Task 1. Answer the questions

1. Do you have to pay for higher education in your country?

2. What do you know about funding of higher education in other countries?

3. Are there any state scholarships in your country which you can apply for?

4. Can you apply for any foreign scholarships as a student?

You are going to read seven short texts about financial peculiarities of higher education in different countries. Your teacher will provide you with one complete text, others will have gaps and question words to help you understand what kind of information is missing. Move around the classroom asking questions and filling in the gaps. Each question should start with the given question word.

Higher education: free or not

1. In China, undergraduates have to pay some money (How much?) ______________________ after 1996, and the amount of the money has increased in recent years. You have to pay (When?)_________________. Students can get a little life allowance from the universities (How often?) ________________. Many qualified undergraduates from poor family can not afford and can not enter the universities. The students who apply for the loans and will be passed through are restricted in number. And the students cannot find much access to part-time jobs. Only some (Who?) __________________ can get scholarships from their university and some very poor students can get government scholarships to help them continue their study career.

(Where?) _______________ students can repay their loans after graduation. The university tuition fee per year is about HK$ 40,000 which is quite expensive. If poor students want to get the loan at lower interest rate or even no interest, they must pass the means tests. On the other hand, all the university students, despite rich or poor, can apply the non-means tested loan for their studies as long as they are willing to pay the normal interests that the government decided.

2. In Iran there are two ways for student to continue their education at universities. First public university – students can use their services free – and the second way is going to (Where?) ____________________ that costs much. As a matter of fact, Public University has difficult entrance exams, so most of the students will lose the opportunity of studying at. The universities themselves largely operate on (How?)________________: tuition and room and board, is mostly paid for by the government. Therefore most of them have to choose the second way to have a university degree – private university. If someone wants to study he must submit the fees (When?) _____________________. There are also institutes like (What?) __________________ that offer degrees remotely or online. Another big problem – (What?)__________________. Neither people who have graduated from public university, nor those who have graduated from private university, have the opportunity to find a suitable job.

3. There are both private and public US universities, where the public ones are subsidized heavily by the government. They charge substantially less for tuition. The private schools are a cut above the public ones for the most part, but can be extremely more expensive. Both types usually offer (What?) ____________________ to students who can't afford to attend otherwise. Many students are from the system of two-year, or (What?) ________________________, which are largely supported through local property taxes, where students can live at home and attend. After a successful two-year course, they may transfer to a full-size school, or in other cases begin a career for which they've trained. There are also government loans available, but must be repaid after leaving school. Many U.S. universities have incorporated into their (Where?) _____________________internship (voluntary or paid work placements) or overseas study ("study abroad") programs. Each of the 50 U.S. states operates at least one state university and possibly several state colleges. (What?) _______________________ is an increasingly popular way to study for everything from a short professional course to a graduate degree in the United States, and there are numerous institutions offering undergraduate degree programs using distance education teaching methods. Under the distance education model, students no longer attend classes in a classroom on a campus; instead, classes are delivered "from a distance" (How?) _______________________.

4. University education is free of charge in Czech Republic. But recently there has been a constant discussion about this matter. In the state universities there is no tuition for (Who?)___________________ wishing to study in the Czech language. Study in the foreign (as a rule - English) language is paid. In this case the size of a payment for a year depending on quality of training and prestige of university varies from 3000 dollars at economic faculty of the Czech technical university up to (How much?) ________________ at (Where?) __________________ of university. In private universities the study is paid, but its cost is not high, on average varies in a range from 1000 up to 2500 dollars for one year of training with an opportunity of payment on semester. State universities are unable to accept all interested people - on average only (How many?) __________ of applicants are accepted. Alongside with the large state universities distinguished by a wide choice of specialties, in Czech Republic there is a group of private universities. Having closer contacts to professionals in some spheres ((What?) __________________) than large state universities, they stake on interdisciplinary training and close connection of the theory with practice. Some from them have at present time a very high rating and recognition. As their graduates are more prepared at the practical point of view, they frequently have the best chances of employment, than graduates of large state universities.

5. In Brazil there aretwo kinds of universities: public and private ones. The public universities are the best ones in terms of education, where you are bound to find the best professors. One has got to (How?) ________________ to enter them, though. The private ones have nice buildings but the level of education is very low, since these private universities are mainly concerned with making money. Public universities will usually run courses (When?) ______________, while private universities will offer a mix of all-day long and night-only courses. The latter is increasingly a popular way for working people to complete higher education in Brazil. Some public universities have lately introduced some night-only courses, whereas some day-courses may still be required. Even though public universities offer the best quality education as well as research, there is a continued complaint from those institutions that (What?) ______________________. Private universities tend to have better and newer (What?) _______________ than public funded institutions, even though these also tend to be smaller when compared to the ones from public universities.

There are currently over (How many?) _______ public and private universities between distributed throughout Brazil.

6. In France, students pay for (What?) _______________ at university but not for tuition. You have to pay tuition fees of only (How much?) ________________per year and you can get a grant from the state. The grants are not very numerous and of high amount, but they exist and help people from poorest families to go to university. The teachers and professors are appointed and paid by the Board of Education, they are civil servants. There are grants for students who cannot afford to pay for their studies but those are fewer and fewer, unfortunately. This year, two universities in France ((Where?) _______________________) had to close down for a week or two because (Why?) ___________________________________________. So they decided to close down and save money by not heating the buildings during the cold period and catching up in the warm months ((When?) ________________________). On the other hand, there are private schools which require high tuition fees (3000, 4500€... a year) and which are often closed to the poorest students, unless they get a loan. Actually, even with a grant and a part-time job, they haven't got enough money without a loan. But a loan is easier to get for a student who comes from a wealthy family.

7. The British education system is very flexible in order to provide for the needs of a modern, complex society. It is also cost-effective. British universities offer a (What kind?)________________________ approach. Degree courses are usually shorter and more intensive than in other countries. There are lots of scholarships available, although nearly all of these depend on the individual student's academic ability. On the whole most scholarships will cover (What?) _______________________.

The main costs will be tuition fees and living expenses. Universities set their own fees. Some rough examples of tuition costs per year are:

- Arts £6,250 to £7,650

- Science (How much?) ____________________

- Clinical £6,960 to £18,000

The British government has recently chosen to allow universities to increase tuition fees to $9,500 a year, (What for?) _____________________________________________. Ministers said the costs could rise to around $14,500 in exceptional circumstances. An internal Cambridge review said the price will be the highest for all courses, with discounts of up to $5,000 for poorer students. (Who?) _______________________ said it'll be charging the maximum for all subjects, to make up for budget cuts and to be able to subsidise the less well-off.

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