| International |
Do we share worldwide a common university identity? | Except for Al-Azhar University, all universities in the world share a common origin: they stem from universities in medieval Europe. This famous observation by Philip Altbach conveys a strong message that all institutions claiming to be universities should be autonomous communities of academics, independent from both religious and secular authorities. Unfortunately, anyone familiar with the long and diverse history of universities around the globe knows this claim to be a myth. Universities throughout the world have frequently faced crises when religious or secular powers have challenged their academic freedom and autonomy.
UoN crisis rooted in decades of meddling | The University of Nairobi, Kenya’s oldest institution of higher learning, is steeped in a crisis after the Education Cabinet secretary revoked the appointment of a new vice-chancellor. The university council has also been disbanded. Far from being unusual, however, the crisis falls within an established pattern of government intervention in universities going back decades.
Budgetary Allocations Fail To Address Crisis In Public-Funded Higher Education: DUTA | The Delhi University Teachers Association or DUTA said the body is disappointed by the Union Government’s refusal to heed the deepening crisis in public-funded higher education…The DUTA said the government “unwisely continues on the beaten path of privatisation by reducing grants, promoting more loan funding through greater allocations to HEFA, inviting FDI and encouraging more commercialisation through the provision of full online degree programmes in universities”.
Universities reel as Australia bans entry to Chinese | Australia has joined the US in banning entry to all foreigners arriving from China, in a major blow to universities and other education providers. Education minister Dan Tehan said the government had implemented the measure on 1 February to help stem the spread of coronavirus, on advice from the Australian Public Health Crisis Committee.
The assault on Spain’s public universities must end | In 40 years of democracy, Spain’s primarily public higher education model has achieved the highest levels of participation in the European Union, according to the criteria set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy. However, since that strategy was approved in 2010, Spain’s achievement has been imperilled by the economic crisis and the conservative governments under Mariano Rajoy. Deep cuts to the higher education budget were accompanied by a brutal hike in tuition and other fees. The former shot up by 30 per cent during a decade that saw a mere 2.5 per cent rise in average salaries. Alongside this, the conservative government, under ministers who had no management experience in higher education, promoted a discourse that disparaged public universities while facilitating the creation of private alternatives.
Ending student quotas has been disastrous for higher education | This is not a political climate that favours easy decisions in higher education. In November 2019, the credit rating agency Moody’s accorded more universities a negative financial outlook. Concerns about the impact of Brexit and reliance on overseas fee income have been widespread. But I’m reluctant to accept that these must be the terms of the debate. A society – and indeed a world – confronting the climate crisis urgently needs people who have the education to think about big issues. Those aren’t only scientific or technological: they’re also about the ways that people have made, and continue to make, decisions. The humanities matter. And it matters that students from all backgrounds – and across the country – have the opportunity to join in these world-changing discussions. [Note: We did not know that Moody’s also terrorized the U.K. higher education sector. Not even Oxford and Cambridge are safe! Read on…]
Why UK universities may be bargaining chips in Brexit negotiations | The European Commission itself has always been onside for continued UK participation in EU programmes. It takes a stand not as a political player but as guardian of the Treaty and EU rules. Legally, non-member states can apply for associated status which is less good than membership but enables their participation in certain EU programmes.
| U.S. National |
Calculating Stress on Colleges | The best predictor of market risk or stress was a combination: declining first-year enrollments and increasing market prices over the last 10 years. In short, if an institution is both increasing its discount rate and still having ever-smaller classes of new students, then it is in real trouble. Or, as we wrote, “The really unlucky colleges have suffered a double whammy over the last decade: higher discount rates that yield less tuition income per student coupled with enrollment declines yielding fewer students. Most losers have also experienced financial shifts large enough that budget reductions alone are unlikely to yield sufficient savings to offset losses in revenue.”
“We Need More Vigorous Debate”: A Conversation with Michael S. Roth | Institutions that want to enhance belonging and overcome the privileges wealthy students enjoy generally have hard choices to make in allocating resources. Do they devote more financial aid to bring in more low-income students, or do they provide funds to help a smaller number of low-income students truly flourish? If a selective private school has, say, 15 percent Pell-eligible students, it might set a target of increasing financial aid resources so as to enroll 25 percent of these low-income undergrads in the future. Alternatively, with more resources, it can set the goals of providing greater academic and psychological support for the cohort it already has. Most institutions find it difficult to do either, and very few can do both (although the wealthiest certainly can). [Note: If only private nonprofit institutions had such altruistic agendas for recruiting low-income and Pell-eligible students. In truth, many of these colleges recruit low-income students and Pell-eligible students to attend for a year or two so that the revenue generated from their federal grants and students loans can be reallocated to academic programs that service the wealthiest students.]
