Another Increase for Early Decision
Inside Higher Ed | November 24, 2009
You don't have to go back very far -- 2006, in fact -- to find a time when it looked like the early admissions trend might be reversed. In the years prior, many admissions experts had worried about elite colleges admitting an increasingly large share of their classes through early programs, many of which require students not only to apply early, but to commit to enrolling if admitted.

Northeastern Calls an End to Football
Boston Globe | November 23, 2009
Northeastern University plans to announce today that it is ending its football program after 74 seasons, saying it is unwilling to invest the millions of dollars needed to improve the team to meet the school’s ambitions.

Michigan's Broken 'Promise'
Wall Street Journal | November 23, 2009
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, squaring off against Republican lawmakers, has launched a campaign to salvage a $100 million college-scholarship program that she sees as critical to diversifying her state's flagging economy.

An End to Open Admissions Looms at a Texas University
New York Times | November 23, 2009
One of the two public universities in Texas that still offer open admission is considering changing that policy, The Houston Chronicle reports.

32 Americans Are Named Rhodes Scholars for 2010
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 22, 2009
The 32 American Rhodes Scholars for 2010 come from 23 universities and colleges across the United States, including one that has never before had a recipient of the prestigious awards, Truman State University, in Missouri.

Temple U. Adjunct Teachers Stage a Protest
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 20, 2009
Adjunct instructors, who say they make up nearly half of Temple University's faculty, called for better pay and working conditions yesterday at a demonstration in front of the campus bell tower near Paley Library.

U. of Nebraska Defeats Tighter Limits on Stem Cell Research
New York Times | November 20, 2009
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents cast a tie vote on human embryonic stem cell research on Friday, defeating a rare effort to limit such research at a university system beyond what state and federal laws allow.

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
Time Magazine | November 20, 2009
The insanity crept up on us slowly; we just wanted what was best for our kids. We bought macrobiotic cupcakes and hypoallergenic socks, hired tutors to correct a 5-year-old's "pencil-holding deficiency," hooked up broadband connections in the treehouse but took down the swing set after the second skinned knee.

All Eyes on Pittsburgh
Inside Higher Ed | November 19, 2009
Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, just seven years out of college, is igniting ire with his plan to levy a 1 percent tax on tuition collected by the city’s 10 nonprofit colleges and universities. Introduced as part of Ravenstahl’s 2010 budget less than a week after he won reelection on Nov. 3, the so-called “Fair Share Tax” would raise $16.2 million in annual revenue for the city, his estimates claim. “We value Pittsburgh’s nonprofit community,” he said as he announced the tax. “They are our major employers, and a big part of why our economy continues to be strong. However, we can no longer afford to provide city services to those who are not paying their fair share.”

Drug Arrest for UMass-Boston Student Leader
Boston Globe | November 19, 2009
The student body president at the University of Massachusetts at Boston was arrested and charged as an alleged repeat drug dealer last week after the Boston police Drug Control Unit raided his Dorchester apartment.

A Crown Jewel of Education Struggles With Cuts
New York Times | November 19, 2009
As the University of California struggles to absorb its sharpest drop in state financing since the Great Depression, every professor, administrator and clerical worker has been put on furlough amounting to an average pay cut of 8 percent.

University Weighs Tighter Limits on Stem Cell Research
New York Times | November 19, 2009
In an unusual pushback against President Obama’s expansion of federal financing of human embryonic stem cell research, the University of Nebraska is considering restricting its stem cell experiments to cell lines approved by President George W. Bush.

Academic Researchers’ Conflicts of Interest Go Unreported
New York Times | November 18, 2009
Few universities make required reports to the government about the financial conflicts of their researchers, and even when such conflicts are reported, university administrators rarely require those researchers to eliminate or reduce these conflicts, government investigators found.

Medical Schools Quizzed on Ghostwriting
New York Times | November 17, 2009
Senator Charles E. Grassley wrote to 10 top medical schools Tuesday to ask what they are doing about professors who put their names on ghostwritten articles in medical journals — and why that practice was any different from plagiarism by students.

