Search

Anticipates that efforts made by such scholars as Kimmo Koskenniemi at the University of Helsinki in Finland may allow computers to someday become translators. Koskenniemi, a professor of computational linguistics, who developed the language-analysis program with Fred Karlsson, a professor of general linguistics; Obstacle of ambiguity; Humans, not being replaced by new programs but using them as tools.

Discusses how universities in Nordic countries are stepping up their efforts to attract female students to programs in mathematics, science, and technology. The program designed specifically for female students at the University at Lulea in Sweden; The opportunities for freshmen students at the five universities in Finland; Comments from Ann Eriksson, a second-year student in a program for women only.

Examines complaints of sexual harassment at Swedish universities. The case of a student being sexually harassed by a professor at the Royal University College of Music; Statistics on sexual harassment at the University of Stockholm; The policies adopted by institutions.

Examines the Rome, Italy campus of the University of Dallas. The opening of a campus in 1994; Comments from Wayne Ambler, academic director of the Rome program; The courses offered; What the program includes; The history of the Rome program; Other United States institutions that offer study programs in Italy.

Looks at the European Journalism Network. United-States based non-profit organization as setting up independent newspapers produced by and for students in Eastern Europe and several former Soviet republics; Reports of political corruption and abuses of power as attracting the attention of authorities; Examples of conflict between the government and campus administrators; Students as suspicious of an independent student newspaper.

Discusses corruption and nepotism in Italian universities. Charges against eight professors of medicine; The 1994 conviction of two members of a national commission responsible for appointing professors; The need for reform shared by educators and government; The political nature of higher education in Italy; Reform efforts and the support they receive from most professors.

Discusses the business and management schools that are flourishing in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics since the collapse of one-party Communist rule. The opening of an estimated 1,000 schools; Criticism of the schools, many of which are proprietary; Multinational companies in Eastern Europe using the schools to train their local managers; The work of the Central and East European Management Development Association.

Reports on the status of women's-studies programs in the former Communist states of Eastern Europe. The popular attitudes toward studying or organizing around women's issues; Areas where women's-studies courses and programs have been established, including Warsaw University in Poland; Jirina Siklova's Gender Studies Center in Prague; Why women's studies is taking hold in Eastern Europe in a different way than did those in the United States; The Network of East-West Women.

Reports on the condition of higher education in Eastern Europe as of 1996. How educational reforms have not matched economic reforms; The need for fundamental structural reform; The use of outdated teaching and learning methods still practiced; The use of Romania as role model.

Praises two highly respected universities in Eastern Europe in 1996. The Graduate School of Social Research in Warsaw, Poland; Its approach to education; Its reputation as a model for new learning institutions in Eastern Europe; The Palacky University in Olomouc in the Czech Republic; Its winning of the 1996 Hannah Arendt Prize; The traditional approach used.

States that twelve universities in Scandinavia are exploring how they might use the Internet and videoconferencing systems to share classes, collaborate on research, and administer joint programs. The project called Virtual Sound University being a part of the effort known as Oresund University Network; Benefits of such a combined system; Comments from Ove Noren, a guiding member of the effort; What spurred the idea for the collaboration.

Discusses an international conference for alumni and officials of the Fulbright academic-exchange program at which they promised to step up efforts to insure the program's future. Concern because the United States is sharply cutting its contribution to the program; Comments from various persons on the benefits that the Fulbright academic-exchange program has brought to their countries.

States that the University of Copenhagen has adopted a plan to focus its research activities on biotechnology, the environment, and north-south cooperation. Plan as a response to a call from Frank Jensen, the Minister of Research and Information Technology, for universities to define and concentrate on their areas of strength; Plan proposed by Kjeld Mollgard; Positive and negative response of faculty and others to the plan.

Discusses how Bosnia's universities are struggling to repair their facilities after three and a half years of war. View that the West is not offering enough help; Factors that have contributed to a sudden influx of students; Extent of damages; How the Dayton Peace Accords divided the country into two entities; Admission of Bosnia into TEMPUS, the European Union's East-West program of university cooperation; Hindrances to modernization of the university system.

Describes the `Orava Project,' a teacher-training project developed by Kurtis S. Meredith and Jeannie L. Steele of the University of Northern Iowa. Training of Slovakian teachers in new educational techniques; Previous reliance on very traditional teaching techniques in Slovakia; Computer network resources linking the program in Slovakia to the university in Iowa; How the program was initiated; Bureaucratic obstacles and the volatile political situation in Slovakia.

