ASIA: The need for an ASEAN University

Roger Y Chao Jr18 July 2014 Issue No:329

 

With the ASEAN Community set to be established in December 2015, there is a need to revisit the failed 1992 ASEAN initiative to establish an ASEAN University. Its failure should not be attributed to lack of political will among ASEAN member states, but rather to an immature regionalisation process.

Compared to 1992, the ASEAN region today has progressed dramatically towards ASEAN regionalism, creating a community with a population of over 600 million and a regional economy with a gross domestic product (at current prices) of US$2,318,156 million and with total trade of US$2,476,427 million based on 2012 figures.

The establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 1992, the expansion of ASEAN membership in 1997 and 1998 to include Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia, and various regionalisation initiatives – including the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services and Mutual Recognition Agreement on key professions – provided the core policy framework for ASEAN regional integration.

It has also encouraged collaboration between a demographically, politically, socio-economically diverse group of nation states at a time of increased competition brought about by neo-liberal globalisation.

A beacon university for the ASEAN

Although the ASEAN University initiative was shelved, it facilitated the establishment of one of the core organisations in ASEAN regionalisation of higher education, the ASEAN University Network, AUN.

With AUN university membership representing two to four key universities from each ASEAN member state, the network has facilitated enhanced collaboration at institutional level and more recently at regional level with other key regional organisations dealing with higher education.

The ASEAN Credit Transfer System, Student Mobility Programmes and Internal Quality Assurance have been initiated, established and implemented across AUN member universities.

Although its mandate is not at the regional level, AUN member universities and the policies and programmes initiated within the AUN aim to promote good practices among all ASEAN universities.

While there is a growing number of ASEAN-related courses and a few programmes, there is a lack of ASEAN centeredness in any ASEAN university.

This can be attributed to the highly competitive global higher education market and the competition within ASEAN universities for students, funding and global recognition primarily in terms of global rankings.

No single ASEAN university or institution is focused on conducting research on ASEAN-related issues such as history, culture, society and the challenges and opportunities brought about by the establishment of an ASEAN Community.

Furthermore, there is no authoritative institution that serves as a repository of ASEAN-related knowledge or serves as a think-tank focused on the current and future challenges of the ASEAN and its member states.

European University Institute

The original idea of an ASEAN University was based on the need to promote ASEAN-ness among its regional population as well as regional collaboration and integration.

The ASEAN University that I envision, however, looks to the European University Institute, or EUI, located in Florence, Italy.

The EUI is a graduate research institution funded by the 21 European Union member states, which not only serves as the historical archive for the European Union but is also engaged in research on various European issues and challenges usually focused on political science, social science and the humanities.

The ASEAN University should have an institutionalised funding arrangement with ASEAN member states, institutional autonomy and full academic freedom. As such, it will be free to engage in graduate research on ASEAN-related topics especially focused on political science, social science and the humanities.

Such an ASEAN University will not only serve the original idea for the institution but also create new knowledge on ASEAN-related challenges, serve as an authority on ASEAN topics and enhance the promotion, conservation and dissemination of the ASEAN region’s rich cultural diversity.

The challenges of establishing an ASEAN University will centre on finding a sustainable institutional funding arrangement, a governance structure that enhances institutional autonomy and inculcating a culture of academic freedom given its focus on ASEAN-related topics.

Lastly, its collaboration with existing research centres and institutions focused on ASEAN studies and the need to deliver ASEAN-related courses needs to be addressed.

The success of an ASEAN University will depend on the ASEAN region’s commitment to establishing and sustaining institutional funding, and ensuring institutional autonomy and academic freedom, but in return the region will have a beacon university embodying ASEAN’s core values while respecting the region’s cultural, political and socio-economic diversity.

For these reasons, I call for ASEAN leaders to revisit the establishment of the ASEAN University in the hope that the region will truly have a beacon university in the near future and in time for the challenges the ASEAN Community faces in the coming years.

* Dr Roger Y Chao Jr is the international consultant for higher education for UNESCO Myanmar. This article is based on his presentation at the Global Education Dialogues meeting in Myanmar earlier this month.