Labor Fight Ends in Win for Students
New York Times | November 17, 2009
The anti-sweatshop movement at dozens of American universities, from Georgetown to U.C.L.A., has had plenty of idealism and energy, but not many victories.

Teaching Assistants Suspend Strike at U. of Illinois
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 17, 2009
Graduate students who work as teaching assistants and researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suspended a labor strike Tuesday night after informally agreeing to the terms of a new contract with the campus's administration.

China Is Sending More Students to U.S.
New York Times | November 16, 2009
American universities are enrolling a new wave of Chinese undergraduates, according to the annual Open Doors report.

State Cuts Give Private Colleges an Edge
Los Angeles Times | November 16, 2009
Thousands of other students might have jumped at the chance to attend UCLA, but not Michael Rodriguez. He passed up his UC acceptance last year in order to attend California Lutheran University, a less well-known but more intimate private campus in Thousand Oaks.

Mixed Outlook on Foreign Students
Inside Higher Ed | November 16, 2009
The data being released today through the annual "Open Doors" study by the Institute of International Education might in any other year be cause for celebration for American educators. Record numbers of international students enrolling in the United States. Record numbers of American students traveling abroad for part of their education.

College Ivy Sprouts at a Connecticut Prison
New York Times | November 16, 2009
In many ways it was just another day, another class of Wesleyan University, one of the more selective colleges in the Northeast. The topic was multiculturalism in schools. The discussion focused on methods of evaluating the rhetorical skills of various commentators, from Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. to Dinesh D’Souza.

SUNY Weighs the Value of Division I Sports
New York Times | November 16, 2009
New York’s state university system is among the largest in the country, but it has never been known for athletic prominence, unlike major public institutions in states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Legality of Racial-Preference Bans Is Disputed in Federal Court
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 15, 2009
In a legal battle with potential implications for any state that bans affirmative-action preferences, a federal appeals court is weighing arguments that the ban adopted by Michigan voters in 2006 is unconstitutional because it places distinct burdens on minority residents seeking more access to the state's public colleges.

America's Top College Professor
Wall Street Journal | November 13, 2009
Elliott West doesn't seem like the coolest guy on campus. With his tweed coat and thinning hair, he appears to be the stereotype of a studious professor, only truly at home among library stacks or in a dusty archive. But Prof. West, who teaches American history at the University of Arkansas, is in the midst of a heated public competition: He is one of three finalists in a contest that will confer a prize on the best college teacher in America. In the highest sense of the word, Prof. West is a competitive performer.

Michigan Holds Forum on Smoke-Free Campus Initiative
U.S. News and World Report | November 13, 2009
The University of Michigan wants to be smoke free by July 2011. To explain the process for reaching that goal, university officials held a forum last night for students. The forum discussed one concern about how such a large change in campus policy will be regulated, the Michigan Daily reports. Officials said that instead of giving out citations, the school will give those caught smoking on campus an invitation to a smoking-cessation workshop.

Foreign Demand Drops for American M.B.A. Degrees, Study Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 12, 2009
The United States' dominance in graduate business education seems to be slipping as growing numbers of young foreign applicants are opting to study elsewhere, according to an analysis released this week by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

A New Manhattan Project
Inside Higher Ed | November 12, 2009
The seemingly endless debates about the pros and cons of race-based affirmative action point to two essential conclusions. First, without denying the relevance of moral or philosophical arguments and legal principles, it is important to confront claims with empirical evidence. This is what we do in our new book, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal — a study of how students’ racial and social class backgrounds are intimately intertwined with the selective college experience.

International Award for Temple Researcher
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 12, 2009
Temple University professor Laurence Steinberg will take his research on teen brain development and risky behavior international with a $1 million award he received yesterday.

The 10 Best College Presidents
Time Magazine | November 11, 2009
Even in Ohio, where the Taft name rings a loud bell, it takes a rare talent to hold an audience rapt while telling a long anecdote about William Howard Taft, a President known mainly for his girth. But E. Gordon Gee can do it.

