Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Foreign universities offering degrees through Singapore private schools

The Council for Private Education (CPE) in Singapore is a statutory board, set up around 2009, with the legislative power to regulate the private education sector.

Based on CPE data, I compiled the following list of 113 foreign universities/university systems now awarding their CPE-approved degrees through private, for-profit schools in Singapore. 

Since such private schools are commercial entities aimed at maximizing profit, it is the foreign universities' vigilance alone that guarantees the integrity and reputation of their degrees. 

A cautionary case is University of Wales, a confederal university founded in 1893. It was mired in scandals arising out of its lax examination and regulation of its foreign partner schools, including some in Singapore.

Consequently, the university announced in October 2011 a reorganization that effectively abolished University of Wales as an administrative and degree granting entity, creating independent universities out of its constituent parts. (see news reports at the end of this post)

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A similar list of foreign universities that includes also those offering degree programs in partnership with Singapore universities, such as NUS (National University of Singapore) and NTU (Nanyang Technological University), can be found here.

For the list of foreign universities in partnership with Singapore universities, see here and here.

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Foreign universities awarding degrees (approved by the Council for Private Education, Singapore) through private, for-profit educational institutions in Singapore (source)

Rankings of universities are included to give an indication of their reputation and quality.

[Doctorates offered by universities are highlighted thus.]

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UK 
(57 entities)


[23] = [Rank in quality of teaching in Guardian League Table of 120 UK universities] 

(14) = (ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities) rank of top 38 UK universities)


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Founded before 1960

*GOLDSMITHS' COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON [65] (>38, not ranked)

*NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY [26] (9)


*ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC LONDON  [not ranked] (not ranked)

*ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON [39] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN [38] (20-30)

*UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM [30] (10-14)

*UNIVERSITY OF HULL [69] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER [19]  (>38, not ranked)  (Doctor of Education)

*UNIVERSITY OF LONDON  [not ranked] (not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER [41] (5)

*UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD [42] (10-14)

*UNIVERSITY OF WALES  [abolished in 2011] (not ranked)

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Founded 1960-1991


*ASTON UNIVERSITY [27] (>38, not ranked)


*HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY [20] (>38, not ranked)

*LANCASTER UNIVERSITY [7] (20-30)

*LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY [11] (>38, not ranked)

*OPEN UNIVERSITY  [not ranked] (34-38)

*UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD [91] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF BUCKINGHAM [16] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX [50] (34-38)

*UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING [67] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE [34] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK [5] (15-19)

*UNIVERSITY OF YORK [17] (20-30)


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Founded since 1992
including many former polytechnics

*ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY [77] (>38, not ranked)


*BANGOR UNIVERSITY [63] (>38, not ranked)

*BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY [60] (>38, not ranked)

*CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY [66] (>38, not ranked)

*COVENTRY UNIVERSITY [46] (>38, not ranked)

*EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY [75] (>38, not ranked)

*EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY [73] (>38, not ranked)

*KINGSTON UNIVERSITY [95] (>38, not ranked)

*LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY [98] (>38, not ranked)

*LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY [118] (>38, not ranked)
                [barred from sponsoring foreign students in Aug 2012 (see report below)]

*MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY [108] (>38, not ranked)

*MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY [94] (>38, not ranked)

*NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY [55] (>38, not ranked)

*NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY [80] (>38, not ranked)

*OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY [48] (>38, not ranked)

*QUEEN MARGARET UNIVERSITY [73] (>38, not ranked)

*SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY [83] (>38, not ranked)

*STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY [96] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE [103] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON [120] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE [71] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON [115] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN [81] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE [59] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH [88] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE [76] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD [48] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH [61] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH [78] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND [57] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF WALES, NEWPORT  [independent of Univ of Wales; not ranked] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND, BRISTOL [54] (>38, not ranked)

*UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON  [not ranked] (>38, not ranked)

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(To better understand the background of UK universities, see the list of UK universities by date of foundation here.)


