6 iulie 2019

Burse de cercetare si formare postuniversitara si postdoctorala „Vasile Parvan” si „Nicolae Iorga”, la Universitatea „Cuza” din Iasi

Competitie deschisa, anuntata de Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” (UAIC) din Iasi, pentru bursele de cercetare si formare postuniversitara si postdoctorala „Vasile Pârvan” si „Nicolae Iorga„.

Concret, Agentia de Credite si Burse de Studii (ACBS) anunta lansarea programului de burse „Vasile Parvan” la Accademia di Romania din Roma si „Nicolae Iorga” la Istituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica din Venetia, instituite prin Hotararea de Guvern (HG) nr. 101/2002, modificata prin HG nr. 918/2011.

„Bursele de cercetare si formare postuniversitara si postdoctorala «Vasile Pârvan» la Accademia di Romania din Roma si «Nicolae Iorga» la Instituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica din Venetia se adreseaza absolventilor cu diploma de licenta, care cunosc Limba italiana cel putin de nivel mediu si o limba de circulatie internationala, pentru domeniile: istorie si stiinte sociale, arheologie, arhivistica, biblioteconomie, filologie clasica si moderna, istoria artei si arhitectura, literatura si studii literare, arte, stiinte economice si stiinte exacte”, transmit cei de la „Cuza”.

De precizat ca bursa se acorda pentru o perioada de minimum doua luni consecutive si maximum doi ani universitari consecutivi. Ministerul Educatiei Nationale, prin ACBS, asigura o bursa de 500 de euro pe luna destinata asigurarii cheltuielilor de întretinere în perioada stagiului de studii în strainatate (hrana, transport international, procurare de carti si rechizite, asigurarea unor cheltuieli uzuale si, eventual, plata unor taxe scolare). Ministerul Afacerilor Externe (MAE) asigura cazarea gratuita a bursierilor la Accademia di  Romania din Roma sau la Istituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica din Venetia si utilizarea spatiului de studiu si cercetare al celor doua institutii. Toate celelalte detalii pot fi obtinute aici:
http://www.uaic.ro/competitie-deschisa-pentru-bursele-de-cercetare-si-formare-postuniversitara-si-postdoctorala-vasile-parvan-si-nicolae-iorga/

Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași

Concurs cu ocazia împlinirii a 70 de ani de la înfiinţarea NATO

Studenţii ieşeni se pot înscrie la mai multe concursuri cu ocazia împlinirii 15 ani de la aderarea României la NATO şi a 70 de ani de la înfiinţarea Organizaţiei Nord-Atlantice. Astfel, Ministerul Apărării Naţionale, în parteneriat cu Ministerul Afacerilor Externe şi cu Ministerul Educaţiei Naţionale, a lansat campania „România – 15 ani în NATO

70 de ani de la înfiinţarea Organizaţiei Nord-Atlantice“. Unul dintre concursuri are tema „Cea mai bună lucrre cu aplicabilitate militară prezentată într-o sesiune de comunicări ştiinţifice a studenţilor din instituţiile de învăţământ superior cu programe de studii tehnice“, adresat studenţilor din domeniul „Ştiinţe inginereşti“. Un alt concurs este cel de elaborare de produse publicistice „Militar român-militar NATO“, pentru studenţii din domeniul „ştiinţe ale comunicării“ sau concursul de grafică „România în NATO-15 ani/ 70 de ani de la înfiinţarea NATO“ pentru stu­denţii din ramura de ştiinţă Arte.

O altă variantă este concursul de realizare a unei broşuri informative „România în NATO-15 ani, pentru studenţii înscrişi la licenţă, master sau doctorat în domeniul „ştiinţe ale comunicării“. Studen­ţii înscrişi la un program de studiu din ciclu­rile de licenţă, master şi doctorat în domeniile „Relaţii Internaţionale şi studii europene“, „Informaţii şi securitate naţională“, „Ştiinţe militare“, „Ştiinţe politice“ pot participa la un concurs de lucrări de licenţă/disertaţie/eseu cu tema „România în NATO-15 ani“.

Publicație : Ziarul de Iași

 

Internship plătit oferit studenţilor

 Compania Iulius Group a pregătit pentru tinerii de la facultăţile de profil ale universităţilor din Iaşi un internship plătit în Comunicare şi Relaţii Publice. Este vorba de un internship ce presupune un program de lucru de opt ore pe zi, formarea alături de personalul Iulius Group şi posibilitatea ulterioară de angajare în companie.

„Căutăm Junior PR pentru grupul IULIUS care dezvoltă, la nivel naţional, proiecte mixte de retail şi office, din care fac parte ansamblul Palas, Iulius Mall Iaşi, Suceava, Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca şi ansamblul Iulius Town Timişoara. Ne adresăm absolvenţilor şi masteranzilor în specializările Comunicare şi Relaţii Publice sau Jurnalism“, au precizat reprezentanţii companiei. Aceştia caută persoane cu bune abilităţi de comunicare scrisă şi vorbită în limba română, bune cunoştin­ţe de limbă engleză, care să fie creative şi proactive, atente la detalii şi cu disponibilitate de în­văţare într-un domeniu dinamic. Tinerii vor în­văţa redactarea materialelor de PR, de la comunicate de presă la advertoriale şi prezentări, cât şi interviuri şi broşuri, elaborarea unor strategii de PR, gestionarea relaţiei cu presa, dar şi implementarea proiectelor de comunicare.

 Publicație : Ziarul de Iași

 

Iaşul, lider în topul locurilor destinate romilor în şcolile doctorale!

 Universităţile ieşene oferă romilor 83 de locuri la admitere, atât în sistemul universitar, cât şi în cel postuniversitar (masterat şi la doctorat) * candidaţii de etnie romă vor fi admişi pe criterii minimale, respectiv media 5.00, şi nu vor plăti taxe de şcolarizare pe durata studiilor

Dincolo de nediscriminare, dreptul la educaţia incluzivă este un drept recunoscut din ce în ce mai mult în dreptul internaţional. Acesta implică dreptul la educaţie al fiecărei persoane, indiferent de diferenţele individuale, în cadrul sistemului de învăţământ de masă şi dreptul copiilor cu nevoi educaţionale speciale de a primi tot sprijinul suplimentar necesar pentru asigurarea educaţiei efective.

Astfel, tinerii de etnie romă au alocate în fiecare an, doar pentru ei, locuri în universităţile de stat.

Dosarul de concurs va cuprinde, pe lângă actele solicitate de facultate, o recomandare – eliberată de o organizaţie legal constituită a romilor, indiferent de domeniul acesteia de activitate, din care să reiasă că respectivul candidat face parte din etnia romă şi nu faptul că este membru al organizaţiei în cauză.

În judeţul Iaşi, numărul total de locuri pentru persoanele de etnie romă, atât în sistemul universitar, cât şi în cel postuniversitar (masterat şi la doctorat) atinge cifra 83, plasându-l pe locul al treilea într-un clasament al universităţilor celor mai căutate din ţară care oferă astfel de privilegii: Bucureşti – 190 de locuri, Cluj – 113 locuri, iar Timişoara 74 de locuri.

