Why Students Use Agents?

There are big differences around the world in the reasons why students turn to education agents for university and student visa applications, with use of agents highest in regions and countries where there is less familiarity with the target education system. Language issues are also important, a new study by the British Council has found.

Analysis of 131,000 student responses, or 30,000 responses each year since 2007 gathered by the British Council for its just-released Student Insight report , found students in Europe were the least likely to use an education agent for assistance in applying for a university place while students in East Asia are most likely to commission their services.In Latin America and Africa, use of education agents varies more broadly from country to country.

"Prospective students and their parents view agents differently, depending on where in the world they live," said Elizabeth Shepherd, research manager for the British Council's education intelligence unit in Hong Kong.

However, in all countries they sought an agent only once they were seriously considering overseas study."They see it as a final stage of the process," Shepherd said.

"A big part of it is confidence. Study abroad is such a complicated issue and the perception is that it's an in-depth process to go through with a number of hurdles to cross," Shepherd said

"There will always be, especially for students entering an education system for the first time, a lot of them who have never been outside their own country."

Above all they want a time-saving and trustworthy source of guidance. "Students may seek an agent if they or their parents have never studied overseas before, or if they intend to study a newly popular subject and do not have an easily accessible reference point, or for many practical reasons, including needing someone to submit an application on their behalf or identify suitable accommodation," the study said.

"Agents have got a bad reputation. There are many awful stories. The purpose of our study was to look at students perception to gain an insight into how they have been treated," said Shepherd.

African students and students in China turn to agents to get information about universities themselves, while in South Asia the most sought after service is assistance in obtaining a student visa - possibly because there is already some familiarity with education systems in countries like Britain and the US.

Mobile Applications Use Exploding On Campus

Colleges and universities have made significant gains in deploying mobile applications over the past year, according to the 2011 Campus Computing Survey, the largest continuing study of higher-education technology use in the United States. But the survey also suggests that colleges have been slow to move key operational and research functions to cloud computing, and budget constraints continue to affect campus ed-tech services.

The 2011 survey shows big gains in the percentage of schools deploying mobile apps, and these gains appear across all types of institutions.More than half (55 percent) of public universities have activated mobile apps or plan to do so in the coming year, compared to a third (33 percent) in fall 2010. Public four-year colleges also posted good gains (44 percent in 2011, up from 18 percent in fall 2010), while the numbers more than tripled among community colleges (41 percent this year vs. 12 percent last fall).

Private institutions also saw gains in mobile app deployment. The number of private universities deploying mobile apps rose to 50 percent from 42 percent in fall 2010, and among private four-year colleges, the number rose from 25 percent to 44 percent.

“Several factors explain these dramatic gains,” said Kenneth C. Green, founding director of the Campus Computing Project. “Students come to campus expecting to use mobile apps on their smart phones and tablets to navigate campus resources and use campus services. Also important is that compared to a year ago, more firms—both LMS and ERP providers—now offer mobile options for their campus clients.”

Green, who unveiled the 2011 survey’s findings during the EDUCAUSE educational technology conference in Philadelphia, noted that some ed-tech providers now offer free mobile apps, which means the cost of going mobile has changed dramatically in the past year.

Other ed-tech providers have launched services to help colleges and universities create their own campus apps. For instance, AT&T demonstrated a service called MEAP during EDUCAUSE. MEAP, which stands for “Mobile Enterprise Application Platform,” helps colleges tie their back-office systems together and make these services available as a mobile app.

WHAT MOTIVATES INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS?

Overseas students head to Britain for quality, to the United States for career improvement and to Germany for low tuition, according to a new study. The British Council’s Student Decision Making Survey includes information gathered from around 115,000 students, from 200 countries, who hope to study abroad. The poll has been conducted over the past three and a half years.

The introduction to the report notes that the market for overseas students is becoming "more sophisticated," with domestic higher education investment in many countries making overseas study less attractive, and courses taught in English increasingly being offered in non-English-speaking countries.

