| International |
SDGs ‘not attainable without contribution of HE’, UN told | None of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs – the internationally agreed framework for tackling poverty, inequality, disease and climate change – can be achieved without the contribution of higher education through research, teaching and community engagement.
The Crisis of University Education in Zambia | [U]niversity education in Zambia is in crisis and its current state prevents universities from making an effective contribution to national development.
A futurist vision of higher education | By 2035, the year by which the NEP is to be fully in place, higher education will look very different in other ways as well. The 800+ universities and 40,000+ colleges we [India] have today—some of which are Deemed to be Universities, others Unitary Universities, still others Universities with Affiliated Colleges, and the thousands upon thousands of affiliating colleges themselves—would also have been integrated into three types of Higher Education Institutions or HEIs.
Three charts on: how much Australia spends on all levels of education | The final distribution of national education spending, after the transfers, was A$15.5 billion (14%) from the federal government, A$55.4 billion (49%) from state, territory and local governments and A$40.9 billion (37%) from private sources. The bulk of Australia’s education spending is directed to three levels of education: primary schools (27%), secondary schools (28%) and higher education (26%). The remaining 19% is spread between early childhood education, preschool, vocational education and training (VET) certificates, diplomas and advanced diplomas.
| U.S. National |
The Fight for Free College Is Your Fight Too: Professors: Whose side are you on? | The fact is that most elite academics have been absent from the political fight for free college. (Scholars in the mold of Adolph Reed Jr., Nathan Brown, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Chris Newfield, are the exceptions that prove the rule.) And yet, discussions about what a democratic higher-education system might look like ought to be conducted, first and foremost, within the academy itself. Of course, such discussions do take place in certain corners of academe, but they have demonstrably failed to rise to the level of collective urgency or attain the sort of public influence that is desperately needed.
New Report: Student Loan Debt Widens Racial Wealth Gap | The report also includes historical context behind the numbers. It emphasizes that students haven’t benefited equally from past federal investments in higher learning, like the GI Bill or state funding for public universities that resisted integration. Inequities in student loan debt, it argues, are a part of a wider continuum. Structural racism has made it more difficult for African-American students to economically, educationally and otherwise catch up with their White counterparts,” said Hilary O. Shelton, NAACP Washington bureau director and senior vice president for policy and advocacy, describing African-American students making regular payments but still struggling with debt.
| U.S. States and Territories |
Penn State board of trustees votes to freeze in-state tuition for 2nd year | For the 2019-20 academic year at the University Park campus, tuition for in-state students will remain $8,708 per semester for freshmen and sophomores, and $9,414-$11,242 per semester for upper-level students, depending on the program. Tuition will increase for out-of-state students, from $16,910 to $17,240 per semester for freshmen and sophomores.
Debate continues on BSU diversity programs | The Idaho Freedom Foundation doubled down on its criticisms, while Democrats and some BSU students rallied around the university. Republican Gov. Brad Little said he has been staying out of the controversy and didn’t take sides when asked, saying his focus is on college affordability, but he views diversity as important.
State System freezes tuition at Cal U, other public universities | For the first time in more than 20 years, tuition will not increase for students at California University of Pennsylvania and other state-owned schools for the upcoming school year.
The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors earlier this month voted unanimously to keep in-state tuition flat at $7,716 for the 2019-20 academic year at the system’s 14 universities.
Deep budget cuts put University of Alaska in crisis mode; ‘grappling with survival’ | Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy…slashed $440 million from the budget passed by the state legislature, including $130 million from the university system. Dunleavy, who took office in December and is an outspoken supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has called for major cuts in higher education, health care and other social programs as he pushes to sharply raise the annual oil revenue dividend that Alaska pays to nearly every state resident.
| Institutional |
‘It’s a New Assault on the University’ [subscription required] | A skeptical public is increasingly willing to interfere in colleges’ internal affairs.
Why Your College Shouldn’t Outsource Its Online Programs | Executives at OPMs and college officials come to the table with very different purposes. For example, OPMs are profit-oriented while universities, especially public institutions, are mission-oriented. Often it is the case that universities are seeking out an OPM because they are desperate to boost enrollment or get a particular program online, which puts them at a disadvantage when they come up against the financial expertise of a big OPM executive. It is easy for the mission to get lost when terms like return on investment and cost of acquisition start flying around.
It’s Time to Celebrate High-Quality Community Colleges | Excellent community colleges propel students of all backgrounds into the middle class. Some community college alumni transfer to a four-year university and go on to become teachers and engineers, doctors, lawyers and business leaders. Others go straight from community college to work, becoming the nurses, advanced manufacturing technicians and engine mechanics who make our communities run.