Archive for October 16th, 2008
Finland: Tuition fees for foreign students to be introduced on trial basis in 2010
Posted on: October 16, 2008
- In: Europe | Finland | News
- 67 Comments
A five-year experimental programme in which foreign students from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area will be charged tuition fees to attend Finnish universities is set to begin in 2010.
Proposed changes to university legislation are to include provisions that would allow individual educational programmes to levy fees on students from outside the EU and EEA.
A draft for a new university law has been drawn up by the Ministry of Education, and will be sent to institutions and interested parties for comment. If passed, the law would take effect in the autumn of 2009, replacing the present one, which was passed in 1997.
The main impact of the law will be that of a change in the legal status of universities in Finland, giving them more administrative and economic independence.
The aim of the experiment on tuition fees is to promote international contacts. A new law came into effect already at the beginning of the year making it possible to charge fees for teaching in groups for commissioned programmes aimed at an academic degree.
The tuition fees would be applicable only to special masters’ programmes. The experiment could include programmes taught in foreign languages, and those with an international orientation, which would bring in students from outside the EU and EEA countries.
The universities would be allowed to decide on how high the fees should be. A few years ago, a working group proposed a range of between EUR 3,500 and EUR 12,000.
The aim of giving the universities wide discretion is to allow them to react quickly to changes on the education market.
The money from the fees could be used by the university itself, and would not reduce basic state funding.
Universities would also be expected to develop student grant systems for their fee-based programmes, to support the studies of gifted foreign students in Finland.
The grants could cover tuition fees partially or completely, and could also cover some of the costs of living in Finland.
source: – HELSINGIN SANOMAT
- In: Europe | News | Sweden
- 71 Comments
Sweden is to start charging tuition to non-European university students, according to comments by higher education minister Lars Leijonborg in the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.
Today, Sweden is one of the few countries in the world which does not charge tuition to students from other countries.
The Social Democratic government examined how a tuition system would look, but never put forward a legislative proposal on the matter.
Leijonborg has thus far avoided taking a stand on the controversial question, but now says that the government is in total agreement on charging fees to university students coming from countries other than the EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
“Our primary argument is that it is unwise of a country not to benefit from a payment system which obviously exists. Why should these students pay money to American or British universities, but not to Swedish [ones]?” Leijonborg explained to SvD.
The fees will be based on the costs incurred by the universities themselves. At the same time, a system of stipends will be implemented for students lacking sufficient funds to pay tuition.
The proposal is included in a bill to be present in the autumn on how university-level international exchanges can be increased.
The new tuition system would be implemented on January 1st, 2010, at the latest.
Elin Rosenberg, chair of the Swedish association of student unions (Sveriges Förenade studentkårer), is very critical of the proposal.
She fears that, in the long run, it could lead to fees for Swedish students as well.
Free education is one of the primary reasons that students choose Sweden. A study carried out last year by Sweden’s National Agency for Higher Education and the Swedish Institute found that many may choose not to pursue their studies in Sweden if fees are introduced.
Around 13,000 foreign students study at Swedish universities and colleges as “free-movers” who choose to come to Sweden on their own initiative rather than as a part of an organized exchange program.
Most of them are Asian men who are pursuing technical degrees.
According to the study, 86 percent of students would recommend studying in Sweden to others. If the education cost money, however, only 37 percent would recommend Sweden.
source: – The Local, Sweden
- In: Europe | France | News | Scholarships
- 15 Comments
MUMBAI: A leading European research and advanced engineering group along with the French Embassy is offering scholarships of upto 30,000 Euro each to 25 meritorius engineering students from India for post-graduate studies in France.
The 25 full scholarships of 30,000 Euro each will be offered to students who wish to enroll in a MS programme of two years duration, beginning academic session September 2009, in all core engineering fields by ALTEN, the European research and development consulting and advanced engineering network and the French Embassy.
ALTEN is a network which brings together over 70 premier post-graduate engineering institutions in France.
Last year, the network had offered 10 scholarships to Indian students which has been raised to 25 this time and it plans to raise the number to 40 next year.
“The application form for these corporate scholarships (ATS- Alten Training Solution) is available online at the website – http://www.nplusi.com,” ALTEN India Coordinator (Engineering Programme) Revati Arole told media.
No prior knowledge of French is required at the time of applying. Students do not need to take qualifying tests such as GRE or GMAT and will not be required to sign a bond with the company, she said.
Selection will be on the basis of academic merit, coherence of the statement of purpose, quality of recommendation letters and a personal interview, Arole said.
The network offers about 120 scholarships to students from across the world and has definite plans of increasing the number offered to Indian students each year.
source: – Economic Times, India
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