Sorbonne Confidential

France - Schools Less than half of short-term teacher absences covered in 2009. Problem getting worse– The Connexion

FCPE  president Jean-Jacques Hazan told France Info: “A report submitted to the ministry in 2010 showed that less than half of short-term absences were covered in 2009 in secondary school.

Oddly, the French Education Ministry states the latest figures show 97% of absences were covered last year in secondary school and 92% in primary. Leading parents’ federation FCPE says this is “a lie”. 

In one typical example, in Hauts-de-Seine disgruntled parents said a maths teacher absent since the start of January had only just been replaced. They said a “two-speed” education resulted as certain parents paid for private lessons so their children did not miss out.

The non-replacement of absent teachers is a recurrent problem in the French education system, and instead of getting better it seems to be getting worse. (see: "French parents protest absent teachers")

for full article see THE CONNEXION "Schools Struggling to Cover Absences" February 14, 2012

Defending French language against English hegemony : samples from AgoraVox bloggers

Few subjects inspire more passion among French bloggers than the increasing use of the English language. To follow the debate and to understand what kind of arguments are used, see discussion on AgoraVox site.

Student-Loan Debt Could Become Next Financial Bubble, S&P Says - Businessweek

Federal and private student-loan debt is approaching $1 trillion and surpassed credit-card debt for the first time in 2010, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a college grant and loan website. Under U.S. law, student-loan debt -- unlike credit-card borrowings -- can rarely be discharged in bankruptcy court.

via www.businessweek.com

Thu Feb 9 2012 19h30 Understanding French Higher Education at The American Library in Paris

Thu 09 February 2012 19h30 AAWE  Understanding French Higher Education with the AAWE authors of  Beyond the Bac – Higher Education in France and Abroad. Speakers : Fred Weissler, professor of mathematics at Université Paris 13; Elyse Michaels- Berger, former Academic Director of the HEC MBA Program; and Sallie Chaballier, co-chair of the FAWCO education task force and AAWE coordinator of Paris College Day. AT The American Library in Paris 

School autonomy: good news from an experiment in England

From Bagehot in The Economist

In just six years Paddington Academy has gone from absolute failure to high performance with the same kids. The secret? New freedoms over staffing and teaching methods. And brilliant, highly motivated teachers. Can this work in France? Read more on The Economist. 

 

 

Will French universities finally break their chains?

On January 1, 2012, all French universities will officially become "autonomous", which in theory means greater control over their destiny, in particular concerning budget and staffing.

Based on the 2007 law known as LRU, autonomy was introduced in 2009 for 18 universities, followed by another 33 in 2010 and 22 in 2011, 

The LRU allowed universities to manage their payroll for the first time. By removing administrative barriers and freeing positive creative energies, it aimed to change a rigid, conservative mindset and encourage innovation and excellence. As such was arguably one of the most interesting and daring education reforms under the Pécresse Darcos duo.

Since the reform, some French universities have recruited leading researchers and promising students abroad: Paris-VII hired an American Nobel Prize winner in Physics; the University of Aix-Marseille II-established Chairs of Excellence; and Paris-XII tried to made itself more attractive by opening daycare for children of staff.

(Unfortunately the same government that introduced these positive innovations moronically then sabotaged them by preventing brilliant students from working.)  

The push towards autonomy gives dynamic, well-run universities an opening to excel. This will benefit students, teachers and ultimately France. Poorly managed, strike-ridden universities with archaic installations risk being left in the dust--as, perhaps, they should...

Now attention turns towards funding. 

(for more info in French see Le Figaro)

Mitt Romney hawks big donor's for-profit university as solution for rising higher education costs

Shameless.

As US investigators close in on for-profit university financing scams, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney publicly heaped praise on a buddy's for-profit college: Full Sail University.

For-profit colleges have been criticized for targeting low-income students because they qualify for large federal loans. But students who enroll are less likely to graduate with a meaningful credential and eight times more likely to default on the loan.

Full Sail University offers a $81,000 video game art program that graduates only 14%s of its students on time and 38% overall. Students carried a median debt load of nearly $59,000 in federal and private loans in 2008. 

None of this bothered Romney who TWICE publicly praised Full Sail as a solution to higher education costs. 

According to the NYT, Romney forgot to mention that the for-profit college's chief executive, Bill Heavener, is a major campaign donor and a co-chairman of his state fund-raising team in Florida.

Mr. Heavener has committed his own resources to the cause. He and his wife have each given the maximum $2,500 to the campaign, and he gave $45,000 to Restore Our Future, a “super PAC” run by former Romney aides to bolster his campaign. The chairman of the private equity fund that owns Full Sail University — C. Kevin Landry of TA Associates — gave $40,000 to Restore Our Future, records show.

For- profit college which derive as much as 90% of revenues from taxpayer-financed federal aid,  have been accused of working to delay student loan defaults to maintain their eligibility for federal aid.

The United States Senate has conducted hearings into the business practices at for-profit colleges, where student loan default rates are about double those at public universities, and three times the rates at private nonprofit institutions. Internal e-mails from Apollo Group Inc., owner of the University of Phoenix and the biggest U.S. for-profit college, released at the hearing today suggest less than half of student loan defaults occur in the first three years of repayment.

