resources; career-focused programmes of study; enviable records of placing students in employment once they graduate. They offer all this while maintaining high academic standards – if they did not, their reputations with employers would quickly collapse.”(more)

Times Higher Education – John Morgan

“A worldwide trend of falling state investment and rising tuition fees will prompt intense competition in the “globally traded commodity” of higher education – and the sector must also prepare for the global advance of private providers.”(more)

Inside Higher Ed – Elizabeth Redden

“It’s not uncommon for colleges to discontinue academic programs overseas for financial reasons. But Centenary College, in New Jersey, is shutting down an M.B.A. program in Asia to contain a plagiarism epidemic. About 400 students are currently enrolled in the program at locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Taiwan.”(more)