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University hit 21 times in one year by ransomware

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

mortarboards in the air

Universities and NHS trusts in England have been hit hard by ransomware in the last year, according to Freedom of Information requests carried out by two cybersecurity firms.

Bournemouth University, which boasts a cybersecurity centre, has been hit 21 times in the last 12 months.

Twenty-eight NHS Trusts said they had been affected.

Ransomware is a form of computer malware which encrypts files and then demands a ransom for their release.

It can travel via email or hide in downloadable files and programmes from corrupted sites and applications, and the ransom is usually payable in bitcoins.

Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne contacted 71 UK universities. Of the 58 which replied, 23 said they had been attacked in the last year.

None of them said it had paid a ransom but the largest sum demanded was five bitcoins (about $2,900 or £2,200), the firm said.

Only one university had contacted the police.

According to the report, two of the institutions said they did not use anti-virus software. Both have been contacted for comment.

Bournemouth University confirmed the attacks but said: “It is not uncommon for universities to be the target of cybersecurity attacks; there are security processes in place at Bournemouth University to deal with these types of incident.”

It added that there had been “no impact” on its activity as a result of the attacks.

In a separate study, security firm NCC Group asked every NHS Trust in England whether it had been a victim of ransomware.

Of the 60 responses, 28 said they had experienced an attack, one said it had not and 31 declined to comment on the grounds of patient confidentiality.

“Paying the ransom – which isn’t something we would advise – can cost significant sums of money, yet losing patient data would be a nightmare scenario for an NHS Trust,” said Ollie Whitehouse, technical director at NCC Group.

Ransomware on the rise

According to the US government, ransomware attacks in America have increased in frequency by 300% year on year in 2016, with 4,000 incidents a day now being reported.

It advises that “prevention is the best defence” and suggests the use of spam filters, firewalls, anti-virus programs and employee training for businesses – as well as regular data back-ups.

If a computer is infected it should be removed from any network and switched off as soon as possible.

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Record university offers as top A-level grades slip

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Record numbers of UK university places have been offered – as A-level results show a marginal fall in top grades for the fifth successive year.

The proportion of A* and A grades was 25.8%, down by 0.1% on last year. The pass rate of 98.1% remained the same.

The Ucas admissions services says 424,000 places have been offered, up by 3% on results day last year.

There are predictions of many places still being available through clearing, including in leading universities.

Universities say this year could be a “buyer’s market” for applications with universities competing to attract students.

As well as the removal of the cap on university places in England, there is a decline in the number of 18 year olds.

Clearing

There are more university places on offer through clearing this year.

This is the process which matches students with available places, after results have been published.

By this afternoon there had been more than 200,000 course searches on the Ucas website, with economics, law, psychology, business and nursing among the most popular courses.

There also places available at some leading Russell Group universities, including Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Warwick.

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial UCL and LSE continue not to take part.

Sheffield University says its clearing service took 1,800 calls in the first two hours, leading to 360 offers.

“There’s never been a better year to be applying to university in terms of your chances of getting a place, said Sheffield’s head of admissions Lynsey Hopkins.

‘Unchanged’

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have found out their A-level and AS results on Thursday. Students in Scotland havealready received their exam results.

The A-level results show a stable pattern compared with last year.

Michael Turner, director general of the Joint Council for Qualifications, said: “Overall, outcomes are relatively unchanged.”

Girls continue to get better results than boys, with 79.7% of girls getting grades A* to C, compared with 75% for boys.

results dayImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionPupils have been arriving at schools and colleges to get their results

But the gap between top-performing girls and boys at A-level has narrowed.

And there has been a further decline in entries to modern languages, with the numbers taking French falling below 10,000 for the first time.

Malcolm Trobe, leader of the ASCL head teachers’ union, warned that this could reflect funding pressures and that schools could not afford subjects with small numbers of pupils.

AS levels are being “decoupled” from being part of A-levels – and this year’s figures show a 13.7% drop in entries.

Teachers and head teachers’ leaders have warned that, below the surface of this stability, individual schools and pupils face more unpredictable outcomes.

“Students and their teachers are bracing themselves for greater volatility in this year’s results,” said Ms Keates, leader of the NASUWT teachers’ union.

She said that schools had to contend with new content in AS and A-levels.

Head teachers’ leader Russell Hobby forecast “significant variation” and unexpected results, behind the picture given by the national statistics.

“For individual students, teachers and schools this is a real concern,” said Mr Hobby.

For those students who miss out on required grades for university, there are expected to be more opportunities available through the clearing system.

This will include leading universities within the Russell Group, which have signalled that they expect to have places on offer.