Raventsahl Defends His Proposal for Tuition Tax
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | November 11, 2009
Pittsburgh's proposed 1 percent tuition tax is just a nibble compared to the bite that college fees and tuition hikes take out of student and parent wallets, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl argued yesterday, as questions surrounded the unique levy he proposed Monday.

Institutional Investor
Los Angeles Times | November 11, 2009
More students are applying to California State University campuses so far this year, even as university officials are preparing to slash enrollment and tighten admission standards in response to the most severe budget crisis in the system's history.

Maryland Universities Defy Order to Regulate Pornography
Washington Post | November 11, 2009
Regents of Maryland's state university system voted Wednesday to defy a legislative order to regulate pornography on campus, concluding that any such rules would be impossible to enforce.

Shifts in Grad Enrollments
Inside Higher Ed | November 10, 2009
The number of international first-time students at American graduate schools is flat this year, following four consecutive years of growth, according to a study being released today by the Council of Graduate Schools. At the same time, enrollments of American students are up 6 percent in a year.

Researchers Urge Colleges and Federal Agencies to Coordinate Efforts for Women in Science
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 10, 2009
Women with Ph.D.'s in the sciences will keep "leaking out" of the tenure pipeline if colleges and the federal agencies that award grant money to researchers don't work together to stop the flow, says a new report from three researchers at the University of California at Berkeley.

Are Too Many Students Going to College?
New York Times | November 10, 2009
The editors of The Chronicle of Higher Education have posed that potentially incendiary question, and then asked a collection of experts to engage in a rolling conversation in response. You can read the dialogue, which was posted Monday, by clicking here.

Despite Success of Some Programs, 3-Year Degrees Draw Skepticism at Meeting
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 10, 2009
At the Council of Independent Colleges' annual meeting of chief academic officers, which concluded here on Tuesday, there was abundant hallway chatter about three-year bachelor's degrees—a concept that has been on many people's minds this month.

Are Too Many Students Going to College?
Chronicle of Higher Education  | November 08, 2009
With student debt rising and more of those enrolled failing to graduate in four years, there is a growing sentiment that college may not be the best option for all students. At the same time, President Obama has called on every American to receive at least one year of higher education or vocational training.

Catching Up to Canada
Inside Higher Ed | November 06, 2009
Caveats about the data aside – and there are plenty, admittedly – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s heavily used rankings on countries’ college outcomes place Canada at the top of the list for the proportion of citizens with a postsecondary credential.

Concierges and Marble Baths: For Some at Columbia, This Is Dorm Life
New York Times  | November 06, 2009
Last year, when Columbia University tried to interest Ben Cox, then a first-year M.B.A. student, in its new apartment building in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, he scoffed. It was too far from the campus in Manhattan, he thought, and the unit was a bit expensive. He did not even bother to look at it.

MIT Considers Increasing Undergraduate Count to 4,500
Bloomberg News | November 05, 2009
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology may raise the number of undergraduate students by at least 7 percent to increase revenue, school officials said.

Analysis: Failure 101: a Class Students Could Use
Associated Press | November 05, 2009
Disgraced ex-New York Times reporter Jayson Blair talking to college students about ethics? What's next? The former head of Lehman Brothers on financial risk management?

Oasis in the Desert
Times Higher Education Supplement (U.K.) | November 05, 2009
Taxi drivers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's most Westernised city, like the promise of their kingdom's newest university. There is pride in the idea that King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), located 80km north of Jeddah, will restore the place of science in the Muslim world, undertake research to fix the country's problems and help to revitalise a higher education system that turns out graduates so lacking in skills that jobs go to foreigners rather than locals.

Stop Financial Aid for Wealthy Students
Inside Higher Ed | November 05, 2009
In the space of several months in late 2007 and early 2008, Harvard, Yale and several other highly selective universities enriched their financial aid programs to guarantee that students from families well up the economic ladder would get sizable grants to attend their institutions. The announcements, which came as the country's wealthiest universities were under Congressional pressure to spend more from their endowments, helped to quiet that criticism and won applause in many circles.

How to Size Up College Health Coverage
Wall Street Journal | November 05, 2009
As more parents lose their jobs—and their insurance—in the recession, more college students are having to scramble for health care.p

California's Higher-education Debacle
Los Angeles Times | November 04, 2009
For nearly six years, I have served on the Board of Trustees of the California State University system -- the last two as its chairman. This experience has been more than just professional; it has been a deeply personal one. With my term ending soon, I need to share my concern -- and personal pain -- that California is on the verge of destroying the very system that once made this state great.

Rankings Unfair to US Higher Ed?
Associated Press | November 04, 2009
The United States spends more money than any other country, and its elite institutions are the world's best. But overall the system is wasteful, fails too many _ and is falling behind other countries.

Where Room and Board Is Nearing $16,000 a Year
New York Times | November 04, 2009
This is clearly emerging as “watch your wallet” week on The Choice. After telling you earlier about the nearly 60 colleges that now charge more than $50,000 in tuition and fees, and of the nearly two dozen college presidents whose annual pay tops $1 million, we bring you this: A listing of 20 colleges whose room and board alone exceeds $12,500 a year for a typical freshman.

Colleges Can Reap Educational Gains by Steering More Aid to the Needy, Studies Suggest
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 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.

As Berkeley Enrolls More Out-of-State Students, Racial Diversity May Suffer
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 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."

Where Room and Board Is Nearing $16,000 a Year
New York Times | November 04, 2009
This is clearly emerging as “watch your wallet” week on The Choice. After telling you earlier about the nearly 60 colleges that now charge more than $50,000 in tuition and fees, and of the nearly two dozen college presidents whose annual pay tops $1 million, we bring you this: A listing of 20 colleges whose room and board alone exceeds $12,500 a year for a typical freshman.

Colleges Can Reap Educational Gains by Steering More Aid to the Needy, Studies Suggest
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 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.

As Berkeley Enrolls More Out-of-State Students, Racial Diversity May Suffer
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 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."

The Power of Race
Inside Higher Ed | November 03, 2009
Thomas J. Espenshade, a professor of sociology at Princeton University, used that question to answer a question about his new book, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life (Princeton University Press), co-written with Alexandria Walton Radford, a research associate at MPR Associates. In fact, he could probably use the glass image to answer questions about numerous parts of the book.

Title IX Trojan Horse?
Inside Higher Ed | November 03, 2009
A federal investigation into possible bias against female applicants would, one might expect, be welcome news to groups that advocate for the education of women. After all, these groups have over the years urged tougher federal enforcement of anti-bias laws.

Mount Holyoke Selects an Alumna to Lead School
Boston Globe | November 03, 2009
Lynn Pasquerella, provost at the University of Hartford, was named yesterday as the 18th president of Mount Holyoke College. Pasquerella was the unanimous recommendation of a 16-member search committee, and will officially assume the presidency July 1. She was introduced at the all-women’s college during a ceremony on the South Hadley campus yesterday afternoon.

Bleak News for Colleges, Too
New York Times | November 03, 2009
While parents may be depressed by the news that 58 colleges now charge more than $50,000 a year, the news isn’t much better for the colleges themselves.

23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million
New York Times | November 02, 2009
The presidents of the nation’s major private research universities were paid a median compensation of $627,750 in the 2007-8 fiscal year — a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year — according to The Chronicle of Higher Education annual executive compensation survey.

Probe of Extra Help for Men
Inside Higher Ed | November 02, 2009
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has started an inquiry into the extent to which liberal arts colleges discriminate against female applicants in an attempt to minimize gender imbalances in the student body. On Friday, the commission agreed on a set of colleges -- primarily in the Washington area -- to investigate, but declined to release a full list.