Defalcat, numărul de locuri finanţate de la bugetul de stat pentru studii universitare de licenţă, la forma de învăţământ cu frecvenţă, din instituţiile de învăţământ superior de stat din judeţul Iaşi, pentru anul universitar 2019 – 2020, arată astfel: Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi” sunt 17 locuri, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară „Ion Ionescu de la Brad” – 3 locuri, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” oferă 20 de locuri, în timp ce Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Gr. T. Popa” – 6 locuri, iar Universitatea Naţională de Arte „George Enescu” – 2 locuri.

Bucureşti – centrul universitar cel mai permisiv

În ceea ce priveşte locurile alocate persoanelor de etnie romă la universităţile din Bucureşti, pentru studii universitare de licenţă, acestea însumează 127, dintre care 60 la Universitatea din Bucureşti, 27 la Academia de Studii Economice, 10 la Şcoala Naţională de Studii Politice şi Administrative – 10 locuri sau 9 la Universitatea Politehnica.

La Cluj sunt disponibile 73 de locuri pentru studii universitare de licenţă, cele mai multe – 60, la Universitatea „Babeş-Bolyai, iar la Timişoara – 44, cele mai multe locuri fiind oferite de Universitatea de Vest – 30.

Locuri disponibile sunt şi la Bacău, la Universitatea „Vasile Alecsandri” – 15, cât şi la Suceava, la Universitatea „Ştefan cel Mare” – 10 locuri.

Alte universităţi care au rezervat locuri anul acesta (studii universitare de licenţă) pentru persoanele de etnie romă sunt: Universitatea Piteşti – 61, Universitatea de Medicină, Farmacie, Ştiinţe şi Tehnologie Târgu Mureş – 35, Universitatea Oradea – 30, Universitatea din Craiova – 28, Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos” Galaţi – 28, Universitatea „Transilvania” Braşov – 18, Universitatea „Petrol-Gaze” Ploieşti – 20, Universitatea „Ovidius” Constanţa – 9.

La masterat, surpriza vine la de Piteşti

În ceea ce priveşte programele de masterat, Iaşul pune la dispoziţie celor de etnie romă, care doresc să urmeze cursurile, 21 de locuri (fiind al treilea oraş după Bucureşti, Cluj, şi la egalitate cu Timişoara).

Astfel, la Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi” sunt disponibile 12 locuri, la Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” – 5 locuri, Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Gr. T. Popa” oferă 3 locuri, iar la Universitatea Naţională de Arte „George Enescu” este disponibil 1 loc. Tinerii pot merge şi la Bacău, la Universitatea „Vasile Alecsandri”, unde sunt disponibile 5 locuri, dar şi la Suceava, la Universitatea „Ştefan cel Mare”, care a alocat 10 locuri.

Pe primul loc în rândul celor care oferă posibilitatea tinerilor de etnie romă să urmeze masteratul fără a plăti taxa de şcolarizare se află Bucureştiul, fiind disponibile 50 de locuri (dintre care 20 la Universitatea Bucureşti şi 5 la Şcoala Naţională de Studii Politice şi Administrative), urmat de Cluj – 29 de locuri (Universitatea „Babeş-Bolyai – 25, Universitatea Tehnică – 3, Academia de Muzică „Gheorghe Dima” – 1) şi Timişoara – 21 (Universitatea de Vest – 12 , Universitatea Politehnica – 4, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară a Banatului „Regele Mihai I al României” – 5, Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Victor Babeş” – 1).

Printre alte universităţi care oferă posibilitatea tinerilor de etnie romă să urmeze masteratul fără a plăti taxa de şcolarizare se află Universitatea Piteşti – 31 locuri, Universitatea de Medicină, Farmacie, Ştiinţe şi Tehnologie Târgu Mureş – 30, Universitatea Oradea – 20, Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos” Galaţi – 19, Universitatea „Aurel Vlaicu” Arad – 10.

Romii ieşeni, privilegiaţi la doctorat

Studiile universitare de doctorat constituie al treilea ciclu al studiilor universitare şi permit obţinerea titlului de doctor, respectiv a unei calificări de nivelul 8 din Cadrul European al Calificărilor (EQF) şi din Cadrul Naţional al Calificărilor (CNC).

Tinerii de etnie romă au locuri rezervate atât la programele de master, cât şi la cele de doctorat. De altfel, judeţul Iaşi este fruntaş, locurile bugetate alocate la doctorat, pentru anul universitar 2019-2020, fiind în număr de 14: la Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi” este disponibil 1 loc, Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” – 12 locuri, Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Gr. T. Popa” – 2 locuri, iar la Universitatea Naţională de Arte „George Enescu” – 1 loc.

În Suceava, la Universitatea „Ştefan cel Mare” sunt disponibile pentru aceştia 4 locuri.
Iaşul este urmat de Bucureşti, care a rezervat 13 locuri pentru tinerii de etnie romă (cele mai multe la Universitatea Politehnica – 5, la Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară – 2, Şcoala Naţională de Studii Politice şi Administrative – 2).

Clujul oferă 11 locuri la doctorat, 10 dintre acestea la Universitatea „Babeş-Bolyai” şi un loc la Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Iuliu Haţieganu”, iar Timişoara – 9 locuri (5 la Universitatea Politehnica, la Universitatea de Vest – 3locuri, şi la Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Victor Babeş” – 1).

Alte Universităţi care au rezervate locuri la doctorat pentru tinerii de etnie romă sunt Universitatea din Craiova – 6 locuri, Universitatea Maritimă Constanţa – 1, Universitatea Oradea – 2, Universitatea Petroşani – 3, Universitatea Piteşti – 3, Universitatea „Petrol-Gaze” Ploieşti – 1, Universitatea „Valahia” Târgovişte – 2, şi Universitatea de Medicină, Farmacie, Ştiinţe şi Tehnologie Târgu Mureş – 4 locuri

Publicație : Evenimentul

 

UK universities condemned for failure to tackle racism

Guardian investigation reveals widespread evidence of discrimination in higher education

Priyamvada Gopal: ‘Often when issues are raised, in my experience, they are either ignored or dismissed.’ Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Senior academics and politicians have condemned UK universities for failing to tackle endemic racism against students and staff after a Guardian investigation found widespread evidence of discrimination in the sector.

University staff from minority backgrounds said the findings showed there was “absolute resistance” to dealing with the problem. Responses to freedom of information (FoI) requests the Guardian sent to 131 universities showed that students and staff made at least 996 formal complaints of racism over the past five years.

Of these, 367 were upheld, resulting in at least 78 student suspensions or expulsions and 51 staff suspensions, dismissals and resignations.

But even these official figures are believed to underestimate the scale of racism in higher education, with two separate investigations by the Guardian and the Equality and Human Rights Commission identifying hundreds more cases that were not formally investigated by universities.

Scores of black and minority ethnic students and lecturers have told the Guardian they were dissuaded from making official complaints and either dropped their allegations or settled for an informal resolution. They said white university staff were often reluctant to address racism, with racial slurs treated as banter or an inevitable byproduct of freedom of speech, and institutional racism poorly recognised.

Their complaints come as students staging an occupation at Goldsmiths, University of London, enter the 17th week of their protest to demand it takes action against institutional racism.

Suki Ali, associate professor in sociology at the London School of Economics, said: “There has been absolute resistance to facing the scale of racism in British universities. If you’re in a climate where you think that people don’t understand the problem, don’t take it seriously, don’t have procedures and policies that seem to be effective, why and how would you make a complaint?”