COMMENTS

Many universities that are not part of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) already feel alienated by the exclusivity of the AUN and are talking about forming their own group of schools in response to being kept out by the AUN. How much more alienated would the 'ASEAN University' make other universities feel? This is a bad idea but it ranks right up there with the AUN.

Mark Hefner on the University World News Facebook page


I was very interested to read this since my researches on the early history of European cooperation education led me back to the storms around the idea of a supranational university for the EEC and the eventual deal in favour of the much more modest European University Institute in Florence. (See 'Universities and the Europe of Knowledge', Palgrave 2005) for what I found a riveting story.)

Anne Corbett on the University World News Facebook page


Anne Corbett, thanks for your interest and the reference, which I will look into. I do know that it took quite a while to establish the EUI due to a number of issues and I expect the same situation may occur with the establishment of a similar institution in the ASEAN region but we need to be proactive and innovative

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


A comment in response to the statement 'No single ASEAN university or institution is focused on conducting research on ASEAN-related issues such as history, culture, society and the challenges...' There are in fact several HEIs established in the 60s although they do not bear the acronym ASEAN: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/mission.cfm

QueAnh Dang on the University World News Facebook page


QueAnh Dang, I was thinking of a regional institution with no national affiliation, and funded regionally.

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


Here's another model from South Asia: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php

University World News on the University World News Facebook page


Another thing is ISEAS [Institute of Southeast Asian Studies] is located within another institute - NUS, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the SAU link. The ASEAN University I am thinking of is a graduate research university, and hopefully funded through an institutionalised arrangement with ASEAN member states. It's good to see the SAU model, though. I expect some challenges in establishing the ASEAN university

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


Perhaps more crucial questions are: Is convergence a means or an end for regionalism in ASEAN? What are other possible outcomes or consequences? What would be the real benefits of a single ASEAN University, given the informal 'gentlemen's agreement' in the 'ASEAN-style' regional cooperation?

QueAnh Dang on the University World News Facebook page


That's true, QueAnh Dang. I seem to prefer an institutionalized regional institution with institutionalized funding and full academic freedom. I just think it's the right time to revisit the original idea and establish a slightly different version of the ASEAN University. It's difficult to answer the question about the exact outcome of a single ASEAN University; it all depends on its core mission and flexibility to undertake this mission. I would presume that such an institution would be able to conduct research and facilitate graduate researchers' and scholars' dialogue and joint research much faster than an informal agreement. A regional status being not within the confine of one member state should provide the necessary space to conduct unbiased and unrestricted research.
 

THAILAND: University leaders appointed to ‘military government’

Suluck Lamubol04 August 2014 Issue No:330

 

Rectors from nine of Thailand’s top public universities have joined the junta-picked lawmaking assembly established three months after the military staged the country’s 13th coup d'état on 22 May.

The junta, officially known as the National Council for Peace and Order or NCPO, last week announced 200 nominations for membership of the military-dominated National Legislative Assembly, which will draft a constitution to replace the country’s current interim charter.

More than half of them – 105 members – are from the military, 11 from the police and the rest are former senators, technocrats, academics and businessmen. A dozen are women.

The nine rectors are from some of the country’s top universities including Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Chiang Mai, Kasetsart, Ramkhamhaeng, the National Institute of Development Administration, Srinakharinwirot, Khon Kaen and Mahidol.

The rector of Mahidol University chairs the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. Also appointed was Thammasat University council Chair Noranit Sretabutr.

Some of the universities’ websites carried congratulations posted by their administrations on the appointment of the rectors. Academics opposing the coup had to be more discrete in objecting to the rectors’ involvement with the military government.

Critics

Charnvit Kasetsiri, a former Thammasat rector, wrote an open letter calling on Noranit and Thammasat Rector Somkid Lertpaitoon to “refrain” from associating with bodies created by the junta.

Yukti Mukdavichit, an anthropology lecturer at Thammasat University, published an online open letter to the university’s rector and faculty, saying the decision to join the assembly was a “disgrace” for a university known in the past for resistance against authoritarian regimes.

“Right now the people have no freedom. Even though the Constitution stipulates the protection of rights, it did grant NCPO leaders supreme powers.”

He pointed out that those who are against the coup would be tried in a military court. “This is not guaranteeing any of the liberties stipulated in the charter at all,” Yukti wrote.