M.B.A.’s Guide Socially Concerned Entrepreneurs
New York Times | November 02, 2009
As questions go, it was short and to the point: “If you are so smart, why aren’t you rich?” That challenge, splashed across her daughter’s T-shirt, inspired Una Ryan to leave a medical research career, developing vaccines, to start her own business.

The $50K Club: 58 Private Colleges Pass a Pricing Milestone
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 01, 2009
For the nation's elite private colleges, $50,000 is fast becoming the new normal. Fifty-eight private colleges now charge at least that much for tuition, fees, room, and board, a Chronicle analysis of College Board data shows. Last year only five colleges did.

Harvard Brand Takes a Hit in Tough Times
International Business Times | October 31, 2009
Tough economic times have hurt Harvard University's public standing in the media over the past nine months, while schools perceived as a safer educational investment have benefited, a research firm said.

New Data Partner for World University Rankings
Times Higher Education Supplement (U.K.) | October 30, 2009
Times Higher Education has signed an agreement with Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading research-data specialist, to provide the data for its annual World University Rankings. The magazine will develop a new rankings methodology in the coming months, in consultation with its readers, its editorial board of higher education experts and Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters will collect and analyse the data used to produce the rankings on behalf of Times Higher Education.

DNA Swab for Your Job
Inside Higher Ed | October 29, 2009
Many colleges now require criminal background checks of all new employees. But the University of Akron -- in what some experts believe is a first -- is not only requiring a criminal background check, but is stating that new employees must be willing to submit a DNA sample.

College Enrollment Set Record in 2008
New York Times | October 29, 2009
Almost 40 percent of the nation’s 18- to 24-year-olds in 2008 were enrolled in college, a record number, according to a Pew Research Center report released on Thursday. The rise was driven almost entirely by a surge in students attending community colleges.

After Error by Yale, Anger and a Court Fight Ensue
New York Times | October 29, 2009
A major Korean university is engaged in a heated legal battle with Yale University, bringing a culture preoccupied with honor into a clash with bare-knuckled American lawyering.

From Education Life: Changes at Flagship Public Universities
New York Times | October 29, 2009
Our colleagues at Education Life, which comes out this weekend, have an important article by Paul Fain about the alarming trends at the nation’s flagship public universities.

Princeton University Fires 43 Employees as It Cuts $170 Million
Bloomberg News | October 29, 2009
Princeton University has dismissed 43 non-faculty employees and reduced the hours of 18 others this year as it cuts its budget by $170 million over two years because of endowment losses.

Seeking Tenure 'Conversion'
Inside Higher Ed | October 28, 2009
In discussions about the use and abuse of adjunct faculty members, "conversion" is a controversial topic. Typically it refers to a decision by a college or university to convert some number of adjunct positions into a number (typically a smaller number) of tenure-track positions. The idea of conversion has been key to the reform proposals of national faculty groups. Some colleges actually have bucked the trends and converted slots to the tenure track in various ways.

Fresh Surge of Flu Cases and Vaccine Shortages Raise Anxiety on Campuses
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 28, 2009
College campuses experienced a surge in flu cases last week just as vaccine shortages and delays were forcing many to postpone scheduled shot clinics, the American College Health Association reported on Wednesday.

New Federal Rules on Internet Piracy Will Not Add a Great Burden to Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 28, 2009
New federal rules aimed at illegal file-sharing on college and university campuses will not force institutions to drastically change their approaches to reducing the activity.

U. Delaware Planning Big Expansion
Philadelphia Inquirer | October 27, 2009
The University of Delaware is planning the largest campus expansion in its history - largely for research - with its intended purchase of an adjacent 272-acre site formerly occupied by Chrysler Corp., which declared bankruptcy earlier this year.

Harvard Giving Ends When Reject Letter Arrives: Amity Shlaes
Bloomberg News | October 27, 2009
You know the stereotypes about college giving. Alums give after their school’s marquee team, football or basketball, wins a conference championship. They give when there’s a family connection to the school. They give when they want their child to get admitted. These assumptions are mostly correct.