Priyamvada Gopal, a reader at the faculty of English at Cambridge University, said complaints of racism were often met with “race illiteracy”. She said: “Complainants get exhausted and give up simply because there is no comprehension of what racism is. There is either outright denial, ‘gaslighting’ or minimising. Often when issues are raised, in my experience, they are either ignored or dismissed. There are few mechanisms and still fewer trained staff able to deal with race matters.”

Between 2014-15 and the current academic year, the Guardian found there were were 461 complaints made against students, with the majority lodged by other students, and 535 complaints against staff. About half of the complaints made against staff were from students, including 144 against academics.

The universities that recorded the largest number of formal complaints were Cambridge (72); Cardiff (39), Oxford (39), Bedfordshire (36), Nottingham Trent (23), Birkbeck College, University of London (21), Salford (21), and Coventry, Liverpool John Moores and the London School of Economics, each with 20. But these figures may reflect that they had better complaints procedures.

The Guardian found more than a quarter of the universities surveyed lacked centralised records of racism complaints. Some did not specifically record racist incidents, lumping them together with other forms of discrimination, harassment and bullying.

Students stage an anti-racism protest at Goldsmiths last month. Photograph: Anna Gordon/The Guardian

Some universities had only begun recording racist incidents in the last few years; others only recorded racist incidents against either staff or students, not both.

The vast majority of universities also said they did not record informal complaints, while more than half did not record antisemitism and Islamophobia as racism.

The Labour MP David Lammy, who has campaigned for universities to better address racial inequality, said: “It is absolutely clear from these findings that many universities are not treating racism with the seriousness it deserves. If universities do not act fast to change the culture, from the lecture hall to the student union, talented students from BME backgrounds will continue to be locked out.”

Christina Barnes, the senior principal inquiries and intelligence at the EHRC, said its inquiry had found a similar number of formal complaints over the past four years as the Guardian. But 1,600 students, lectures and other staff had responded to its call for evidence of racist incidents in universities over the same time period – the largest response to an inquiry it has ever received.

Barnes said its investigation, due to be published in September, was examining the significant disparity between the official number of racism complaints and what staff and students actually experience. She added: “Our evidence indicates that there is a significant number of people who suffer racial harassment and do not make formal complaints. They may raise informal complaints, or may not make any form of complaint at all. Our report will look at the barriers to making complaints.”

More than 240 students and lecturers have shared accounts of racism with the Guardian, with many reporting that complaints were poorly handled.

The Guardian’s FoI findings revealed that only one university provided dedicated anti-racism training to all staff, while more than half provided no training on institutional racism. Only five universities said staff who investigated complaints had received specific anti-racism training. No universities provided mandatory training for students.

Heidi Mirza:’ People tell me of something horrendous that has happened to them and they just want to leave.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

Ilyas Nagdee, black students’ officer for the National Union of Students, said racism on campus continued to be brushed under the carpet. “As students of colour continue to face harassment in their places of study [and] abuse in their halls of accommodation, universities remain ill-equipped and unwilling to tackle the issue at large,” he said.

Heidi Mirza, visiting professor of race, faith and culture at Goldsmiths, University of London, said universities’ poor handling of complaints was driving BME staff and students to quit. She said: “This week I have written three references for senior black female staff who want to leave and go to America or anywhere else but England. The attrition rate is symptomatic of the fact that the complaints system doesn’t work.”

“People come and tell me of something horrendous that has happened to them and they just want to leave. They will not go to the university with it. They know the university will crush them.”

A spokesman for Cambridge University said it “strives to create a culture free from racism and takes any complaint extremely seriously”.

He said its complaint figures reflected reforms designed to make reporting harassment and discrimination easier . “We are pleased to see this begin to take place,” he added.

Goldsmith’s has previously said about the student occupation: “We have committed to taking action to address the protesters’ key demands and have already made progress on steps such as reviewing how reports of racism are handled, recruiting additional student wellbeing staff and planning mandatory race equality training for staff.”

The universities minister Chris Skidmore said: “Universities have a responsibility to ensure that they provide a safe and inclusive environment for all staff and students and I expect institutions to act swiftly to investigate and address incidents of racism reported to them.”

A spokeswoman for Universities UK, which represents 136 higher education providers, said: “There is no place for racism on a university campus. In the coming year we will develop guidance targeted at addressing racial harassment.”

Publicație : The Guardian

‘A demeaning environment’: stories of racism in UK universities

Students and staff tell of prejudice than runs right through the higher education system

 “Racism in universities is widespread, widely tolerated and raising it carries considerable risk.” These are the words of a senior lecturer who is one of more than 240 staff and students who contacted the Guardian to share their experiences of racism in the UK higher education sector.

Their comments combine to paint a damning picture of black and minority ethnic experiences in British universities. Complaints range from overt racism, including assaults, monkey chants, the N-word and other verbal abuse, to institutional and structural racism, indirect racial discrimination and microaggressions.

They come from across the higher education spectrum, from senior academics who complain of years of discrimination, to undergraduates starting out on their studies. The universities mentioned include many Russell Group and other top ranked institutions, but the issues are clearly sector-wide.

For some, their experiences have had a lasting impact on their mental health. Counselling services are often ill-equipped to support victims of racism, with few counsellors from minority ethnic backgrounds. “I attempted suicide after continuously being racially harassed,” said one British Asian architecture graduate who lodged a complaint about one of his tutors.

I record every conversation I have with staff as I do not feel safe around them

“He would pretend not to understand my presentations and graded my work much lower than other lecturers. He said if you spoke like [a particular white student] spoke you’d get a higher mark.”

No one responded to his emails when he tried to raise the issue with his department. “Student services dismissed and downplayed my concerns. The welfare officer claimed the lecturer marked fairly and suggested I was not capable of being at university. The whole department is in denial and they try to take the side of the racist rather than eliminate the issue.”

A black student studying for a PhD at a top university took to her bed for days after sustained racism from fellow students and staff, both in the course of her studies and casual racism in everyday conversations. “It was deeply traumatic. I was making plans to complete suicide. All of it was too much.”

A number of contributors said their complaints were played down or shut down entirely. Some of those who made allegations of racism found themselves under attack, with the university closing ranks to protect senior white staff and institutional reputation.

One black member of staff at a highly regarded London university who lodged an allegation of race discrimination told the Guardian that after her complaint was dismissed the tables were turned and she ended up facing a charge of gross misconduct.

“This is not a hospitable or welcoming environment for minorities,” said a member of staff and former student at an elite English university. “The message is clear: assimilate and shut up – you’re lucky to be here. It is an absolutely poisonous and demeaning environment to work in.”

Exasperation at the inability of institutions to acknowledge and effectively tackle racism is shared by the majority of the 264 readers who responded. “I think my university handles racism the way most universities do. By not doing anything until they absolutely have to,” a second year social sciences student said.

“People have the view that if you complain about racism, you have some how overreacted or misunderstood what happened,” said a London postgraduate student. “You have to fight to get your voice heard and in most cases you have to take your fight to the highest level before anyone listens to you.”

“The university handles racism terribly,” said a graduate from a popular Russell Group institution. “There have been several racist incidents and the only way to get a result was by posting on Twitter/Facebook and them going viral.”

There are many complaints about racist behaviour by students. “In spring 2018 a group of white students came up to me and my boyfriend and started jumping around like monkeys and calling us niggers. I felt like there was nothing I could do,” said one.

