International
Reservation in higher education works as intended: Study | A pioneering study published in the American Economic Review dismisses the commonly held belief that reservation policy harms the intended beneficiaries by placing them in academic situations for which they are ill-prepared and not suited.
International students are worth more than their tuition fees | Just over 10 years ago, the president of Emory University, my Atlanta-based institution, told an international planning group that he wanted to hear many languages during his daily walks across campus.
The Crisis About to Hit Israeli Academia | The lower birthrate in the mid-1990s is about to impact higher education, with a drop in income inevitable and college mergers likely.
U.S. National
An Unlikely Campaign to Move Beyond GRE Scores | Various studies have suggested that departments rely too heavily on the GRE and as a result end up minimizing the chances that they will admit female, black and Latino applicants.
ACICS Must Go | The failures of ACICS also raises questions about the viability and integrity of the overall accreditation system. Its challenges are illustrative of the issues plaguing accreditation writ large—insufficient accountability, overly close connections between accreditors and the colleges they approve, and an emphasis on process over outcomes.
Community College Leaders Seek to Maximize Potential Benefits from Reauthorized Higher Education Act | Community college leaders met in Washington to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. At the heart of the conversation was a focus on balancing community college’s traditional mission of access for all and the national conversation about college completion rates.
College Loan Glut Worries Policy Makers | The U.S. government over the last 15 years made a trillion-dollar investment to improve the nation’s workforce, productivity and economy. A big portion of that investment has now turned toxic, with echoes of the housing crisis.
Class of 2015 Is Finding Work | Six months after graduation, the majority of graduates from the class of 2015 found jobs or returned for more education.
The Mindset of a President: How Today’s Leaders View the Direction of Higher Ed (Report) | Over the past decade, college and university presidents have found their jobs becoming increasing demanding and complex.
U.S. States
Addressing the crisis of college student debt | John Burns Real Estate Consulting estimated that student debt pushed home sales down 8 percent in 2014, equivalent to roughly $83 billion in value, or 414,000 homes.
Education tax inspired university budget cuts | A controversial plan to hike sales taxes in order to increase money for schools ended up costing colleges and universities $153 million in the upcoming state budget, lawmakers said.
Black Colleges Dropped From Bill They Opposed | Historically black universities have been dropped from a controversial North Carolina bill slashing tuition at certain institutions to $500, but worries about the legislation’s effects remain high at two universities still facing tuition cuts — and across the state system.
State budget crisis clouds manufacturing education at community colleges | The state’s financial crisis is undermining community college efforts to equip Illinoisans, particularly from low-income families, with high-tech manufacturing skills at a time when manufacturing jobs are again on the rise after a decade-long decline.
Colleges send too many into remedial classes who don’t need it, growing body of research shows | Alaska study finds high school GPA a better predictor of ability to pass college English and math than placement exams or SAT scores.
For Maine Colleges and Universities, Diversity Challenges More than a Matter of Numbers | Keeping Maine’s colleges and universities thriving requires new approaches, including embracing diversity and addressing cultural understanding. While the institutional intent is clear, everyday realities don’t always live up to it.
Institutional
Brown University Making Bold Bid to Assure Diversity and Inclusion | Spending $100 million on an ambitious diversity plan over the next decade might seem like a far-fetched idea for most colleges and universities. But Brown University isn’t exactly any university.
Adjuncts are unionizing, but that won’t fix what’s wrong in higher education | Higher education’s adjunct professor crisis is well known by now: Struggling per-course instructors are teaching the majority of college courses for minimum wage, with little stability and few benefits.
Burlington College Students Face Hurdles Transferring To Other Schools | When Burlington College closed last month, students got the impression that the transition to another college would be smooth, and their tuition might be the same.
Access, Affordability and Survival in American Higher Education | NACUBO found that tuition discount rates – what colleges offer to students in the form of institutional scholarships – reached 49 percent for full-time freshman, up from 47 percent a year earlier.
The Real Reason Why Small Colleges Fail | I take Burlington College’s demise personally because I spent 25 years of my working life at two Vermont colleges that any number of times could have preceded Burlington, which closed its doors for good on May 27, into the grave.
Seeking Fair Faculty Pay | At many colleges, new assistant professors earn close to or even more than long timers. U of Washington is trying to do something about it — and finding out how hard it is. Among other ideas: countering expensive retention raises with new salary steps subject to approval by one’s peers.
Cuts Questioned at U of Chicago | Faculty members and students worry they’re paying the price for construction projects amid a focus on cutting administrative costs.