News

Audio: Community Colleges Create a Measuring Stick

11-06-2009

Joe D. May, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College system, explains the need...

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Men and Women Differ in How They Decide to Study Abroad, Study Finds

11-06-2009

Women appear to be much more likely than men to choose to study abroad because of significant gender-based differences in how students are influenced by their backgrounds, academic environments, and social interactions, according to research results being presented here this week as part of the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

The findings suggest that advocates of study-abroad programs "need to craft targeted marketing strategies that recognize...

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College Leaders Offer Blunt Advice for Campuses Hit by Hard Times

11-05-2009

"Dumb public policies," like mandatory-sentencing laws that drive up states' costs for prisons and leave less for education, may be part of the reason colleges are in such financial straits, the leader of the California State University system said at a forum here on Thursday, but that's just a piece of the problem.

The bigger issue is that most colleges are too concerned with trying to compete for prestige rather than serve their students and their communities, said...

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Gaps in Immigrants' Education Levels Play Into Canada's Edge Over U.S., Researchers Say

11-05-2009

One key reason that Canada fares better than the United States in international measures of college attainment is that it takes in a better-educated mix of immigrants and does better in educating their children, two representatives of a scholarship foundation established by the Canadian government told an audience here Thursday at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

Andrew Parkin, associate executive director of the Canada Millennium Scholarship...

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Austrian Protests Reveal Challenges in Europe Over Access to Higher Education

11-05-2009

Thousands of students in Austria took to the streets in protest on Thursday, in their latest show of frustration over conditions at the country's 21 public universities.

For the past two weeks, students have occupied the main lecture halls at universities in Vienna,...

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Business-School Professors Learn a Hard Lesson in Competition, Study Finds

11-05-2009

Among faculty members at business schools in the United States, the rich tend to be getting richer while others fall farther behind, according to a paper being presented here Thursday at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

In recent years, business schools that were already in the top fifth in terms of what they pay tenured and tenure-track faculty members have been giving professors substantially larger pay raises than those being offered by...

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Gates Foundation Awards $4-Million to Help 7 Cities Improve College-Completion Rates

11-04-2009

In an effort to improve college-graduation rates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $4-million in grants to seven cities and to the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

The grants, which were announced on Thursday, will be used to better coordinate services that colleges, public school systems, and communities provide to students. The cities are Dayton, Ohio; Jacksonville, Fla.; Mesa, Ariz.; New York; Phoenix; Riverside, Calif.;...

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As Berkeley Enrolls More Out-of-State Students, Racial Diversity May Suffer

11-04-2009

Ever since California voters banned affirmative action by state agencies in 1996, the University of California at Berkeley has struggled to enroll more than a small group of black and Latino students. Four years ago, Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau called the university's low numbers "shocking" and said the situation was "a crisis."

But after making limited progress since then, Berkeley officials are now struggling to...

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Colleges Can Benefit by Steering More Aid to the Needy, Studies Suggest

11-04-2009

Receiving financial aid appears to have a significant positive impact on the educational performance of college students from low-income families, but many higher-education institutions are bending to pressure to give aid to other students who do not necessarily need it, according to research scheduled to be discussed here this week at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

One study being presented here, based on data from the...

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Video: The Buzz at Educause 2009

11-04-2009

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Personal and Professional Factors Affect Researchers' Productivity, Study Finds

11-04-2009

Why do some professors pile up articles in refereed journals or present their research at conferences more than their colleagues do?

According to a new study, faculty members' gender, their marital status, and whether they have dependent children are among the factors that make a difference. A professor's discipline and where he or she works affects research productivity, too.

A paper summarizing the study, to be presented on Thursday at the Association for the Study of Higher...

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News Analysis: What the Shakeup in China's Education Ministry Could Mean for Reform

11-04-2009

The abrupt dismissal of Chinese education minister Zhou Ji on Saturday is an attempt to allay growing public frustration with the country's education system, analysts say. But what the shakeup means for higher-education policy is still unclear.

In a routine meeting, the executive committee of China's legislature removed Mr. Zhou, who at 63 was just two years short of retirement, and replaced him with Yuan Guiren, a vice minister whose background positions him as an outsider among...

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Report Challenges 'Negative Propaganda' Around U.S. Competitiveness in Degree Attainment

11-03-2009

A provocative new report being released on Wednesday by the Institute for Higher Education Policy argues that much of the data that is used to compare higher-education systems in the United States and other countries is poorly understood and analyzed, and that the comparisons themselves therefore end up being misinterpreted and easily manipulated.

In "The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting...