Reports about the circumstances of Bosnian students in foreign universities. Survey of Bosnian students in Australian universities; Call by Bosnian educators for the return of exiled students; Concerns of students of prospects in Bosnia; Opinion of George Soros, Hungarian-American financier; Meeting of Bosnian students and educators in Austria.

Discusses the growing interest of scholars in Poland in Jewish studies after the end of communism in the nation. Background of Jewish studies in Poland; Jewish population in the nation and their social and religious status; Details of the studies on the subject.

Reports on efforts of universities in Europe, which are traditionally supported by the state, to seek new sources of money. Comments from Joseph Maria Bricall, president of the Association of European Universities; Decline in the level of spending per student; Possible employment of commercial activities by universities; Tuition as a source of significant revenue.

Discusses challenges faced by student refugees from Bosnia in trying to pursue their studies in other countries. Efforts of several organizations to help Bosnian students in different parts of the world; Austria as the most popular destination for the students; Problems in getting visas.

Reports on discussions among Dutch lawmakers and educators on how to reform the higher education system in the Netherlands. Failure of a plan to shorten the length of study; Possible tuition fee increases with corresponding change in student loan systems.

Features the restoration of the National and University Library of Bosnia-Hercegovina and the rebuilding of its collection. Obliteration of the country's multicultural roots; Rebuilding of the collection through Enes Kujundzic's supervision; Establishment of the Open Society Fund supported by George Soros; Use of electronic-mail links for contact outside of Sarajevo.

Reports on unease among teachers in Western Europe of governments' efforts to assess their competence and effectivity. Assertions that quality review should be in the hands of `autonomous bodies of higher education'; Conference of European Rectors; Difficulty of measuring the quality of teaching, as compared with the quality of research; Linkage of quality of teaching with government funding.

The article highlights a German language program at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. that focuses on a more culturally-oriented approach to language learning. The author states that following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York City, many perceived that Americans were ignorant of other cultures. The author also discusses a movement toward changing foreign language departments in colleges and universities that better incorporate various aspects of culture, including religion, media, and literature.

The article discusses a decision in a U.S. federal court to uphold a restriction by President George W. Bush that restricts academics traveling to Cuba. The scholars who brought the suit are members of the Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel and were represented by lawyer Robert L. Muse. They argued that the prohibition obstructed academic freedom and have plans to appeal the decision. Any institution that wishes to send faculty or students to Cuba must first obtain permission from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control to do so. Judge Ellen S. Huvelle decided that since the government created the restriction to hasten the downfall of the communist government there, the rule is justified.

The article discusses a report issued by the Institute for Higher Education Policy that found that while college enrollment in many countries is increasing, government aid to education is not and so private financing has become more popular. In Europe, Latin America, and Africa there are still many free public universities and attempts to raise tuition have been met by protests. Private funding was used more in middle-income countries than in countries with a wealthier population. The economy of the country is a large factor in that some countries with stronger economies need more college graduates.

The article reports that Bolivian scholar Waskar T. Ari Chachaki has received a visa to work in the United States more than two years after he was hired to teach at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and several months after the university sued the federal government to let him into the United States. The government has never given Mr. Ari, or the university, an explanation of why it refused to give him a visa for two years, or why it decided to grant him one now, prompting academic rights-advocates to claim the Bush administration had political reasons for the denial.

The article discusses a study abroad opportunity that is provided to undergraduate students at Hofstra University who are interested in European public policy. Students visit 11 countries in 10 weeks and fill their time by interviewing policy makers, journalists, or citizens, taking classes on the road, and doing required reading. Student Katlyn Maze said that the visit to the Terezin concentration camp in the Czech Republic was the most powerful thing that she experienced. Dr. Linda A. Longmire is the director of the program and says that it provides many opportunities for learning.

The article reports that legislative discussions are ongoing to improve the international higher education program in the U.S. Very few American students choose to study abroad because they fear not meeting their U.S. school's graduation requirements. U.S. representatives and senators would also like to see low income, minority and community college students' participation in the program. Foreign study is recognized as a beneficial learning experience and foreign interns into the U.S. are encouraged as well.

The article looks at foreign academics who have been barred from coming to the U.S. Tariq Ramadan, a well-known European Islamic intellectual, was hired by the University of Notre Dame for an endowed chair at the Joan B. Kroc Institute from International Peace Studies. U.S. authorities abruptly canceled his visa and prevented him from taking the job. A government spokesman invoked a provision of the U.S. Patriot Act, allowing authorities to bar anyone who endorses or espouses terrorist activity. Ramadan had made contributions to European groups providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians. The article also discusses the barred entry of Bolivian historian Waskar T. Ari, Canadian-Algerian physicist Karim Meziane, and Cuban scientist Vicente Verez-Bencomo.

