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2. Teaching in a Time of War
- Author:
- Nader Hashemi, Jonathan Lincoln, and Fida Adely
- Publication Date:
- 06-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
- Abstract:
- Professors Nader Hashemi, Jonathan Lincoln, and Fida Adely, each of whom direct academic centers within Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, reflect on what it means to educate and care for students in this present moment.*
- Topic:
- Higher Education, Academia, Teaching, and 2023 Gaza War
- Political Geography:
- Palestine, Gaza, and United States of America
3. Factsheet: Thomas Hoffmann
- Author:
- Bridge Initiative Team
- Publication Date:
- 09-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
- Abstract:
- Thomas Hoffmann is a full professor at the University of Copenhagen. He states that he specializes in a number of fields including Qur’anic Studies, Biblical Studies, Religion and Literature, Ritual Theory, and History of Religion. He was named a professor by the dean of the theological faculty. Hoffmann publishes in the weekly right-wing Weekendavisen and is a frequent commentator on contemporary Islam and Muslims in Denmark. He is also a member of several state institutions that advise the government on policies regarding religion and integration affairs. Hoffmann has styled himself as an authority on contemporary Islam, and his comments have promoted harmful stereotypes about Muslims.
- Topic:
- Religion, Islamophobia, Higher Education, Academia, and Thomas Hoffman
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Denmark
4. An Economic Mirage: How Canadian Universities Impact Freedom to Operate
- Author:
- James Hinton, Mardi Witzel, and Joanna Wajda
- Publication Date:
- 04-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
- Abstract:
- Canada’s universities drive research and innovation, but when publicly funded institutions partner with foreign firms and countries, who is the biggest beneficiary? Not Canada or the Canadian economy. According to the authors of this paper, foreign entities that invest in Canadian research often take their intellectual property (IP) (and the money it generates) out of the country, leaving Canadian taxpayers holding the bill, unable to benefit from the economic return on their investment. This paper looks at the U15, a collective of some of Canada’s most research-intensive universities, accounting for 79 percent of all competitively allocated research funding in Canada and 83 percent of all contracted private sector research in Canada. With a focus on research outcomes, specifically IP, this paper examines patent data; IP ownership; and the impact on freedom to operate, an indicator of Canadian firms’ ability to commercialize their technology, to maximize Canada’s return on investment.
- Topic:
- Economics, Education, Higher Education, and Freedom
- Political Geography:
- Canada and North America
5. Affirmative action with no major switching: Evidence from a top university in Brazil
- Author:
- Rodrigo C. Oliveira, Alei Santos, and Edson Severnini
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Affirmative action in higher education may lead to mismatch, a situation where students benefiting from preferential admission struggle with their college-level work because of poor precollege academic preparation. In the United States, those students can switch majors if they underperform in the originally intended major. Only in the extreme may they drop out. What happens when major switching is not allowed? In this paper, we examine the margins of adjustment for beneficiaries of affirmative action in a top university in Brazil, where prospective students must choose a major prior to the entrance test, and cannot switch it while in college. Surprisingly, we do not find a larger effect on dropout rates relative to the United States, and also provide evidence of strong catching up for students who remain in school. Because they fail more courses early on, to successfully graduate students benefiting from preferential admission end up reducing the number of credit hours taken in the first and second college years, but compensate by taking more credit hours in the final years.
- Topic:
- Higher Education, Students, and Affirmative Action
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
6. The Role of Non-Pecuniary Considerations: Location Decisions of College Graduates from Low Income Backgrounds
- Author:
- Yifan Gong, Todd Stinebrickner, Yuxi Yao, and Ralph Stinebrickner
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP), Western University
- Abstract:
- We examine the initial post-college geographic location decisions of students from hometowns in the Appalachian region that often lack substantial high-skilled job opportunities, focusing on the role of non-pecuniary considerations. Novel survey questions allow us to measure the full non-pecuniary benefits of each relevant geographic location, in dollar equivalents. A new specification test is designed and implemented to provide evidence about the quality of these non-pecuniary measures. Supplementing perceived location choice probabilities and expectations about pecuniary factors with our new non-pecuniary measures allows a new approach for obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the importance of pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors for location decisions. We compare this approach to alternative expectations-based approaches. We also combine the non-pecuniary measures with realized location and earnings outcomes to characterize inequality in overall welfare.
- Topic:
- Income Inequality, Welfare, Higher Education, Data, and Location Choice
- Political Geography:
- North America, United States of America, and Appalachia
7. International Higher Education Scholarships and Fellowships for Social Justice: The Role of Foundations
- Author:
- Selma Talha-Jebril and Mirka Martel
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education (IIE)
- Abstract:
- International Higher Education Scholarships and Fellowships for Social Justice: The Role of Foundations explores philanthropy's role in funding international scholarship and fellowship programs committed to reducing long-standing disparities in higher education. The research paper addresses a gap in the literature regarding U.S. and non-U.S. foundations that have funded international scholarship and fellowship programs that focus on social justice, namely equity and access. The research paper is framed by the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) and the IFP Alumni Tracking Study, administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE). It brings in the perspectives of IFP and other scholarship and fellowship programs for social justice. The findings indicate four elements that contributed to growing interest in funding international higher education programs: (1) The push from multilateral agencies such as the U.N. and World Bank; (2) The rise of personal wealth during the past two decades; (3) The growing global youth population and access to higher education; and (4) The increasing liberal government policies encourage non-state actors to contribute and play a more significant role in the field of higher education. The research paper reveals that higher education scholarship and fellowship programs with common agendas – whether between donors and academic institutions or between government and international partners – often lead to sustainable partnerships and better program outcomes because they are supported by more than one entity and are grounded in common goals and visions.