Since the coup, the junta has summoned 565 politicians, activists, academics and journalists and arrested 233 people, according to iLaw, a non-governmental law group that has documented rights violations. It says some 77 people have been persecuted and of these, 60 are to be tried by a military court.

Thongchai Winichakul, a history professor at Wisconsin-Madison University in the US and a Thammasat student leader during the 1970s student uprising, criticised the rectors’ decision to join the assembly as “shameless” and likely to affect the credibility of the institutions and the academic profession.

“In the current conflict, these rectors have caused heavy damage to the [academic] profession as a whole. They overtly played a leading anti-democracy role, against electoral democracy, and in creating a justification for the latest coup,” he told University World News.

“As of now, it appears that the majority of Thai academics prefer serving the establishment because, after all, they are the privileged ones in Thailand’s hierarchical society. Most of them support their rectors in playing such a disgraceful role,” said Thongchai.

Other critics said the academics were there to ‘adorn’ the national assembly and give it legitimacy, so that it appears to include a wider cross-section of society.

The assembly will convene on 7 August to choose a chair, who will then set a date to select a new prime minister and cabinet.

It is widely expected that NCPO leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the military coup, will become prime minister to consolidate the military’s power.
 

ASEAN: states commit to Australia’s New Colombo Plan - University World News

ASEAN states commit to Australia’s New Colombo Plan - University World News

All 10 members of ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  have agreed to participate in Australia's New Colombo Plan encouraging Australian students to study at universities in Southeast Asia, reports SBS.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop says she is pleased with the development, and that close ties between the ASEAN members make it logical that Australian students study at universities in Southeast Asia rather than in countries like the United States.

A pilot of the New Colombo Plan began earlier this year in January, with more than 1,300 Australian undergraduate students supported by the government to study in the region. Under the original Colombo Plan, tens of thousands of students from Southeast Asia studied in Australia during the 1950s to 1980s.

Full report on the SBS site 

MALAYSIA: University denies political interference in dean’s removal

The Malaysian Insider04 July 2014 Issue No:327

 

 

University Malaya (UM) today denied allegations that its dean for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was removed due to political interference.

Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman's tenure was not extended after a transparent election process, the university said in a statement this evening.

"Contrary to news reports, the decision not to extend Redzuan's tenure was based on a democratic and transparent election process which was carried out in accordance with the University of Malaya Constitution 2010.

"The constitution states that the vice-chancellor shall appoint a dean/director from three shortlisted candidates who received the highest scores.

"The elections were held between June 10 and 12 and interviews were held with the three candidates between June 17 and 20," UM said in the statement.

Redzuan was one of the three candidates shortlisted, the other two being Professor Dr Md Sidin Ahmad and Professor Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah.

"After lengthy deliberations, the management decided to appoint Md Sidin as the new dean for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences," UM said, adding that it took into account Redzuan's expected retirement next year and the opportunity for Md Sidin to familiarise himself with his new role.

"UM stresses that this election exercise is a normal process to decide the dean for the upcoming term after their tenure expires on June 30."

There has been a lot of criticism directed at UM and the Education Ministry following allegations that Putrajaya had pressured Redzuan into resigning. Redzuan had resigned as the director of UM's Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel), a move for which many blamed Putrajaya.

Putrajaya was allegedly unhappy with Redzuan's work, which appeared to favour Pakatan Rakyat over Barisan Nasional. In reporting the removal this morning, The Malaysian Insider said that it was believed that Redzuan’s work in UMcedel has sealed his fate at the university.

It was reported that over the last few years, UMcedel had irked Putrajaya with its various survey findings showing the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in a bad light.

The Malaysian Insider learnt that Putrajaya was also unhappy with Redzuan for purportedly being opposition-friendly, although he had on many occasions explained it by saying, "where would I be without politicians".

Following the news of his removal, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, former deputy higher education minister, announced that he was quitting as senior research fellow at UM’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in solidarity with Redzuan.

• No pressure to remove research centre director, says UM vice-chancellor
• Ex-deputy minister Saifuddin quits UM post in solidarity with UMcedel director
• UM professor resigns following orders from Education Ministry
• Another blow to academic freedom, say Pakatan MPs on UM professor’;s removal
• I was told Education Ministry forced Prof Redzuan out, says Saifuddin

Malaysia: Job seekers with A in SPM English but can’t speak a word of it

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA

Published: 26 June 2014

Employers have complained that many university graduates have a poor command of the English language. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, June 26, 2014. 

