Hooked on Saudi Money?
Saudi Arabia funds academic research, pays American colleges to train its security forces, and sends more students to study in the United States than all but three other countries. In other words, Saudi money is pervasive in American higher education. From 2012 to 2018, $650 million went to American institutions, from research powerhouses like MIT to regional public institutions like Eastern Washington University. In The New York Times, Michael Sokolove takes a look at why American colleges are hooked on Saudi money, even when it comes with political complications. For more background, I recommend this Steven Johnson piece.
Released Student Accused of Spying
North Korean officials say that a graduate student they expelled was a spy who’d been “caught red-handed.” Alek Sigley, an Australian graduate student in Korean literature at Kim Il-sung University, in Pyongyang, was freed last Thursday after several weeks’ detention. North Korean authorities said that Sigley had admitted to “systematically” collecting information about the isolated country and committing “incitement” against the government. On Twitter, Sigley denied the charges.
India Considers Foreign Branch Campuses
With its young, growing population and potential for academic and research partnerships, India has long been high on colleges’ list for international collaboration. But foreign universities have never been permitted to open campuses there. That could change now: An expert panel is recommending that “select” overseas institutions be allowed to open sites in India, as part of a broader plan to reform higher education. Only those ranked among the top 200 globally, however, would be able to do so.
A Revived Agent Debate in International Recruiting
When the National Association for College Admission Counseling revised its policies, in 2013, to permit the use of commission-based agents in international recruiting, many observers thought it would open the floodgates to the practice. Instead, the group’s own data show only modest growth in the use of paid recruiters in the past decade. Why? Some admissions officials are in the “never agents” camp, ethically opposed to paying commissions. Others might not have felt the need to change their approach amid a healthy interest from international students. But according to a new NACAC survey, a quarter of the association’s member colleges that responded to the survey are now “actively considering” using agents. Will slowing international enrollments be the catalyst that shifts overseas-recruitment practices, whether that’s using agents or other innovations? You can read more in latitude(s), my weekly newsletter on international education.