- Topic:
- Social Justice, Higher Education, Philanthropy, Scholarships, and Fellowships
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
8. Silk Road Academic Connections: China–Italy Cooperation in Higher Education and Its Implications for the West
- Author:
- Nicola Casarini
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Cooperation in higher education and research is a positive aspect of the broader Italy–China relationship as it contributes to the advancement of the scientific and cultural environment in both countries. China has invested considerable sums to promote cooperation and exchanges with the Italian academy, including through the establishment of a dozen Confucius Institutes and a number of Confucius Classrooms. Italian universities have set up academic partnerships with Chinese entities on almost every subject. These have improved Italy’s research outlook, but have also posed inevitable risks of self-censorship and kowtowing to Chinese wishes. Moreover, there has been a surge of academic sponsorships by Chinese firms, in particular ICT companies such as ZTE and Huawei, which raise further concerns for Italy’s security interests and cooperation with its Western allies.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Education, Science and Technology, Higher Education, and Research and Development
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Asia, and Italy
9. West African Elites’ Spending on UK Schools and Universities: A Closer Look
- Author:
- Matthew Page
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Political, business, and cultural elites from around the world have a strong affinity for the United Kingdom (UK) education system. Nowhere is this truer than in West Africa, where some families in Nigeria and Ghana have a long tradition of sending their children to private boarding schools and universities in the UK. These institutions are especially popular destinations for the offspring of prominent politically exposed persons (PEPs) from the region. Immigration officials, admissions staff, and UK law enforcement are not likely to scrutinize the conditions under which the children of PEPs enroll in British schools, even though the PEPs themselves may have modest legitimate earnings and opaque asset profiles that in other circumstances would raise serious financial concerns. This relative lack of review has allowed some West African PEPs to channel unexplained wealth into the UK education sector. It is not easy to estimate the overall value of this flow, yet it likely exceeds £30 million annually.1 Most of these funds emanate from Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, Ghana; compared with these two countries, only a handful of students from elsewhere in West Africa seek an education in British schools. Tackling this small but significant illicit financial flow should be a priority for UK policymakers. In doing so, they would be helping to realize the UK’s global anticorruption objectives, advance its International Education Strategy, and close a troublesome anti–money laundering (AML) loophole. Failing to do so would exacerbate existing corruption challenges both at home and abroad and increase the UK education sector’s reputational liabilities.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Education, Law Enforcement, Higher Education, and Elites
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, and West Africa
10. Innis Lecture: Return on Student Loans in Canada
- Author:
- Lance Lochner, Qian Liu, and Martin Gervais
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP), Western University
- Abstract:
- This paper uses new administrative data with detailed borrower information and lengthy repayment histories from the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to measure rates of return on undergraduate student loans. We document substantial heterogeneity in returns based on information available at the time loans were disbursed, including province of residence, field of study, and institution of attendance. Field of study is a particularly important determinant of rates of return, explaining 22% of the variation in predicted returns across borrowers. We explore the implications of this variation for CSLP cross-subsidization across borrowers and potential risk-based loan limits. Given the variation in ex ante predicted returns across borrowers, using all available information at the time of loan disbursement, we study the implications of potential cream-skimming of high-return borrowers by private lenders.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Investment, Higher Education, and Student Loans
- Political Geography:
- Canada and North America
11. Higher Education and Social Innovation Ecosystem in Ghana
- Author:
- InnoHub Ghana
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Nkafu Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Higher education institutions (HEIs) are widely regarded as agents of human transformation and social development, and as such, are expected to play active roles in the change process in society. This expectation is based on the premise that higher education institutions play a leading role in teaching, learning, research, and facilitating the innovation of process, policies, and human contributions. This policy brief looks at the contributions by higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa (moreso in Ghana) to social innovation and societal development. The literature points out the challenges, policies, and existing practices by the various institutions to alleviate these challenges.
- Topic:
- Education, Innovation, Higher Education, and Social Innovation
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
12. Expanding Opportunity for Lower-Income Students: Three Years of the American Talent Initiative
- Author:
- Aspen Institute
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- This is the second annual report for the American Talent Initiative, highlighting it has achieved more than 40 percent of the progress needed to realize its goal to enroll 50,000 additional lower-income students at high-graduation rate institutions across the country. This report also centers on the impact that an equity-focused, comprehensive strategy can have on institutions’ ability to enroll and graduate more of these talented students.
- Topic:
- Education, Inequality, Income Inequality, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
13. Perceived and Actual Option Values of College Enrollment
- Author:
- Yifan Gong, Ralph Stinebrickner, and Todd Stinebrickner
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP), Western University
- Abstract:
- An important feature of post-secondary schooling is the experimentation that accompanies sequential decision-making. Specifically, by entering college, a student gains the option to decide at a future time whether it is optimal to remain in college or to drop out, after resolving uncertainty that existed at entrance about factors that affect the return to college. This paper uses data from the Berea Panel Study to quantify the value of this option. The unique nature of the data allows us to make a distinction between “actual” option values and “perceived” option values and to examine the accuracy of students’ perceptions. We find that the average perceived option value is 65% smaller than the average actual option value ($8,670 versus $25,040). A further investigation suggests that this understatement is not due to misperceptions about how much uncertainty is resolved during college, but, rather, because of overoptimism at entrance about the returns to college. In terms of policy implications related to college entrance, we do not find evidence that students understate the overall value of college, which depends on the sum of the option value and expectations at entrance about the returns to college.
- Topic:
- Economics, Labor Issues, Human Capital, Higher Education, Economic Mobility, and Productivity
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus