Bill Costello visits Seoul National University.
» 2010 » FebruaryBill Costello visits Seoul National University. Bill Costello visits Korea University in Seoul. Bill Costello visits Yonsei University in Seoul. Bill Costello visits Dorasan Station near the DMZ. Bill Costello views N. Korea from the DMZ. Bill Costello visits the DMZ. Bill Costello visits the Third Tunnel of Aggression in the DMZ. Bill Costello cruises on the Han River in Seoul. Bill Costello visits a traditional village school in Seoul. Bill Costello visits Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. Bill Costello visits Jogyesa in Seoul. Asian nations are making enormous investments in their universities in order to produce massive numbers of innovative people who can contribute significantly to economic growth. Without increased state investment in universities, the U.S. will no longer have the best universities in the world, will no longer be the world’s innovation leader, and will no longer have [...] The goal of Asian nations to create world-class universities that surpass U.S. universities has “every prospect of success,” argued Yale University President Richard C. Levin in a recent lecture, titled “The Rise of Asia’s Universities.” Levin also stated that rising Asian nations “all recognize the importance of an educated workforce as a means to economic growth [...] Currently, the U.S. has the best universities in the world. They attract the best students from around the world. After graduating, these non-U.S. students often stay in the U.S. to work, helping to fuel the nation’s innovation and economic growth. However, when U.S. universities decline in quality and lose their elite status because of budget cuts, [...] Budgets are being cut from state-supported universities primarily because states are facing budget shortfalls of historic proportions. However, short-sighted state politics like this lead to long-term consequences. For example, state budget cuts force universities to raise tuition, cap enrollment, and cut academic programs. These changes result in a smaller number of graduates, which in turn results [...] Having visited several Asian universities and having seen their large number of research facilities, I am not surprised when I read articles about Asian nations making enormous investments in their universities. I am surprised, however, when I read articles about U.S. states making enormous disinvestments in their universities. For example, the University of California—long regarded as [...] Since 2004, the world’s top 200 universities have been ranked annually by the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. Recently, the U.S. has been losing representation on the list while Asia has been gaining. In 2008, the U.S. had 37 universities in the top 100 and 58 in the top 200. In 2009, that dropped to [...] In the current issue of Foreign Policy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Fogel predicts that China’s GDP will reach $123 trillion by 2040 partially because of “the enormous investment China is making in education.” What are the immediate results of China’s enormous investment in education? Enrollment in high school and higher education has risen steeply with no end [...]
Between 2008 and 2009, South Korea improved its standing in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. In 2008, it represented three universities in the global top 200. In 2009, it represented four. Seoul National University—South Korea’s top university—advanced on the list from 50th place to 47th. At the same time, [...] While researching education systems in Asia, I had the opportunity to visit schools and universities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. What I observed was a scarcity of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it [...] |
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