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British institutions have made a dismal showing in a Chinese list of the
world's top universities, prompting fears that the rankings could increase
financial woes at British universities.
Although Cambridge and Oxford made the top ten, in fifth and tenth place
respectively, the list produced by Shanghai's Jiaotong University was dominated
by American institutions, which won 17 of the top 20 spots.
Places at American universities, with their superior facilities, wealthy
alumni networks and massive financial endowments that enable them to offer
scholarships to the brightest minds, are prized in China far above places in
British universities. Post-graduation job prospects in the US are often
perceived as superior to those in the UK.
British universities have become increasingly reliant on fees paid by
non-EU students, and the Jiaotong report could prove damaging. The number of
foreign students in Britain has grown rapidly over the last five years in an
industry that generates 25 billion pounds and helps to fund British
universities. Chinese students make up 12 percent - or about 50,000 - of foreign
students in the UK. Typically they will spend a further 15,000 pounds in living
costs, boosting the campus economy and helping, indirectly, to subsidize
facilities and tuition for British students who pay a fraction of the
foreigners' fees.
But with British institutions like University College London (21)， Imperial
College (26)， and University of Manchester (44) falling so far down the scale,
Chinese students seemed likely to turn their sights towards America. "Basically,
taking a place at a British university is saying that you are not part of the
elite. The really best minds will get funded positions in American and only the
lesser ones, or the children of the wealthy and politically connected, would
bother to go to Britain," said a doctoral student at Peking University.
据英国《每日电讯报》报道，上海交通大学公布的世界大学最新排名中，英国高校表现不佳，从而引发了该排名有可能加重英国高等学府经济窘境的担忧。
尽管剑桥大学和牛津大学分别以第五和第十的名次挤进前十，该排名还是被美国高校主导，前二十名中美国高校就占了17个。
美国大学具有更好的教学设施、富有的校友网络以及大量的受助资金，故而能够给最聪明的学生提供奖学金，因此在中国的地位要比英国大学高。就工作前景而言，读美国大学的研究生似乎比读英国大学的强。
英国大学逐渐依赖于来自非欧盟国家的学生所交的学费，而该排名有可能损害英国各高校的利益。在英国读书的外国学生过去五年来迅速增长，留学业给英国高校带来250亿英镑的丰厚收入。中国留学生大约有50000名，在留学生当中占12%。他们每年要自备15000英镑的生活费，促进了校园经济，而且在间接意义上补贴了英国本土学生使用的教学设施以及所交学费，这些本土学生缴纳的费用只是外国留学生所需缴纳费用的一小部分而已。
随着英国高校如伦敦大学学院(排名21)、帝国理工(排名26)和曼彻斯特大学(排名44位)的下滑，中国学生很可能会将视线瞄准美国。“基本上，在英国大学念书说明你不是精英中的一份子。真正最好的学生是在美国拿着奖学金读书，而只有那些差些的、富人的小孩以及家里有权势的孩子才会去英国，”一位北京大学的博士生说道。 |
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发表于 2016-7-10 17:32:05