International
‘MOOCs, High Technology and Higher Learning’ | Based on the early projections and proclamations of the MOOC advocates mostly tied to venture capital and likely driven by profit, the MOOC movement has been and is a flop… When a select group of professors described their ambition to “democratize higher education” while creating for-profit companies to do so, many within the bowels of the university knew what they were up to.
US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country report | The data showing that other nations are investing more than the U.S. in both early childhood programs and advanced degrees comes from a new report released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Russia Creates Plan To Recruit Foreign Researchers | The Russian government plans to create conditions for attracting foreign scientists to national universities, with the aim of improving the quality and raising the image of the national system of higher education in the international arena.
Risk-based quality assessment ‘cannot work’, study concludes | King’s College London research finds that ability of metrics to predict problems in higher education providers is ‘extremely limited’.
U.S. National
Sick of hearing about pampered students with coddled minds? This university president is. | It’s become common now to hear that today’s students are pampered and lazy and too sensitive. Michael Roth, president Wesleyan University, couldn’t disagree more, and in this post, he takes issue with this line of thinking.
Why Can’t More College Students Finish What We Ask Them to Begin? | The news is not good, according to a recent report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center… [T]he percent of students who are completing their degree programs is decreasing…
Where Have All the Low-Income Students Gone? | In the upcoming edition of The Presidency, ACE’s Chris Nellum and Terry Hartle discuss a surprising and deeply troubling trend: A steep decline in the percentage of low-income students enrolling in college immediately after graduating from high school.
U.S. States
Investment in Higher Education is Essential to Regional Business Growth | For the first time since 2006, California’s governor and Legislature will provide the California State University the funding its Board of Trustees had sought for this academic year.
Promise Provides Enrollment Boost | Tennessee Promise drives dramatic increases in freshman enrollments at the state’s two-year institutions.
Report: College more affordable in Wyoming | Earning a bachelor’s degree is more affordable in Wyoming than in any other state, according to a report released this month by the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.
Oklahoma higher education institutions cutting costs, sharing resources | Higher education officials across Oklahoma are taking steps to cut costs as they brace for a huge state budget shortfall next fiscal year.
At UMD, New Frederick Douglass Square Illustrates State’s Racial Duality | On November 18, the University of Maryland dedicated Frederick Douglass Square on campus with a formal ceremony and statue unveiling. A few days earlier, however, students had already unofficially christened it, gathering in the square to stand in solidarity with the students at the University of Missouri whose protests for social justice on campus took the nation by storm.
Tears in Our Beers: The Student Debt Crisis in Southern Oregon | Affording higher education is a luxury that many students in Southern Oregon do not have, according to a new survey underway now which reveals some grim preliminary numbers.
Institutional
A Class Implodes Over Race | Kansas professor is on leave after students complain over her use of n-word and her statements on retention. Situation is latest to raise issues of racial sensitivity and academic freedom.
Occidental Faculty Weighs System for Reports of Microaggressions | Occidental College faculty members are considering the creation of a formal system to let students report them for microaggressions, according to a document first obtained by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian advocacy group.
Why Is Dartmouth Still Boiling Over a Protest That Happened 2 Weeks Ago? | On November 12 a large group of protesters at Dartmouth College finished a night of demonstrations about racism by entering a campus library, disrupting students at work there, and loudly chanting “black lives matter.”
Discount Much? | How high is too high a discount to offer students? Nearly 10 percent of colleges have rates of 60 percent or more. For some it appears to be a sign of distress, yet others see a strategy.
UW-Madison 4th nationally in research spending despite shrinking revenue | UW-Madison retained its 4th place national ranking in research spending, despite a continuing erosion of federal and state funding, the university’s news service reported Tuesday.