Employers are becoming increasingly dismayed by Malaysian "generation Y" job seekers who generally have a poor command of the English language and lack communication skills, are too spoiled to handle stress, and in a hurry to climb the corporate ladder yet indifferent to the need for experience.

These Gen Y recruits, when compared with previous generations, are also less impressed with job benefits such as medical insurance and bonuses, preferring instead immediate cash rewards for performance, surveys among employers and trade groups have revealed.

This damning indictment of today’s 20-something job-seekers’ attitudes is in large part due to an education policy in previous years that de-emphasised the importance of the English language, said a school education group.

In fact, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) believes that these policies have created a “lost generation” of young adults whose command of the English language is weaker than previous generations and who will miss the changes in schools that will benefit future generations.

Malaysian Employers Federation secretary Datuk Shamsudin Bardan said that a survey a few years ago among its members found that 60% of them identified low English proficiency as the main problem with young recruits.

While a similar survey in September last year by online recruitment agency JobStreet.com found that 55% of senior managers and companies who took part said that poor command of the English language was the main reason for unemployment among undergraduates.

School graduates might have SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) English grades of A and B but could not even hold a conversation in English, Shamsudin said.

“Which is why we were excited when the government decided to teach mathematics and science in English (PPSMI), as we felt this could boost their command of English.

“Unfortunately it was cancelled after seven years when we should have allowed it to continue for 14 to 15 years to see the results.

“The inability to converse and understand English (among young school leavers) is a constant complaint among our members,” said Shamsudin. The MEF has 4,800 direct members and 21 affiliated trade associations.

It is the largest grouping of employers who collectively employ two-thirds of the 2.2 million people in the formal private sector.

Christopher Raj of the Association of Hotel Employers said that out of 10 job applicants in the hospitality sector, eight or nine could not speak English.

“The problem is bad not only among school leavers but also graduates from our local universities. You ask them in English and they answer in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Private college graduates tend to be better,” said Raj, who is also a council member of MEF.

As immigration laws do not allow hotels to hire English-proficient personnel to man front-line positions where English is critical, major hotels have had to invest in English-language courses for their new employees.

The courses are designed to build confidence in trainees for restaurant and counter staff to converse in the language, Raj said.

PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the secondary aim of PPSMI was to provide more opportunities to students to practise English – a crucial step in increasing proficiency.

Its first aim was to help science-oriented students make the transition to university and colleges where almost all science texts are in English.

“Proficiency in any language is about practising. PPSMI created more opportunities for students to practise,” said Noor Azimah. PAGE has campaigned for the government to allow schools to continue the policy.

The government discontinued PPSMI in 2011, seven years after it was implemented in primary and secondary schools. The reason given was that it resulted in only a marginal increase in English proficiency among students.

However, Noor Azimah said a study showed that in mathematics and science examinations, where students were given a choice of whether to answer in English or Bahasa Malaysia, more than 90% of Tamil primary school students answered in English.

In national schools, the same studies showed that 60% of students chose to answer in English than in Bahasa Malaysia.

As if weak English was not enough, employers such as Raj complained that young job seekers in their 20s don’t seem able to handle stress well or work themselves up from the bottom.

“Graduates these days come from colleges and immediately want to become managers, without even any experience. You can’t scold them and they can’t handle stress,” said Raj, who has spent 33 years in the hotel business.

MEF’s Shamsuddin says that recruits in their 20s, the so-called generation Y, are “restless” compared with their elders.

“They have their eyes on the now instead of the future. They are less attracted to benefits such as annual bonuses, medical benefits, retirement.

“In fact, they want annual bonuses portioned out on a monthly basis,” he said.

“I think it is because of the business environment these days. Companies have to be fast-moving to compete so it shapes employee attitudes.” – June 26, 2014.

