Nibs

Up until now, all Dutch institutions of higher education received subsidies for non-EU students; however, new government regulations have placed a cap on the maximum amount of subsidies available to each institution. It’s hoped that this new grant program will offset the negative consequences of cuts to non-EU student funding. The grant funds will be allocated by the government to the various institutions, “keeping in mind their current number of non-EU students,” said Mark Rutte, undersecretary of education. Institutions that currently have large numbers of non-EU students may continue to enroll non-EU students. The government, in consultation with the universities and higher education institutions, will determine the precise allocation of funds per university or institute. To bolster the image of Dutch higher education abroad, Rutte plans to stimulate higher education within the Netherlands. He has reserved 5 million euros for the creation of ‘centers of excellence’ in the coming years.
Free ride

The University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business wants students and it’s willing to pay their travel expenses to London, Ontario (Canada) to sample the university’s MBA classes. This travel deal marks an escalation of the university marketing wars as schools cope with shrinking numbers of masters of business administration candidates. “In a competitive environment, you use all the tools available to you,” says Alex Bilyk, Ivey’s director of marketing and communications and the brain behind this ‘First Class to your First Class’ travel program. Applicants in Southern Ontario get first-class round trip train tickets to London, compliments of Ivey’s partnership with Via Rail Canada Inc. Bilyk says Via is covering part of the costs because it sees MBA students as “customers of the future”. Candidates from elsewhere in Canada, the United States and Mexico can apply for a $600 grant toward travel, accommodation and meals. Those outside North America can apply for $1,200 toward these expenses.
Speedy visas

The Immigration & Naturalization Department (IND) has finally put in place a special visa service for highly educated foreign professionals. This special ‘speed service’ will spare foreign professionals the problems and delays they’ve encountered in the past while trying to obtain Dutch visas. In the coming weeks, companies that signed agreements with the IND will be able to take advantage of the relaxed visa procedures. These companies include Unilever, Shell and Philips. The agreement stipulates that in return for speeding up the visa process, the companies themselves must serve as guarantors for their foreign personnel, or ‘knowledge workers’. If the new procedure proves effective, the IND will extend the service to other companies. The aim of this procedure is to help overcome the lack of highly educated professionals entering the Dutch labor force and to stimulate Holland’s knowledge economy. A residence permit for a knowledge worker is valid for up to five years. To qualify for this visa, the foreigner must be highly educated and earn at least 45,000 euro per year.
Privatizing Oxford?

British students will be able to spend their government loans and grants on fees at private universities from 2006. Kim Howells, the UK’s new education minister, has written to private university vice-chancellors advising them that their students will be eligible for support from the government from 2006. This has led to conjecture that the UK’s top state universities may drop out of the state system and go private in a British ‘Ivy League’. Though Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, Dr. John Hood, recently declared that privatization is not on the horizon, his colleagues have suggested otherwise. University Chancellor Chris Patten has suggested that Oxford and other leading universities could go private, because there was disquiet over the government’s attempts to regulate the kind of students Oxford is allowed to admit. Oxford’s Trinity College head Michael Beloff said the university will be private in 20 years and called for the government to “take its tanks off Oxford’s lawns”. Dr Hood said that although he wasn’t considering privatization, he was concerned about increasing government regulations.

Grants

The Dutch Ministry of Education announced that it has set aside 20 million euro for a grant program for top students from non-EU countries. Up until now, all Dutch institutions of higher education received subsidies for non-EU students; however, new government regulations have placed a cap on the maximum amount of subsidies available to each institution. It’s hoped that this new grant program will offset the negative consequences of cuts to non-EU student funding. The grant funds will be allocated by the government to the various institutions, “keeping in mind their current number of non-EU students,” said Mark Rutte, undersecretary of education. Institutions that currently have large numbers of non-EU students may continue to enroll non-EU students. The government, in consultation with the universities and higher education institutions, will determine the precise allocation of funds per university or institute. To bolster the image of Dutch higher education abroad, Rutte plans to stimulate higher education within the Netherlands. He has reserved 5 million euros for the creation of ‘centers of excellence’ in the coming years.
Free ride

The University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business wants students and it’s willing to pay their travel expenses to London, Ontario (Canada) to sample the university’s MBA classes. This travel deal marks an escalation of the university marketing wars as schools cope with shrinking numbers of masters of business administration candidates. “In a competitive environment, you use all the tools available to you,” says Alex Bilyk, Ivey’s director of marketing and communications and the brain behind this ‘First Class to your First Class’ travel program. Applicants in Southern Ontario get first-class round trip train tickets to London, compliments of Ivey’s partnership with Via Rail Canada Inc. Bilyk says Via is covering part of the costs because it sees MBA students as “customers of the future”. Candidates from elsewhere in Canada, the United States and Mexico can apply for a $600 grant toward travel, accommodation and meals. Those outside North America can apply for $1,200 toward these expenses.
Speedy visas

The Immigration & Naturalization Department (IND) has finally put in place a special visa service for highly educated foreign professionals. This special ‘speed service’ will spare foreign professionals the problems and delays they’ve encountered in the past while trying to obtain Dutch visas. In the coming weeks, companies that signed agreements with the IND will be able to take advantage of the relaxed visa procedures. These companies include Unilever, Shell and Philips. The agreement stipulates that in return for speeding up the visa process, the companies themselves must serve as guarantors for their foreign personnel, or ‘knowledge workers’. If the new procedure proves effective, the IND will extend the service to other companies. The aim of this procedure is to help overcome the lack of highly educated professionals entering the Dutch labor force and to stimulate Holland’s knowledge economy. A residence permit for a knowledge worker is valid for up to five years. To qualify for this visa, the foreigner must be highly educated and earn at least 45,000 euro per year.
Privatizing Oxford?

British students will be able to spend their government loans and grants on fees at private universities from 2006. Kim Howells, the UK’s new education minister, has written to private university vice-chancellors advising them that their students will be eligible for support from the government from 2006. This has led to conjecture that the UK’s top state universities may drop out of the state system and go private in a British ‘Ivy League’. Though Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, Dr. John Hood, recently declared that privatization is not on the horizon, his colleagues have suggested otherwise. University Chancellor Chris Patten has suggested that Oxford and other leading universities could go private, because there was disquiet over the government’s attempts to regulate the kind of students Oxford is allowed to admit. Oxford’s Trinity College head Michael Beloff said the university will be private in 20 years and called for the government to “take its tanks off Oxford’s lawns”. Dr Hood said that although he wasn’t considering privatization, he was concerned about increasing government regulations.