| International |
Government revives plan to permit foreign branch campuses | A plan to allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India has been revived, with the Narendra Modi government set to include a provision in its Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill that would allow their entry and operation and specifies norms for joint and dual degrees.
India needs to focus on higher education for $5 Trillion economy’ | Stressing that universities are the engine for innovation, economic growth and social development, O.P. Jindal Global University’s Founding Vice Chancellor, Prof C. Raj Kumar outlined a 10-point ambitious growth and reform plan for the Indian Universities at an event here on Friday. He observed that this plan will enable Indian universities to achieve excellence and also move up in global rankings.
Sustainable HE for the future of work and the world | If consumerism is preferred over the idea of universalism in universities, technological progress will take place accordingly. In the longer run, this may not remain as lucrative a path to a newer generation seeking a quality life. At present, most universities are trudging along aiming to promote free will, innovation and sustainability, creating a world where economically viable decisions take precedence over socially viable ones.
What universities can do to keep students from dropping out | The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that in 36 countries, only 39 per cent of bachelor’s degree students graduate within the expected duration of their program. Another 28 per cent do so in the following three years. According to the World Bank, students abandoning advanced or “tertiary” studies — everything from university to advanced-level studies — is a serious issue negatively impacting countries’ capacities for economic growth and poverty reduction.
Let’s get serious about tertiary education | Let’s face it, Jamaica does not have enough people trained at the tertiary level of education. The problem is complicated by the migration of many of those so trained, often at the expense of taxpayers, falling victim to the lure of the almighty United States.
| U.S. National |
Why Is College So Expensive? | It’s easy to see why there tends to be a reliance on student loans to pay for college: Tuition prices increased 36% from 2008 to 2018, while the real median income in the U.S. grew just over 2.1% in the same period, according to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. To afford college, many students take on debt, resulting in more than 1 million people defaulting on their student loans every year, with average monthly payments close to $400… “The two main drivers of the rising cost of tuition are reduced state funding and the incentive for tuition raises as an unrestricted revenue to benefit colleges,” meaning colleges can choose to spend tuition money however they wish, Heflin says. “States and local communities are spending less per student. Someone has to take on that cost, and unfortunately it’s been the student.”
The Value of Academic Societies | While university administrators are constrained by local institutional perspectives when confronting the post-Ph.D. employment crisis, many societies have asked recent Ph.D.s what the broad community of scholars can do to help. Society leaders have set up advising resources, professionalization support, non-academic job fairs, and more. Through awards, events, and sponsored activities, societies raise the profile of scholarship and invite the non-academic public to join in the creation of knowledge. Regional societies often work closely with local communities, including high school teachers who tend to feel shut out from the world of research.
Rural Students Gain but Lag in College Attendance | In 1991, 45 percent of high school graduates across the country went on to pursue two- or four-year degrees, compared to 48 percent in 2000. Between academic years 2002-03 and 2012-13, there was an overall increase in students obtaining postsecondary credentials, which corresponds to the increase in the number of high school graduates going to college. Research showed that students in rural areas did not follow these trends, and that the number of rural students going to and completing college has not increased by the same amount as their nonrural counterparts. As it stands, more than 18 percent of high school students looking at colleges are from rural areas.
Most Of Nation’s Top Public Universities Aren’t Affordable For Low-Income Students | America’s top public universities, known as flagships, are generally the most well-resourced public universities in their respective states — think the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor or the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They’re rigorous schools, and many were built on federal land grants meant to serve the “industrial classes.” Today, only four public flagship universities are affordable for students from low-income families, according to a report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
| U.S. States and Territories |
A Public Higher Ed Primer for Politicians | The annals of political philosophy teem with pieces on the tension between expertise and democracy. Plato’s philosopher-king made sense if you assumed that most people were just staring at shadow puppets. It’s a straight line from the “noble lie” to “you can’t handle the truth!” When democracies failed, or morphed into tyrannies, the lesson that political thinkers drew was that the masses can’t be trusted to govern themselves. They needed experts, often appointed directly by God. America’s great contribution was to demonstrate that if you have a large and diverse enough group involved in politics, each group’s distinct idiocies are largely canceled out by those of other groups.
Michigan private college students scramble to replace scholarships cut by Whitmer | Thousands of Michigan students attending private colleges and universities are now scrambling to replace thousands of dollars in scholarship money axed Monday by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer vetoed the money as part of her high-stakes duel with legislative Republicans over the state’s budget for this fiscal year.The Michigan Tuition Grant gives up to $2,400 per academic year to students attending one of about 30 private colleges in the state. It’s widely used, available to both poor and middle class students. That money was wiped out by Whitmer’s veto.
Whitmer also reduced the money available for private college students in the Michigan Competitive Scholarship from a maximum of $2,400 down to a max of $1,000. She did not cut the maximum for public college students. Private college students can get one or the other of the scholarships.
No More ‘At-Risk’ Students in California | A decades-long effort to change how educators talk about students facing economic or social challenges has been backed by California lawmakers. A bill to remove references to “at-risk youth” and replace the term with “at-promise youth” in California’s Education Code and Penal Code was approved by California governor Gavin Newsom in mid-October. The California Education Code is a collection of laws primarily applying to public K-12 schools. The bill does not change the definition of “at risk,” it merely replaces it with “at promise.”
Financial Aid Changes in Virginia | Virginia is changing the way it calculates need-based aid and distributes it to public four-year institutions. The change comes as the demographics of students across the nation are shifting, and more students today are over age 25, working while in college or parenting. With these changes and rising tuition costs, more students are demonstrating financial need. Anecdotally, in Virginia, more students are qualifying for a zero-dollar expected family contribution from the federal government.
| Institutional |
An Elitist Finger in the Public’s Eye [subscription required] | The failure of wealthy private colleges to reflect the nation’s demographic transformation has reached a crisis point.
Just Released — Uncharted Territory: A Guide to Reimagining Higher Education | Inside the guide, the Stanford d.school profiles 12 institutions, from long standing to ground-up institutions, on not just what they accomplished, but how they overcame obstacles. Along with the case studies are actionable tips for those ready to get started on their own campuses or beyond.
The Enrollment Crash Goes Deeper Than Demographics [subscription required] | Colleges can’t stop what’s coming, but they can be better prepared.
Letter to the Editor: ‘NYU’s Artificial Affordability Issue’ | In last Monday’s editorial, “NYU’s Artificial Affordability Issue,” the WSN once again provides selective facts to make its case. So, it falls to me to provide the full picture.
Fear of a Black Campus [subscription required] | How an ugly campaign to force out an African American president exposed racial fault lines in a mostly white town.