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USA
(17 entities)

[33] = [ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities) rank of top 150 American universities]


ARCADIA UNIVERSITY [Not ranked, >150]

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO [Not ranked, >150]

CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY), BARUCH COLLEGE [Not ranked, >150]

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN [Not ranked, >150]

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY [86-109]

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA [110-137]

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY (Boston) [110-137]

OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY [Not ranked, >150]

SALUS UNIVERSITY (Pennsylvania) [Not ranked, >150]

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY [110-137]

WHEELOCK COLLEGE (Boston) [Not ranked, >150]

UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (SUNY Buffalo) [86-109]

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA [44]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD [Not ranked, >150]

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE [138-150]

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - TWIN CITIES [21]

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA [86-109]


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Canada


UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK


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Australia 
(26 entities)

[23] = [2011 ARC Research Rank among 41 Australian universities]

AUSTRALIAN MARITIME COLLEGE (AMC)   [not ranked]

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY [38]

CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY [21]

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY [25]

EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY [30]

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY [24]

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY [11]

JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY [23]  (Doctor of Psychology)

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY [18]

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY [9]

MONASH UNIVERSITY [8]

MURDOCH UNIVERSITY [17]

RMIT UNIVERSITY [19]  (DBA)

SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY [35]  (DBA)


SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY [28]

UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE [7]

UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT [37]

UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA [29]  (PhD, DBA)

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE [15]

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA [19]

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND [31]  (Doctor of Professional Studies)

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY [5]


UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY [13]

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA [6]  (DBA)

UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG [15]

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY [36]

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Ireland


UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN/ NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND


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China

[53] = [Rank by 中国校友会网 (an online group) among 600 mainland Chinese universities]  (details here)

BEIJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY (北京师范大学) [17] 

FUDAN UNIVERSITY (复旦大学) [3]

NANJING UNIVERSITY (南京大学) [6]

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BEIJING UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE (北京中医药大学) [104]

GUANGZHOU UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE (广州中医药大学) [132]

NANJING UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE (南京中医药大学) [184]
                   (Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine)


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Taiwan


NATIONAL CHI NAN UNIVERSITY (國立暨南國際大學)


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Germany


UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES DEGGENDORF


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France


GRENOBLE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

INSTITUT VATEL


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Finland


AALTO UNIVERSITY


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University of Wales abolished after visa scandal

The second-largest university in the country with a 120-year history has been abolished following a visa scandal.

The Telegraph
22 Oct 2011 (source)

The University of Wales (UoW) will cease to exist after mounting pressure to draw a line under a series of damaging revelations. Its chairman Hugh Thomas resigned on Friday.
The university was a federation of institutions across the Principality, and its constituent parts will now go their separate ways.
Two - Newport and Glyndwr, in Wrexham - will become independent universities, while Swansea Metropolitan will merge with Trinity St David, based in Lampeter and Carmarthen.
The move follows allegations about a visa scam and failures to carry out proper checks on foreign colleges accredited by the university to award its degrees.
An investigation revealed last week that overseas students at Rayat London College, in Hounslow, were sold diploma exam answers in advance of taking the test.
The diplomas gave them entry on to UoW MBA degrees, which allowed them to apply for UK visas, and exempted them from most of the work.
The college, and nearby Lampton College where the exams were taken, have been suspended and are being investigated by the UK Border Agency.
The revelations followed a scandal last year when the university, whose chancellor is the Prince of Wales, was forced to cut all ties with a college in Malaysia which awarded UoW degrees when it was revealed that its director Fazley Yaakob, a Malaysian pop star, had bogus qualifications.
Another institution linked to UoW, the Accademia Italiana in Bangkok, was operating illegally, according to Thai authorities.
The findings regarding the overseas colleges led to a damning report from the Quality Assurance Agency which found serious shortcomings in the way the university worked with some of its 130 associated colleges around the world.
It said the university had failed to carry out thorough checks at several overseas institutions and it warned the UoW to review its practices abroad "as a matter of urgency".
Vice-chancellors of other Welsh universities had led calls for the scrapping of the UoW.
The new merged Swansea Met-Trinity university will now take the name "University of Wales: Trinity St David" and inherit what remains of the UoW's network of affiliated colleges.
It will operate under the royal charter of Trinity Saint David, which dates back nearly 190 years.
Over the decades, various colleges have come under the UoW banner, including Cardiff University, which now awards its own degrees.
Past students include the Prince of Wales, who spent a term at Aberystwyth in spring 1969, Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, who met his wife Glenys at Cardiff, and Huw Edwards, the BBC presenter, who also studied at Cardiff.