Another describes a student union president shouting abusive racial slurs at a new African student and a white male student repeatedly asking a black female student if he could call her “his nigga”.

“Another time one of the white girls in our house made a huge pot of food for everyone and shouted: ‘I hope you’re all starving like Africans.’ Me and the only other black person I lived with were dumbfounded.”

There are also complaints about academic staff. “In my final year at university, my dissertation supervisor wrote in the comments of my dissertation that I should have gotten my work proofread by a ‘native English speaker’,” said one contributor. “I only speak one language fluently, which is English. I am black but 100% British, born and bred. How much more British must I be before I am considered ‘native’?”

The message is clear: assimilate and shut up

More than 170 respondents complained about the lack of diversity among academic staff at their university. Some described a sense of isolation because of the absence of any shared lived experience with those teaching them..

A third-year languages student at one of the most select universities said: “My experiences of racism have been very bad. From small things like a lack of diversity in my lecturers and fellow students (I am yet to have a lecturer of colour), to larger things such as being called the N-word in the street, and students dressing up in blackface and not being adequately reprimanded for it.”

A 24-year-old student at a leading art and design college said: “I was told by one tutor that I wasn’t as intelligent as my peers and that I must eat KFC because I am a black woman. I record every conversation I have with staff as I do not feel safe around them.”

One PhD student at a top English university who was born in China described her shock at “how white” her university campus is, particularly in comparison with her earlier studies at American universities which she found much more mixed ethnically and socially.

“I’m often the only person of colour in the room,” she said. “They expect I have nothing to say and they are shocked when I do. The faculty is all white British and mostly mediocre. The curriculum is white, and hardly decolonised. And most of the students are, of course, white.”

Attempts to raise concerns about lack of diversity among academic staff and in the curriculum are often slapped down. “The issue is dismissed as a non-issue,” said a British Kurd who graduated from a leading London university. “The response is – ‘pipe down, shut up and put up’. Or, ‘progress is happening – why don’t you appreciate what’s happening now?’”

University workers from minorities complained of earning less and being overlooked for jobs. “There’s an 18% pay gap between white and BME staff,” a female research fellow at a northern university said. “Despite being on a prestigious fellowship, I was put on a pay grade two levels below a white male colleague in a similar research role, despite having more research experience, publications and grants to my name. This means I earn about £1,200 less than him annually.

“The racism runs down from the top,” she added, “and is upheld by a system of cadreship run by a few older white men and the complicit white women and brown corporate faces they hire to bar meaningful action toward race-based equality.”

An academic with years of experience described what happened when he lodged a complaint. “At every stage the equal opportunities team seemed to prioritise protecting the institution over engaging with the complaint … Panels of senior professors hearing cases see their role as defusing, rather than remedying, and ultimately protect their own.”

Publicație : The Guardian

‘Let’s kill Prospero!’ Primary students fall under Shakespeare’s spell

Sleepovers, bossy monarchs and a desert-island McDonald’s … The Orange Tree theatre introduces kids to The Tempest with a hands-on creative extravaganza

 ‘Suspense!” “Romance!” “And a twist?” Sat cross-legged in the hall, Year 6 students at a Twickenham primary school are choosing the ingredients for a great story. Happily, the subject of this workshop is The Tempest, a play that ticks all the boxes and adds a shipwreck, lashings of magic and an all-you-can-eat banquet.

Lakesha Cammock, an actor who is running the two-hour session, asks the children to help her “build a story from the ground up”. First off, Shakespeare’s characters. Cammock outlines four: Prospero, his daughter Miranda, his brother Antonio and King Alonso. In small groups, the children take different roles and are asked to create poses that reflect the dynamics between the characters. One of them stands tall, fists on hips, exuding authority as the king.

The idea behind the Primary Shakespeareproject, run for more than 25 years by the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond, south-west London, is to give local children a hands-on introduction. After taking part in the workshop at their school they go to the Orange Tree for an abridged, interactive version of the play in question, performed by the small cast of actors who also lead the workshops. Four thousand children take part in the project every year, many experiencing Shakespeare for the first time.

In the school hall, Cammock sketches out the plot and the children create sounds for Prospero’s island. The room fills with screeches, pitter-patters and watery swooshes. Next, they form pairs: one child plays Prospero and the other the servant Ariel. The Prosperos get bossy: “Roll around! Hop over there! Do press-ups!” The Ariels comply, some enthusiastically and others less so. After a few minutes, Cammock asks the Ariels how they feel. Annoyed, exhausted and embarrassed is the general consensus, though a couple seem happy enough. And the Prosperos? Important and powerful. “But also,” one admits, “a little … mean?”

Modern twist … Jessica Bailes, Sabi Perez and Lakesha Cammock in The Tempest. Photograph: Robert Day

Cammock calmly controls the room while enabling each child to contribute to the storm of ideas. Questions are continually raised. What might that sound like? How would that feel? What would you eat at Prospero’s magic banquet? (A chocolate fountain … and does the island do McDonald’s?) Can they think of a better title than The Tempest? “Tug of War” is one suggestion. “Darkness Island” is another. One boy shouts out: “Let’s Kill Prospero!”

It’s striking how physical many of the exercises are but Cammock encourages the children to relish the language too. Prospero’s speech in Act V, “I am struck to the quick”, is divided between the group, each speaking a few words. The session ends with a cliffhanger as she reveals they won’t find out the ending until they see the play a couple of weeks’ later.

When I arrive at the Orange Tree for that early-morning performance, the theatre is full of noise. There are four actors on stage with 150-odd students watching, slapping their thighs and stomping feet to create a storm. The adaptation is framed as a story created by friends at a sleepover. The actors start off in pyjamas and create worlds from a pile of pillows and mattresses. One becomes Prospero by adorning a starry rug, Caliban rocks a Ramones T-shirt and leather jacket. There are supporting roles for a dozen kids.

If you’re eight, you feel like the world happens to you. We wanted to let children decide what they want to be.

Director Imogen Bond

Afterwards I talk to some of those involved. Phoebe enjoyed the way they introduced the story with a “modern bit”. Ralph explains that his class made fans to accompany the appearance of the harpy. He likes acting while Phoebe says she’d rather write. “There are a lot of lines in the play to learn,” observes Ralph. They’re both impressed by how the actors played several roles. “I didn’t find that confusing,” says Phoebe, “because of the different way they said their lines – and because of their costumes.” Shakespeare’s language was odd to start with but became more natural. They enjoyed trying out different roles in the workshop. “Even if we disagreed with what the character’s choices were, we still got to play them,” says Olivia. Phoebe thinks Shakespeare is different to a fairytale, “where the bad character will die and the good characters will live and be happy”. Jasper agrees: “It’s not always happy ever after in Shakespeare.” He adds: “There’s not just good and bad characters.”

They all wish they did more drama at school. Imogen Bond, who is directing The Tempest and runs the Primary Shakespeare project, says the workshops explore areas that can be overlooked by curriculums with an “intense focus on passing exams, and less focus on creative thinking”. She tells me about an exercise about grief, in which the children consider how Ferdinand feels when he thinks his father has died. Empathy can’t be tested in an exam. Last year’s project was based around The Merchant of Venice. “The aim was to get children thinking about how everyone has similarities and differences – and getting them to be respectful of each other.”