Apprenticeships

There is a demographic dip in the number of school leavers and the removal of any limit on student numbers in England means that universities could be competing to attract students to fill places.Media captionVice-Chancellor says raising teaching standards ‘entirely appropriate’

Middlesex University said this year would be a “buyer’s market”.

London South Bank University is running a 36-hours non-stop clearing service, remaining open all night for inquiries from students.

But students starting at England’s universities in the autumn could face higher fees than the previous cap of £9,000 before they finish.

Exeter University has announced that it is going to increase fees to £9,250 for current students and those beginning this year, as well as those starting in 2017.

There will also be opportunities for those not going to university, with financial services firm PwC announcing that it has had a 20% increase in two years in recruiting directly from those leaving school with A-levels.

A report from Barclays and the Centre for Economics and Business Researchhas argued that those entering apprenticeships after school could have much higher lifetime earnings than those going into graduate careers.

And a study from the Social Market Foundation, also released on results day, shows that vocational qualifications are an increasingly common route into university, often in combination with A-levels.

School standards minister Nick Gibb said: “We want to make our country a place where there is no limit on anyone’s ambition or what they can achieve.

“It is hugely encouraging that this year sees a record 424,000 applicants already securing a place at one of our world-class universities, with increasing numbers from disadvantaged backgrounds gaining a place as well. “

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Record university offers now 3% higher than last year

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

A-level day at Westminster Kingsway College

The number of people offered places at UK universities has now hit a record 442,900 – 3% up on 2015, official figures show.

Around 19,000 of those have had their university and college places confirmed since midnight on A-level day, says the admissions service Ucas.

So far, over 14,000 have been accepted through clearing – 52% up on last year.

Association of Colleges Chief Executive Martin Doel urged people to take time to choose the right course for them.

A decline in the number of 18-year-olds and the removal of the cap which limits university places in England have contributed to “a buyer’s market” in university applications.

Ucas says clearing, the system which matches unfilled places with would-be-undergraduates without offers, opened two hours earlier than usual on results day with more places on offer.

‘Inundated’

And some leading Russell Group universities have been making greater use of the system.

Bristol University said places were being filled very quickly, adding that the newly competitive environment meant that “like all universities, we make use of clearing in ways that we wouldn’t have a few years ago”.

Birmingham University, which filled all its places on Thursday, said it had been “inundated” – with more than 6,000 calls for the small number of places available.

Ucas says high numbers are likely to be accepted through clearing over the weekend – with the majority of applicants using this route expected to find places by the end of Monday.

More than 153,000 people are still eligible to apply through clearing, says Ucas.

Mr Doel said young people should also consider “more affordable education and training routes available that can lead directly to a career” including higher level technical and professional courses and apprenticeships at further education colleges.

“Not only are tuition fees less at a college, living and travelling costs are also much lower because it’s possible to stay at home,” said Mr Doel.

The final date for university applications this year is 20 September.

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

University clearing 2016 ‘the busiest ever’, says Ucas

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Students in library

A record 33,000 students have found university places through clearing since last week’s A-level results day, says the admissions service Ucas.

This figure is up 13% on the same period last year and brings the total number of people with higher education places this year to almost 468,000.

Overall, almost 44,000 people have had their places confirmed since midnight on Thursday, says Ucas.

A spokeswoman confirmed this year’s clearing as the busiest ever.

The clearing total is made up of 27,900 people placed after applying through the main Ucas scheme as well as 5,400 who applied directly to clearing after the 30 June deadline, according to Ucas analysis.

The equivalent figures last year were 25,160 and 4,260.

‘Don’t panic’

Ucas says clearing got off to a flying start on results day, opening two hours earlier than usual, to cope with the removal of the cap which until this year has limited the number of places universities in England could offer.

Universities have been particularly keen to attract students as the change has coincided with a demographic change which means there are fewer 18-year-olds seeking places this year.

The final date for applying to university is 20 September and teenagers who may have missed their grades or are considering applying in the wake of receiving their results last Thursday, are being encouraged to use clearing.

The consumer group Which? says clearing can open the eyes of would-be undergraduates to courses and universities they might not have previously considered.

“If you still haven’t secured your place at university and are looking to go through clearing, don’t panic,” said Alex Neill, director of policy and campaigns at Which?.

“While it can feel stressful, we found that many students found the process worked well so do your research and consider all your options.”

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

University to raise tuition fees for current students

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

graduation

Exeter University has told its current students that their tuition fees are going to be increased to £9,250 from autumn 2017.

The government plans to raise fees above £9,000 for universities in England with “high quality” teaching.

