Higher Edge: Institutions: Publications: Not-So-Foreign©, Volume 7, Issue 22

Not-So-Foreign^©
A Bulletin for International Education Professionals
Volume 7, Issue 22; June 4, 2008

The PDF version of this week's issue can be found here.

1) THE PLAYING FIELD – Scottish students to get grants for studying abroad
2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - U.K. university opens in Australia
3) OVER THE COUNTER - More foreign students disappear in Hungary

1) THE PLAYING FIELD – Scottish students to get grants for studying abroad

In a bid to boost student mobility rates, the Scottish government is planning to introduce a scheme to provide grants to students for studying abroad. For instance, if a Scottish student received a place at Harvard University, the government would pick up the tuition fee of nearly £17,650 ($ 34,500). Based on the outcome of a feasibility study, a pilot portable student support scheme will be set up from the academic year 2010-11. The study is part of the government's plan to increase the number of Scottish students studying abroad.
According to recent figures from Erasmus, Europe's biggest facilitator of student exchanges, for every two international students coming to Scotland to study only one Scottish student heads to universities on the continent. The cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, Fiona Hyslop, said the new scheme could remove one of the major barriers to student mobility. "We believe universities at home and overseas have a vital role to play in creating a smarter, more prosperous Scotland," she said. "We also believe that access to education should be based on the ability to learn, not to pay. This government has already shown real commitment to supporting students studying in Scotland. I also want to look at how we make it easier for students in Scotland to take up such courses."

Source: "Scottish students to get grants for studying abroad,"
Sunday Herald, June 4, 2008

2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - U.K. university opens in Australia

University College London (UCL) will set up a department in Australia, said to be the first U.K. university campus in the country. The School of Energy and Resources will begin work in Adelaide, South Australia next year. With globalization and the growing demand for higher education, U.K. universities have set their sights abroad. The University of Nottingham has already opened a campus in China. UCL, which signed an agreement with the government of South Australia this week, says that the new department in Adelaide will teach 60 students on a two-year master degree.

Source: "UK university opens in Australia,"
BBC News, May 30, 2008

3) OVER THE COUNTER - More foreign students disappear in Hungary

Hungarian universities are being duped by foreign "students" who disappear as soon as they enter the country. Pécs University - as well as the Hungarian immigration authorities - were recently stunned by 21 Chinese students who were accepted to the university only to arrive and then quickly disappear, reports daily Népszabadság. According to the portal, very often citizens from some countries in Asia and Africa apply to short-term language programs in order to receive student visas. Later, these individuals ditch the courses and head to other European countries. Pécs University has had a similar experience in the past with deceptive applications from Indian and Bangladeshi students in 2004.

Source: "More foreign students mysteriously "disappear" in Hungary,"
All Hungary News, May 6, 2008