The project uses actors who have either had direct experience of teaching or can create a rapport with children. Each actor is encouraged to lead the workshop in their own way rather than follow a template. The important thing is to ensure none of the children’s suggestions are dismissed. “All the ideas about how the characters feel are completely valid if you’re putting yourself into that situation.”

Bond’s own childhood sleepovers inspired the production’s framing: “I remembered feeling sort of at sea in someone else’s house. Maybe that’s the equivalent of being on a desert island, not comfortable in your surroundings.” She and the cast spend three weeks rehearsing the production, focusing in the last few days on devising a workshop. With The Tempest they concentrated on agency. “If you’re eight, you feel like the world happens to you. We wanted to give children the sense that they can decide what they want to be.” This approach extends to casting. “We’ve had generations of older male Prosperos,” says Bond. If you want to advance audiences’ attitudes to casting then start young. All four actors are female. Why shouldn’t a young woman play Prospero – “and not play it as a man?”

The Orange Tree, which is on the site of a former school, reaches Year 3-6 students in the boroughs of Hounslow, Ealing and Wandsworth through the project. It works with 50 institutions, predominantly state schools. “For some, this is the first time those children have come to the theatre. For the majority, it’s their first experience of Shakespeare, particularly in performance.” The theatre wants the children to feel at home and “to come back, do the project again the next year, be curious about theatre”. It clearly worked with Hanna Streeter, who took part as a child and is now the Orange Tree’s executive director.

The proof is on the children’s faces, so clearly visible in this in-the-round space. There is none of the strange drowsiness that, like Ariel’s enchanting spell, can possess children during stuffier theatre outings. Do it wrong and a play can put children off theatre for life. This one gets them dreaming in the best possible way.

Publicație : The Guardian

Universities must shift from treating mental illness to promoting mental health

We must create spaces, resources and communities where individuals and groups can achieve optimal health through everyday activities, says Alan Cromlish

The current mental health situation in universities reflects the need for improvement. As has been well-documented, mental health issues have been increasing for decades. Some of the most telling statistics come from examining the past decade, during which the number of university students who considered suicide increased by 77 per cent. At the same time, diagnoses of depression and anxiety increased by nearly 50 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.

Universities’ response has been treatment-based, with an increase in wellness programmes, counsellors and medical professionals. While this approach has its merits, the figures above indicate that it is time to try something different.

Given the interconnectedness of individuals’ physical, social and mental health, I believe that the key is for universities to aim to promote health across campus in everything it does. This whole-system approach entails the creation of spaces, resources and communities where individuals – students, staff and members of the public – and groups can achieve optimal health through everyday activities.

For universities, it is essential to create top-down solutions by adopting the healthy university framework that suggests embedding health into campus culture, administrative policy, university operations, and academic mandates. These strategies are suggested by the Okanagan Charter which was the result of the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges, and this sets the necessary foundation to promote health across the campus and the community.

Adopting this framework would entail two strategies. First, universities would embed health across their operations and academic mandates, such as increasing sustainability on campus, creating better spaces for students to study and live, and creating opportunities for people to develop academically, personally and professionally.

Second, universities would integrate health across disciplines, conduct research into mental health, and collaborate locally and globally on making improvements to their approach to mental health.

A big driver of improved university mental health is a better understanding of the students’ perceived influences, in addition to the medical records provided by counsellors and medical professionals. The American College Health Association uses a comprehensive survey to assess the health of students in the US, and it is available for local use. Universities should consider altering or adding areas to the survey that are relevant to students. Ideally, the responses would be filtered at university, college and programme level, providing feedback on student well-being to staff at each of these management levels.

In addition to the survey, the university should build resources that pertain to student needs. The concept of study ability describes three core areas necessary for students to succeed while at university: personal resources, study skills and study environment. Creating resources that can develop an individual’s well-being, time management, study skills and choice of study environment provides students with the necessary support to succeed, as well as build the soft skills that they need to succeed beyond university. Provision could be at physical locations, with support from professors and staff, but should also be accessible anonymously online.

Additionally, universities should work to embed these skills and knowledge into curricula. A standout example is Yale’s course on happiness, the most popular class in the history of the university.

A big part of what makes a campus’ culture is, of course, the staff. They are in frequent contact with students and help shape their perception of the university. So, it is important that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge of campus resources to contribute to a supportive and health-promoting culture. A number of training programmes can be developed internally, as well as external vendors that provide training to identify and respond to signs of poor health.

While this is valuable, it is also important to improve empathy in faculty and staff. That will build trust with students and create the necessary rapport and dialogue to give students a feeling of support on campus. Creating a workshop that helps faculty and staff use their specialised university health survey to identify the issues that their particular students are facing would be immensely valuable. The workshop would occur at least once a year and would also ensure that faculty and staff were up to date about the resources available to students facing those particular issues, and in a position to encourage students to access them.

Shifting from a reliance on treating mental illness to promoting mental health is a long-term project. But if students have knowledge of and belief in resources to help them develop academically, personally, and professionally, the mental health situation on university campuses will surely improve.

Publicație : The Times

The rise (and possible fall) of university foundation years

In light of the Augar review, universities must make clear the benefits of foundation years to both students and staff, says Bill Rammell

For more than a year, we have been speculating as to the outcome of Philip Augar’s review of post-18 education and funding. We knew that the government wanted to address public mistrust in the student funding system and that a proposal to lower tuition fees was not out of the question. We also knew that the panel had been instructed to keep its proposals cost-neutral, meaning that any reduction in tuition fees would likely be accompanied by less generous rules on student loan repayments.

What we could not have expected, however, was a sudden proposal to scrap university foundation years. Sir Philip Augar and his colleagues diligently consulted the higher and further education sectors as part of his review, but at no stage did he appear to question the value of university-delivered foundation years.

This is extremely troubling, because it gave no opportunity for universities to articulate the value and importance of university foundation years. In the coming months, we must make sure that we do so. As a sector, we must ask ourselves the questions that the panel failed to raise and we must make clear what foundation years are, who they appeal to, why they have risen in popularity and, importantly, what they achieve.

I am proud to lead the University of Bedfordshire, which was one of the first universities to develop an innovative foundation year. Our objectives in doing so were clear. We wanted to create opportunities for those able and motivated to pursue higher education to do so, regardless of their background.

Where we led, many universities followed. In May, the University of Oxford announced that it was launching a year-long foundation course for students who have experienced personal disadvantage or severely disrupted education. Oxford’s initiative was closely followed by a similar announcement from the University of Cambridge, marking perhaps one of the clearest signals that university foundation years have become an integral part of the university offer.

Now, just as university foundation years are rising, the Augar review has proposed their closure. The review recognises the importance of courses that prepare students for university study, however ultimately promotes access to higher education courses, delivered by further education providers, as more appropriate and cost-effective.

The review rightly identifies that the number of foundation year students in England almost tripled between 2012/13 and 2017/18, from 10,430 to 30,030. In stark contrast, the number of entrants to access courses declined from 36,880 to 30,410 over the same period.

As a former minister with responsibility for both HE and FE provision, I am a strong advocate of access courses and I agree with the panel that the decline in students taking these courses is worrying and should be properly understood. However, a rise in access courses does not necessitate a fall in foundation year provision. Indeed, it is hugely beneficial that students have a choice as to whether they want to pursue an access or a foundation year course.