The article focuses on a report released by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) entitled "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World." The report recommends that foreign-language teaching at American colleges and universities, which traditionally follows a pattern of grammar, vocabulary, and literature courses, be replaced by interdisciplinary language programs that contain more cultural content. Interdisciplinary classes would allow students to become more integrated into the global environment. The article also discusses the implications of the recommended changes for the structure of language departments.

The article reports that Middle East scholars are protesting the arrest of Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, by Iranian authorities in Iran. American scholars fear that the move could lead to the isolation of intellectuals in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government arrested her because the country's Intelligence Ministry believed that she was seeking to promote a "soft" revolution against the Islamic government.

The article discusses how tensions between the United States and Iran are creating some problems between the two countries' scholarly endeavors. The article explains that the American Chemical Society decided to reverse a decision it made to expel its members in Iran. According to the article the 36 Iranian members will instead be denied two benefits, which include the group's career development service, and reduced-price admission to the society's twice yearly national meetings. The article also reports that Haleh Esfandiari, a prominent Iranian-American academic, was imprisoned in Tehran, Iraq, for making what the Iran government called "false confessions." Esfandiari was interrogated by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence after she applied for replacement Iranian travel documents.

The article discusses the perception that as tuition is being introduced, or raised, at publicly supported university systems around the world, more people are embracing the concept that college rankings can help consumers get the best value. According to James P. Merisotic, president of the research group the Institute for Higher Education Policy, national college ranking systems have been established in at least 20 countries around the world, and more are expected in the future. Merisotic explains that most of these college ranking systems are compiled by newspapers or periodicals. The article reports that many of these college ranking systems use varying combinations of measures, including an institution's reputations, research output, resources, and student's test scores.

The article discusses actions by regional college accrediting bodies in the United States. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission withdrew accreditation from Lewis College of Business in Detroit, a historically black two-year institution because of failure to provide information on its financial state and administrative procedures. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities placed Northern Marianas College on probation because of unstable leadership.

The article reports that the U.S. Academic Competitiveness Council has found that federal aid to education does not improve science and mathematics education. The group was led by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and was created by the U.S. Congress in 2005. The report found no correlation between improvement in student performance and the spending. The agencies receiving funding submitted reports but, upon evaluation, the committee decided that the activities had little scientific value. The report called for more assessment of student competencies and for more cooperation between the agencies.

The article reports that Ithaca College has suspended its use of the School for International Training, an independent provider of study-abroad programs. The move came after an Ithaca student complained about her treatment when she was studying in Kingston, Jamaica, in a program organized by the private nonprofit group. The School for International Training is one of four outside providers of study-abroad programs to Ithaca. College officials said that the suspension was temporary, and that they hoped to resume using the group after receiving adequate guarantees of the safety of future students.

The article reports that the United States Education Department has reached an impasse in negotiations with accreditors and college officials. The groups have reached a stalemate over two areas of controversy: government proposals to require accreditors to set standards for what students should learn and to make it harder for colleges to reject credits that transfer students earn at institutions without regional accreditation. Agreements have only been reached on two minor issues out of twelve areas of accreditation regulations the government wants to change.

The article reports that the University of Nebraska at Lincoln has sued the United States government to try to force it to respond to a petition the institution filed as part of the process of hiring a Bolivian historian. In June 2005, the university submitted a visa petition on behalf of the historian, Waskar Ari Chachaki, whom Nebraska had hired for as an assistant professor of history and ethnic studies, to begin that fall. The petition simply seeks to establish that Mr. Ari has the professional qualifications to apply for a visa for the job.

The article reports that accrediting institutions have successfully pushed back a proposal by the United States Education Department that called for the groups to set minimum standards of "student achievement" at the colleges they oversee. Accrediting groups have complained that the department has tried to impose broad requirements on them when federal recognition of the groups comes up for renewal. The changes came after the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education suggested the current accreditation system be dismantled.

The article reports that the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is trying to promote a strong accreditation system to improve teacher training and to ward off possible government moves to impose new public-school teaching standards. The system will involve one accreditor for all teacher-training colleges, a measure that caused criticism from those who claimed it favored the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education over a younger rival group, the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, which was created in 1997.