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA

Published: 26 June 2014

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA

Published: 26 June 2014

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA

Published: 26 June 2014

ASIA: Building links with – and between – ASEAN universities

Suvendrini Kakuchi20 June 2014 Issue No:325

 

Japanese art and design graduate Toru Shimizu (21) recently returned from a three-month stay in Malaysia studying English. He chose Malaysia to brush up on English mostly because it was affordable.

“My plan is to be better prepared in English to be able to study in the United Kingdom, which is where I think I will get a better education to finally find a job in an art gallery,” he explained in an interview on the margins of the International Association of University Presidents, or IAUP, triennial conference held in Yokohama from 11-14 June.

Shimizu’s budding career plans illustrate the rise in Asia of students seeking quality education and respected jobs – a major theme at the IAUP conference.

One of the sessions focused on the particular opportunities for students provided by the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Community in 2015.

ASEAN will be a single market of 10 Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The opportunities for students will extend beyond ASEAN countries themselves, the conference heard, and universities need to gear up to take advantage to draw in students from the region who might otherwise go to universities in the West.

“An affluent middle-class in Asia Pacific means ambitious parents and children who are eager for a good education with cutting-edge skills. This is where Asian universities can tap the new generation,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, president of Tokyo International University.

Japan-ASEAN

Etsuko Katsu, vice-president (international) at Meiji University in Japan, said during the ASEAN session that as more Japanese companies relocated to the ASEAN community or increase trade with their Asian partners, they would want to hire Japanese students who had studied in universities in the region.

Last year Meiji University, one of Japan’s oldest private institutions, launched the Japan-ASEAN Centre hosted by Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok. The programme promotes itself as creating tough leaders who can be a ‘bridge’ between Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

Some of the ASEAN centre’s partner universities include: King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand; Foreign Trade University in Hanoi, Vietnam; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; and the National University of Singapore.

Almost 1,000 Japanese students from Meiji University visited Southeast Asia in 2013, with Thailand the most popular destination followed by South Korea. More than 1,100 students from ASEAN countries visited Meiji University during the same period.

Re-inventing Japan

Meiji University’s new venture is supported by funds from the ‘Re-inventing Japan’ project launched in 2012 by the Ministry of Education for top universities starting international and especially joint Asia-related study and research programmes.

Japan, the second richest economy in Asia, is facing a rapidly aging society and population decline of more than one million people annually.

With a corresponding drop expected in its student count, the Japanese government has made globalisation a top priority and supports universities that launch an English curriculum, increase foreign faculty and students, and start joint research with Asian universities.

Other universities taking advantage of this new policy include the prestigious national Kyoto University’s Asian Studies Unit established in December 2012. It has six new graduate schools and two research centres for collaborative projects with both Western and Asian universities.

In addition Kyushu University, a leading institution on Japan’s southern island, opened the Center for Asia Pacific Studies in March as an interdisciplinary hub for humanities-oriented subjects to explore commonalities and diversities.

Mind-set change

Nonetheless, universities in Asia face stiff competition from their higher-ranking counterparts in the West.

The United States and Britain continue to be the most popular destinations for students from Asia. While the international student population in Japan is headed by Chinese and South Korean nationals, research indicates that many desire to continue studying in the US or UK.

Dr Janjira Wongkhomthong, president of the Christian University of Thailand, told the IAUP session that the biggest challenge for Asian universities lay in changing this mind-set.

“There has to be a way we can showcase the Asian merits of higher learning. Partnerships between top regional universities will raise the prestige and attract good global students,” she explained.

According to Wongkhomthong, her students who have studied in Japan through exchange programmes have returned with education levels on a par with Western universities.

“They find jobs easily after they return because of language and technology skills. I also find them quieter and displaying a depth in their approach to studies.”

In preparation for next year’s ASEAN Community, Universiti Sains Malaysia – USM – in Penang, Malaysia, launched the Asia-Pacific University Community Engagement Network, or APUCEN, in 2012 under the Industry and Community Network set up to support such collaboration.

USM’s Deputy Vice-chancellor Dr See Ching Mey described the venture “as a place where visiting scholars and industrial experts, especially from the ASEAN and Japan, are invited to share their experiences”.

Most of all, Asian university representatives agreed that studying across the region could foster closer understanding between nationalities in Asian countries and could play a particularly important role in overcoming diplomatic clashes.