There are real and distinct advantages to foundation year provision, just as there are advantages to access courses. The greatest advantage of foundation years is that they are delivered within universities. This allows students to adapt to the institutional culture and curricula at a particular campus.

Foundation year students can learn and grow alongside existing students. They can explore their interests in particular subjects and learn from others. This can be hugely valuable in building the confidence that they need to enrol in a degree course and to succeed. Indeed, the OfS has noted that foundation years have higher progression and retention rates than access qualifications do.

Of equal value, we must not underestimate the wider impact that offering a foundation year brings to universities themselves. Foundation years make our campuses more diverse and can drive forward real cultural change at our institutions. They make sure that our academics are better equipped to work with a wider range of students, with a greater appreciation of where our students come from and what they have learned before.

The launch of the new foundation year courses at different types of universities reflects a collective commitment to offer choice and opportunity to students from all backgrounds. Degree courses with a foundation year open up the possibility of a university degree to those from diverse and challenging backgrounds, allowing students the time and flexibility to make informed decisions about their future study. It is imperative for future generations that this valuable offer is retained.

Publicație : The Times

Studies stress Australia’s reliance on overseas and Chinese fees

New analyses highlight the risks of over-dependence on single income source

Two studies have highlighted the lopsided state of international student recruitment in Australia and the dependence the country’s universities have developed on tuition fees from China.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne and Tsinghua University have assembled figures from diverse sources to estimate just how much cash Chinese students inject into Australian universities, and where the money goes.

Meanwhile, an analysis by Canberra’s Parliamentary Library has tracked foreign fee flows, following a marked acceleration in international recruitment from 2014. Earnings snowballed from A$4.3 billion (£2.4 billion) in 2013 to A$7.5 billion (£4.2 billion) four years later, increasing overseas students’ contribution to universities’ revenue from 16 to 23 per cent.

Co-author Henry Sherrell said almost two-thirds of the sector’s overall revenue growth between 2015 and 2017 had come from international education. “Clearly, the marginal dollar in additional revenue for a university depends more heavily on overseas students today than in the past,” he blogged.

“Any future slowdown of revenue growth from overseas students will be considerably more difficult to deal with than in the past.”

The Melbourne-Beijing study, published in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, suggests how much of this money comes from Chinese students. The researchers synthesised information about enrolments, cash flows, fee discounts and Chinese disciplinary preferences to estimate earnings from Chinese students in 2010 and 2015.

It found that they had delivered the sector A$2.1 billion (£1.2 billion) in 2015 – A$750 million (£418 million) more than in 2010 – with 94 per cent of the increase going to the high-ranking Group of Eight universities. The Go8 derived 10 per cent of its revenue from Chinese students in 2015, up from 6 per cent in 2010.

More recent figures suggest this dependence has accelerated. According to reports from universities and the New South Wales auditor-general, the University of Sydney and UNSW Sydney each obtained more than 26 per cent of their income from Chinese students last year.

Given that Go8 members are the large research universities, the JHEPM paper says, “there are consequences for research performance and the health of the Australian higher education system as a whole”.

Gwilym Croucher, lead author and a senior lecturer at Melbourne’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education, stressed the need for more analyses of this type in Australia and elsewhere. He said that while the financial flows associated with cross-border research had been well studied, flows from foreign study were less understood.

Dr Croucher cautioned against equating international education with tourism. “While geopolitical and trade issues are important for tourism, the relationship between countries is much more important when people come here for education.

“They spend so much time here. They bring family over. They put roots down and form relationships.”

Publicație : The Times

 

8 iulie 2019

Absolvenţii de la Teologie au depus jurământul de credinţă

 Absolvenţii Facultăţii de Teologie Ortodoxă „Dumitru Stăniloae“ au depus jurământul de credinţă în cadrul unei ceremonii festive, înainte de cursul festiv al promoţiei 2019 având loc şi o slujbă religioasă, în cadrul căreia Părintele Mitropolit Teofan a hirotonit un preot şi a hirotesit trei clerici, membri ai Facultăţii de Teologie Iaşi. Astfel, părintele lect. univ. dr. Roger Coresciuc şi părintele secretar Adrian Cucu au fost hirotesiţi de Mitropolitul Moldovei şi Bucovinei întru iconom stavrofor, iar părintele diacon lect. dr. Sorin Mihalache a primit rangul de arhidiacon.

Absolvenţii Facultăţii de Teologie, secţia Teologie Pastorală, Teologie Asistenţă socială şi Teologie Artă sacră, alături de preoţii profesori şi părinţii acestora au participat apoi la cursul festiv organizat la Centrul de Evenimente „Agora“.

Pe parcursul evenimentului au luat cuvântul preoţi profesori ai Facultăţii de Teologie, dar şi reprezentanţi ai Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“ din Iaşi. De asemenea, în cadrul evenimentului, au fost premiaţi şefii de promoţie şi au fost acordate diplome tuturor absolvenţilor.

„Şeful de promoţie amintea în cuvântul său despre chemarea pe care aţi simţit-o cu toţii acum patru ani, unii mai mult, alţii mai puţin, ca să urmaţi pe Domnul. Este cuvântul pe care l-am ascultat duminica trecută la Dumnezeiasca Evanghelie, Chemarea Apostolilor, «Venţi după Mine», sau ceea ce înainte Domnul, prin gura profetului Ioil, «Veniţi la Mine cu toată inima voastră». Aţi venit la Domnul cu toată inima voastră, cu jumătate de inimă, cu un sfert de inimimă, aţi mai pierdut ceva din inima pe parcurs, unii aţi câştigat ceva din această inimă de-a lungul acestor ani. Singur este Dumnezeu care cunoaşte adâncimile duhului fiecăruia“, a punctat IPS Teofan, Mitropolitul Moldovei şi Bucovinei în cadrul cursului festiv.

Festivitatea de absolvire a studenţilor de la Facultatea de Teologie a fost organizată de Fundaţia Alumni a Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza“ din Iaşi.

Publicație : Ziarul de Iași

 Universitatea Tehnica din Iasi se pregateste pentru constituirea unei platforme topo-cadastrale informatice

Universitatea Tehnica (TUIASI) „Gheorghe Asachi” din Iasi a lansat, la finalul lunii iunie 2019, o noua competitie de granturi interne de tip top-down. Aceasta va avea ca tema: „Constituirea unei platforme topocadastrale informatice pentru imobilul reprezentat de platforma camine studentesti, cantina si baza sportiva, apartinând Universitatii Tehnice «Gheorghe Asachi» din Iasi, Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu”.

Calendarul de desfasurare a competitiei de granturi interne de tip top-down a fost aprobat de catre Consiliul de Administratie (CA) de la Politehnicaieseana. Acesta este: termen depunere propuneri proiecte – 12 iulie, prezentare propuneri proiecte eligibile – 15 iulie, primire contestatii – 16 iulie, raspuns contestatii – 17 iulie, evaluare proiecte – 18 iulie, prezentare rezultate proiecte evaluate    – 19 iulie, primire contestatii – 22 iulie, raspuns contestatii – 23 iulie, prezentare rezultate finale – 24 iulie, contractare – 1 august. Finantarea proiectelor prin granturi interne TUIASI se face prin decizia rectorului. Valoarea grantului intern este de 50.000 lei, iar durata acestuia este de 12 luni.