Early Decision Is Down | Anecdotal reports have been circulating among admissions professionals that some — but not all — colleges are seeing a decline in early applications. Until this year, early decision (in which applicants pledge to enroll if admitted) and early action (in which they don’t) have become more popular than in the past. College officials like early programs for filling their classes — and some colleges fill more than half of their classes this way. Of course, some applicants don’t like it for the same reason.
Giving Growth Slows | The latest report on voluntary giving to higher education, from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, found that donations in the 2019 fiscal year reached $49.6 billion, an all-time high since the numbers have been reported. The total is up 6.1 percent from $46.7 billion in 2018. Donations grew by 7.2 percent between 2017 and 2018. The report covered information from 914 institutions. Of those, 872 institutions also reported information in fiscal year 2018.
The Oddsmakers of the College Deathwatch [Sbuscription required because it is not a thought piece on the perils of free higher education] | A small industry of experts armed with data is ready to tell you if your college will survive.
New Strategies Recommended to Promote Equity in Student Assessment | Achieving “equity-minded assessment” is the focus of a new report from the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) that examines existing practices and recommends changes to address the needs of an increasingly diverse college student population. The January 2020 report, “A New Decade For Assessment: Embedding Equity into Assessment Praxis,” suggests new models that actively involve students throughout the process and offer enhanced professional development for relevant personnel.
| U.S. States and Territories |
Arkansas colleges up for $8.5M increase; state to examine low faculty pay | The coordinating board approved the recommended changes with little discussion Friday. Board members, however, expressed an interest in investigating why Arkansas has some of the lowest average salaries for faculty compared with other Southern states. The state is last among 16 in the Southern Regional Education Board for faculty pay at four-year institutions. It’s 14th for faculty pay at community colleges. Board member Keven Anderson speculated that could be tied to spending on faculty. He noted the state’s schools having been hiring more adjunct faculty — a trend in higher education in an era of stagnant state funding and increased administrative staff and salaries.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal calls for scholarships that would provide free education for many state college students | Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing a new $204 million scholarship program for students at the 14 state-owned universities that would ensure a debt-free education for at least 25,000 students. As part of his $36 billion budget that he presented Tuesday, Wolf is proposing redirecting $204 million from the Race Horse Development Fund to the new Nellie Bly Tuition Program for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The scholarships would make up what existing aid doesn’t cover for students at any of the 14 PASSHE schools.
| Institutional |
Layoffs begin as Walla Walla Community College crisis deepens | As Walla Walla Community College prepared for another round of layoffs last week during its ongoing financial crisis, some faculty spoke out about what they see as administrative mismanagement, board a pathy and other mistakes. About 24 people were expected to get pink slips starting two days ago, said Jim Peiterson, president of the college union.
Partnership to Help Pell Students | The University of Texas at Austin is partnering with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to expand the Dell Scholars program to all students at the university who receive Pell Grants. For participants in the program, the university will cover tuition costs, while the scholarship will provide wraparound supports. Pell recipients with an expected family contribution under $1,000 will get an additional $20,000 for up to six years for basic needs and other education costs.
City College’s $2 billion impact on New York economy | The City College of New York (CCNY), the founding college of the largest urban university system in the United States, added $1.9 billion in income to 10 counties in the New York region in fiscal year 2017-18. This is according to an economic impact study released by the labor analytics firm Emsi. The study measures the economic impact of City College on the business community and the benefits CCNY generates in return for the investments made by its key stakeholder groups — students, taxpayers, and society. The report focuses on what Emsi terms the “CCNY Service Region,” 10 counties comprising of the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester.
UC Faculty: Keep Tests, for Now | The Academic Senate of the University of California assembled a task force in 2018 to evaluate the system’s current use of standardized tests. On Monday that task force delivered a much-anticipated report listing several recommendations. Not among the recommendations? Tossing the tests. While the authors considered what it might look like for the large public university system to go test optional and not require SAT or ACT scores in the admissions process, they ultimately declined to endorse that option.