Currently Asia is mired in tension between Japan and its former colonies, China and Korea over past historical differences, and territorial disputes are ongoing between China and Vietnam, and between China and the Philippines.

SOUTH KOREA: Education nominee accused of plagiarising thesis

By Korea JoongAng Daily20 June 2014 Issue No:325

 

The nominee for education minister was accused of plagiarism yesterday by an opposition party lawmaker, who alleged that the candidate lifted a thesis from one of his students while working as a university professor.

Kim Myung-soo, 66, a professor at Korea National University of Education and the president of the Korean Educational Research Association, was tapped on June 13 to serve as education minister and to simultaneously fill the newly established post of deputy prime minister for education, society and culture.

Park Hong-keun, a lawmaker with the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), accused the professor of copying in its entirety the 79-page thesis of a master’s student studying under him at the school.

He presented two nearly identical theses as evidence, claiming that Kim summarized the thesis of his student, only identified by his surname Jeong, and condensed it into a 24-page paper with the same content.

Representative Park said he found the documents by searching through the National Assembly Library’s archive, which contains theses from universities nationwide.

According to the materials Park released, Kim’s thesis used most of his student’s introduction, hypothesis, background, research methods, research results, conclusion and summary.

Jeong, who studied educational administration at the university, received his master’s degree in February 2002, submitting his thesis entitled, “The Effect of Autonomous Classroom Management on the Lives of Students.” Park claimed that at the time, the student was studying under Kim’s direction.

In June 2002, another thesis was published in a local journal, with the same title and almost the exact same content, with Kim and Jeong appearing as co-writers. Kim’s name appeared first, which is common in academia for the primary writer.

“Under the guidance of Kim, Jeong submitted the thesis and obtained his master’s degree,” Rep. Park told reporters yesterday. “Four months later, Kim published a summarized version of the thesis and introduced himself as the first writer, while his student - who actually wrote the thesis - was listed as the secondary writer.

“In academia, the first writer is the leading writer and his dedication to the thesis is recognized 100 percent, while the secondary writer is regarded as dedicating only half the thesis,” Park said. “Despite Kim’s guidance on the thesis, it is principle in academia to list Jeong as the first writer.

It is a typical approach in order for a professor to steal his student’s thesis - and is regarded as apparent plagiarism in academia,” he added.

Park argued that Kim was not qualified to fill the ministerial seat and demanded he step down.

“Because the Ministry of Education is a leading government organization in charge of laws and policies managing theses and other information, we should apply a far stricter standard in inspecting the qualifications of a nominee for this post,” he said.

In 2006, Kim Byung-joon, a candidate for education prime minister under the Roh Moo-hyun administration withdrew his nomination just 13 days after he was named following similar plagiarism accusations.

He stepped down following an intense confirmation hearing in which he was grilled by Grand National Party lawmakers, the opposition at the time.
 

UNITED STATES: Teach students soft skills

William Patrick Leonard13 June 2014 Issue No:324

 

The financial relationship between students and their tertiary education institutions partially mirrors a contract. While both sides brings something to the table – tuition in exchange for instructional services with certification upon meeting all requirements – there are important differences.

The tuition paid to the institution is relatively easy to quantify in terms of the dollar value at the time of the transfer. The total cost to the student is more difficult to appraise due to two overlooked factors.

One, the actual cost to the student sharply increases when the student must borrow money to fully pay the tuition when payable. As tuition fees have and continue to increase annually, more and more students have been forced to fund at least a portion of their tertiary education with debt.

The average debt burden is reported to be around US$30,000. With interest accruing over the life of the loan, their tuition burden may become much greater than the amount received by the institution. The net present value of the amount of tuition paid plus interest charged over the life of the debt repayment most accurately reflects the student’s real tertiary education expense.

Two, the corresponding value of the instructional services provided in exchange for the tuition expense is much more difficult to estimate.

The nation’s tertiary education community has long touted the expected offsetting financial value of a baccalaureate degree. Until recent years, it has been argued that the lifetime earnings of baccalaureate graduates has been greater than their counterparts not earning a degree.

The implied message was complete the degree at any cost; the additional financial burden will be more than offset by greater lifetime earnings compared to those without degrees.