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Music Industry Changes Tune of New Program to Fight File Sharing

11-03-2009

Under a blanket of secrecy, six colleges have begun testing an experimental service from major recording labels that lets students legally download all the music they want and put it on any device. But some innovative features have been stripped from the service since it was proposed, leaving it similar to existing services that have not made much of a dent in illicit file-sharing.

The experimental service, led by Warner Music Group, is called Choruss. It has no...

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Texas Voters Approve Measure to Strengthen Research Universities

11-03-2009

Voters in Texas on Tuesday approved a ballot measure designed to strengthen the state's research universities, with about 56 percent voting in favor of the proposal.

In other states with ballot measures that might affect higher education, voters in Maine and Washington were considering Taxpayer Bill of Rights proposals that would cap increases in state spending and require that voters approve certain tax increases. Both efforts appeared headed to defeat on Tuesday night.

A...

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Federal Judge to Alabama in Suit Over Crimson: Roll On, Tide

11-03-2009

For the University of Alabama, Daniel A. Moore's colorful paintings of Crimson Tide football players are a case of art imitating life—just a bit too accurately.

For nearly five years, the university has sparred in court with Mr. Moore, a sports artist, over his realistic paintings of Alabama athletes. By portraying the football players in their signature crimson and white uniforms, the university contends, Mr. Moore has violated its trademark. Mr. Moore counters that...

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Education Department Releases Template for Net-Price Calculator

11-03-2009

The U.S. Department of Education has released a template that colleges can use to create the net-price calculators they are required to offer on their Web sites in two years.

The calculators, which are required under a provision of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, will allow prospective students and their families to estimate their personal...

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3 Tests of Student Skills Show Consistency, Study Finds

11-03-2009

The three tests used by institutions participating in the Voluntary System of Accountability are compatible in determining students' skills in critical thinking and writing, according to the results of a study released today.

The accountability system is used by more than 300 public colleges -- all members of either the American...

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Instructor Suspended After Criticizing Sex-Harassment Policy Is Reinstated

11-03-2009

An English instructor at East Georgia College who was accused of violating the college's sexual-harassment policy in August, and suspended after he used a risqué story to criticize the policy in public, has been reinstated, and the sexual-harassment charges against him have been dropped, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

But the college's president, John B. Black, wrote a...

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Many Private Colleges Expect Tuition Revenue Declines, Moody's Report Says

11-02-2009

A "significant minority" of private colleges and universities are projecting a decline in net tuition revenue this year, which could hurt their future financial strength, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

The report, "New Tuition Challenges at Many U.S. Private Universities," is based on a survey taken by 100 of the 286 private colleges and universities Moody's rates. Twenty-nine percent of respondents project a...

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Re-Examination of Federal Rules for For-Profit Institutions Gets Under Way

11-02-2009

The first of three negotiating sessions that will re-examine the U.S. Department of Education's rules that affect proprietary higher-education institutions got under way here on Monday.

Much of Monday's meeting was spent laying the groundwork for the sessions, dealing with such matters as reviewing and adopting protocols, approving agenda issues, and introducing members of the negotiating committee. The panel consists of federal officials and representatives of...

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How Many Higher-Education Jobs Stimulus Saved Remains Unclear

11-02-2009

The federal stimulus package has saved or created 325,000 jobs in public schools and colleges across the country, according to a report released on Monday by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. But the legislation's actual impact on higher-education employment is far from concrete.

The $787-billion...

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U. of Wisconsin Faculty Puts Brakes on Graduate-School Reorganization

11-02-2009

The Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has voted overwhelmingly to urge the administration there to slow down a proposed reorganization of the institution's Graduate School that would change how the campus handles research.

The proposed reorganization would establish a separate office, overseen by a new vice chancellor, to manage the research being performed by various graduate programs....

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Audio: A Chat With Muriel A. Howard

11-02-2009

Muriel A. Howard, who became president of the American Association of State Colleges and...

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Former Education Dept. Official to Plead Guilty Over Stock Holdings in Lender

11-02-2009

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against Matteo Fontana, a former senior financial-aid official in the Education Department who in 2007 was found to be holding stock in one of the student-loan companies he oversaw, and Mr. Fontana has agreed in a plea bargain to pay a fine as high as $115,000, according to documents filed in the U.S. district court here.

Mr. Fontana, formerly manager of...

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India's Education Minister Seeks to Engage More With Universities in U.S.

11-01-2009

In an unusually aggressive effort to build alliances with American universities, India's education minister traveled to the United States last week for extensive discussions on how the United States could more deeply engage with India.

Kapil Sibal, who, just a few months into office, has positioned himself as both a blunt critic of India's education system and an ardent advocate of educational reform and global engagement, told American officials that he sees the...

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