The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 11 January 2013.
Australian Dental Association calls for cap on dentistry student numbers
Australia’s universities are producing too many dental graduates, the Australian Dental Association has warned, leaving many potentially unable to find work, reports The Age. The association recommends that caps should be applied to the number of students allowed to study the subject. Caps on student numbers at Australian universities were lifted in 2012, allowing institutions to recruit as many students as they see fit.
MacBook vending machine installed at Drexel University
At Drexel University in Philadephia, students can now take out MacBooks from a vending machine in the library, reports Cult of Mac. The dispenser, which contains 12 MacBooks, allows students to take the devices out for five hours at a time, with a US$5 late fee applying for every hour after this. The machines are wiped clean after use, and the batteries are charged. The university is considering using iPads instead of MacBooks in future vending machines.
Number of first-class degrees awarded in UK has tripled in 13 years
Over the past 13 years, the number of first-class degrees handed out by British universities has tripled, with an increase of 16% occurring over the past 12 months alone, official figures show. The number of students achieving the highest possible grade stood at 61,605 in 2012. Though this is partly ascribable to higher student numbers, the percentage of students achieving firsts has gone up as a faster rate than the total student population. In order to allow for greater differentiation, students at most universities will be offered more detailed breakdowns of their marks, reports The Telegraph.
Mass cheating discovered at Indian university
Large scale cheating has been uncovered at a Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) test center in Banglore, reports The Hindu. A surprise investigation found that students were copying from textbooks and using mobile devices to look up answers, while invigilators stood by. The center at which the testing took place has been taken off the list used by the university. No other centers used by KSOU have been implicated in the scandal.
Study shows that US universities are not gaining from increased tuition prices
A survey conducted by Moody’s Investors Service has found that universities and colleges in the US, except for the most prominent, are not profiting from increased sticker prices (tuition fees before aid is taken into account), reports Inside Higher Ed. A third of universities are even expecting the amount of money they raise through tuition fees to fall or rise at rate below inflation in coming years, with increased competition for students leading many to hand out more financial aid, offsetting any gains they may have made from increased tuition.