Victim Says Poisoning No Accident
Associated Press | October 27, 2009
One of six Harvard Medical School researchers sickened after drinking coffee laced with a toxic chemical said yesterday that he does not see how the poisoning could have been accidental, but has no idea who might be responsible.

Competitiveness Reconsidered
Inside Higher Ed | October 27, 2009
Everybody knows that college is harder to get into today than ever before, right? That's why students flock to test-prep courses, and spend countless hours trying to transform themselves into what they imagine admissions deans want.

Debating the Merits of Leaving High School Early to Go to College
New York Times | October 27, 2009
What should you do if you’re a high school junior who feels that spending one more year in high school would be a waste of time?

Report Points Toward College Financial Crossroads
Associated Press | October 27, 2009
One of the first major decisions Kirby Hocutt made after becoming Miami's athletic director last year was a round of departmental layoffs, moves that trimmed $1 million from his operating budget.

Stanford Endowment Loss Prompts President to Suspend Smoothing
Bloomberg News | October 26, 2009
John L. Hennessy, president of Stanford University, is drawing on his 32 years of experience in Silicon Valley to speed up budget cuts, ditching a formula universities use to soften the impact of endowment losses.

The R.O.T.C. Dilemma
New York Times | October 26, 2009
IN a speech last year, Drew Faust, the president of Harvard, congratulated seniors who had gone the extra mile to get their R.O.T.C. training. She meant it literally, and the extra miles they had gone were the least of it.

At MIT, a New Focus on Generating ‘People’ Skills
Boston Globe | October 25, 2009
The students practice networking and hone “elevator pitches,’’ entrepreneurial ideas summarized in under a minute. They don blindfolds for team-building activities. Failure is met with candid critiques about their leadership styles.

University Doctors Got Paid in Drug's Sales Campaign
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 25, 2009
Fourteen university-affiliated physicians collected more than $400,000 from the makers of the anti-cholesterol drug Vytorin as part of a campaign to encourage the use of the medication. The 2008 campaign went on after an internal company study showed that the drug, with several billion dollars in sales, had little or no overall value for most patients.

Harvard May Alter Some Expansion Plans
Boston Globe | October 23, 2009
Harvard president Drew Faust indicated yesterday that there is a strong possibility the design of its much-anticipated $1 billion science complex, at the heart of the university’s expansion into Allston, may be scaled back as Harvard grapples with new financial realities.

Brandeis Wasn't Wrong
Inside Higher Ed | October 23, 2009
In 2001 I donated my collection of prints by sculptors to the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern, though some of the prints still adorn the walls of my house and won’t get to Evanston until after my death. You can assume -- and you would be right -- that a collector of such works has been a lifetime “consumer” and supporter of the arts.

Harvard Faculty’s Tenure Program Has Fewer Women Professors
Bloomberg News | October 23, 2009
The number of women with tenure or on track to become tenured professors dropped for the first time in at least nine years at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the school’s largest unit that includes most of its undergraduate teachers.

Colleges Help Veterans Advance From Combat to Classroom
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 22, 2009
After 19 years in the U.S. Army, Steven W. Todd arrived at Western Michigan University with needs the average college freshman could hardly imagine.

A Sense of Safety Shatters at Colleges
Boston Globe | October 21, 2009
The crimes have been stacking up all year: A Wesleyan University student gunned down at a bookstore cafe, a student at Spelman College felled by a stray bullet, a suspected drug dealer shot to death in a Harvard residence hall. In just the short time since the fall semester began, a Yale graduate student was strangled and a UCLA student was repeatedly stabbed in a chemistry lab.

Temple U. Uneasy as Anti-Islam Figure Is Set to Speak
Philadelphia Daily News | October 20, 2009
A student organization's event scheduled for tonight has caused quite a stir on Temple University's campus. The Student Senate has joined ranks with several organizations decrying a student group's invitation to Dutch politician Geert Wilders, known for anti-Islamic and anti-immigration beliefs, to speak on campus.