Granturile sunt instrumente destinate realizarii unor proiecte cu o tema data, identificata la nivelul TUIASI. Valoarea si durata grantului intern, precum si tema identificata sunt propuse de catre conducerea institutiei. Granturile interne se adreseaza resursei umane din cadrul Universitatii, respectiv personalului didactic si de cercetare, studentilor doctoranzi, altor categorii de personal cu activitate dovedita in domeniul temei propuse. Resursa materiala pentru derularea granturilor interne este asigurata de infrastructura existenta în cadrul facultatii/laboratorului de care apartine directorul de proiect.

Publicație : Bună Ziua Iași

 

Edinburgh gives female medical students their degrees – 150 years late

Victorian women who were prevented from qualifying as doctors are finally recognised

L to R: Simran Piya, Megan Cameron, Hikari Sakurai, Violet Borkowska, Mei Yen Liew, Izzie Dighero and Caitlin Taylor collecting the degrees on behalf of the Edinburgh Seven. Photograph: Callum Bennetts/Maverick

Seven women who were among the first females to be admitted to a British university have been awarded posthumous degrees 150 years after they started their studies.

The group, known collectively as the Edinburgh Seven, enrolled to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. But they faced substantial resistance from their male peers and were ultimately prevented from graduating and qualifying as doctors.

Their campaign against their treatment won them national attention and prominent supporters such as Charles Darwin. In 1877, legislation was introduced to ensure women could study at university.

The seven women – Mary Anderson, Emily Bovell, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Sophia Jex-Blake, Edith Pechey and Isabel Thorne – were awarded posthumous honorary bachelor of medicine degrees as part of a ceremony at the university’s McEwan Hall.

Seven female students from Edinburgh Medical School picked up the certificates on their behalf, with the graduation among a number of events being held by the university to honour the achievements of the women.

Simran Paya, a third-year medical student who collected an award on behalf of Jex-Blake, said: “We are honoured to accept these degrees on behalf of our predecessors, who are an inspiration to us all.”

Prof Peter Mathieson, the principal and vice-chancellor at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted to confer the degrees rightfully owed to this incredible group of women.

“The segregation and discrimination that the Edinburgh Seven faced might belong to history, but barriers still exist that deter too many talented young people from succeeding at university. We must learn from these women and strive to widen access for all who have the potential to succeed.”

Publicație : The Guardian

Augar’s understanding of university finance is woefully lacking

Review chair’s comments on ‘discretionary’ funding raise disturbing questions, say Mark E. Smith, Sarah Randall-Paley and Andrew McConnell

July 8, 2019

In his evidence to the Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology on 25 June, Philip Augar emphasised the factual robustness of his report on the future of post-18 funding in England. However, his comments cast further doubt on the basis for his recommendation that tuition fees be reduced to £7,500.

An independent KPMG costing study, prepared for the review under a robust and accepted methodology, indicated that even the cheapest classroom-based courses currently cost £8,800 to deliver. Yet in Augar’s evidence, we were astonished to hear that “further analysis of the data” had “revealed that £8,800 contains a 10 per cent margin called the ‘margin for sustainability and investment’, which is effectively a discretionary provision against future expenditure…In our calculations, therefore, we thought that simply adjusting for this would take the base cost down to £8,000 or just below.”

The MSI is a relatively straightforward concept, although it looks to have been profoundly misunderstood in this instance. It acts as a proxy for the additional revenue that needs to be generated for the provider to be able to invest in future requirements, such as capital. It is not merely a “nice to have”: its removal would have profound implications for the sector’s long-term sustainability.

As long ago as 1997-98, it was recognised that the financial statements of universities do not include the full costs of operating, and the current financial model has been an accepted part of the transparent approach to costing (TRAC) methodology since 2017. It is forward-looking, but based on the audited financial statements and financial forecasts approved by the provider’s governing body. It is certainly not “a discretionary provision against future expenditure”, and Augar’s suggestion of “simply adjusting” costs for it was entirely inappropriate.

It is imperative to discuss cost management while protecting students’ interests and the ability of institutions to support the UK’s government and industry. Under the terms of their registration with the Office for Students, all English universities are required to plan to be financially sustainable. Many will have this obligation under charity law, too, and it is a natural extension of the now-defunct Higher Education Funding Council for England’s official stance that “we normally expect an HEI will make a surplus in line with its financial strategy for sustainability”.

All this is just common sense. It means that students can be confident about the standing of the award they will have on their CVs for life. Capital spend is about simple sustainability, associated with significant positive changes in a number of outcomes, including student and research numbers and research income, for example.

Despite fluxes in the financial health of the sector, the margin hasn’t much changed. In 2013, a Universities UK report indicated that this sustainability margin needed to be about 10 per cent: quite a close match to KPMG’s figure. The report also noted that some private sector firms report targets of 10 per cent or more in order to fund capital investment and to act as a buffer for uncertainty. Given his private sector background, Augar may find that to be of interest; with respect to financial discipline, there is no reason why the public sector should differ from the private sector.

It should also be remembered that new cost pressures, such as pensions and recoveries from research falling even further behind its cost, have ramped up considerably since 2016-17. In May, the OfS released TRAC data showing that university deficits are growing and that, within this, costs exceeded income by a growing margin for publicly funded students in 2017-18. This position is likely to worsen further in 2018-19 as universities face unprecedented cost pressures and wider uncertainties, against a backdrop of growing global competition and Brexit.

The greatest worry is that if Augar’s understanding of the MSI is so far off the mark, how much of the rest of the report is based on such misunderstandings?

Publicație : The Times

Income-contingent loans evangelist eyes Asia and South America

Increasingly popular repayment system eases stress on graduates and governments alike, says Bruce Chapman

Bruce Chapman is on a mission to protect students from debt-hungry creditors, and vice versa.

The father of Australia’s income-contingent loan system, arguably the nation’s most influential higher education export, is on his latest foray to help shield taxpayers from graduates who do not repay their tuition fee loans – and graduates from lenders who demand the impossible.

In the next few weeks alone, he is travelling to Hong Kong, where there is “hunger for a debate about student loans”, said the professor of economics at the Australian National University, and to Brazil to promote the idea he pioneered when Australia adopted the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) in 1989.

Professor Chapman said the benefits of income-contingent loans ranged from the personal – with graduates spared the stress and life-limiting consequences of debt – to the national. Compared with “normal” loans, income-contingent loans save taxpayers significant sums of money while easing constraints on university participation. “In countries with ICLs, the systems have grown substantially,” he said.

Under HECS, since rebadged the Higher Education Loan Programme, the Australian government pays tuition fees in advance and students repay the money through taxation after their annual incomes reach a set threshold – currently A$45,881 (£25,669).

Variations on this approach have been adopted in England, New Zealand and Hungary, with each setting different thresholds, repayment rates and indexation of accumulated debt.

Professor Chapman said four more countries were “on the verge” of establishing income-contingent loan schemes, with Brazil, Colombia and Japan finalising programmes after having passed legislation to implement them. Malaysia announced its own scheme in December and is now consulting on its structure.

Japan already has a partial income-contingent loan scheme available to perhaps 10 per cent of its poorest graduates. Ethiopia, South Korea, Namibia, the Netherlands, Thailand and the US also have hybrid approaches, but Professor Chapman said many of these halfway schemes were poorly designed.

In the US, where about a quarter of graduates have access to income-contingent loans, there are multiple schemes with varying rules. One treats outstanding debt as income after 20 years, leaving some graduates with tax bills that exceed their earnings.