But Exeter has announced that the increase will also be applied to current as well as new students.

Opposition parties have promised a parliamentary challenge to the proposal to lift the cap on tuition fees.

Exeter students have used social media to express their irritation at the increase.

Higher fees

On the last day before the parliamentary summer break, the government published details of plans to allow universities to increase fees to £9,250 from 2017-18, scrapping the maximum upper limit introduced during the controversial trebling of tuition fees in 2012.

The plan would allow universities assessed as having “high teaching standards” to increase fees in line with inflation, calculated as 2.8% for next year.

Universities had begun to advertise these higher fees for students about to apply this autumn, for next year’s courses.

But Exeter is also applying the increase to students already at the university.

The measure is permitted under the government’s proposals, but many other universities have so far not made a decision on whether to charge higher fees for students who entered when the legal maximum was set at £9,000 per year.

The University of Nottingham has promised current students, and those about to start this autumn, that there will be no increase above £9,000 for the duration of their courses.

Exeter’s website says that the increase for new and current students is “subject to approval from the government that we meet the criteria in the Teaching Excellence Framework”.

The Teaching Excellence Framework is the system being created to measure the quality of teaching in universities.

For the first year, no universities have failed to reach the necessary quality threshold.

‘Disgraceful’

There was controversy over whether the university fee increase had been properly debated in Parliament.

Opposition MPs were angry that the higher fees were being announced before the Higher Education Research Bill, currently before Parliament, had been approved.

The government said the cap on fees could be lifted legitimately, via a statutory instrument, and that a vote would still be required if there was a challenge from MPs.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have warned the government that they intend to block the planned increases.

Labour’s education spokesman Gordon Marsden last month accused ministers of a “disgraceful” attempt to “sneak out” the increase.

John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman, accused universities of “disgraceful arrogance” in advertising higher fees before Parliament had approved them.

Universities have argued that a fixed upper limit of £9,000 has meant that the value of fees is being steadily eroded by inflation.

They have also voiced concern about the legal requirement to provide consumer information about forthcoming higher fees, to students applying this autumn, though a legal maximum of £9,000 remains in place until the proposed increase is approved.

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Exams day sees largest number of Scots pupils secure university places

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

More pupils from Scotland got a university place on exams results day than in any previous year, it has been confirmed.

Helen Thorne from UCAS told BBC Radio Scotland that 28,300 Scottish students had successfully secured their courses.

More than 140,000 students north of the border have received their results.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has sent out scores from National 4 and 5, Higher, Advanced Higher and Scottish Baccalaureate exams.

  • Where can pupils in Scotland find help?

The Scottish government said the exams had seen “another highly successful set of results”, including:

  • 152,701 Higher passes, the second highest number on record and 77% of those sat
  • 234,160 National 5 passes, 79% of those sitting exams
  • 114,635 National 4 passes, 93% of those sat
  • More than 43,000 National Certificates, Awards and National Progression Awards in courses such as early education, childcare and computer games development, up 27%
  • A 23% increase in National Certificate passes at SCQF level 6 related to work skills, to 4,920

Scottish exam results day

140,000

Pupils receiving results

50,000

Pupils getting results by text

  • 28,300 Scots pupils securing higher education places
  • 27,400 Scots pupils going to Scottish universities and colleges
  • 3,900 EU pupils securing places in Scotland
SQA/UCAS
PA

The latest results from the SQA suggested that problems with the 2015 Higher Maths exam have not been repeated. The 2015 pass mark had to be cut to 34% after the exam was deemed too difficult, but the 2016 pass mark was approximately 50%.

Fears that replacing part of the Higher English exam against a tight deadline would lead to problems also proved unfounded, with the pass mark for that subject also 50%.

Pass rates in National 4 and 5 exams were roughly in line with those in 2015, while the percentage of candidates passing their Higher exams dipped slightly from 79.2% to 77.2% – although new Higher exams have been phased in over this period.

New Advanced Higher exams were introduced for 2016, with an overall 81.7% pass rate.

Different paths

Dr Janet Brown, the SQA’s chief executive and Scotland’s chief examining officer, paid tribute to pupils, teachers, lecturers parents and carers.

She said: “This is the first year candidates will have been offered the full range of National Courses as part of Curriculum for Excellence. These results are testament to the dedication of the entire Scottish education system, working in partnership for the benefit of our young people.

“The new qualifications are performing well and the results clearly are enabling young people to transition between the levels and develop a wider range of skills.

“It is important to recognise the different paths candidates can take to achieve success, whether it be in National Courses, Skills for Work or National Progression Awards.”

