Welcome to the second issue of the GAPS Bulletin. Our inaugural issue reached nearly 1600 contributors to the access field. With your help, we hope to keep growing our reach.
Please share this issue by clicking 'Tweet' below. Also, to keep up to dates with GAPS, please follow and tweet us @GAPSEducation
Every month we will be bringing you the latest news on research, policy and practice focused on access to postsecondary education from across the world.
The rise of an aspirational middle class in developing countries will continue to fuel global participation rates, says the report’s author. The global Gross Tertiary Enrolment Rate (GTER) rose from 14 per cent in 1992 to 32 per cent in 2012. Some 54 countries had a GTER of more than 50 per cent in 2012 compared with just five countries in 1992.
The 13th International Congress of Educating Cities 2014 took place in Barcelona from November 13-15, with 838 participants from 189 cities and 34 countries. The Declaration develops some of the principles of the Charter of Educating Cities within the overall framework of a post-2015 Urban Development Agenda (see http://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/post-2015-agenda/), the agenda that will replace the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015.
With funding from the Department of Science and Technology, Delhi University's Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) has selected 76 students ‘gifted’ students from 90 schools in underprivileged communities to participate in workshops and counselling programs designed to encourage their talent. The program is seen as pilot for the introduction of a national initiative.
The stand-alone model for international branch campuses is giving way increasingly to the joint venture model according to two new reports that look at the recent growth and future trends associated with international branch campuses. According to the reports, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) still hosts the largest number of branch campuses, but the ‘center of gravity’ is shifting from the Middle East to Asia where China is now the fastest growing destination country, followed by Singapore, with Malaysia and South Korea also on the list. While the United States is still the number one originating country for international branch campuses, France and the U.K. are increasing their branch campuses at a much faster rate. However, ‘South-South’ branch campuses built by India, Malaysia and Iran now constitute 20 percent of all branch campuses.
President Obama’s plan to offer two years of free community college to American students would provide tuition-free classes for students going to school at least half time who maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher and are making steady progress toward a degree or transferring to a four-year institution. According to the plan, the federal government would cover 75% of the cost, with states expected to pick up 25%. While the Institute for College Access and Success called the proposal "a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing," arguing that "making tuition free for all students regardless of their income is a missed opportunity to focus resources on the students who need aid the mostâ€, others saw the proposal as inspired, evoking the “truly revolutionary possibility that it would make two-year institutions more economically and racially integrated†(http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/the-genius-of-obamas-two-year-college-proposal/384429/).
New providers looking to ‘unbundle’ universities as a business model are putting pressure on institutions and regulatory frameworks to find new and sustainable ways of working, according to a new report from the British Council. According to those interviewed for the report, the “only thing holding back global ambitions in South Asia are the region’s regulatory bodies and the complexity of its higher education system†and online education delivery methods are beginning to make a difference.
The National Networks for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) initiative will deliver a nationally coordinated approach to working with schools, universities and colleges to help people access higher education. Local and regional universities and colleges have come together to form the networks, which cover the whole of England. The new £22 million initiative involves 200 universities and colleges and will reach 4,300 secondary schools and colleges. Part of the National Strategy for Access and Student Success published in April 2014, it will be funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and managed by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE).
Upcoming Event
Empowering Higher Education Institutions through Information Sharing and Improved Governance
The event will be held in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 12-14, 2015. The World Bank will partner for this event with a number of key organizations including UNESCO, ISESCO, the International Association of Universities, the Association of Arab Universities and the British Council, as well as the key involvement of the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Universities Association of Lebanon and the most important higher education institutions in Lebanon.
The conference is aimed at encouraging dialogue, stimulating debate and serving as a capacity building exercise. It will focus on development of information to inform policy makers on improving governance and quality assurance (QA) in higher education. This event will bring together higher education and government representatives, quality assurance agencies, international and regional experts in the field. More information about the conference can be found at http://cmimarseille.org/highereducation/conference.php#d1
The official languages of the conference are English, French and Arabic.
Although primarily focused on the Middle East and Northern Africa region (MENA), the organisers are expecting to attract participation from institutions and related agencies from other parts of the world.
GAPS Going Forward
Plans for GAPS 2015 to be hosted by Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are taking shape. To register early or to answer the Call for Proposals, please consult the GAPS web site.
As part of the planning for the GAPS 2015 event, Sunway University recently offered three post-doctoral scholarships to academics from developing countries. Profiles of the scholars and their projects may be found on the GAPS web site. The Kuala Lumpur Star featured an article on GAPS 2015 in their December 14 edition.
Become a GAPS Ambassador
While the first round of the GAPS Call for Ambassadors has ended and the first GAPS Ambassadors are soon to be announced, individuals who would like to contribute to the GAPS Initiative by serving as a GAPS Ambassador are nonetheless encouraged to contact Graeme Atherton, Chair of the GAPS Initiative.
May 7-9, 2015 – UNESCO and the Government of Mexico City will welcome delegates to the ICLC’s Learning Cities 2020: 2nd International Conference on Learning Cities in Mexico City. Learn how the Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) has progressed since the 1st ICLC held in Beijing, China in 2013.
May 26-29, 2015 – Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada is set to host the C2U Expo 2015. The theme of the event is Citizen-Driven Policy: Strengthening Community Engagement for a Better World.
GAPS Platform
GAPS has begun to work in collaboration with Pearson and the University of Newcastle on the Mapping the Global Access Map project announced in January 2015. Pearson is a global leader in learning, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries. For more information about Pearson, visit . A world class research university, the University of Newcastle Australia’s Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education “ensures that the University continues to be a leader in the region and the world in approaches to closing the gap between equity related policy and practice and also raise awareness and understanding of the frameworks and activities that produce priority outcomesâ€.
Plans call for some 50 countries to be surveyed and 6 detailed case studies to be completed in each of Australia, Columbia, India, South Africa, the UK and the United States. Members of the project advisory group are currently being recruited. For more information, contact Graeme Atherton, Chair of the GAPS Initiative
GAPS Network
To share initiatives or news with access and success colleagues from around the world email Alex Hall or tweet @GAPSEducation.
Online Library
Our online library is growing!
GAPS is building a library of books and articles which may be of interest to organisations and individuals committed to post secondary education access and equity.
If you would like to add to this library, please send the book/article title and author to Alex Hall or tweet @GAPSEducation. Links to articles will also be accepted.