The survey found that when choosing a country, just over half of students put quality of education in their top three priorities. Just over a quarter (26.3 per cent) see the reputation of a country’s universities as a key factor. Of students naming Britain as their ideal destination, 59 percent said they considered quality of education the top priority – the highest rating of any destination country on that criterion.

Prospective students aiming to study in the U.S. were most likely to focus on enhancing their career prospects (38 percent). Those with their eyes on Australia or Canada were more inclined than others to see the opportunity to work while studying as a key consideration (24 percent), while those seeking a place in Germany were most likely to mention low tuition fees as a priority (25 percent).

But overall the "cost of studying overseas does not feature strongly when students are choosing a study destination," according to the survey, with only one in 10 citing low tuition as one of the three most important factors.The survey found that when asked to identify three factors that most influenced their initial decision to study abroad – before choice of destination – higher quality is cited by 54.2 percent, followed by career improvement (53.8 percent) and the chance to live overseas (51.5 per cent).

The survey report notes changes in the market. "Having traditionally drawn students who are comfortable with the English language, the UK is now competing with non-English speaking countries offering tuition in English," it says. "In addition, some of the key countries for international students are investing heavily in their domestic higher education systems, making study abroad less attractive at undergraduate level."

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, five countries attract a combined 50 percent of all students studying outside their home nations: the United States (19 percent), Britain (10 percent), Germany (7 percent), France (7 percent) and Australia (7 percent). But the market shares of most of these countries have dropped over the past eight years.

The OECD’s recent Education at a Glance 2010 report found that the US share of the overseas student market fell from 26 to 19 percent over an eight-year period, and Britain's share dropped by two percentage points. The shares of Australia, Korea and New Zealand rose by one percentage point and Russia’s by two percentage points.The OECD also noted that "an increasing number of institutions in non-English-speaking countries now offer courses in English to overcome their linguistic disadvantage in terms of attracting foreign students," a trend identified with the Nordic countries in particular.

Cambridge English test recognized by UK and Australia:

The Cambridge University's Certificate of Advanced English is now recognized by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Australia's Department.

Cambridge said that the decision by UK immigration and Australia immigration was made in a bid to attract more students to higher education establishments both in Australia and the UK. Both countries have recently come under fire for bringing in stricter student immigration rules.

The UK recently brought in more restrictions on foreign students working in the UK. The UK also intends to axe the popular Tier 1 Post Study Work visa scheme. Australia had made English language requirements somewhat tougher for foreign students; More recently, following concerns from the country's education sector, Australia immigration eased some of the requirements for those applying for student visas. UKBA now recognizes Cambridge's Key English Test, Preliminary English Test, Business English Certificate, Certificated Version of Business Language Testing Service, Certificate of Advanced English, Certificate of Proficiency in English, International Legal English Certificate and International Certificate of Financial English as suitable tests to confirm English language ability.

In the past, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) was the main test used for assessing English language ability. However, it is not always easy for students to find places on IELTS courses due to the high demand for these tests.

CANADA: Colleges see surge in Indian applicants

Canadian colleges opened their doors last week to accommodate a huge surge of new students coming from the Indian subcontinent. The Association of Canadian Community Colleges, or ACCC, is projecting about 12,000 Indian students.

At one institution, Centennial College in Toronto, staff members have been greeting students at a welcome booth at Pearson International Airport for the past two weeks.

The popularity of Canada as a higher education destination for Indians has been growing over the past several years. Statistics from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) office in India recorded a 511% increase in the number of students coming to study between 2007 and 2010 - from 1,503 students in 2007 to 9,176 in 2010.

Established in April 2009 with 20 participating member colleges, it has since grown to encompass 43 colleges in six provinces across Canada.

Indian students are attracted to Canada for its business and engineering programmes. One-third of the students are high school graduates, while the rest are three-year university graduates who hope that postgraduate diplomas will improve their employment chances.

Many are also interested in taking advantage of the immigration pathway Canada offers international students who wish to become permanent residents.