It is in this context that Republican presidential hopeful offers free advertising for his campaign donor's for-profit university.

Shameless.

Higher education: Largest for-profit university in USA answers to a single family

Founder John Sperling, sharecropper's son, Cambridge Phd, activist for medical marijuana, and man in charge of Apollo Group, with 600,000 students

With 600,000 students in over 200 locations, the University of Phoenix is America's largest for profit university. And it is the wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group, which is tightly controlled by a single Arizona family.

According to Jahna Berry, writing in The Arizona Republic, "Rank-and-file shareholders have no voting power. The corporate board of directors serves at the pleasure of the company's founder, whose family has complete control. The board is packed with company executives and their friends.

That is the case at Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc., the largest for-profit education company in the U.S., at which John Sperling and his son have held the reins for decades."

The AZ Republic articles details the arrangements by which shareholders in a publicly traded company consent to have no voting rights.

"Apollo Group has two sets of shares, Class A shares and Class B shares. The University of Phoenix's 90-year-old founder, John Sperling, and his son, Peter Sperling, 52, together own 100 percent of the company's Class B shares. According to the company's regulatory filings, the holders of the Class B shares decide who is appointed to Apollo's board of directors.

The 130 million Class A shareholders are regular investors, hedge funds and other institutions. Of that group, the Sperlings are also the largest shareholders: The pair own 13 percent."

(for more on the structure of the company and its board, see Berry's article: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/01/09/20120109apollos-structure-called-risky.html#ixzz1jY4814pu )

For- Profit universities under investigation, including the University of Phoenix

The for-profit industry depends on student tuition, which is heavily subsidized by taxpayers as federal financial aid.

Rising defaults on student debt have fueled investigations into federal funding of for-profit universities. Institutions under investigation include the Sperling-controlled University of Phoenix.

"Last year, the Department of Justice joined a whistle-blower $11 billion lawsuit filed against Apollo's top rival, Education Management Corp. The company operates Arizona schools such as Brown Mackie College and the Art Institute of Phoenix. The suit alleges that the company violated federal rules on paying enrollment advisers."

"Should there be a significant regulation or new rule imposed that would in any way limit Apollo access to Title IV (federal financial aid) funding, the impact to the share price would be significant," said Marshall of GovernanceMetrics.

The AZ Republic article focuses on the risk to shareholders, and asks whether Sperling's role at Apollo-University of Phoenix might be comparable to that of Rupert Murdoch at News Corp, another closely controlled giant corporation.

The insular nature of the group's management give rise to other questions as well. How did a single man gain control over the education of more than half a million students each year? What portion of Apollo group's sales (tuition) are tax-payer funded? What is the graduation rate of Sperling's students? And what is their default rate on federally funded student debt? Who, precisely, is overseeing this? (neither board nor shareholders, according to business reporter Jahna Berry)

How, one wonders, did this happen?

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/01/09/20120109apollos-structure-called-risky.html#ixzz1jY59oQ1t

 

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/01/09/20120109apollos-structure-called-risky.html#ixzz1jXzkF3PV

 

Socialist Hollande accuses Sarkozy of wanting "Anglo Saxon" school

 

L'école Anglo-Saxonne? What does the even mean?

Best to let the socliast presidential candidate speak for himself. According to L"Express François Hollande said:

"Certains veulent dépenser moins, ils formeront moins, et nous perdrons des parts de compétition dans l'économe mondiale et nous aurons un chômage plus élevé", a-t-il poursuivi. C'est "vouloir l'école à l'anglo-saxonne", "un modèle libéral, hiérarchisé autour du chef d'établissement et où il y aura moins d'enseignants"

That is: a liberal model, with a powerful principal and less teachers?

Sarkozy has, of course, been replacing only half of the civil servants who retire, so Education Nationale's numbers--the largest in Europe--have been slowly declining. 70,000 posts out of more than 1,000,000. Hollande again promised to rehire teachers. (A promise he knows he can't honor given France's financial situation, but it sounds nice.)

Anglo-Saxon is code  in France for everything English and American, which, when uttered by French politicians of the left often means something foreign and unspeakable.  It's the one politically correct insult. And a lot easier than actually formulating an idea or plan. Google it and you will find fascinating articles, for example: Il a-t-il un complot anglo-saxon contre la Zone euro ?  (Is there an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy agains the Euro Zone?)

The deep and worsening problems of France's education system merit serious debate, not silly name-calling, Monsieur Hollande.

Could do better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anxious French parents spend 2.2 billion euros in private tutoring for children

Egalitarian? 

Where schools fail to educate children, parents reach deep into their pockets. English language training is just the tip of the iceberg.  (see L'enseignement de l'anglais et l'inégalité en France) 

Each year in France, parents spend 2.2 bilion euros on special tutoring (or "soutien scolaire") for their children, two to three times as much as in Germany or Spain. Why such anxiety? Is it justified? What can parents do?

In this article, Le Monde lists website that may help.