The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest university news from around the world, on 8 July 2013.
Africa: New report on internationally mobile African students
According to a new report from Campus France, African students made up about a tenth of all international students in 2010, University World News reports. France was the most popular destination for African students, followed by South Africa, the UK, the US, Germany and Malaysia. African countries with the highest numbers of students going abroad were Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Tunisia. The report also identified trends of movement in different regions of Africa, and gives an overview of African universities’ international partnerships.
Australia: Medical students at greater risk of psychological problems
A survey of medical practitioners and students in Australia suggests both groups are more likely to experience problems such as psychological distress, depression, anxiety and burnout, compared to the general population. The study was conducted by the Beyond Blue Doctor’s Mental Health Program, The World Today reports. Benjamin Veness, president of the Australian Medical Students' Association, said, “For medical students, my concern is that not only are we seeing evidence of elevated levels of distress, but there's not very much time in the program either, and perhaps not as supportive a culture as we need.”
US: No takers for Colorado State’s degree-credit MOOC
Since last fall, when Colorado State University-Global Campus became the first to offer degree credits from a MOOC, no students have taken up the offer. This may seem surprising, as it costs just $89 to take the proctored exam at the end of the computer science MOOC – whereas a comparable three-credit course at Colorado State would usually cost more than $1,000. This corresponds to a general trend, in which students have been much slower to convert MOOCs into degree credits than had been expected, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.