哈佛大学努力扩大在亚洲影响力

Harvard University is expanding its reach in Asia through its online program and by reaching out to students with lesser means, university President Drew Faust said.

哈佛大学(Harvard University)校长福斯特(Drew Faust)说，哈佛大学正打造在线项目，并主动接触家境困难的学生，以扩大在亚洲的影响力。

EdX, the nonprofit joint venture started last year by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, offers university-level classes free online and already has attracted more than 700,000 People. Most of those enrolled are from outside the U.S., and 44,000 are from East Asia, which includes China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, Dr. Faust said in an interview.

EdX是哈佛大学和麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)去年合作推出的非营利项目，在线免费提供大学课程，已经吸引了超过70万人。福斯特在接受采访时说，大部分注册学生来自美国以外的国家，其中44,000人来自东亚，包括中国大陆、香港、韩国和日本。

The history scholar said edX is well-received in the region, citing a biostatistics and epidemiology course that had 8,000 students from India.

这名历史学学者说，edX在该地区非常受欢迎。她举例说，一门生物统计和流行病学的课程吸引了8,000名印度学生。

'People see almost the miraculous impact [online education] can have and the ways in which the kinds of knowledge that people are so hungry for can be made available,' she said.

福斯特说，人们看到了在线课程能够产生的几乎奇迹般的影响力，以及我们可以通过怎样的方式向人们提供他们渴望获得的知识。

Dr. Faust called edX a startup 'in every sense of the word,' adding that the site is searching for its business model, which could involve licensing course content and charging for certain offerings, such as executive business courses. She said the project will remain a nonprofit endeavor, 'but we do understand ourselves that it has to be sustainable, ultimately.'

福斯特说，edX是一项名副其实的初创项目，她补充说，该网站正在寻找商业模式，包括对课程内容的许可，以及对特定的课程进行收费，比如行政商务课程。她说：该项目将仍然是非营利项目，但是我们明白，这个项目归根结底必须是可持续的。

Dr. Faust said edX has been producing online courses at a slower pace than competitors─such as the for-profit Coursera, which produces classes from 62 institutions including Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania and the National University of Singapore─so it can focus on engagement and quality. She said she hoped the university could learn from the online experiment and implement parts of it on campus.

福斯特说，edX推出在线课程的速度一直慢于Coursera等竞争者，这是为了保证该项目专注于互动和课程质量。Cousera是一个以赢利为目的的项目，提供来自62所大学的课程，包括杜克大学(Duke University)、宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)和新加坡国立大学(National University of Singapore)。福斯特说，她希望哈佛大学能够从这个在线项目中学习到经验，在哈佛校园内部分加以运用。

Some users have had difficulty accessing course material that draws on YouTube─which is banned in China. Dr. Faust said edX is working to address the issue.

一些用户难以获得来自Youtube上的课程资源。Youtube在中国被禁止访问。福斯特说，edX正在努力解决这一问题。

Dr. Faust, who will also visit South Korea, said China is the 'largest supplier' of international students enrolled at the university's campus, in Cambridge, Mass., and is becoming a new source of alumni donors.

福斯特说，在位于马萨诸塞州剑桥城的哈佛大学校园内，来自中国的学生是所有国际学生中人数最多的，中国正在成为校友捐助的新来源。福斯特还将访问韩国。

The School is one of the few American colleges that is a household name in China, and many Chinese parents dream of enrolling their children there. Harvard has been linked to the country's political elite, with the children of several top leaders attending the university. The daughter of Chinese President Xi Jinping is enrolled in Harvard, and the son of disgraced Chongqing Communist party chief Bo Xilai was enrolled at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

哈佛大学是在中国家喻户晓的美国学府之一，把子女送到该学校读书是许多中国家长梦寐以求的事。哈佛大学已经与中国的政治精英联系在一起，数位高层领导人的子女都在该校就读。中国国家主席习近平的女儿就在哈佛大学求学，已下台的原重庆市委书记薄熙来的儿子也曾就读于哈佛大学的肯尼迪政府学院(Kennedy School of Government)。

Dr. Faust said political connections don't boost an applicant's chances of getting accepted. 'There are numbers of children of world leaders who get turned down,' she said. Harvard has influenced China's current leaders as well. Li Yuanchao, a member of the powerful Politburo, studied at the Kennedy School in 2002.

福斯特说，政治关系不会增加申请者被录取的机会。她说，许多世界各国领导人的子女都被拒绝。哈佛大学还曾对中国现在的领导人产生过影响。中共中央政治局委员李源潮2002年曾经在肯尼迪政府学院学习。中共中央政治局是一个拥有很大权力的机构。

Getting into Harvard is increasingly challenging─only 6% of applicants are accepted.

进入哈佛大学正变得越来越难──每年仅有6%的申请者被录取。

'We've been aggressive in recruiting students from lower-income families and indicating that we want them,' she said. An undergraduate without financial aid paid $52,652 for tuition, room, board and fees during the 2012 academic year.

她说：我们一直积极地录取来自低收入家庭的学生，并积极地表明我们想要这样的学生。2012学年，没有经济资助的本科生需要缴纳52,652美元的学杂费和住宿餐饮费。

Dr. Faust said the school gave out $15 million in financial aid to Chinese students, $9 million of which went to students in Ph.D. programs.

福斯特说，哈佛大学向中国学生发放了1,500万美元的经济资助，其中900万美元发给了博士研究生。