Rising debt

While the baccalaureate unquestionably produces an array of tangible and intangible benefits, the once unquestioned rationale that the degree more than pays for itself in lifetime income has begun to lose its credibility.

The average debt load has narrowed the gap between total amount paid and the probable lifetime income for many graduates unable to find suitable employment.

Full-time employment complementary to the undergraduate’s major once gave graduates an early, if incomplete, indication of the degree’s potential value. Prior to the Great Recession of 2007 the seminal role of employers in providing initial validation of the degree’s promise was unquestionably assumed. Most graduates were routinely hired.

Unfortunately, the halting recovery has not provided the jobs in the volume expected. The class of 2012’s under- and unemployed rates has been reported as edging 50% with the debt load noted above.

For graduates attempting to service large college debt with the proceeds of low-paying jobs, the promised return on their investment has become a delayed or unreachable prospect.

Recent employer surveys and studies from within the academy may partially explain why some graduates cannot secure the well-paying jobs even as the US economy haltingly recovers.

Soft skills deficit

While many graduates may have an array of technical skills, employers have been reporting for years that job seekers lack the complementary soft skills that are prerequisite to animating the hard skills developed in their tertiary studies.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers recently surveyed over 200 employers on their principal criteria in assessing candidates. Respondents clearly favoured candidates who are team players, problem solvers and can plan, organise and prioritise their work.

Comparable surveys conducted by other observers uniformly confirm employers’ aggregate desire for candidates with strong oral and written communication skills. Lack of foreign language proficiency is frequently cited.

The lack of soft skills is not limited to the United States. ManpowerGroup’s 2013 survey of over 38,000 employers in 42 countries found that worldwide 35% of employers had difficulty filling positions.

Its survey found that 39% of US employers could not recruit candidates with the prerequisite skills. Its deficit list also includes lack of motivation, interpersonal skills, appearance, punctuality and flexibility.

Complementary studies from within the academy have also reported declines in soft skills among graduate in recent decades.

The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy study documented a 10-year decline in college graduate soft skills. More recent titles – Academically Adrift and Declining by Degrees and others from within the academy – also note soft skill deficits.

Institutions must respond

The soft skill deficit has been discussed for over two decades yet institutions have not responded.

The lack of the desired soft skills is only one of an array of factors contributing to high under- and unemployment among recent graduates. It is, however, one that is within the power of institutions to act on in the short term.

Institutions empowering their graduates with soft skills should give them an advantage in the competitive job market.

In response, a marketing advantage should accrue to the institutions as prospective students learn of their graduates’ success in securing full-time employment in their field and a salary within expectations.

* William Patrick Leonard is vice dean of SolBridge International School of Business in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
 

ASIA: Expanding graduate education in Malaysia and Thailand

Chiao-Ling Chien and David W Chapman13 June 2014 Issue No:324

 

Across Asia, higher education enrolment has experienced explosive growth over the last few decades, from 20 million students in 1980 to 84 million in 2011. To serve this growing enrolment, graduate programmes needed to expand, both to supply more instructors and to upgrade existing instructors’ qualifications in cases where unqualified lecturers were hired to teach in response to increasing numbers of undergraduates.

The expansion of graduate education has translated into positive outcomes. In the Philippines in 2002, for instance, only about 8% of faculty members in higher education institutions had doctoral degrees, with another 26% holding a masters degree. In 2012, the proportions had increased to 13% and 41% respectively.

From the government perspective, expanding graduate education has an attractive secondary benefit. Many governments see universities as centres of research that will yield positive economic returns to the country.

University research is typically done at the graduate level. Therefore, expanding graduate education is viewed as a means of increasing the economic competitiveness of the country.

The report Higher Education in Asia: Expanding out, expanding up, recently published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, examines the dynamics associated with the expansion of graduate education, with a particular focus on middle-income countries in Southeast Asia.

Included in the report is a case study of Malaysia and Thailand, conducted to elaborate on the reasons why governments and universities have been expanding graduate programmes and the impacts of that expansion.

The case study is based on interviews with senior administrators and faculty members in selected public research universities, officers in the Ministry of Education, and international organisations in the region.

Expected outcomes

In Malaysia and Thailand, the governments believe that investing in graduate education contributes to national economic development.