Cambridge still top in QS university ranking

The University of Cambridge has retained the leading place in the 2011 QS World University Rankings after displacing Harvard University in 2010. But Oxford University, which was fifth last year, dropped a place as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology continued its move up the rankings to third place. MIT was in ninth place in 2009, and fifth last year.

Harvard's failure to recapture first place from Cambridge was despite its domination of the series of subject tables published by QS over the past few months. Observers attributed this to the continuing impact of the decline in staffing levels that cost it the top place in 2010.

Ben Sowter, QS head of research, said: "The gap between Cambridge and Harvard is very small, but Cambridge's superior student-faculty ratio helped tip the balance.

"Individual attention is one of the key attractions of the Oxbridge tutorial system."

Writing for QS, John O'Leary, former education editor of The Times, pointed out that both the 33,000-plus academics from 141 countries and the 16,785 employers responding to the surveys, had placed Harvard top.

"But Cambridge's superiority on other indicators gave it the overall lead."

Universities from 38 countries appear in the top 300, and from 32 in the top 200, three up on 2010. Almost 3,000 institutions were included in the research that produced the latest rankings, with 712 featuring in the results.

North America and the United Kingdom continue to dominate the rankings. US universities occupy 13 of the top 20 and 70 of the top 300 places. Despite higher rankings from McGill (up two places at 17th, the highest ranked university outside the US and the UK) and Toronto (up six to 23rd), 14 of 19 Canadian universities ranked lower than in 2010. In the UK, four universities made the top 10 and 18 were in the top 100.

In 18th place, ETH Zurich remains the leading university in continental Europe, ahead of the École Normal Supérieur (33rd), the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (35th) and l'Institut des Sciences et Technologies Paris (36th).

No German university makes the top 50 despite the federal government's EUR1.9 billion (US$2.7 billion) Excellence Initiative. Heidelberg and the Technische Universität München are placed 53rd and 54th respectively, trailing the leading Danish university (Copenhagen) at 52nd. The highest placed Swedish university, Uppsala, falls from 62nd to 83rd.

Australian universities again performed strongly, with all G8 universities in the top 100. The Australian National University (26th) ranked highest, with Melbourne (31st) closing the gap from 18 places to five, while Sydney is placed 38th.

Top universities in Asia are also highly placed with Hong Kong University (22nd) ahead of Tokyo (25th), the National University of Singapore (28th) and Kyoto (32th). India's difficulties in making an impact continue, with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, dropping out of the top 200. But in China, Tsinghua (47th) has joined Peking (46th) in the top 50.

Ten universities are represented in the top 200 for the first time, including the Universidad Nacional Autóma de Mexico and the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil (169th).

In 200th place King Saud University, in Saudi Arabia, makes the top 200 for the first time, with six other Middle Eastern universities in the top 300. The University of Cape Town, the only African institution to make the top 200, is in 156th place, up five places from last year.

For the first time this year the QS results are published alongside comparative data for international tuition fees.

Nunzio Quacquarelli, QS managing director, said: "Since students are generally being charged more than ever before for their education, QS is publishing for the first time ever comparative course fees of ranked universities

McGill University ranks No. 1 in Canada, 12th in world

A new QS World University Ranking placed Quebec’s McGill University’s law faculty as 12th best in the world and number one in Canada. Rankings were based on academic opinion, employer opinion, and citations by academics.

“It really shows that this faculty has the highest reputation,” said Daniel Jutras, dean of law at McGill. “It should be a source of pride for all Montrealers that one of its faculties placed so high on a world ranking. After all, the per student budget at McGill is nowhere near what they have at Harvard. We are just very proud and happy about what it says about us.”

McGill University, based in Montreal, Quebec, is an international university with 21 faculties and professional schools offering more than 300 programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. McGill receives applications from students from more than 120 countries every year.