The State of College Admissions: Full of Uncertainty
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 20, 2009
As the number of college applicants and applications have gone up, many colleges have seen other things go down, including their acceptance rates, their "yield" rates, and their confidence in predicting enrollment outcomes.

Harvard Alumni Seek Disclosure of Bonus Retractions
Bloomberg News | October 20, 2009
Harvard University, the wealthiest U.S. school, should disclose the amount of bonuses taken back from in-house money managers after its endowment lost a record $10 billion last year, according to an alumni group.

University of Illinois Chancellor Quits Amid Scandal
Bloomberg News | October 20, 2009
The chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will resign after a state probe showed that the school favored politically connected applicants.

College Tuition Is Up Sharply Amid Recession
Associated Press | October 20, 2009
With the economy struggling, parents and students dared to hope this year might offer a break from rising college costs. Instead, they got another sharp increase.

Harvard Hopes New Hire Can Mend Fences
Boston Globe | October 18, 2009
Harvard University’s recent hiring of Boston police Captain James Claiborne as a deputy chief - the only African-American among the most senior staff in the school’s 90-officer force - may ease strained relations with segments of Harvard’s black community who in the past have accused the predominantly white department of racial profiling.

Colleges Speaking Up to Protect Shy 'Sexiles'
Washington Post | October 18, 2009
In an era of coed dorms and slackening rules about "overnight guests," a new constituency has emerged on college campuses: the roommate inconvenienced by sex.

Mystery Gifts Help Thousands of Students Get Through College
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 18, 2009
Months after an anonymous donor captivated the nation by giving a total of more than $100-million to some 20 colleges, students and faculty members on many of those campuses are reaping the benefits.

Will a Culture of Entitlement Bankrupt Higher Education?
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 18, 2009
In the wake of our nation's economic crisis, previous levels of government support for colleges and universities can no longer be maintained—regardless of how much we in higher education may wish otherwise. States are appropriating less money to higher education not because legislators and the people whom they represent value us less, but because they can afford less. Practical realities will drive what is possible for colleges and universities in the coming years.

Furor Swirls Over College Chief’s House
New York Times | October 17, 2009
Education officials in North Dakota called Friday for an audit on the construction of a house built for the president of North Dakota State University, who resigned last week amid mounting questions about the project’s huge cost overrun, to a total of more than $2 million.

Hopkins Still Top School For Research Spending
Washington Post | October 16, 2009
Johns Hopkins University led the nation in research and development spending in fiscal year 2008, according to a new National Science Foundation ranking, and most other Washington area institutions maintained their national R&D rankings in a down economy.

Out-of-State Dreams
Inside Higher Ed | October 16, 2009
At a time when getting admitted to many flagship universities is harder than ever, a growing number are considering plans to increase enrollments -- dramatically in some cases -- of out-of-state applicants.

Deadlock Over Taxing Table Games Chokes Off Help
Philadelphia Inquirer | October 15, 2009
A seemingly small but unresolved piece of the state budget has delayed millions of dollars in aid for state-supported colleges, museums, and hospitals.

State Universities' Tradition of Attrition
Inside Higher Ed | October 15, 2009
Among all the issues in higher education today, retention once again captures our attention. Most influential is the publication of Crossing the Finish Line, a study of completing college at America’s public universities, written by William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson. It’s reinforced by the June 2009 report, "Diplomas and Dropouts: Which Colleges Actually Graduate Their Students (and Which Don’t)," by Frederick M. Hess, Mark Schneider, Kevin Carey, and Andrew P. Kelly of the American Enterprise Institute. The two studies have rekindled our concern about the percentage of undergraduates who fail to complete their bachelor degrees.

