The Week in Review / Educational Policy Institute

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Study Abroad: An Old Idea Taking on New Growth

March 7, 2008

Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute

Last week I had the privilege of taking part in a conference in Berlin sponsored by the European Association for International Education (EAIE). The theme of the conference was “Innovation in Higher Education: What Research Agenda is Needed?” Speakers included Marijk van der Wende of the Netherlands, Simon Marginson of Australia, Barbara Kehm of Germany, and Phil Altbach of Boston College, to name a few.

The growth of international education and study abroad programs has spiked in recent years. According to the DC-based Institute for International Education (IIE), over 580,000 foreign students studied in the United States in 2006-07, the first real increase in students since 911. India sends the most students to the US (83,833), followed by China (67,723) and Korea (67,723). Alternatively, 223,534 American students studied abroad in 2005-06. These data are illustrated in IIE’s Open Doors report released in November of last year. READ MORE

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SPECIAL NOTE: REMEMBER THAT EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FOR RETENTION 2008 ENDS MARCH 15 AND THAT THERE ARE ONLY A FEW MORE STUDENT SUCCESS WORKSHOPS LEFT, INCLUDING BOSTON, WASHINGTON, ATLANTA, COLUMBUS, AND VANCOUVER.

DID YOU KNOW?.... At private not-for-profit institutions, total expenditures per full-time-equivalent student rose 14% between 1996–97 and 2003–04, after adjustment for inflation.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)





	Next Question: Can students be paid to excel? Jennifer Medina, NY Times School districts nationwide have seized on the idea that a key to improving schools is to pay for performance, whether through bonuses for teachers and principals, or rewards like cash prizes for students. New York City, with the largest public school system in the country, is in the forefront of this movement, with more than 200 schools experimenting with one incentive or another. Education Dept. to end controversial study of Upward Bound Kelly Field, The Chronicle of Higher Education Yielding to pressure from Congress and grant recipients, the U.S. Education Department has reluctantly agreed to abandon a controversial evaluation of the Upward Bound college-preparation program.	Home-schoolers gain college acceptance Suzanne Pardington, The Oregonian The number of home-schoolers in higher education is hard to determine because colleges typically don't track them the way they do other groups such as international or minority students. But colleges nationally say they are seeing greater numbers of home-schooled applicants as more parents choose to teach their children at home. Teaching Boys and Girls Separately Elizabeth Weil, NY Times Separating schoolboys from schoolgirls has long been a staple of private and parochial education. But the idea is now gaining traction in American public schools, in response to both the desire of parents to have more choice in their children’s public education and the separate education crises girls and boys have been widely reported to experience.


	Bill threatens Virginia’s higher ed funds Maureen Groppe, The News Leader A bill pending in Congress would penalize states that dip below their previous five years' average spending on higher education. States could lose funding for a program that gives them matching funds for certain need-based grants to students. Sacramento vocational colleges heat up as economy cools down Jocelyn Wiener, Sacramento Bee Unemployment in the Sacramento region was at 6.4 percent in January, up half a percentage point from the month before. For laid-off workers who are living, breathing proof of this new statistical reality, landing a job in a stable industry has become of paramount importance. Increasingly, they are turning to vocational colleges for help.	Reviewing for a test could be just a click away on your iPod Sherry Saavedra, San Diego Union-Tribune Today's classrooms are increasingly high-tech with electronic “chalkboards” that work like touch-screen computers, wireless access, Web cams and clickers that use infrared rays to project students' responses on a screen. So perhaps it was inevitable that an electronic version of the daily class lecture is now available to students anytime, anywhere. Community colleges are making big plans but financing is proving scarce Bennet J. Loudon, The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle Originally created to serve commuter students with few demands outside the classroom, the community colleges are becoming full-service institutions — with sports teams, athletic and recreation facilities, student clubs and organizations, dining services and high technology training facilities.