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University of Wales rapped over links to foreign business school

Times Higher Education
21 June 2011 (source)

A university’s process for the validation of foreign partners has “serious shortcomings” and must be tackled as a “matter of urgency”, a report from the standards watchdog has found.
The Quality Assurance Agency says that the University of Wales failed to stage thorough checks on the new owners of a Singaporean business school that was offering the institution’s degrees.
Students at the Turning Point Business School were left unsupported after the owners disappeared a year after acquiring the college in an unannounced sale.
The QAA investigation found that the university’s vetting procedure had been “too dependent” on assertions made by the owners and had not checked the financial status of the school.
In a summary of its report, the QAA says that “the university’s decision to accept the assertions of the new owners at face value, and not to set in train a more thorough due diligence process…seems culpably credulous”.
As well as looking at the university’s dealings with the business school, the QAA also investigated its links with colleges in Thailand and Malaysia after a BBC Wales programme last year uncovered irregularities.
The QAA says that the vetting of Wales’ partner in Thailand – Accademia Italiana in Bangkok – was inadequate and its validations “flawed”. It adds that there had also been a lack of “due diligence” in vetting the Fazley International College in Kuala Lumpur, which had been run by a Malaysian pop star with a fake doctorate.
Meanwhile, an audit of overseas provision across the sector found problems in the university’s links with another Singaporean institution – TCA College.
And a separate institutional review, also published by the QAA this week, found “weaknesses” in Wales’ external validation processes.
In summarising the reports, the QAA says that “the shortcomings identified are serious and need to be addressed as a matter of urgency”.
Philip Gummett, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, said that the reports “identify a considerable range of serious shortcomings in the university’s central processes and its relations with several partner institutions, and a failure by the university to establish proper control over these matters. There needs to be an urgent and effective response.”
Update
A University of Wales spokeswoman said: "Over the last six months there have been concerns expressed about the validation operations of the University of Wales. The officers of the university have reviewed the validation activity and have come to the view that the current model is no longer fit for purpose and consequently has already imposed a moratorium on all validation developments.
"In order to continue to safeguard standards and the student experience the University of Wales will, in partnership with its proposed merger institutions, develop a new international strategy which is embedded within Wales."
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London Metropolitan University barred from sponsoring foreign students

BBC News, August 30, 2012 (source)



More than 2,000 students potentially face deportation after a London university had its licence to teach and recruit overseas students revoked.
London Metropolitan University has had its right to sponsor students from outside the EU revoked, and will no longer be allowed to authorise visas.
The UK Border Agency says student attendance is not being monitored and that many have no right to be here.
The university said it would be challenging UKBA's claims.
A task force has been set up to help students affected by the decision which means some 2,000 overseas, non-EU, students have 60 days to find an alternative institution to sponsor them or face deportation.
Announcing the move on Wednesday night, the UK Border Agency said London Metropolitan University had "failed to address serious and systemic failings" identified six months ago.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England said it was an "unprecedented situation which relates only to London Metropolitan University" - which has a total of 30,000 students.
It added: "It will not affect existing or future international students at other universities. No other UK university has had its licence to sponsor international students revoked, and UKBA's decision does not in any way reflect concern about licensing arrangements at other universities in the UK."

The university's Highly Trusted Status (HTS) was suspended last month while the UKBA examined alleged failing, preventing it from being allowed to recruit overseas students.
Immigration Minister Damian Green said London Metropolitan University had failed in three particular areas:
* More than a quarter of the 101 students sampled were studying at the university when they had no leave to remain in this country
* Some 20 of 50 checked files found "no proper evidence" that the students' mandatory English levels had been reached
* And some 142 of 250 (57%) sampled records had attendance monitoring issues which meant it was impossible for the university to know whether students were turning up for classes or not.
Professor Malcolm Gillies, the university's vice chancelllor, described the claims made against the institution as "not particularly cogent" and said it would be disputing them.
He said: "I am not going to say that we accept what is stated in the letter sent to us revoking our licence.
"We only received it at 8pm last night and are currently doing a full analysis, working together with the best lawyers in the country.
"I would go so far as to say that UKBA has been rewriting its own guidelines on this issue and this is something which should cause concern to all universities in the UK."
'Panic and heartbreak'
The university added it had already started to work with the UKBA, Hefce, the NUS and its own students' union to tackle the issues.
Although there have been other suspensions, no other UK university has been fully stripped of its ability to recruit overseas students.
The NUS has contacted Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May to "express anger at the way that decisions have been made in recent weeks and to reiterate the potentially catastrophic effects on higher education as a £12.5bn per year export industry for the UK".
NUS president Liam Burns said: "This decision will create panic and potential heartbreak for students not just at London Met but also all around the country.
"This heavy-handed decision makes no sense for students, no sense for institutions and no sense for the country. This situation and the botched process by which the decision was arrived at could be avoided if international students were not included in statistics of permanent migrants."
Mr Burns added the decision could have been limited to future students rather than covering existing ones.
'Last resort'
But the UKBA said allowing London Metropolitan University to continue to sponsor and teach international students "was not an option".
It said it had been working with the university since it identified failings six months ago.
It added: "These are problems with one university, not the whole sector. British universities are among the best in the world - and Britain remains a top-class destination for top-class international students.
"We are doing everything possible, working with Universities UK, to assist genuine students that have been affected."
Universities Minister David Willetts has announced a task force to help overseas students affected by the decision, which will include UKBA and the NUS.
He said: "It is important that genuine students who are affected through no fault of their own are offered prompt advice and help, including, if necessary, with finding other institutions at which to finish their studies."
But Universities UK President Professor Eric Thomas said there were alternative ways of addressing UKBA's concerns and that the "revocation of a university's licence should only be a decision of last resort".
It added that the move would cause anxiety and distress to many legitimate international students.
University and College Union warned that the move would have an impact on future recruitment of foreign students.
ts general secretary Sally Hunt said: "No matter how this is dressed up, the damaging message that the UK deports foreign students studying at UK universities will reach all corners of the globe."
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Analysis: Overseas students in the UK
With increased competition and pressure on funding, many UK universities have looked to the lucrative overseas student market.
This is because overseas, non-EU, students pay higher fees than home students.
In 2010-11, there were a total of 48,580 overseas undergraduates and 79,805 overseas postgraduates.
With regard to the key UK undergraduate population, it represents about 11% of the total.
But this translates to 32% of universities' fee income.
Overall they contribute an estimated £5bn a year to the economy in terms of fees and wider spending.
Universities UK says this could increase to £16.9bn by 2025.
But it has warned that moves to tighten visa rules will hit the ability of UK universities to recruit foreign students.
The NUS and academics union, UCU, also fear that taking such a tough stance with London Metropolitan will send a damaging message to bona fide potential students eyeing UK universities from abroad.
However, the UKBA says London Metropolitan has failed to carry out basic procedures tracking the status and activities of its overseas students.
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London Met's future at stake as 2,500 students face deportation



