International
Tertiary enrolment exploding but benefits vary – OECD | Tertiary enrolment is expanding rapidly, with very strong returns for individuals and taxpayers, but new evidence shows that universities can fail to offer, and individuals fail to pursue, the fields of study that promise the greatest labour market opportunities, according to a new OECD report.
The new nationalism and internationalisation of HE | To borrow a turn of phrase from Karl Marx, a spectre is haunting higher education internationalisation and it is the dramatic rise of often xenophobic nationalism now sweeping across many countries – from Trump’s ‘America First’ to Brexit in the United Kingdom to Orban’s proto-fascism in Hungary.
Do UK universities provide value for money? | As The Sunday Times reports proposals to cut fees, Sir Keith Burnett asks how we measure ‘value for money’ in education?
While the rest of the world invests more in education, the U.S. spends less | The world’s developed nations are placing a big bet on education investments, wagering that highly educated populaces will be needed to fill tomorrow’s jobs, drive healthy economies and generate enough tax receipts to support government services. Bucking that trend is the United States.
Modi Government’s ‘Institutions of Eminence’ May Increase Inequities in Higher Education | Under the proposal, ten universities each in the public and private sector will be identified and supported by the government with the expectation that provided a more relaxed regulatory framework and greater autonomy, these institutions will potentially feature in the top 500 in at least one leading global university rankings within ten years. The 20 institutions will be expected to benchmark their key institutional indicators to those of leading global HEIs.
‘No link’ between class size and England’s TEF outcomes | No correlation between HEA fellowship numbers and TEF ratings, analysis also finds.
U.S. National
Teachers in U.S. paid far less than similarly educated professionals, report finds | How does the United States value its teachers? It pays them, on average, less than 60 percent of the salaries of similarly educated professionals, according to a newly released 456-page annual report on education around the world.
Who Is Blocking Campus Speakers Now? | Incidents at Harvard and Catholic Universities challenge idea that liberals are the only ones preventing ideas from being voiced on campuses.
Report: Higher Ed Must Factor In Growing Single Mother Student Population | Two-parent households are dwindling in the United States, with four out of 10 children being born to a single mother, according to a new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). Between 1999 and 2012, the number of single mothers attending college has nearly doubled.
U.S. States
The higher ed task force recommendations, at a glance | The state is still working on implementation — on everything from a mastery-based learning model to changes in Idaho’s school funding formula.
Institutional
Fee for Honors | The honors college boasts its own gated corner of Arizona State’s Tempe campus, complete with residence halls, classrooms, a gym and other amenities. Those amenities include a dining center with some very non-fast food touches, like a refectory modeled after a British university dining hall.
Adelphi University Reaps Benefits of New Hiring Protocols | As soon as Dr. Christine Riordan began her tenure as president of Adelphi University in 2015, she vocalized her commitment to tolerance, diversity and inclusion. “Universities should be safe spaces for the exploration of ideas and the pursuit of knowledge–there is no place within the academy for acts, whether overt, subtle or unconscious–that marginalize any member of the community,” she said at the time.
Their view: Rankings don’t show Wilkes’ true value | Wilkes enrolls its share of highly academically prepared students, and these students retain and graduate at rates comparable to the elite institutions in the country. But, in remaining faithful to its founding mission, Wilkes is also proud to embrace students who may face academic and economic challenges.
Higher Ed Curriculum Must Address Race, Racism | We are living in a time when issues of race, and racism, are on the table. For many racial minorities, African Americans in particular, issues of race, and racism, have probably always been frequent issues in their lives.
Western Governors U. Might Have to Repay $700 Million in Student Aid | After an audit of Western Governors University, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General has concluded the university was ineligible to award financial aid to its students and should return more than $700 million to the government.
ASU president Michael Crow issues response to Board of Regents lawsuit | Crow said the debate was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, which claimed that the Board of Regents “dramatically and unconstitutionally” increased the price of in-state tuition and mandatory fees by “315 to 370 percent” in the last 15 years.
Federal Audit Challenges Faculty Role at WGU | The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General has released the results of a much anticipated high-stakes audit of Western Governors University, with negative findings that could threaten the large online university and, more broadly, the growing field of competency-based education.
Posted September 28, 2017.