International
LEO data reveal complex factors affecting graduate earnings | An analysis of the graduate salary data alongside prior attainment shows how difficult it is to measure university performance on such a metric.
Higher education harmonisation – Not just a dream | The higher education institution qualifications harmonisation project embarked upon by the African Union is part of attempts by the continental body to ensure that the integration of the people in Africa is not confined to the political level alone, the head of education at the African Union, Dr Beatrice Njenga, has said.
Still a long way to go on internationalisation | India and Brazil are the largest higher education systems in the world in terms of numbers of students (alongside China and the United States) and the largest developing economies after China. How have they performed? Brazil and India have not had an exciting performance and certainly have a long way to go, but some important developments should be noted.
We need to talk about free education | As student loan debt in the UK passes £100 billion, Sir Keith Burnett says it’s time we faced up to the real cost of tuition fees and debt.
Teaching excellence framework (TEF) results 2017 | The results of the 2017 teaching excellence framework in full. Find out which universities were awarded gold, silver or bronze.
Australian HE reforms need further vetting | Demand-driven funding in higher education but not vocational education will distort both provision and student choice, says Peter Noonan.
U.S. National
The Slowly Diversifying Presidency | Colleges and universities turn to experienced presidents in times of pressure, curtailing gains in diversity, study finds.
Where Winds Are Blowing on Accreditation | At meeting of federal advisory panel, some members push accreditors to set “bright lines” for colleges’ performance, while others caution against oversimplification.
Why ranking universities on graduate job prospects is a step in the right direction | [M]ore than ever before, students are investing significant sums of money – and personal risk – in their higher education. And they are particularly interested in precisely the things the new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) measures.
U.S. States
Montanans have choices in making college more affordable | In Montana, you don’t have to be at the top of your high school class to be accepted to a flagship university. A 2.5 grade point average is adequate.
State university officials push for affordable education | With the countdown to Pennsylvania’s June 30 budget deadline ticking, faculty and administration officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Monday made their case for boosting college affordability to the state House Democratic Policy Committee.
Illinois grads flee the ‘wreckage’ caused by Rauner, budget crisis | Thanks to the state budget crisis, the higher education destination for many Illinois teens is out of state. Every year, about 32,000 Illinois high school grads go out of state, while only about 16,000 out-of-staters come here. That’s a net loss of 16,000 students.
Another Voice: New legislation is win-win for community college students | Even though most of the headlines about the 2017 legislative session have been dominated by the budget discussion, I’m very proud to highlight a piece of policy work that I’ve been actively involved with over the last few months. This legislation will have lasting benefits for Oregon students and once again establish Oregon as an example of increasing access and affordability to higher education.
Institutional
When Net Price Setting Pays Off | In 2013, the University of Dayton started a new fixed net-price tuition plan, promising most students that their financial aid packages would rise in lockstep with any increases in tuition sticker prices over four years — keeping steady the effective price students pay… The four-year graduation rate for the class of 2017 jumped eight percentage points, hitting a record 67 percent. Student borrowing plunged, dropping by more than 22 percent overall.
In Improving Outcomes, Institutional Researchers Can Be an Untapped Resource | College presidents may recognize that data can improve the quality of their decision-making process, but they often appear to be disconnected from the very resource that would help them do so: their campus’s institutional-research office.
Want to Increase Graduation Rates? Hire More Underrepresented Faculty | While overall college graduation rates have been increasing, the gap between graduation rates for students from underrepresented groups and White students is actually growing. One way to close that gap: having more faculty who reflect the race and ethnicity of those students.
University guarantees tuition to low-income in-state students | University of Michigan alum Lehman Robinson applied to his now alma mater on a whim. As a first-generation college student coming from a low-income household, he assumed the school would be out of his family’s means — until he received his financial aid notice.