Pupils in the Scottish Borders opened their exam results

The Royal Mail said it had “pulled out all the stops” to make sure results were delivered in the post on time, while more than 50,000 pupils also signed up to get their results online or via text message.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, UCAS director Ms Thorne said: “There is really good news, we have got 28,300 Scottish students who have secured a place at university today and that is the highest that we have ever seen on Scottish results day.

“So we want to say a big congratulations to all of them and when the UCAS track system opens students will be able to log in and see if they have got their university place.”

Ms Thorne also said the number of students from EU countries being accepted to Scottish universities was up 19% to 3,900, saying there was “no evidence of EU students being put off” by the Brexit vote.

The National Union of Students welcomed the “hugely encouraging” figures, while Colleges Scotland said it was “delighted” with the results.

Education Secretary John Swinney said students could be “extremely proud of their efforts”.

Mr Swinney said: “Today’s results show that Scotland’s learners continue to perform very well, with the second highest number of Higher passes on record, despite a fall in the size of the S5 and S6 year groups. This year is only the second time in history that we have seen more than 150,000 Higher passes, up from around 112,000 just ten years ago.

“It is encouraging to see strong performances in qualifications related to wider skills for life and work and I greatly welcome the increase of attainment in Awards, National Certificates and National Progression Awards.”

Opposition parties also welcomed the results, with Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith welcoming the fact that issues from 2015 appeared to have been addressed.

Labour’s Iain Gray also voiced congratulations to pupils whose “hard work has paid off”, although he noted concern about the drop in the pass rate for Highers and called on the government to build on the results by giving schools extra resources.

‘Massive day’

The Royal Mail said results had been delivered to Scottish students in 45 countries around the world, from Australia to Singapore.

Planning teams had been working for months to ensure that all results are delivered on time.

Head of special events and planning Derek Keir said: “This is a massive day for every pupil in Scotland waiting for their results.

“All of our postmen and women, many of whom have children themselves, understand just how important this day is for families. Our people pull out all the stops to ensure the results are delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Skills Development Scotland has set up a free helpline to offer advice, information and support for pupils and parents, including information on college and university courses, apprenticeships, employment and volunteering. The number is 0808 100 8000.

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

University research needs ‘public impact’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

University research

University research should have more impact with the wider public, says a review of how billions of pounds of UK research funding is awarded.

Economist Lord Nicholas Stern has published a review of how to measure the quality of university research.

He also wants all research staff to be assessed, rather than allowing universities to submit their own selection of academics.

Research is vital to economic growth, says Universities Minister Jo Johnson.

Lord Stern’s independent review examined the mechanism for measuring university research – the research excellence framework (REF) – which is used to determine the allocation of funding.

In 2015-16, this was worth £1.6bn to universities and the ratings from the REF are used to decide funding for the following five years or more.

The next round of assessments will be used for allocating funding from 2020 – and could be even more significant for universities worrying about the future of European Union research funding.

Lord Stern, president of the British Academy, says he wants a wider interpretation of research “impact” so that it shows “influence on public engagement and culture”.

He also wants to stop universities from playing the system to appear higher in the rankings.

He is recommending that all research staff should have to submit work for assessment, rather than allowing universities to put forward a small selection of their academics.

There were warnings of universities seeking to artificially boost their position by recruiting high quality researchers shortly before the date of the assessment.

Lord Stern’s review also wants to reduce the bureaucratic burden. The last round of the information-gathering process, completed in 2014, cost £246m to administer.

Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said assessing all research staff “will be helpful in minimising the risks of game-playing”.

But Maddalaine Ansell, chief executive of the University Alliance group of universities, said the assessment process “must not just reward universities with the highest numbers of research-active staff”.

She said that there could be significant variations in how much time staff spent on research, when some staff might be more engaged with teaching or on contracts with business.

Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the MillionPlus group of universities, said the recommendations would encourage staff to be focused either on research or teaching, which would “drive a further wedge between teaching and research”.

But she welcomed the suggestion that impact “should be more broadly defined”.

London challenge

In the 2014 research rankings, London universities were found to be challenging the dominance of Oxford and Cambridge.

The London School of Economics had the highest proportion of world-leading research, followed by Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and University College London.

The biggest financial winners from the 2014 results, based on the research of 52,000 academics, were forecast to be Oxford, University College London and Cambridge.

The government also has plans to introduce a parallel system for measuring the quality of teaching, called the teaching excellence framework (TEF).

These teaching assessments will be linked to allowing universities in England to charge higher tuition fees.

Mr Johnson said he welcomed proposals for the research excellence framework that could “reduce the burdens on academics” and which could make improvements on previous assessments.

