International
University ratings key to quality education | The first results of the ‘Higher Education Classification’ by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) have been published, ushering in a new era of transparency even for higher education. With this advancement, the KHDA has seamlessly expanded the boundaries of accountability from schools to higher education, a move that offers unambiguous advantages for students and parents whose hopes, money and effort are invested in the UAE’s education system as a collateral for a strong future.
The new generation of indigenous private universities | Higher education has made quantum leaps across the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, in recent years. The emergence of medium-sized, comprehensive private colleges and universities is one area of interest. Expansion has come as a result of issues ranging from widening access to the range of degrees offered.
First 17 European Universities’ alliances announced | The European Commission has announced the first 17 projects that will receive funding for a three-year pilot under the prestigious European Universities Initiative funded by the Erasmus+ programme. Out of 54 applications received, 17 European Universities’ alliances involving 114 higher education institutions from 24 European Union member states were selected based on an evaluation carried out by 26 independent external experts, including rectors, professors and researchers, appointed by the commission.
Higher education institutions need to face up to the future | The emerging new world order has invoked the imperative of relentless, disruptive (even destructive) innovation as the strategic success factor for organisations, nations and societies wanting to remain ready for the future — not just to survive, but to thrive.
U.S. National
What Free College Really Means | It’s not just about tuition. It’s a way to reassert the power of public goods in America.
We Need a ‘Communiversity’ Model of Public Education | The 21st Century requires the creation of what I prefer to think of as a “Communiversity” — an organizing strategy that enables us to tap the existing public resources of our secondary schools, the community college and our regional public universities. That means today’s community college leaders must conceptually view and extend their definition of “community” beyond the community college campus to K-12, university and nonprofit community-based service partners.
Trump administration formally rescinds rule governing career training programs | The Trump administration on Friday effectively ended restrictions on the debt students amass in career training programs, loosening federal oversight of for-profit colleges.
U.S. States
Will region’s small college closure crisis continue? | It’s been a tough year for higher education in Vermont. The state witnessed a handful of colleges close, the victims of dropping enrollment. And just last month the newly merged Northern Vermont University graduates its first class.
New California budget lets students attend community college free for 2 years | Lawmakers are hailing California’s new $215 billion budget as one that aims to address the state’s affordability crisis. There’s $280 million earmarked for programs to make college more affordable.
‘Shocking’ Cut May Force Layoffs for Alaska’s Universities | Stakeholders at the University of Alaska system spent the weekend preparing for a difficult future after the state’s governor cut 41 percent of the system’s state appropriations through a line-item budget veto.
State Funding for Students’ Basic Needs | Recently, lawmakers in California and New Jersey offered new money to help public colleges support students experiencing hunger and homelessness.
Institutional
Greensboro colleges and universities selected to participate in national collaborative | UNC Greensboro, Guilford College, Greensboro College, N.C. A&T and Elon University will participate in the Partnerships for Listening and Action by Communities and Educators (PLACE), a highly selective community-based humanities and civic engagement initiative.
A Strategic Leader for Student Success: An Argument for the Chief Academic Technology Officer | All these developments in academic technology demand an institutional academic technology strategy—one that, arguably, a Chief Academic Technology Officer (CATO) can best articulate, socialize, and invest in.
Experts: More Strategy, Less Flailing Can Close Faculty Diversity Gaps | Presidents and other academic leaders at institutions should “set the tone” that diversity is an important part of the school’s culture, turn intent into action, hold people accountable and be transparent about results, Heilig said.
Slow Going on Faculty Diversity | Despite more universities placing an emphasis on attempting to diversify their faculty ranks, a new study shows very little progress, particularly at research universities. And much of the success in faculty diversity has been in untenured positions. According to the study, which was published by the Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy from the South Texas College of Law, Houston, colleges in recent years have not seen substantial growth in racial diversity among faculty members.
Study Finds Growth of Faculty Diversity Largely Minimal in U.S. Colleges, Universities | The analysis was authored by Julian Vasquez Heilig, incoming dean of the University of Kentucky College of Education. Co-authors included Isabell Wong Flores, Alicia Souza, Joseph Carlton Barry and Selene Barceló Monroy. “While reports have shown modest gains in faculty diversity through the years, most have been in untenured positions,” Vasquez Heilig said. “We wanted to take a closer look at the data and provide a more thorough description of faculty diversity. Across the board, we found the composition of faculty across the country is not keeping pace with the diversity of the U.S. population.”
Admin 101: Which Metrics Are Actually Useful, and How Can You Tell? | I am not in love with dashboards, but I cannot do the dean’s job without them, or at least not very effectively. And the same goes for any department chair, provost, or vice president.