The problems with traditional time-based repayment loans are evident in soaring default rates. Professor Chapman said there were no defaults on income-contingent loans because people lacking the capacity to repay were not required to do so.

By comparison, default rates average about 15 per cent to 20 per cent in Canada and the US, and 50 per cent in Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia and Thailand – with taxpayers rather than finance companies ultimately footing the bill.

Professor Chapman said that even in countries where banks lend the money, governments guarantee it. “All the risks are borne by government,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t pay off a student loan, that’s a problem for the taxpayers.”

While the same is true of income-contingent loans, with estimates that at least 16 per cent of Australian student lending is never repaid, Professor Chapman said governments with such a system are still better off – partly because some graduates eventually repay the money after their circumstances improve, but mainly because compliance costs are much lower.

“In Australia, for every dollar you spend collecting HECS, you raise over $1,000 a year,” he says. “Colombia, Malaysia and Brazil have hundreds of public sector administrators chasing debt.

“Countries use the tax system to collect income tax, and in some cases social security and medical insurance, but not student debt. This major public sector administrative efficiency is not being used.”

Meanwhile, Professor Chapman said the poorest 20 per cent of male graduates faced student debt repayments that are above 40 per cent of their income in Brazil and the US, 50 per cent in the Republic of Ireland and 100 per cent in Colombia and South Korea. Many default, undermining their prospects of borrowing money in the future.

For others, debt erodes independence. Professor Chapman said female Japanese graduates’ debts were often paid by their spouses, because many leave work after marrying, while many South Koreans remain dependent on their parents well into their twenties.

He said there was indirect evidence that debt burden was hampering the development of higher education. “In some countries, survey data suggest that poor people in particular are averse to taking loans – if they haven’t got access to finances, there will be people not going,” he said.

The Australian National University has estimated that more than 15 million people worldwide have benefited from income-contingent loans to date. Professor Chapman said that his team’s modelling suggested that the sky is the limit.

“We’ve looked at it now for about 20 different countries,” he said. “It’s hard to tell a negative story about this.”

Publicație : The Times

EU accused of excluding UK from European Education Area

While some claim UK unfairly ‘left in dark’ outside harmonisation project, other believe situation simply reflects ‘sad fact’ of Brexit

Concerns are growing that the Brexit process is leaving the UK a bystander to the European Union’s development of a European Education Area, with some suggesting that the nation has been unfairly excluded before it leaves the bloc.

Others, however, believe the UK’s status in relation to the key higher education harmonisation initiative simply reflects the “sad fact” of the nation’s impending departure from the EU.

Since the EEA vision was first outlined in 2017, there have been questions about the UK’s involvement. The European Commission’s announcement last month of funding for networks of “European universities”, a key element of the EEA, has brought these questions into focus again.

The EEA, scheduled for implementation by 2025, aims to radically enhance the mutual recognition of higher education and school-leaver qualifications via national legislation; introduce a new EU student card containing academic records, aiding cross-border university applications; double the number of young people participating in the Erasmus+ exchange programme; and set a benchmark for all young people to have a good knowledge of two foreign languages.

In the 17 European university networks that succeeded in winning funding, just three UK universities are involved: Edinburgh, Essex and Warwick. In announcing the funding results, the European Commission tweeted a map of the EEA – without the UK included.

When asked by one Twitter user why the UK was not included in the EEA map despite UK universities being among the successful bidders for European universities funding, the commission’s Twitter account responded that the “continued participation of a UK partner in a European University after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU will depend on whether it leaves in an orderly fashion or not”.

Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities and a professor of law at KU Leuven, warned that the UK was being “excluded” from the EEA by the EU.

He said: “The initial presentation of the EEA as an EU 27 initiative, the graphical presentation of the EEA without the UK, the growing threat of a possible no-deal Brexit and its financial consequences, and the reluctance of non-UK universities to take UK universities on board in European Universities alliances, has led to a very low participation [rate] of UK universities in [the European Universities] initiative.”

A second round of bids for European Universities funding will open later this year.

Professor Deketelaere said he hoped the commission would be “much clearer on the position of UK universities” when it opens that second round.

“As long as the UK is a full member of the EU, it should be fully treated like that, just like all 27 other member states, and not be left in the dark, as is now…the case,” he added.

But Thomas Jorgensen, senior policy coordinator at the European University Association, said it was “nonsense” to suggest that the UK had been improperly excluded from the EEA, given that UK universities were among the successful European universities networks.

The graphic tweeted by the European Commission has been the official map of the EEA since its conception in 2017 and “as the UK is probably leaving [the EU] before the Education Area is supposed to be completed by 2025, the map is not incorrect, just stating a sad fact,” he added.

The EEA will be a key part of the Erasmus+ programme. The UK could opt to join Erasmus+ as an associate member after Brexit if an agreement can be reached with the EU.

Dr Jorgensen said that for countries outside the EU “association to Erasmus would indeed be the cornerstone of participation” in the EEA.

The commission declined to offer a comment.

Publicație : The Times

Hertfordshire history cuts prompt fears for research beyond elite

‘Pockets of excellence’ in non-Russell Group institutions could be emptied, some fear

Fears have been raised for the future of “pockets of research excellence” at non-Russell Group universities as job cuts look set to hit the University of Hertfordshire’s highly rated history department.

A quarter of the dozen academics in Hertfordshire’s history group could be axed as the institution moves to tackle falling student demand and save £250,000.

The university’s proposals include reducing the number of professors in the group from four to two.

In the 2014 research excellence framework (REF), research in Hertfordshire’s history department was ranked first for impact and fifth for overall research quality across the whole of the UK.

Tim Hitchcock, professor of digital history at the University of Sussex, worked in the department from 1997 to 2014.

He described the history group as “uniquely successful in the post-92 sector”, but said he feels the university is now “turning its back” on its research culture and focusing solely on attracting more undergraduates.

The REF provided “powerful opportunities” for small departments to win quality-related (QR) research funding and build something “really special”, he said.

But over the past decade, there has been an “attempt to put the new universities back in their box”, and research excellence is becoming even more concentrated in Russell Group universities, he suggested.

It is getting to “the point where obviously Russell Group institutions should have more funding than the old [polytechnics] because there are no pockets of excellence [to be found beyond the elite]. It’s just part of a longer-term journey for British higher education, which to my mind is in absolutely the wrong direction”, Professor Hitchcock argued.

An academic in the Hertfordshire history group, who wished to remain anonymous, said “morale is on the floor”.

The university’s review does not take account of the money the unit generates through the QR allocation to history or the grant income generated by the department’s academics, the scholar added.

While recognising that the lifting of the student numbers cap has made recruitment “difficult”, the university’s approach for many years had been to use the QR income and the reputational gain provided by the history group to “prove the value of having a centre of excellence”, the academic said. “The fear is that institutions outside those elite will simply decide that having centres of research excellence is something they no longer feel is worthwhile.”

The academic also raised concern that the new REF rules mean that the outputs and impacts of those in the university who are made redundant can still be entered into the exercise, due in 2021.

A spokeswoman for the university said that the School of Humanities had 92 staff and that only three were at “potential risk of redundancy”.

Hertfordshire is “committed to retaining employees wherever possible” and is in discussion with “trade union colleagues to ensure the process is fair and transparent”, she added.

Publicație : The Times