Jutras also added that McGill’s law students study in both English and French and earn both common and civil law degrees.McGill University is known to have a great reputation and many accomplished law luminaries have come out of McGill, including Canadian Prime Ministers Sir John Abbott and Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Australia Approves TOEFL® Test Scores for Student Visas

Princeton, N.J. (May 19, 2011) —Students from around the world who wish to study in Australia can now use their TOEFL® test scores as part of their visa application as announced by Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). "I am very pleased the TOEFL test has been chosen as one of the new English test providers and I am confident they will provide a valuable service to student visa applicants," said the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

This announcement has significant meaning for large numbers of international students from Assessment Level 3 and 4 countries, including China, India,Pakistan, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Philippines, who are interested in studying in Australia. International students now have the opportunity to use the TOEFL test to demonstrate their English language proficiency, satisfying the required language component of the visa application process.

"Nearly every university and college in Australia already accepts TOEFL scores for admission purposes. Today's announcement means that students globally can now use their TOEFL scores for both visa and academic admission purposes," explains David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS's Global Division.


For more than 45 years, the TOEFL test has been the most widely recognized English language assessment in the world, used by more than 8,000 colleges, universities and agencies, including the most prestigious institutions in the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. And with more than 4,500 test sites globally, the TOEFL test is more convenient than ever for students wishing to apply for study in Australia

THE BENEFITS OF GETTING HIGHER EDUCATION

Today's global challenges demand international competence. Students who study abroad in quality programs for academic credit; engage in service and experiential learning, internships  & research; and study foreign areas and languages are far better prepared for the demands of the twenty-first century.

Following benefits of higher education from abroad reflects the critical importance of international education

SELF CONFIDENCE & INTELLECTUAL MATURITY:

Higher Education from abroad is a challenging and exciting experience. Perhaps the most recognized benefit of international education is to promote personal and intellectual growth. Student choosing to study in a foreign university or taking advantage of a domestic university exchange program will stretch and strengthen his skills academically, personally and socially.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE:

International higher education programs influenced your subsequent educational experiences. Researchers at the University of Georgia are finding that an academic experience abroad can reinvigorate or even greatly improve a student's knowledge & practical skills.

INTER CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:

Students glean from their experiences of living under the confines of foreign culture, the sense of having a greater perspective of the world around them, to appreciate societal differences such as language, social customs, economics, etc. They would not receive this type of cultural exposure in a familiar societal setting. They look at the world in a more sophisticated way.

SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE:

Increase there ability to speak a foreign language. The popular theory that states the best way to learn a different language is to spend an extensive amount of time in the surroundings of where that language is spoken rings true for students who arrive back from the study abroad experience. The possibility of broadening foreign language skills increases greatly when forced to communicate in such a way different from their own.

CAREER PREPARATION

Desire to purse new and challenging educational experience. Martin Tillman of The Johns Hopkins University's writes, "In a ever more globalize economy, educators need to assist students in building a sophisticated 'toolkit' to market the value of their varied portfolio of international experiences to employers." Employers look for skills like intercultural sensitivity, adaptation to new surroundings and ability to deal with ambiguity - skills that can be gained from higher education and other international programs. Distinguish themselves from others when pursing higher education or career opportunities.

HIGHER EDUCATION FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY:

Every year thousands of college students plan to go for higher education in countries like USA, UK, Australia, Canada….

To get higher education from foreign country is challenging and amazing experience that will help you to grow academically, personally and prepare you for your career. Choosing the right combination of course, institution and country is probably one of the most important decisions.

Before planning for higher education from foreign country there are so many questions.When should I go for higher education? Which is the best place to go? Can I cover the course fee? How can I get the scholarships? Will I still graduate on time? Will I be treated differently because of my ethnic background? And the list goes on. In order to get the answers of all these question follow the HIGHER EDUCATION BlOG.

Here we provide leading-edge knowledge for students, professionals regarding admissions, preparation and visa requirements. I firmly believe that everyone in the world, whatever his or her age or background deserves access to up-to-date information.

WHY INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION?

International Education is vitally important to the success of todays young people in navigating a competitive international landscape,thriving in the globel work place and leveraging their talents and skills in the ways that move the country in an increasingly connected world.

I belive that international education & exchange, connecting students build the mutal understanding among nations and create the conditions for more peacful world.