Category: Friday Fifteen

The Fifteen: February 7, 2025
Today is the tenth edition of The Fifteen. Higher Education is in flux around the world, and we are taking a look at reforms in the EU, India and Indonesia, with stops in Australia and Hong Kong. We’re also looking at some contrasting approaches to managing AI, keeping track of the ongoing political confrontation between students and the government in Serbia, as well as—inevitably—keeping tabs on whatever it is Trump is doing to American Higher Ed.
1. As more colleges announce program cuts (now over 200 in total), the Ontario Public Service Employee’s Union is calling for the government to step in as colleges continue to announce program cuts. Advocates call for more provincial funding for Ontario colleges to stop program cuts. (CBC News)
2. Trump has shown that he’s willing to do just about anything, and his talk of shutting down the Education Department may be more than just bark. Trump Planning EO Directing Education Department to ‘Diminish Itself,’ Reports Say. (Inside Higher Ed)
3. American Higher Ed has already had a rough couple of weeks as the slew of executive orders continues: OMB FUNDING PAUSE, MORE EOS MARK HECTIC WEEK FOR HIGHER ED. (ACE)
4. Financially troubled Saint Augustine University in North Carolina refuses a loan from a local lender because it might mean naming a more serious set of Board members. Saint Augustine’s University Rejected Lower-Interest Loan Contingent on Board Chair’s Resignation (Indy Week)
5. India continues to send millions of students abroad each year as its higher education sector struggles to keep up with growing demand. The government is putting more money into battling this brain drain by investing in universities at home. UNION BUDGET 2025: Targeted reforms and investments expected to strengthen higher education system (EducationTIMES)
6. The European Commission has been working on developing EU-recognized degrees, but the project is hitting roadblocks. National differences hinder development of European degrees. (Science Business)
7. Another new year, another purge in North Korean universities. N. Korean university’s year-end purge: From foreign songs to USB drives. (Daily NK)
8. Despite not really moving all that quickly to implement the vaunted “universities accord,” Australia’s Labour government is on to a new public inquiry, this one on governance. It’s not receiving rave reviews from the sector. ‘Lawless’ Australian universities face new Senate inquiry. (Times Higher Education)
9. The political situation in Serbia continues to evolve; the president has invited talks with university leaders in response to widespread student protests. Student protests in Serbia, Vucic summons university leaders. (Nova Europa)
10. The American higher education system became rich in part through government land-grants. Now, in Indonesia, the government is trying to give universities the opportunity to make money via mining rights. Bill granting mining rights to universities splits opinion. (University World News)
11. The question of who is a “local” student continues to vex Hong Kong. In response to parents fuming about their children losing places at prestigious universities to students from the mainland, the territorial government is reviewing the regulations. Hong Kong to review ‘local’ student definition over loopholes. (Times Higher Education)
12. Buyer’s remorse in Argentina; the Milei government, one year later. Students are turning on Milei after helping him win power. (Buenos Aires Times)
13. International student numbers are recovering in the UK (slowly). Early data indicates international enrolment growth for UK higher education’s January 2025 intake. (ICEF)
14. The release of Chinese LLM Deepseek may mark a momentary lead over the US in the development of large Language Models, but at Chinese Universities, the emphasis is still on limiting the use of AI: Universities seek to restrict AI use by students. (People’s Daily Online)
15. In the United States, meanwhile, California State University is dropping a huge amount of money onto a new AI skills initiative for its half million students. CSU unveils massive venture to provide free AI tools and training across all 23 campuses. (Los Angeles Times)
HESA’s AI-CADEMY: Canada Summit for Post-Secondary Education is nearly sold-out! Join us in Calgary on March 6&7 to discuss the future of technology in the higher education sector.
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February 7, 2025
The Fifteen: January 10, 2025
Our first Fifteen in the New Year! Although many institutions have been on winter break in recent weeks, numerous important stories from the world of higher education continue to unfold. This week on The Fifteen, we look at what’s happening around the globe. Enjoy!
1. A thought-provoking post from the LSE Blog discusses whether traditional academics bring the ideal skills-set to institutional leadership positions as the UK PSE faces a financial crisis. Let’s look outside academia for university leaders. (LSE Blog)
2. Staff at a UK university made a move to impeach the administration after they announced job cuts. Staff pass motion of no confidence in UEA executive. (BBC)
3. Report from a US Conservative think-tank finds that US college accreditation is not an effective means of quality control and recommends scrapping it in favour of more general consumer protections to allow more new entrants to deliver higher education programs. Report: States Should Drop Accreditation Requirements for New Colleges. (AEI)
4. Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan was a pretty big deal when it opened 15 years ago. The President’s resignation in 2023 was something of a shock: here’s some interesting background to that story: The battle for Nazarbayev University’s future: Shigeo Katsu on financial mismanagement and accountability. (Eureporter)
5. This is a quite fascinating look at a new venture which is attempting to create a network of universities across Eurasia and North Africa, in part by using course materials licensed form the ever-inventive Arizona State University. An experiment to watch. After bumpy start, ASU-backed university network picks up pace (Times Higher Education).
6. A private Afrikaans university, Akademia, has been growing significantly since its establishment in 2012, and is now setting up a new campus. South Africa’s private Afrikaans university showing incredible growth. (BusinessTech)
7. Finland is ramping up R&D spending, aiming to increase from 2.9% to 4% of GDP by 2030. The country hasn’t seen massive success in technology development since the days of Nokia: might this change soon? Will Finland’s big spending on R&D buy it the gift of growth? (Times Higher Education)
8. Greece has a huge problem with students who enrol but simply neglect to finish their degrees. Rectors call for exemptions to law ousting university loafers. (ekathimerini.com)