“Lord Stern recognises the advantage that our world-class research base brings to the UK and the key role our universities play in delivering high-quality teaching, driving productivity and economic growth,” he said.

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

University lecturers set to strike over paying conditions

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

strike, university lecturers, pay

The University and College Union (UCU) said members will stage strikes at UK universities on May 25 and 26.

Further industrial action will see staff working to contract from this point, which includes refusing to work overtime, set additional work or undertake voluntary tasks such as covering for colleagues.

The move is likely to cause disruption on campuses around the country.

The dispute has arisen following a pay offer of 1.1 per cent from the employer body, the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA), which the union has described as ‘an insult’.

The union said institutions “could afford to pay more” and that the latest offer does little to address the real terms pay cut of 14.5 per cent suffered by higher education staff since 2009.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, said: “Members in higher education have sent a clear message to employers that, after six years of real-terms pay cuts amounting to 14.5 per cent, they will not tolerate a continued squeeze on their income.

“Industrial action which impacts on students is never taken lightly, but staff feel that they have been left with no alternative.

“A 1.1 per cent offer is an insult to the hard work and dedication of higher education staff, particularly in light of the 3 per cent average pay rise enjoyed by vice-chancellors this year.

“The ball is now in UCEA’s court, but the employers need to come back to the table with a much improved offer if they wish to avoid significant disruption to students in the coming months.”

The last time lecturers went on strike it was over paying conditions two years ago.

Around 60,000 staff in higher education have been balloted this time around so it could be anything up to that.

The walkouts are still pending negotiations so they could be cancelled if they reach an agreement.

A UCEA spokesman said: “Planning for any form of industrial action is disappointing for Higher Education (HE) institutions with one trade union on a path to try and cause disruption. The vast majority of staff in HE institutions understand the reality of the current environment and do not support action that could harm both their institutions and their students.

“A strike, following a properly conducted ballot, is entirely lawful but withdrawing labour is a breach of contract leaving HE institutions with no choice but to deduct full pay from any member of staff taking strike action.  UCEA and the HE institutions are dismayed that the UCU has targeted students from the very outset of pay discussions.”

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Education

Over “emergency like situation” in Hyderabad University, NHRC sends notice to Education Ministry

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday raised its voice over the ongoing action taken against Hyderabad University students.

Over

After taking suo motu cognizance of the media reports, NHRC  has issued notices to the Human Resource Development Ministry (HRD), the Hyderabad police commissioner and the Telangana government.

In a statement, NHRC said that a notice was sent after taking a note from “media reports that there is an emergency-like situation at the University of Hyderabad, and there is no water, electricity, food and Internet services, and the ATMs are out of order”.

“Reportedly, there is heavy police presence on the campus. The university students are under immense fear and trauma due to indiscriminate arrests of about 25 students and two faculty members,” said in the NHRC statement.

In addition to this, the Commission has issued notices to the ministry of human resource development, chief secretary, secretary, Telangana government, and the police commissioner of Hyderabad  and have asked them to give a report in this regard within one week’s time.

Also, the human rights state said, “No one can be deprived of the basic amenities like water, food and electricity by willful act of the State.”

So far, around 25 students and two faculty members have been detained after students and teachers protested against the return of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Vice Chancellor Appa Rao, who was named in the First Information Report (FIR)  relating to the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, has  joined the office again and took over all duties.

[Source:- Intoday]

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Education

News from around the world

by onkar
written by onkar

Staffordshire University.

The study, conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Cambridge and Harvard universities, dwelt on the impact of higher education on wages and salaries in the U.K. It found that in case of men, their median earnings 10 years after graduation was twice as much as non-graduates. The researchers also found that the gender pay gap among graduates was lesser than what the government statistics showed.

False accusation

Staffordshire University has apologised to a postgraduate student who was falsely accused of being a terrorist after an official spotted him reading a book entitled Terrorism Studies in the library. Mohammed Umar Farooq was pursuing a master’s programme in terrorism, crime and global security from the university and the book was part of his research.

He said he was questioned about his views on homosexuality, Islamic State (Isis) and Al-Qaeda by a university official. After the incident, which took place in March, Farooq left the course and took the help of a lawyer to help him challenge the accusations.

Tackling sexual harassment

The U.S. Department of Education has entered into a resolution agreement with the University of Virginia (UVA) to address and prevent sexual violence and sexual harassment. This ended a federal investigation, which had been dragging on for years, into the school’s procedures and policies on these issues. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found that UVA’s prior policy did not provide a fair process to either the complainants or the students accused of sexual violence.

[“Source- thehindu”]

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