Varsities go all out to keep up research, but the challenges are huge

Title:
Varsities go all out to keep up research, but the challenges are huge

Author:
Suthentira Govender

Published:
Times Select, 23 July 2020
https://select.timeslive.co.za/news/2020-07-23-varsities-go-all-out-to-keep-up-research-but-the-challenges-are-huge/

From the article:
Covid-19 has forced tertiary institutions to quickly transport themselves to online platforms to save the 2020 academic year.

This huge transition from traditional contact learning to online teaching, almost overnight, has brought a range of lessons and challenges, as more academics take to platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype to teach their students.

We hope universities will learn from the lockdowns - Will Covid-19 finally trigger a long-overdue technological disruption of higher education?

Title:
We hope universities will learn from the lockdowns

Author:
Kenneth Rogoff

Published:
Daily Maverick, 6 July 2020
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-07-06-we-hope-universities-will-learn-from-the-lockdowns/#gsc.tab=0

From the article:
Will Covid-19 finally trigger a long-overdue technological disruption of higher education? Throughout the world, sudden mid-semester lockdowns aimed at combating the pandemic forced universities to switch to distance learning almost overnight. But while this rapid transition has been tough for faculty and students alike, some good might yet come of it.

The university leadership challenge – from herding cats to lining up lions - For Paul Greatrix, the more that is asked of universities in terms of regulation, the harder it becomes to maintain the environment that supports academic work

Title:
The university leadership challenge – from herding cats to lining up lions

Author:
Paul Greatrix, Registrar at The University of Nottingham

Published:
WONKHE, 29 June 2020
https://wonkhe.com/blogs/the-university-leadership-challenge-from-herding-cats-to-lining-up-lions/

From the article:
 Vice chancellors have an extraordinarily difficult job to do at the best of times but with the current pandemic this has made matters massively challenging indeed. And, as noted here before, everyone across universities is trying to do the right thing. But vice chancellors are not wholly free to do what they wish – the governing body, which determines the VC’s objectives from year to year, will want to be assured the university is operating effectively and efficiently and to ensure (among other things) that their overall financial and stewardship responsibilities are being exercised properly. Governors and vice chancellors have to think beyond survival and consider the university’s success in the long term.

Learning in 2050 - Is thinking about the future of higher education a luxury we can’t now afford?

Title:
Learning in 2050

Authors:
Edward J Maloney & Joshua Kim

Published:
INSIDE HIGHER ED, 10 June 2020
https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/learning-innovation/learning-2050

From the article:
So why take some time, amid the twin challenges that higher education faces in confronting the realities of entrenched institutional racism, and our ongoing need to navigate toward a new COVID-19 educational normal, to think about 2050? Is thinking about the future of higher education a luxury we can’t now afford?

Inside HigherED, 26 May 2020 - 10 Predictions for Higher Education’s Future

Title:
10 Predictions for Higher Education’s Future

Author:
John Kroger

Published:
Inside HigherED, 26 May 2020
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/leadership-higher-education/10-predictions-higher-education%E2%80%99s-future

From the article:
"Most experts predict we will not have a vaccine for COVID-19 until mid-2021, more than a year from now. In the meantime, the American higher education community is going to be turned upside down, and the educational effects will last long after the virus has been brought under control. What will the impact be? Here are 10 predictions. Summary: disruption will finally arrive."

University World News, 1 May 2020 - Challenges for ‘European Universities’ revealed by survey

Title:
Challenges for ‘European Universities’ revealed by survey

Author:
Brendan O'Malley

Published:
University World News, 1 May 2020 

From the article:
"A survey of more than 200 higher education institutions across Europe has found that the need to provide additional resources, considerable amounts of co-funding and ensure long-term sustainability are the biggest challenges for participating in the European Universities Initiative."

To read this article:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200501095005418

Short Article - Reach Your Students Where They Are

Title:
Reach Your Students Where They Are

Author:
Amanda Gibson

Published:
Inside Higher ED, 10 April 2020

From the article:
"Four ways to connect with current and prospective students while navigating the unknowns of COVID-19."

To read this aticle:
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/call-action-marketing-and-communications-higher-education/reach-your-students-where-they-are

Short Article - German academics revolt over ‘business as usual’ plans

Title:
German academics revolt over ‘business as usual’ plans

Author:
David Matthews

Published:
Times Higher Education, 4 April 2020

From the article:
"More than 10,000 signatories want summer exams made optional and teaching loads cut, raising the question: how productive can academics really be during a pandemic?"

To read this article:
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/german-academics-revolt-over-business-usual-plans

Short Article - An opportunity to change international higher education?

Title:
An opportunity to change international higher education?

Author:
Kalyani Unkule

Published:
University World News, 21 March 2020

From this article:
The COVID-19 epidemic has struck a blow to physical mobility worldwide. Notices about institutional closures, social distancing and self-quarantining have compelled us all to part ways with our established routines, in one way or another. This could, however, be an opportunity to re-examine higher education internationalisation, including its objectives, scope, strategies and intended impact.

To read this article:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200318145041997

Short Article - Universities having to adapt fast to the coronavirus crisis

Title:
Universities having to adapt fast to the coronavirus crisis

Author:
Anna Fazackerley

Published:
The Guardian, 17 March 2020

From the article:
"With a shift to online teaching as some institutions cancel lectures, there are fears that disadvantaged students may be missing out."

