Some new links for English-language info. on Japan HE

These are some links to Ministry of Education web pages which contain information and statistics on higher education here. At least the statistics look to be updated frequently.

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/koutou/index.htm

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/statist/index10.htm

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/statist/index11.htm

Enrollment at 46% of private colleges falls below quota

About half of Japan's private four-year institutions of higher education have failed to get their government-set quotas of new enrollments. Although this sort of shortfall has become an annual event, coverage of this issue has been extensive in the Japanese language media. However, English language articles are few. The shortfalls are exacerbated by the large number of two-year colleges that have started running four-year courses of study since many of these institutions went ahead with expansion even though the population of seniors has fallen since the early 1990s. Moreover, these institutions and programs do not have well-established track records for finding jobs for their graduates, so their popularity among seniors is questionable, especially in today's high unemployment economy. Here is a link to and an excerpt from a Kyodo News article that appeared at Japan Today:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/enrollment-at-46-of-private-colleges-falls-below-quota

>>Enrollment at 46% of private colleges falls below quota

Friday 31st July, 03:28 AM JST

TOKYO

Enrollment at 265 private four-year colleges, or 46.5% of the total nationwide, fell below quota at the start of the current academic year in April, due to tough conditions amid the declining birthrate, a survey by a school support organization showed Thursday....<<

Japanese students rush for English-language education

Japan has long suffered from a 'brain drain' of educated and creative people leaving Japan for a less constrained lifestyle and career. But is Japan's higher education set for a brain drain of its best potential students? Are the best students going to go overseas to study at higher education? Cultural and lingustic differences are still going to be major obstacles for most Japanese students, even from the best high schools here. Moreover, after the economic and financial debacles in the US for the past decade, US-style schools of business, management, accounting and international law might not seem as appealing as they did when the US bubbles appeared unstoppable.

http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/7/Pages/04072009/07052009_3899a8262ac24bf184dab687cab1da6a.aspx

Japanese students rush for English-language education
Japan lags behind India and China in sending students to US colleges. (AFP)

excerpt:

>>AFP on Sunday, July 05, 2009

While many families across Asia who could afford it have long sent their children abroad for an English-language education, Japan now lags behind India, China and South Korea in sending students to US universities, according to the US Institute of International Education.

But the tide is turning, said Fujii, with a new wave of students worried that a Japanese-only education will leave them ill-prepared in an increasingly globalised world.

"The recent trend is different from the past in that top students are hoping to leave Japan," he said.<<

100 Free Cutting-Edge Courses that Didn’t Exist When You Were in School

The spring-summer term is coming to an end here in Japan, so the JPN HEO Blog hopes to re-start its efforts at original content, including a comprehensive re-write of the 'Ten Reasons Why English Fails in Japan' series into one coherent article, with positive suggestions for overcoming the failures. Meanwhile, here is an online article that those interested in HE worldwide might want to read. We will also post some more items to catch up on the past three months.

100 Free Cutting-Edge Courses that Didn’t Exist When You Were in School

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/07/30/100-free-cutting-edge-courses-that-didnt-exist-when-you-were-in-school/

Whether you’ve been out of school for 10 years or 20, chances are it's pretty different today than when you were in school. Advances in technology, new information about the world around us, and changes in society have added many new classes to college offerings. You can help keep yourself up-to-date on what is going on in the world by taking cutting-edge and free courses online that touch upon the latest developments in technology, science, the Internet and much more.