Top 12 Trending International Education News
March 19
, 2020
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The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate across the world, with Canada sealing its borders and the United States imposing travel restrictions for 28 European nations. International education suffers a direct blow from the new developments, from travel bans to challenges in student housing and access to campuses. The MSM Reporter continues to report the news around challenges that higher education institutions (HEIs) and students face today.
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Canada To Close Border On International Students Without Permanent Residency Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
Canada has announced that it will close its borders starting March 18 to non-Canadians and people without permanent resident status. This affects international students without permanent residency who need to decide risking going home and possibly getting barred from re-entering the country. The borders will remain open to American citizens, but additional measures may be implemented. Canada’s health agency maintains that COVID-19 risk in the country is low among the general population, amid more than 175,000 confirmed cases in over 160 countries.
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Stemming The Flow Of International Students Could Cost US Colleges $41 Billion
For the school year 2018-2019, international students have contributed almost $41 billion to the US economy. However, more than a third of these students are unable to enroll this year, affecting many colleges that rely heavily on foreign students. International students are known to pay top dollar and usually for one full year. With a main source of income in jeopardy, schools need to look into domestic enrollment, endowments, or other sources of funding.
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UK Eases Visa Norms As India Bans Travel From UK Over Coronavirus Outbreak
The UK government has eased visa norms for Indians and other non-European Union students and professionals who are in the country in light of the coronavirus. According to the Home Office, Indian and other international students and professionals holding work visas may be barred from attending their studies or work due to illness and the need to complete a quarantine period, or the inability to travel due to prevailing restrictions. However, absences need not be reported, and universities and employers do not have to withdraw sponsorship to visas if they consider there are exceptional circumstances when a student is unable to attend for over 60 days.
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CBA Reports Sharp Decline in Travel and Education Spending Intentions
New research from the Commonwealth Bank has revealed the early impacts of the Australian bushfires and COVID-19 on spending intentions. According to the bank’s chief economist, the bushfires and global pandemic would seriously stem growth domestic product (GDP) numbers, because of the massive effects on tourism and international education. The bushfires likely knocked 0.2 percentage points off economic growth over the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, while the virus could take an additional 0.5 percentage points out of Q1 2020. The consensus: the sectors most affected are tourism and international education.
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Universities Order Students In Residences To Leave, Some Stay Back Amid Coronavirus Crisis
A number of Canadian universities have ordered students in residence to leave as soon as possible to help slow the spread of coronavirus on university campuses. Students at Wilfrid Laurier University, more than 3,400 of whom live in residence, have been told they have until just before midnight on March 18 to comply. A spokesperson for the institution cites public health reasons for the closure, an effort to flatten the curve. The university, however, will make allowances for extraordinary cases, such as international students, out-of-province students needing extra time to move out, students who live more than five hours away from campus, and students currently self-isolating.
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Hong Kong Government Shuts Down German Swiss International School’s Business College For Operating Illegally
The business college at one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious international schools is forced to shut down. This follows the discovery that it has never registered to provide post-secondary education even as it has provided vocational courses for decades. The education bureau has issued a strongly worded letter to the German Swiss International School for blatantly disregarding the Education Ordinance, as well as deliberately concealing the college’s post-secondary nature. Ordering its closure in the summer, the government says that the institution is in breach of the law and its campus lease agreement.
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International Students Face Barriers Despite Federal, University Accommodations
Per US laws, international students need to live within the city limits of their universities and must take a minimum of 12 credit hours of classes conducted in person. If they don’t follow these rules, their student visas could be revoked. These rules may be relaxed due to the mass transition to online classes; however, the majority of international students live on campus because they don’t have the means to rent off-campus. They also don’t have family or friends who can help them, or the financial means to go back to their home countries. One foreign student says that India is in a different timezone, and online classes will make going back home impractical.
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Chinese Students Flee UK After 'Maskaphobia' Triggered Racist Attacks
Chinese students at universities in the United Kingdom are reportedly fleeing back to China amid concerns about how the British government handles the spread of the virus, along with an increase in racist attacks fueled by so-called maskaphobia. Some students have already flown back home, while others who remain struggle to get seats on a dwindling number of flights, mostly sold at inflated prices. A Chinese student says many in their community feel safer in China than in their host country and are suspicious about the UK government’s response, expecting to get “more draconian measures.”