9. The Hungary-EU fight continues. The EU has been blocking funding from reaching institutions there due to concerns about the political influence of populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party. Hungarian universities stay blocked from EU grants despite appeal. (Times Higher Education)
10. Belarus finds that being an international pariah is no barrier to increasing educational exports: BSU almost doubled exports of educational services in 2024. (SB News)
11. Iran is very pleased at how its universities rank compared to those in countries it really shouldn’t be comparing itself against: Iran secures second place in D-8 universities ranking. (Tehran Times)
12. Germany is trying to encourage PhD researchers to start their own companies with backing from a UK fund and a former Google exec. German innovation agency to fund spin-out focused PhDs. (Times Higher Education)
13. Japan’s highly structured, seniority-based compensation system tends not to reward young people with very high levels of education. Result? A big drop in applicants to PhD programs. Now the government is experimenting with ways to make PhDs more financially appealing. Japan seeks to improve salary prospects for PhD graduates. (Times Higher Education)
14. The Biden Administration has passed what is likely it’s final tranche of student loan forgiveness, this time for people enrolled in what is known as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $4.28 Billion in Student Debt Relief for Nearly 55,000 Public Service Workers. (US Department of Education)
15. A working paper put out by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that American academics have (for several decades at least) been disproportionately drawn from better-off families, particularly in the humanities. Climbing the Ivory Tower: How socio-economic background shapes academia. (NBER)
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January 10, 2025
The Fifteen: December 6, 2024
Welcome back to The Fifteen, your source for the newest and emerging stories from around the world of higher education. Last week, we looked at cuts coming to universities at home and abroad. This week, however, we’re looking at emerging markets around the world, from India, China and even Uzbekistan. Enjoy this week’s articles.
1. Among the many disasters awaiting American higher education in 2025 is the potential for a radical politicization of accreditation. Trump’s Vision for College Accreditation Could Shake Up the Sector process, (The Chronicle)
2. The Colombian government’s financial problems are starting to affect higher education. Institutions may be required to offer free tuition without public funding, and the student loan agency, ICETEX, is in disarray. Coverage, promotion and free admission enter intensive care due to the country’s fiscal crisis, (El Observatorio de la Universidad Colombian)
3. If you believe UNESCO statistics, Uzbekistan has now moved into third place overall among exporting student nations, behind only China and India. Uzbekistan is third-biggest source of foreign students, (University World News)
4. China is once again expanding its Double First-Class initiative to support university research. In theory, it’s about expanding institutional inclusion and encouraging interdisciplinarity. I have my doubts about the latter. China expands successful world-class universities initiative, (University World News)
5. An interesting piece from the Times Higher on the difficulties Australia is having in making its “New Columbo” plan for outbound student mobility meet its objectives. Australian outward student mobility programme stuck in ice, (Times Higher Education)
6. Also from Australia: the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency has published an overview of how universities there are using Gen AI. Gen AI strategies for Australian higher education: Emerging practice, (TEQSA)
7. Bryan Penprase has a piece on America’s “mega-universities.” There are some interesting notions in here, particularly on how scale drives down cost, but comparisons with “mainstream” universities are difficult without accounting for fields of study offered and the kinds of students being catered to. The Mega-Universities Disrupting Higher Education, (Forbes)
8. Instead of asking international students to come to you, why don’t you go to them? Demand remains strong for transnational Education in UK institutions, proving it can be done. Global appetite for UK TNE shows no sign of diminishing, (University World News)
9. Asian universities are rising to meet the steady growth in demand for higher education, sometimes through partnerships with Western Institutions. Asia’s Universities Are Redefining Excellence In Higher Education, (Forbes)
10. On a related note, market intelligence says that the higher education sector is projected to continue to grow into 2050. HolonIQ examines global trends shaping the future of work, (The PIE)
11. The marketized education systems of Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US are all having a hard time coping with changing rules and student preferences, but a financial crunch is also on in more heavily subsidized systems like France, where one university President says that if the state does not come up with more money soon, (currently very low) tuition fees will need to increase 10x. “Il faudrait multiplier les frais d’inscription par dix en 2025 si l’État ne fait rien” alerte la présidente de l’Université Paul-Valéry à Montpellier,” (Midi Libre)
12. The EU is exploring the possibility of creating a “European degree” which would be recognized across Europe in the hopes of promoting mobility and collaboration through its “University Alliances” scheme, though some (us included) question the effect it would have. Ministers seek to reward alliances as EU degree talks go on, (University World News)
13. Every year, the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) in London ranks UK universities on the Social Mobility Index based on the “social distance” travelled by socio-economically disadvantaged graduates from each institution. Here’s this year’s rankings: 2024 English Social Mobility Index, (HEPI)
14. An opinion piece discusses concerns around quality assurance in universities and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s history of relaxed standards. Is Ghana’s Higher Education System Failing Its Graduates? The Case for Stronger Standards and Industry-Relevant Training, (Modern Ghana)
15. New research applies statistical modelling to the adoption of Natural Language Processing systems like ChatGPT for higher education students. Adoption of ChatGPT in Higher Education-Application of IDT Model, Testing and Validation, (IEEE Xplore)
And, as it is December 6th, we ask our readers take a moment to remember:

Geneviève Bergeron

Hélène Colgan

Nathalie Croteau

Barbara Daigneault

Anne-Marie Edward

Maud Haviernick

Maryse Laganière

Maryse Leclair

Anne-Marie Lemay

Sonia Pelletier

Michèle Richard

Annie St-Arneault

Annie Turcotte

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
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December 6, 2024