The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 20 March 2013.
UK: Decline in proportion of male students applying to university
The UK’s university admissions service, UCAS, has highlighted a decline in the proportion of male students applying for degree courses, reports The Telegraph. Of applications made by this year’s January deadline, more than 57% were from women, and UCAS forecasts this trend will continue. Mary Curnock Cook, head of UCAS, said, “Females are outperforming males in primary and secondary education and of course that is feeding through into participation into higher education as well.”
Hong Kong: University study exposes light pollution problem
Researchers at Hong Kong University say the city has one of the world’s highest levels of light pollution – with night skies 1,000 times brighter than internationally accepted standards, Global Post reports. The study took five million measurements across the city, concluding that Hong Kong’s light pollution is much worse than other major cities, such as London, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai. Research leader Jason Pun said it was important to reduce lighting levels in order to save energy.
Singapore: Interest in astronomy growing
Interest in astronomy seems to be growing in Singapore, Straits Times reports – and there are hopes that the subject will take on a more prominent role in schools, feeding through to the country’s growing space industry. The country now has eight observatories and 30 astronomy societies, and has seen an increase in visitors to the observatory at the national Science Center, more participants in Space Camps, and more schools purchasing equipment such as telescopes. Dr K K Cheong, a member of the Astronomical Society of Singapore, said the subject is “one of the rapidly moving sciences of our day”.
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US: Parents uncertain over value of liberal arts degrees
In a survey of US parents conducted by Inside Higher Ed, most respondents said improved job prospects was the most important reason for going to college. However, respondents were more likely to identify vocational qualifications or even no college at all as leading to a good job, rather than a liberal arts degree. Almost 70% of parents said they’d be ‘somewhat likely’ or ‘very likely’ to restrict their child’s college choice based on tuition fees.
UK: Oxford students call for sacked librarian to be reinstated
Students at Oxford University are protesting over the sacking of a librarian, who was fired for being present during production of a Harlem Shake video, The Independent reports. The video, which took just 7 minutes to film, involved students in fancy dress dancing on chairs and tables in the library at St Hilda’s College. One student said sacking the librarian was “ridiculous”, as “she just happened to be there”. The college’s Junior Common Room has passed a motion declaring the decision “hugely unjust”.