International
MPs say ‘inadequate’ schools careers advice worsening skills crisis | MPs have delivered a scathing report on careers advice in many schools, warning that the “inadequate” guidance being given to youngsters is fuelling the country’s skills crisis. Too many young people were leaving schools in England without having the chance to consider future work options, said a Parliamentary committee.
Europe’s universities: an unbreakable alliance | The Brexit debate has exposed deep divisions within the country at large, but it has also united the university community like no other issue in recent times.
Why Academics Were Ignored | An often anti-intellectual campaign to leave the European Union triumphed, leaving scholars in Britain wondering why so many appear to distrust them.
Scottish youngsters squeezed out of university by SNP cap amid warnings of post-Brexit crisis | Scottish school leavers are being squeezed out of university by SNP government policies and the situation will get worse for middle-class children, according to an official report published amid warnings of an impending Brexit funding crisis.
Latin America University Rankings 2016: results announced | Brazil is the top performer in a new pilot Times Higher Education ranking of the best universities in Latin America.
Rethink the school of tomorrow: Africa as the starting hypothesis | With 200 million inhabitants between the ages of 15 and 24, Africa is today the youngest continent on the planet.
U.S. National
Taking More Courses May Help Solve the College Debt Crisis | A report produced by Clive Belfield, Davis Jenkins, and Hana Lahr and published by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University finds that students in Tennessee who took on 15 course credits rather than the traditional 12 in their first semester of college pay roughly 10 to 20 percent less per degree in tuition and fees.
Panel: Free Community College Plans Need More Focus on Adult Learners | As the concept of free community college continues to take root throughout the country, policymakers need to give more thought to the role that such plans can play in the lives of adult learners, not just students coming straight out of high school.
Professors, Politics and New England | New analysis suggests that one region is responsible for much of the national imbalance in the ideological leanings of faculty members.
College Kids, With Kids | There are 4.8 million undergraduates raising children — one-fourth of all postsecondary students. But more than half of these student-parents leave college without finishing after six years.
Free College for All, but Where’s the Choice? | Instead of making public higher education free, accessibility plans should implement a federal grant system through which students would receive up to a certain amount — say $20,000 to $30,000 per year — which would fully cover the costs of a public education or could be used toward the cost at a private, nonprofit institution.
Philanthropic Foundations Pushing College Access, Attainment Higher on Priority Lists | When it comes to broadening college access and enhancing student success throughout the United States, philanthropic foundations have increasingly taken a leading role in helping to shape the national dialogue.
U.S. States
Syllabus of a crisis | Despite the General Assembly’s passage on Thursday of a plan to fund higher education, concerns remain about the effects of the yearlong budget impasse on Illinois colleges and universities.
Report: On 40-40-20, Oregon has a long way to go | Lawmakers adopted the so-called 40-40-20 goal in 2011: by 2025 at least 40 percent of Oregonians ages 25 to 64 would have a bachelor’s degree or higher; 40 percent would have an associate degree or certificate; 20 percent would have a high school diploma or equivalent. By those measures, Oregon is at about 31-17-42, with 10 percent of adults lacking a high school diploma.
‘Passport’ for Transfer | Professors and academic leaders from seven western states have rolled out an “interstate passport” to help students transfer across state lines without losing credits for what they learn in general education courses.
Department of Education: Spending on Prisons Rises 3 Times Faster than on Schools | State and local spending on prisons and jails is increasing at a faster rate than spending on public education over the past three decades, according to a U.S. Department of Education report.
Institutional
The Challenges Facing Low-Income Female Students | Being a low-income student in college is difficult, but it’s probably tougher for women. Barbara Gault, executive director of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, points out that female students are much more likely than men to be raising children and possibly caring for older relatives as well.
Temple’s law dean promoted to provost | Temple University early Tuesday morning elevated law school dean JoAnne A. Epps to provost, its number-two position, replacing Hai-Lung Dai, who was removed from the post last week.
The Diversity Students Seek | The results at Dartmouth (which they hope to compare to results at other institutions) suggest that students are indeed committed to diversity in admissions and faculty hiring.
Debating a Provost’s Ouster | Temple makes a sudden change after $22 million in overspending on financial aid. But faculty members object to what they see as a lack of information and disrespect for an academic leader many respect.