The Independent, August 31, 2012 (source)


Britain's reputation as a world-class centre for higher education faces irreparable damage, the Government was warned last night, as more than 2,500 foreign students fought desperately to avoid deportation after their visas were suddenly cancelled.


The students, who have been given 60 days to find alternative courses or be forcibly removed from the UK, were all enrolled at London Metropolitan University, which was dramatically stripped of its right to teach all non-European Union foreign students after the Border Agency said it was failing to comply with visa rules.

Stranded students said they were being treated unfairly after being given permission to come to the UK to study and paying tens of thousands of pounds in fees and costs for the chance to do so. The Government has moved to set up a task force of business and education bodies to identify genuine students and try to help them enroll elsewhere. But London Met may still face mass legal action from aggrieved students seeking refunds in the tens of millions of pounds, lawyers have warned.

Concerns were also raised that the Government's determination to crack down on immigration could impact on the finances of other universities reliant on the higher fees paid by foreign students to balance their books.

The vice-chancellor of London Met, Malcolm Gillies, warned that the future of the university, which has 30,000 students, is at stake, because the punishment for its immigration failures could blow a £30m hole in its budget.

Foreign students bring an estimated £12.5bn in to the UK economy every year. "No matter how this is dressed up, the damaging message that the UK deports foreign students at UK universities will reach all corners of the globe," said Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union. "The last thing we can afford to do is send the message that international students are no longer welcome."

UK Border Agency staff claimed one in four of London Met's overseas students (26 out of a sample of 101) did not have valid visas, 142 out of 250 had "attendance problems" and 20 out of 50 interviewed had limited English.

The university, which denied the claims, said it was "disappointed" with the "unnecessary action" with Professor Gillies adding: "We believe it is out of proportion even in terms of the evidence presented to us."

Fellow vice-chancellors united in condemnation of the UKBA. Professor Eric Thomas, chairman of Universities UK, which represents UK vice-chancellors, said: "The UK Border Agency's decision to revoke London Metropolitan University's licence [to teach overseas students] will cause anxiety and distress to those many legitimate international students studying at London Met and their families."

Professor Thomas, vice-chancellor of Bristol University, added: "We believe that there were alternative ways of addressing UKBA's concerns and that revocation of a university's licence should only be the option of last resort."

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said it had expressed "anger at the way in which decisions had been made" by the Home Secretary Theresa May and the Immigration minister Damian Green. He added that it would have a "potentially catasthrophic" impact.

Chris Bryant, Labour's immigration spokesman, said the decision would bring "lasting damage to the international reputation of the UK university system which brings billions into the UK economy every year".