The article reports that the Indian government delayed approving the projects of dozens of Fulbright scholars for months and has rejected some projects without explanation, a practice that observers believe is an attempt to force the scholars to change their research topics. The research subjects that were rejected without explanation by the Indian government include studies of language ideologies in the schools of Mumbai, India's financial capital, to which millions of Indians from other states migrate, democratization in Kerala, and Muslim women's perceptions of the role of women in society.

The article reports that federal Judge J. Owen Forrester of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia made a ruling in a case between Hiwasee College a two-year Methodist institution in Madisonville, Tennessee, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which withdrew accreditation from the school due to lack of adequate financial resources. While Forrester rejected most of Hiwassee's arguments, he stated that a member of the accreditor's Appeals Committee that heard the college's unsuccessful challenge to its loss of accreditation had a conflict of interest and gave them ten days to respond.

The article discusses the document "Realizing the Rice-Chertoff Vision: A National-Interest-Based Visa Policy for the United States," which states that the United States government has failed to follow through on a joint announcement issued in January 2006, by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. In that announcement, called "The Rice-Chertoff Joint Vision: Secure Borders and Open Doors in the Information Age," the two secretaries promised, among other things, smarter screening procedures that would make the process of entering the United States faster and smoother for most visitors. The "Realizing the Rice-Chertoff Vision" is an attempt by foreign scholars, students and others to improve visa-approval procedures.

The article reports on an honors course titled "Modern Political Satire," offered at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The professor, Rachael Paine Caufield, warns students that they should be prepared to be exposed to materials that may offend them. Caufield briefly references historical satirists, but focuses on modern events, stating that satire can be effective only if its consumers have an understanding of the social and political context it attacks. Readings include "Thank You for Smoking," by Christopher Buckley, and Joseph Heller's "Catch-22." Assignments include a group presentation, several writing projects, and a creative satire project.

The article looks at the syllabus for the freshmen seminar "Human Ability: Unplugged," at the College of New Jersey. According to the article, the course is one of the few liberal-arts courses in the U.S. where students with intellectual disabilities study alongside typical students. The course examines the portrayal of mental disabilities in literature and film. In addition, middle-aged developmentally impaired people are invited to speak to the class and are interviewed by small groups of students who produce short oral histories about them. Comments from Jerry G. Petroff, an assistant professor of special education who helped set up a liberal-arts certificate program for students with cognitive impairments, are presented.

The article reports on a controversy over an unauthorized sign on a student center at the City College of New York. Two small, registered student groups use the center, identified by the sign as the "Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community and Student Center." The "Daily News" tabloid protested the sign, calling its namesakes terrorists. Morales was arrested on bomb-making charges in 1978 and Shakur, born Joanne Chesimard, was convicted of killing a New Jersey State trooper in 1973. Supporters consider the two to be heroes in the struggle for the rights of the poor and racial minorities, but university officials called the sign inappropriate and removed it immediately.

The article reports on the decision by Randolph-Macon Woman's College, in Lynchburg, Virginia, to become a co-educational institution and change its name to Randolph College. Male students will be admitted for the first time in the college's history beginning with the fall, 2007, semester. Though students and others have protested the decision, school officials say admitting men is the only way to stem dropping enrollments and save the college. One retired faculty member objected to the chosen name, as she did not have a high opinion of John Randolph, for whom the college was named.

The article looks at actions taken by regional accrediting bodies. Bishop State Community College, a historically black two-year public institution in Mobile, Alabama, was placed on probation for six months. The accreditor cited violation of several standards, including those covering the integrity of student records, governance and administration, and educational programs. Huntingdon College, a United Methodist institution in Montgomery, Alabama, was removed from two-year probation after it convinced the accreditor that it had overcome its financial problems.

The article looks at how a group represented specialized accreditors has written to the U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, to protest what it sees as arbitrary and inconsistent moves by the Education Department to change the rules governing them. The letter of complaint was sent by Cynthia A. Davenport, executive director of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors. The letter says the Education Department endeavored to force accreditors to adopt more stringent standards in areas such as facilities and student learning.

The article presents a syllabus for the course Miracles, at the University of Notre Dame. The course has created some controversy, as a press release from the university mocked secular explanations for miracles. The professor for Miracles, John C. Cavadini, believes in a spiritual explanation for miracles, but says the course focuses more on the historical approaches to miracles from the classical period through the Enlightenment and modern times and theological movements. A reading list and list of assignments is presented.