The views of Malaysian interviewees are that a substantial investment in education will build an educated workforce. The evidence of an educated workforce will attract international investment, which will boost national economic development.

For this investment in graduate education to yield the expected outcomes, top universities not only need to be good but must be recognised as being effective internationally. Many interviewees viewed global university rankings as a way to earn international attention and respect.

Designated research universities

Recent policies designating top-tier universities as research universities and increasing funding for university research activities exemplify the value governments are placing on expanding graduate education.

In Malaysia, graduate enrolment has increased by 400% over the last decade, and this increase reflects the government’s high priority in offering graduate education. The government aims to enhance indigenous research capability and reduce reliance on industrial research conducted by foreign companies.

To support this priority, the government has been generous in providing inputs into graduate education. In 2008 and 2009, the government selected five research universities to receive a 70% increase in public funding, compared with the amount in the previous year.

Similarly, graduate enrolment in Thailand has grown by 300% since a decade ago. One reason is the government’s belief that Thailand’s competitiveness in research is a significant indicator of the production and quality of human resources of the country.

To this end, in 2009 the Ministry of Education initiated the National Research Universities Project with an additional 12 billion baht (US$370 million). Currently there are nine universities selected to participate in the project. These research universities are expected to achieve higher world university rankings.

University rankings

Both government officers and university personnel are concerned about the placement of their universities in international rankings.

This thinking can be summed up with an analogy expressed by a Malaysian interviewee: the performance of a nation’s football team in an international competition tends to be the basis on which observers judge the football prowess of the entire country.

If the national team does well, the presumption is that there is wider football strength in the country. Fair or not, the image of the whole country is usually based on the perception of a few.

It is the same in higher education. International observers judge a higher education system on the basis of its leading institutions.

In Thailand, university personnel took a somewhat more benign view. They also sought high international rankings for their universities. However, the cost of raising their rankings could get in the way of other objectives that they valued. Rankings are important, but the relevance of universities to Thai society is also important.

Publication, graduate students

Since the publication rate is a key ingredient across most international university ranking systems, pushing faculty members to publish in top-tier international journals was viewed as an important strategy for high rankings.

In Malaysia’s research universities, the pressure to publish in top-tier international journals is intense. Universities have sought to raise publication rates by modifying accountability and incentive systems.

The government, working through the universities, has introduced a system of key performance indicators, aimed at specifying the level of productivity – number of publications, amount of teaching, grants and public services – expected of each faculty member.

Research universities in Thailand also emphasise publications in top-tier international journals, but with more nuance. Some faculty members are concerned that if they publish in top-tier journals in the English language, the results will be largely inaccessible to wider Thai society, most of whom do not understand English.

There was a strong view that it was important for universities to give back to Thai society. Moreover, a frequent observation was that some faculty members may be less comfortable writing in the English language at the level required for top-tier international journals.

Graduate students are viewed as important contributors to publications, both because they assist in conducting faculty members’ research and because they publish as part of their graduate programme requirements.

In Malaysia and Thailand, PhD students in selective universities are required to publish their research in journals as a condition of graduation. Perceiving graduate students as valuable in helping move their institutions up university rankings, research universities involved in this study are in the process of reducing undergraduate enrolment while increasing graduate enrolment, with a target ratio of 1:1 for undergraduates to graduates.

Performance pressure

In summary, in both Malaysia and Thailand, the initial rationale for expanding graduate education was to provide qualified instructional staff to serve expanding undergraduate enrolment.

In both countries, this rationale was eclipsed, to a large extent, by the view that graduate education would help fuel national economic development.

The focus on economic development triggered an intensified emphasis on universities being placed high in international rankings, which led to pressure for more research. This pressure led some faculty members to focus more of their time and energy on research, sometimes at the expense of teaching.

In short, ‘expanding up’ has changed organisational dynamics and the nature of faculty work in important ways.

* Chiao-Ling Chien is a researcher at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in Montreal, Canada. E-mail: cl.chien@unesco.org. David W Chapman is Birkmaier professor of educational leadership at the University of Minnesota, USA. E-mail: chapm026@umn.edu. The full report is available in the UNESCO Institute for Statistics Document Library: www.uis.unesco.org. This article was first published in International Higher Education, Number 76: Summer 2014.