To read this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/17/universities-having-to-adapt-fast-to-the-coronavirus-crisis

Short Article - A plan to expand and diversify English higher education through the 2020s

Title:
A plan to expand and diversify English higher education through the 2020s

Author:
Graeme Wise

Published:
Wonkhe, 20 February 2020

From the article:
"The recent Higher Education Strategic Planners’ Association Conference, held at the University of Birmingham, saw planning professionals from across the sector wrestling with the challenges expected for this decade. This included a serious attempt, in several sessions, to consider the implications of rising demand for higher education over that time period. This is a personal reflection on the challenges involved and a possible way to navigate them with new policy options."

To read this article:
https://wonkhe.com/blogs/a-plan-to-expand-and-diversify-english-higher-education-through-the-2020s/

SOUTH AFRICA - What is killing our universities? (by N. Barney Pityana)

Title:
What is killing our universities?

Author:
N. Barney Pityana

Published:
City Press, 20 February 2020

From the article:
"Like other sectors of society, our once-prized tertiary institutions have become prey to corruption and poor governance, with public apathy adding to the crisis."

To read this article:
https://city-press.news24.com/Voices/what-is-killing-our-universities-20200220

Short Article: How to attract more students to Central and Eastern Europe

Title:
How to attract more students to Central and Eastern Europe

Author:
Mariusz Luterek

Published:
EAIE, 3 February 2020

From the article:
"Central and Eastern Europe – broadly defined as the former Eastern bloc, the Baltic nations and the independent states of former Yugoslavia – has changed a lot since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Economies in the region have grown enough for the Human Development Index to put all of the EU10 – the group of mainly Eastern European countries that joined the European Union in 2004 – in the category of very high human development.  But despite this progress, this region is still struggling to attract international students."

To read this article:
https://www.eaie.org/blog/attract-more-students-central-eastern-europe.html

Short Article by Emma Pettit (February 2020) - Are the Humanities Really in Crisis?

Title:
Are the Humanities Really in Crisis?

Author:
Emma Pettit

Published:
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9 February 2020

From the article:
"Neal Lester thinks that’s a cliché. The real question is, How do we communicate the value of the humanities without getting bogged down by defining it?"

To read this article:
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Are-the-Humanities-Really-in/248014
[This article is avialable only to Chronicle subscribers.]

Short Article by Anubha Srivastava (February 2020) - Education 4.0: Is Indonesia ready?

Title:
Education 4.0: Is Indonesia ready?

Author:
Anubha Srivastava

Published:
The Asean Post, 16 February 2020

From the article:
"In the endeavour to build the future of any nation, higher education contributes significantly by providing “global competitive talent”. The skilled workforce coupled with innovative technology and advanced infrastructures are key drivers for any country’s sustainable growth. In that context, if we inspect both India and Indonesia – two of the most populous economies – it’s evident that they are facing some of the biggest global challenges: the rapid ascension of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), automated learning (AL) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Both nations are struggling to equip their respective workforces with advanced skills, attitude and knowledge essential to stay relevant in today’s education 4.0 era." 

To read this article:
https://theaseanpost.com/article/education-40-indonesia-ready

Scholarly Article (February 2020) - Autonomy and weak governments: challenges to university quality in Latin America

Title:
Autonomy and weak governments: challenges to university quality in Latin America

Author:
Pilar Mendoza

Published:
Higher Education, volume 79, February 2020
Available: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-020-00511-8

From the abstract:
"Applying grounded theory to 33 expert interviews about the underperformance of higher education in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico, this study indicated that the historical tradition of autonomy has fostered weak government control, revealing a host of issues common across these countries in their higher education system."

2019 Hong Kong Academic Freedom Report by the Progressive Scholars Group (PSG) available now

The 2019 Hong Kong Academic Freedom Report by the Progressive Scholars Group (PSG) has just been released.

One of the points made in the Executive Summary of this report:
"To defend academic freedom, scholars must go on to face the challenges ahead. Future actions should include: requesting THE and QS to incorporate academic freedom as an indicator of their university rankings; partnering with overseas academic freedom organizations; submitting the list of people who were reported to attack academic freedom to sanction institutions."

To read this report:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k_soME6nNUQdzBKx25-2F5BW2dZ0IvBn/edit

Short Article: The 4 biggest challenges to our higher education model - and what to do about them

Title:
The 4 biggest challenges to our higher education model - and what to do about them

Published:
World Economic Forum, 20 December 2019

From the article:
"While most debates around the future of education focus on the skills needed for the future and the imperative of reskilling, it is equally important to discuss the inevitable structural transformations of higher education."

To read this article:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/fourth-industrial-revolution-higher-education-challenges/

TEDx Talk Video: Why we should redefine prestige in higher education

TEDx Talk title:
Why we should redefine prestige in higher education

Presenter:
Akil Reynolds

Date:
13 June 2019

From this TEDx Talk description:
"Mainstream college ranking platforms often give us an idea of who holds the titles as the most prestigious higher education institutions. In this talk, University of Florida Black Student Union President Akil Reynolds takes us on his journey of what his understanding of college prestige means and challenges us all to redefine it in terms with social justice principals."

To watch this presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXoutQajMM4

Short Article: The Dark Side of MOOCS: big problems with massive open online courses

Title:
The Dark Side of MOOCS: big problems with massive open online courses

Author:
Jamie Littlefield

Published:
ThoughtCo, 25 February 2019

In this article Jamie Littlefield talked about the impersonal nature of MOOCs, the lack of in-depth feedback, low pass rate, non-credit-bearing courses, and little or no financial benefit to academics putting extra time into developing MOOCs. 

With regard to the latter point Littlefield remarked: "When professors become expected to do more for free, one of two things will happen: colleges will need to adjust salaries accordingly or many of the most talented academics will find work elsewhere. Students benefit when they learn from the best and brightest, so this is a concern that will increasingly affect everyone in the academic sphere."

To read this article:
https://www.thoughtco.com/problems-with-online-classes-1098085