International
How artificial intelligence and virtual reality are changing higher ed instruction | Virtual and augmented reality tools can provide students with experiences that would be otherwise too expensive or even impossible to replicate in the real world, from exploring the inside of a cell to traversing faraway planets, said D. Christopher Brooks, director of research at the Educause Center for Analysis and Research.
AU’s development goals hampered by skills shortages | Key targets for the first 10 years of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 are being jeopardised by a lack of critical technical skills, and a new skills development agenda led by business and academia is urgently needed, the recent Sixth African Higher Education Week and Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) Biennial Conference heard.
Learning in the flow of life with help from AI | What do Facebook, Google and Amazon mean to higher education? These platforms, and hundreds more, represent a ‘digital smartness’ that comes from artificial intelligence (AI), big data, natural language processing, automation and robotics.
We won’t bail out failing universities, says higher education regulator | Universities should not assume they will be bailed out from a financial crisis, according to the head of the higher education regulator in England, who likened them to overconfident banks before the global financial crisis.
U.S. National
The New Canon | We invited scholars from across the academy to tell us what they saw as the most influential book published in the past 20 years.
U.S. States
Does Performance Funding Work for Higher Ed? | [W]hile it’s rarely effective at generating the outcomes for which it was designed, performance funding has been found to bring about positive ancillary results.
Regent’s Resignation Signals Turning Tide in U. of Maryland Crisis, as President Exerts His Power | James T. Brady resigned his post as chairman of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents on Thursday, marking another turn in a chaotic week for an institution that has descended into crisis over the board’s handling of an athletics scandal.
‘A long, arduous task’: Inside the U-Md. leadership crisis | “In general, system boards should not be micromanaging institutions,” said Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. “That’s why they hire a president. If they’re not happy with a president, they can choose to fire a president.”
As Debates Over College Costs Make Waves in South Carolina, It’s Time to Boost Need-Based Aid Nationwide | High schools across South Carolina are holding College Application Month events this fall, rallying seniors across the state to submit their applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Many of these students, however, will likely be disappointed when they discover that financial need does not necessarily translate into generous financial aid.
Institutional
Another Private College on the Brink | Iowa Wesleyan University was founded in 1842, four years before Iowa became a state. But this year could be the college’s last. Steven E. Titus, president of the university, posted a statement to its website last week in which he said that “at this moment, the university does not have the required financial underpinnings to bridge the gap between strong enrollment and new programming, and the money needed to keep the institution open.”
USC Leaps Forward in Diversity with Two New Initiatives | A new Center for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion and an additional $50 million to promote diversity, inclusion and equity campuswide will augment University of Southern California efforts to broaden and deepen cultural diversity at the 47,500-student school.
Governing HBCUs for the Future | As institutional performance, outcomes and effectiveness become a major focus in higher education, the conversation regarding the accountability of historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and HBCU leadership has increased. More scrutiny has been placed on administrative practices, presidential turnover and board of trustees’ decision-making and presidential relations.
Is There a Limit to Academic Freedom? | Does academic freedom offer professors the right to express any and all viewpoints and act accordingly?