Edward Wanambwa, a leading lawyer and head of immigration at Russell-Cooke solicitors, warned the university could be sued for "millions of pounds" as overseas students sought to recoup course fees they had already parted: "Unless the university can very quickly overturn the decision in the High Court, it faces the prospect of being sued for tens of millions of pounds – not to mention having to repay some or all of the fees paid by international students. It seems quite likely given the approach being taken that similar decisions will be threatened or taken against other institutions in the near future."


Teaching overseas: Students visa rules

Institutions which want to welcome students from outside the EU must first gain a licence from the UK Borders Agency, which must verify them as "Highly Trusted Sponsors". In 2011, the Home Secretary made the requirements more stringent and introduced a maximum number of students each could sponsor. Students can apply to these institutions to study English courses above a minimum standard as well as courses of degree standard and above on a "Tier Four" visa.

The rules state they can come to the UK for up to three years to study and can stay up to four months afterwards. Anyone who wants to stay longer must apply for a separate visa. UKBA guidance says a student is "allowed to spend no more than three years in the UK studying below UK Bachelors degree level in his/her lifetime".


"My family has spent £60,000 on my studies"

Phuntsok Tsering, 26, from India, studying architecture

"I have invested six years in this country. I did my undergraduate degree here and have come back to continue as a postgraduate. We were given a list of other schools that would take us: Westminster is the only good one and they've just told me it's full.

"My family has spent £60,000 on my studies. I am stressed out about it, and have not told them yet – they will come to know through the news. There are students who bend the rules but for us genuine students it is totally unfair. I have a year left to study and now I will just have to make do. [If not], they are not going to refund me for the time I have spent here. We blame the UK Borders Agency because, if they were sure, they could have told us six weeks ago. Most of the international students are not aware, they are on holiday still. It is only on the university's website, they didn't even email us."

"The UKBA has not made the right decision"

Camila Alvarez, 25, from Brazil, studying marketing

"This is humiliating for us. We are here legally and have gone through a strict procedure to get into Britain. We have been told that our visas are no longer valid and we only have 60 days to find another sponsor. Of course, we cannot blame the students directly but they are not supposed to be here. If the university is aware of the rules, it should be putting in place rigorous checks. The UKBA has not made the right decision."

"I'm worried about finding another place to study"

Babatunde Hamzat, 23, from Lagos in Nigeria, is studying for a business degree

"I have to look for another school. I am worried because it is difficult to find somewhere that is a good place to go if we are potentially illegal residents here. I still have three years to go until my course ends and I have only two months to find something. I have paid £6,200 already, I have to pay another £10,000 this month to guarantee a place: I don't even know where that will be yet."



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India's UGC to let only top 500 foreign universities enter India


The Times of India
June 12, 2012 (source)

****
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to rein in fly-by-night operators who have set up shops in India, the Universities Grants Commission (UGC) has made its approval mandatory for all collaborations between foreign and Indian educational institutions. The new regulations approved by the UGC on Saturday give existing institutions six months to get approval.**U**

The UGC has also laid down dual criteria to ensure that quality academic institutions are allowed to run joint degree or twinning courses. Only those foreign institutions will be allowed to collaborate who figure in the top 500 of the Times Higher Education World University Ranking or the Shanghai Jiaotong ranking.

The Indian varsities should have received the highest accreditation grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) to be eligible for a tie-up with a foreign institution.


"We would like only quality academic institutions to establish programmes here to protect students' interests. We will issue a public notice and also put up a list on our website detailing approved institutions so that students are not duped," Prof Ved Prakash, UGC acting chairman, said.
The guidelines come at a time when the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations Bill) 2010 has been pending before Parliament for the past two years. There has been growing concern in recent years that fake foreign varsities were duping students. Now, over 600 foreign education institutions operate in the country.
The UGC put its plan to allow foreign universities to set up campus on hold after a large number of members felt that there was need for greater deliberations. "It was felt that there was need for more detailed deliberations with statutory councils from different areas of study, including technical, medical, law and architecture,'' said Prakash.
Factfile
* Foreign education institutions have increased from 144 (2000) to 631 (2010)
* The maximum number were from the UK (158), followed by Canada (80) and the US (44)
* Of the 60 foreign education providers, who have programme collaboration with local institutions, only 25 local institutions were affiliated to Indian universities or approved by regulatory bodies
* Only 32 of the 49 foreign institutions operating under twinning arrangements have approval or affiliation
The new regulations approved by UGC:
* Only those foreign institutions that figure in the top 500 of global ranking by Times Higher Education World University Ranking/Shanghai Jiaotong university can enter into collaboration
* Only those Indian institutions which have been given the highest grade by NAAC, NBA can partner a foreign institution

* Indian partner has to seek UGC approval or face withdrawal of grant or recognition 

* Existing institutions have to get UGC approval within six months****

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