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Estonian Offers International e-Education Support In Coronavirus Pandemic
Estonia backs up other countries’ digital education efforts during the coronavirus pandemic through a variety of measures, such as the creation of e-education tools. During the announcement of the country’s support for e-learning, the education minister has emphasized that while learning and digital teaching are a challenge even under normal circumstances, digital schooling is the only option left during COVID-19. Solutions that have already been developed include school management system eKool, language learning platforms Lingvist.com and Speakly.me, and math platform 99math.com. All schools in Estonia have been closed from March 16 until further notice.
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How COVID-19 Will Affect The 2020 College Admissions Cycle
Colleges and universities across the US harbor fears that the enrollment of international students for the school year 2020-2021 will continue to diminish due to COVID-19. Although there are still tests scheduled in May and August, standardized test sites in different countries have been closed due to massive lockdowns. Some schools have cancelled student weekends for international students who have already received their acceptance letters, even as they shut down their campuses as precautionary measures against the virus.
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COVID-19 Response: International Students To Be Allowed To Work Additional Hours
Supermarkets across Australia are swamped with shoppers buying basic goods and necessities. To meet the demand for services, workers including international students are now allowed to render more hours. This extension can help students get extra funds during lockdowns. The government is also studying the feasibility of extending work hours in other industries as the need arises during the ongoing pandemic.
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What New U.S. Travel Rules Mean For Foreign Students, Scholars
The US government has launched new travel restrictions for 28 European countries in the wake of the global pandemic, with the new rules affecting students and scholars across the world. Harvard officials talk about how the institution currently serves the needs of its international student body at this difficult time, and the number of consequences and complications for foreign students.
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Featured Institution: University of Missouri–St. Louis
The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university. It is located on the former grounds of the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis County, Missouri. It was established in 1963 as part of the University of Missouri System. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs on a variety of disciplines including business, nursing, social, and optometry. Its business school is the only public university in St. Louis that is accredited by the AACSB, the world's largest alliance on business education. It also offers a joint program in engineering with the Washington University, honors program, and evening programs.
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Featured Program: Design And Urban Ecologies, MS
The New School’s Master of Science in Design and Urban Ecologies is a 60-credit program that focuses on the design of urban environments. It combines lessons in urban planning with policy development, activism, and community practices. Students gain the necessary skills and expertise to bring about transformative change in global urban settings. This is a studio-driven program that is one of Parsons’ School of Design Strategies. It shares a 12-credit core curriculum with the SDS MA Theories of Urban Practice program. Graduates of the program can pursue work in a wide range of positions from program managers to civic designers for various organizations.
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International Education Conferences & Workshops
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March 25-27, 2020 in Kansas City, MO, USA
(Going virtual)
April 1-3, 2020 (Going virtual)
April 3-5 in Bangkok, Thailand
April 4-5, 2020 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA
(Going virtual)
Making a Difference
April 22-24, 2020 in Prague, Czech Republic
May 24-29, 2020 in St. Louis, MO, USA
May 29-31 in Brussels, Belgium
Crossing boundaries, unlocking creativity
June 2-4, 2020 in Nagoya, Japan
Internship Ability: Accessibility, Scalability, Sustainability
June 9-12, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada
June 9-12, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada
June 22-23, 2020 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Local impact, global influence
June 24-26, 2020 in Moscow, Russia
June 29-30, 2020 in London, UK
Crossing Borders, Connecting Cultures
June 30-July 2, 2020 in Luxembourg
Imagining Our Reach: Elevating the Enduring Impact of Education Abroad
July 22-24, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
August 11-12, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand
The power of place
September 1-3, 2020 in Toronto, Canada
September 15-18, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain
November 15-18, 2020 in Ontario, Canada
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The MSM Reporter aims to support the worldwide knowledge base of international educators by sharing the
TOP 12 TRENDING
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