| International |
Is international higher education just an elite club? | [A]s we draw near the end of the second decade of the new millennium, it is difficult to see how international higher education has evolved into a phenomenon which is ‘good’ and ‘meaningful’ for everyone. On the contrary, it has remained a tiny club based on physical mobility which is accessible only to the healthy, wealthy and brainy.
UN Moves Into Higher Education | This month, UNESCO was due to adopt a Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications of Higher Education at its general conference in Paris, attended by more than 100 higher education ministers. The convention will help, UNESCO says, an “estimated eight million students and faculty pursuing academic work away from their countries of origin gain recognition for skills acquired and academic work accomplished in different countries.”
Gender equality – A key aspect of university transformation | [A] new network has been established among universities in the country’s Western Cape province with the goal of addressing inequality within the post-school system and society at large…The move comes after university protests and a number of reports and hearings have highlighted how issues of race, class and gender continue to threaten the safety and opportunities for advancement of many students and academics more than 25 years after the introduction of democracy was supposed to have put an end to such discrimination.
Drive to improve quality and breadth of undergraduate HE | After years of concentrating on research to drive Chinese universities up global university rankings, China’s education ministry has set out new rules to improve the quality of undergraduate teaching, with a major national and provincial push to promote curriculum reform and evaluation, eliminate poor-performing courses and fire academics who have not taught for three years.
New journal breathes life into scholarly communication | So, what exactly is the Namibia Journal for Research, Science and Technology? What type of fields does it cover? The publication is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published annually by the NCRST. Broadly, it publishes research articles from pure, applied and allied sciences and technology, and humanities and social sciences.
| U.S. National |
Behind Closed Doors in Washington, Here’s What Colleges Fight For | Student loans are a growing fact of American life, topping $1.6 trillion in outstanding balances this year. Loans can be valuable — if students are able to pay them back. But every year, one million people default on their student loans for the first time. Often, it’s because they didn’t graduate, and so lacked the diploma needed to get a well-paying job. Last year, 231 four-year colleges graduated less than 25 percent of their first-time-in-college, full-time students within eight years of enrollment. An additional 615 colleges reported rates below 50 percent.
Pete Buttigieg’s college affordability plan is actually the most progressive | [S]ome relatively wealthy people would still benefit. Critics note that Mr. Buttigieg’s $100,000 threshold is arbitrary, particularly when that amount of money goes much further in some places than in others. He might consider adjustments for region and other circumstances. A fairer and more efficient solution to the college affordability question would have students pay back something for their education — or relieve their debt burdens — based on their after-graduation income rather than their family circumstances before enrollment. [Note: This is not an endorsement of Pete Buttigieg’s plan. This is a memorial to the brain trust behind the nation’s newspaper of record and what they regards as “a fairer and more efficient solution” for funding higher education for young American citizens.]
| U.S. States and Territories |
Minnesota State colleges and universities push to shrink achievement gaps | Minnesota’s system of community colleges and public universities is gearing up for what its chancellor calls its “moonshot” — a fresh crack at a goal that has long bedeviled the campuses and the entire state. Under its new Equity 2030 initiative, the Minnesota State system is vowing to eliminate disparities in graduation and other outcomes for its minority, low-income and first-generation students on all 37 campuses.
‘We’re down to the bone’: Kentucky’s higher ed agency calls for more state spending | After a decade of decline that has resulted in a 21 percent cut in state spending on public colleges and universities, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is asking lawmakers to reinvest in higher education next year. Ahead of a legislative session that will result in a new two-year state budget, the CPE has requested that lawmakers invest $52.5 million in 2020-21 and $75 million in 2021-22. The money would be placed in Kentucky’s performance funding system, which ties university funding to deliverable outcomes, like credit hour accumulation and graduation rate. The system is now in its third year of implementation.
College costs in Colorado have “spiraled out of control.” Here’s what the state is doing to fix it. | Over the last decade, tuition at Colorado’s public colleges and universities has increased more than 65%, the report said. Tuition at public two-year institutions in Colorado rose by 52% from 2008 to 2018, now costing $4,470 per year on average. At public four-year institutions during the same time frame, tuition climbed 68% to an average of $11,130 per year, according to a report CDHE released over the summer regarding college’s return on investment.
Report Condemns CT Colleges for Low Graduation Rates, High Costs | A report issued by an education policy group Tuesday questions graduation rates at Connecticut’s four-year colleges and suggests that the state’s workforce may be suffering. The Education Reform Now CT report, titled “Less For More: Low Rates Of Completion And High Costs At Connecticut’s Four-Year Colleges,” focuses heavily on minority and low-income student success.
States Ramp Up Aid Programs | State investment in college students grew more last year than in the past decade, according to an annual study of grant and aid programs released Tuesday. Undergraduate aid grew by 8.62 percent during the 2017-18 academic year compared to an annual growth rate of 1 to 6 percent, adjusted for inflation, since 2007-08, a new report by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs outlines. State financial aid programs in the U.S. reached $13.6 billion, compared to $12.8 billion dedicated to postsecondary students in 2016-17, says the report by NASSGAP, which represents agencies that administer state student financial aid.
| Institutional |
Millions of Dollars in Aid to HBCUs Held Up in Congress | The U.S. Senate has failed to approve Title III educational funding, which will put millions of dollars at risk for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). On Sept. 30, a federal law benefiting HBCUs and other minority-servicing institutions expired. This law provided more than $250 million a year in annual funding.
Students are not sticking to their majors | Out of the 2,091 freshmen students enrolled at Columbia in 2012, only 970 graduated within a six-year period, according to the Fall 2018 Institutional Effectiveness report. Of all graduates, only 34% graduated in the major they had initially chosen.
Why Diversity Initiatives Fail [subscription required] | Symbolic gestures and millions of dollars can’t overcome apathy.
Studies Explore Roots of Campus Climate Crises | With campus climate being the root of the issue, Parker argues that an institutional response isn’t a sufficient cure. “What schools are doing is responding to cultural issues with a structural response,” Parker said to the KU News Service. “They do that because it’s what they’ve always known. They’ll take a look at what other institutions are doing and implement something similar. But there’s no industry standard.” Until diversity offices find that “industry standard,” Parker said universities can strengthen their offices by providing diversity officers frequent contact with the president. When they are part of the president’s cabinet, officers have more agency to create an inclusive campus climate.