The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 2 May 2013.
US: Best and worst colleges for return on investment
US college applicants who want to make sure their tuition fees bring a good ROI may be interested in Payscale’s new annual College Education ROI Rankings. For the second year running, Harvey Mudd College tops the list, followed by California Institute of Technology, Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CBS News reports. The ranking is based on an assessment of cumulative earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree over a 30-year period, after subtracting tuition fees.
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Japan: Government plans scholarships for short-term study abroad
The Japanese government has announced plans to provide scholarships for students to spend a short time studying abroad in between high school and university, The Japan Times reports. The scheme is designed to help students fill the extra time created if Japanese universities move their academic calendar to match that of countries across most of the rest of the world – this would mean students graduating from high school in March, and starting university the following September.
Canada: Small universities form new alliance
Four of Canada’s smaller universities are joining together to raise awareness about the benefits of studying at a small institution, The Gazette reports. Bishop’s University, Mount Allison University, Acadia University and St. Francis Xavier University are calling themselves the U4 League – an alternative to the U15 group of large, research-intensive universities. The U4 alliance may involve collaborations on course offerings, exchanges and research, as well as focusing on spreading awareness about the student experience they offer.
Global: Coursera launches first free online teacher training courses
Online course platform Coursera has announced its first online professional development courses for school teachers, BBC News reports. One of the largest MOOC platforms, Coursera will host material from several universities’ departments of education, as well as from institutions such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art and San Francisco’s Exploratorium. Coursera representatives said they hoped the courses would “support millions of teachers around the world... by opening up access to some of the best resources out there, free of cost.”
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China: Government to support 50,000 international students by 2015
By 2015, the Chinese government says it plans to provide support for about 50,000 international students, and to be Asia’s leading study destination by 2020, Women of China reports. In 2012, China was host to around 320,000 overseas students, most coming from South Korea and the US. Liu Jinghui, secretary-general of the China Scholarship Council, said raising awareness about Chinese universities in European countries will be a key priority.