International
Are universities making the most of their big data? | The UK’s higher education system is renowned globally for its high-quality provision, student experience and world-class research. Now there is an opportunity for the sector to shift into another realm – by using the data it constantly collects from students to improve student retention; better target student support and develop teaching and learning methods.
New mechanisms are needed to improve transparency | The explosion of demand worldwide for higher education and for evidence of its value to graduates, employers and the wider global community must be met head on by tertiary-level institutions, a top education official at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, told quality assurance professionals Thursday.
Wide ranging reforms in higher education vital for economic surge | Dr. Harsha Aturupane provided a blue print of the necessary wide ranging reforms in higher education in his Gamani Corea Memorial Lecture titled “Enriching and Accelerating Higher Education Development in Sri Lanka”.
‘Rags to Riches’ Now an Urban Legend | According to an investigation conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the ‘gold spoon, dirt spoon class theory’ currently mentioned by young people is true.
Answer to ATAR crisis is less marketing and a rethink of first degrees | There is a common perception that only the best and brightest should enjoy the privilege, and derive the benefits, of studying at university. This informs the idea (myth perhaps) that we live in a meritocratic society, where social mobility is available to those with talent who work hard.
Exam Hell and the Crisis in History Education | Rote memorization has displaced critical thinking and driven young Japanese students away from the study of history, argues the author, who blames the universities’ own fact-driven entrance examinations for the crisis facing the humanities and social sciences in higher education.
U.S. National
Sen. Wyden: As election looms, college affordability comes to the forefront | This will be the year of higher education in Congress, and that’s good news for the University of Oregon and its students, says Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Gates Foundation Calls for More Granular Data on Student Outcomes | The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation amplified a longstanding plea in higher education Tuesday for better tracking of student success at America’s colleges and universities.
We Are in the Midst of a Crisis of Higher Education in Art, and Now’s the Perfect Time to Reform It | A series of events in recent years indicates that higher education in art is in the throes of a serious crisis.
3 Charts That Show Just How Dire The Student Debt Crisis Has Become | The debt load of the typical recent college graduate has nearly tripled, while starting wages have remained flat.
U.S. States
Excellence, affordability key to higher education reform: Opinion | For years, New Jersey college presidents have called for action in three areas to improve our state’s higher education system.
Oklahoma colleges grapple with state budget crisis | With the state facing a budget shortfall approaching $1 billion, Oklahoma college and universities, like virtually all other publicly-funded entities, are tasked with slashing their own budgets.
Institutional
Standing With Their President | Board of Suffolk U seeks to fire Margaret McKenna, institution’s fifth president in five years, seven months into her tenure. Students, professors and alumni rally behind her.
UPDATE: UM System Curator David L. Steward resigns | COLUMBIA — David L. Steward has resigned his position as a member of the UM System Board of Curators, effective immediately.
Nation’s prominent public universities are shifting to out-of-state students | America’s most prominent public universities were founded to serve the people of their states, but they are enrolling record numbers of students from elsewhere to maximize tuition revenue as state support for higher education withers.
Times Higher Education: Florida Tech Among World’s Best Universities | Florida Institute of Technology has joined an elite group of U.S. and international universities including California Institute of Technology and the Paris-based École Normale Supérieure on a Times Higher Education exclusive list of the world’s best universities.
Presidents of Small Colleges Bank on Fund Raising to Survive (requires subscription) | This past fall, not long after learning that this year’s budget would be lower than last year’s by about 10 percent, or $1.5 million, Davis & Elkins College got a welcome surprise from its president, G.T. Smith, known to everyone here as Buck: A longtime trustee and his family’s foundation had just pledged $25 million to the 800-student college.
In new sorting of colleges, Dartmouth falls out of an exclusive group | Dartmouth’s elite standing in higher education is secure. Founded in 1769, the Ivy League college in New Hampshire is esteemed worldwide for teaching and research. But this week it fell out of a college club many want to enter: A group of roughly 100 research-focused schools that insiders call “R1.”