	Religious education should not be compulsory, says top court Turkish Daily News The Council of State rules that religious education classes in high schools in their current format cannot be compulsory. Current religious education classes that focus on Sunni Islam cannot be compulsory for all students, the court ruled Monday after two parents filed a complaint. Academic salary bills are a ‘time bomb’, say employers Melanie Newman, Times Higher Education (UK) Some universities may not be able to afford their 2008-09 staff salary bills as a number of costs begin to bite. Higher than expected pay rises, the cost of implementing historic pay reforms, a looming pensions time bomb, and the inevitability of disappointing research assessment exercise results for some will combine to make next year financially difficult, vice-chancellors predict.	Over-enrolling national universities to lose tuition The Daily Yomiuri (Japan) To discourage the over enrollment of students by national universities, the Education, Science and Technology Ministry will start forfeiting some of the additional tuition fees generated by the practice, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Minister charges public, private schools on basic education Abel Orih Idoma, This Day (Lagos) Public and private schools have been called upon to ensure the implementation of the nine-year basic education curriculum in order to enhance the quality of education in the country of Nigeria.


	Federal bill provides RESP tax break Kevin Carmichael, The Globe & Mail Canada's opposition parties united to pass legislation that would give parents a tax break on contributions to Registered Education Savings Plan. MP Dan McTeague's private member's bill, passed Wednesday night, would treat RESPs like Registered Retirement Savings Plans. Court deals blow to disabled students Catherine Rolfsen, The Vancouver Sun The B.C. Supreme Court has quashed a landmark human rights tribunal ruling that advocates hoped would mean major changes for students with learning disabilities in B.C. schools.	Skipping epidemic: Spike in cutting classes traced to 2001 Education decision Laura Fraser, The Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotia) Stiffer punishments for students caught playing hooky could curb flagging attendance rates, a local high school principal says. But chronic skippers get away with missing class because of the Education Department’s lenient attendance policy, Kevin Deveaux said. Sask. Party property tax policy to come, just not right now Angel Hall, Leader-Post The provincial government won't have a long-term solution for education property tax relief this year as the Saskatchewan Party studies how best to address the issue, says the government MLA charged with handling the hot button topic.


	Call to link funding with efficacy Guy Healy, The Australian Universities could lose future funding if they failed to perform in areas such as innovation and community engagement, under contentious plans drafted by leading figures in the sector. Options in the paper include a deregulation of what has been called template university funding and an extension of performance-based funding to teaching, research, innovation, and community engagement. May I leave the class? Teachers’ big ambition Anna Patty, The Sydney Morning Herald Almost half of all new teachers are planning to leave the profession within 10 years, a national survey has found. The survey of 1732 public school teachers with one to three years' experience found that 47.9 per cent expected to leave the profession within a decade.	University crisis is Howard’s legacy: PM Michelle Grattan, Brisbane, & Farrah Tomazin, The Age Australian universities are in crisis after the Howard years and their finances need to be boosted to ensure a productive future, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says. And Education Minister Julia Gillard, while not directly saying the Government will give them more money, promises that the universities can "look forward to a productive conversation with the Government about overcoming the financial burden" they have been under. Carrick to cut back grants Bernard Lane, The Australian The Carrick Institute may be forced to offer fewer grants and fellowships over the next 18 months as it seeks $5.4 million in savings required by the Rudd Government.


	Integrating Higher Education Financial Aid and Financial Policy: Case studies from the changing direction of technical assistance Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Integrating Higher Education Financial Aid and Financial Policy: Case studies from the changing direction of technical assistance, is the final publication of the Changing Direction project, which was funded by Lumina Foundation for Education. It chronicles the progress of the 14 states that received technical assistance through the project and shares lessons learned about how to better align higher education appropriations, tuition, and financial aid policy in order to increase access and success for all students. DOWNLOAD AND VIEW PDF HERE


The Educational Policy Institute is an international non-profit think tank dedicated to the study of educational opportunity. The Week in Review is a weekly publication that highlights the top news stories, reports and statistics related to academic preparation and access and success in the US, Canada, and beyond. The publication also features a commentary written by either President Watson Scott Swail, EdD or Vice-President Alex Usher. To submit comments, news releases, or submissions, please email Dr. Watson Scott Swail at wswail@educationalpolicy.org or call (757) 430-2200.