International
Which British universities do most to boost graduate salaries? | One way to measure a university’s impact is to look at earnings data, which the government also hopes to include in future versions of the TEF. On June 13th the Department for Education released the latest wave of its “longitudinal education outcomes” data, which analyse tax returns to show how much people earn five years after they graduate.
England ‘should learn’ from US troubles with performance funding | A working paper comparing access policies in the two countries, published by the UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Global Higher Education, cites US research that found performance-related funding can have “unintended” consequences, such as restrictions in admissions to university and weakening of academic standards.
Mining the power of data to boost student success | Data analytics is becoming increasingly important to improving the effectiveness of almost every profession and academia is no different, but knowing what data is important and how to use it is critical. This was among the key messages of the third annual conference of Siyaphumelela (‘We succeed’), an initiative to improve the capacity of South African universities to collect and analyse student data to boost student success.
Index shows the global innovation gap is growing | Innovation is increasingly important for both developed and emerging economies as they seek to develop solutions to complex challenges, gain competitive advantage in key industries and technologies and provide better living standards for their citizens. The race to the top in innovation is epitomised by the keen attention given to the annual Global Innovation Index, in which higher education, and education more broadly, are crucial and enduring building blocks.
Ten years on, how has the financial crisis changed universities? | New data show how universities took up the slack when businesses cut back on R&D. But the crisis also led to greater demands on universities to boost growth.
Education sector in crisis, cannot survive if reforms shelved; what you need to learn | Given how badly India needs to recast its higher education regulation, the announcement that the government planned to scrap/merge UGC and AICTE to bring in the Higher Education Empowerment and Regulation Agency had been greeted with much cheer.
U.S. National
Why Republicans Don’t Trust Higher Ed | Not only do Republicans and Democrats have different levels of confidence in higher education, but they are coming at the issue by focusing on different issues, a new poll by Gallup shows. Republicans who distrust higher education focus on campus politics, while the smaller share of Democrats who distrust higher education tend to focus on rising college prices, the pollster found.
Report: Student Borrowers Mired Deeper in Debt | More student loan borrowers are finding themselves deeper in debt and taking a longer time to pay off their student loans — and an increasing number of student loan borrowers are older than in the past, according to a report released Wednesday from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
U.S. States
Choose a major armed with data | Perhaps ahead of its time, UT System institutions have been and are using free, web-based, innovative tools such as seekUT to help students and families put student debt into the context of earnings for all academic programs. Though student debt numbers on their own can seem overwhelming, when viewed in the context of what previous graduates of specific programs have earned, it becomes clear that borrowing is reasonable.
Outcome-based funding is helping Tennessee students succeed, but more work remains | Tennessee has led the way in ensuring its public investment in higher education prepares more residents for the future – and new research suggests the effort is creating strong, positive benefits among full-time students.
How Tennessee Promise is tied to the Pell Grant and what it means for higher education | Without action from the United States Congress, Pell will no longer rise with inflation. This will make the award weaker. The current House budget recommendation is to keep Pell funding flat for the next 10 years. This, in essence, is a cut.
Institutional
As White Supremacists Wreak Havoc, a University Becomes a Crisis Center | Several days before white nationalists and neo-Nazis were slated to descend upon Charlottesville, Va., the University of Virginia planned a response: what it called “a day of events displaying its commitment to mutual respect and inclusion.”
Healthier Than Imagined? | Report argues private colleges have been improving their financial status but shows at least some small and poor institutions are struggling.
UVA Standing Firm in Wake of Charlottesville Violence | The nation and American democracy has progressed despite hateful bigotry for more than two centuries, and “hateful actions in Charlottesville or elsewhere will not stop it either,” said Dr. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia (UVA).
Finances a Troublesome Subject at Many HBCUs | When college leaders across the nation begin rolling out their welcome mats for the coming school year, few are likely to be more anxious about the days ahead than those operating historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Data analysis helps SCSU improve student outcomes | New data from researchers at the Southern Connecticut State University suggests pre-college experiences are weak predictors of success in areas including rates of retention, graduation and academic performance.
Posted: August 25 9:29