Fake Harvard Diplomas for Sale by Russian Gang, RIA Reports
Bloomberg News | October 15, 2009
Russian police arrested a gang they said was selling fake diplomas from colleges including Harvard University for as much as $40,000, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Rutgers Opens New Welcome Center
Philadelphia Inquirer | October 14, 2009
Experiencing a booming increase in demand for tours, Rutgers University this fall opened a $7.5 million welcome center in its home base of New Brunswick, N.J., with lots of parking, space to host hundreds and state-of-the-art virtual tours.

Google CEO Schmidt Donates $25 Million to Princeton
Bloomberg News | October 13, 2009
Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt and his wife have donated $25 million to Princeton University to fund science research.

College's Staff Is All Thumbs -- and Proud of It
Washington Post | October 13, 2009
A new study has confirmed what George Washington University students already knew: Their school officials are obsessive Twitterers.

College Cutbacks Make It Harder to Earn Degrees
Associated Press | October 13, 2009
It isn't just tuition increases that are driving up the cost of college. Around the country, deep budget cuts are forcing colleges to lay off instructors and eliminate some classes, making it harder for students to get into the courses they need to earn their degree.

Economics Nobel Goes to 2 Americans, Including First Woman
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 12, 2009
Two American scholars won the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this morning. One of the new laureates is the first woman ever to be awarded the Nobel in economics.

Canadian Universities See Big Jump in Foreign-Student Enrollments
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 12, 2009
Canada has long lagged behind other English-speaking nations when it comes to international student recruitment. The United States, Australia, and Britain all have larger shares of this highly competitive market.

Governing Boards Make Gains in Diversity
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 11, 2009
When Raymond E. Crossman was named president of the Adler School of Professional Psychology in 2003, the governing board of the Chicago-based graduate school resembled most boards nationwide: Its members were mostly male and mostly white.

Have Wheelchair, Will Travel: Disabled Students Study Abroad, Too
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 11, 2009
When Rob Hurtekant was studying in South Africa, he ran into some roadblocks. Literally. Sometimes when he crossed a street in Cape Town, there would be a curb cut on one side of the street, but not on the other. That wasn't helpful for a young man in a wheelchair.

No Motive Found in Slashing of UCLA Student's Throat
Los Angeles Times | October 09, 2009
Students in a UCLA chemistry lab watched helplessly this afternoon as a classmate with seemingly no provocation slashed the neck of a fellow student, causing serious injuries. The attack occurred just past noon on the sixth floor of Young Hall, prompting swift police mobilization and leaving students shaken by the violence as word spread across campus.

U.S. Decline or a Flawed Measure?
Inside Higher Ed | October 08, 2009
Most higher education leaders say that institutional rankings are highly questionable, given the many intangibles in what make a college or university “best” for a given person or course of study. But what about national trends? Can international rankings of universities provide a picture of the relative rise and fall of nation’s universities?

Top 200 World Universities
Time Higher Education | October 08, 2009
Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009

Leaner Times at Harvard: No Cookies
New York Times | October 08, 2009
Gone are the hot breakfasts in most dorms and the pastries at Widener Library. Varsity athletes are no longer guaranteed free sweat suits, and just this week came the jarring news that professors will go without cookies at faculty meetings.

Harvard Buys Updike Archive
Boston Globe | October 07, 2009
Harvard University has acquired the manuscripts, correspondences, and other papers of John Updike, a celebrated member of the Class of 1954 who kept a Harvard library card and frequently visited the campus to research the contemporary culture that enlivened his acclaimed fiction.

Senator Proposes an End to Federal Support for Political Science
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 07, 2009
A Republican senator stirred up a hornet's nest on Wednesday by introducing an amendment that would cut off money for the National Science Foundation's political-science program.

Md. University System Devising Policy on Student Displays of Porn Films
Baltimore Sun | October 07, 2009
Maryland's public university system is poised to become the first in the country with a policy on student displays of pornographic films, a direct response to legislative demands made after a screening earlier this year of a XXX-rated film at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Neighbors Seek Harvard Commitment for Charlesview Housing Plan
Boston Globe | October 06, 2009
Frustration at the number of vacant properties owned by Harvard University in Allston dominated a Boston Redevelopment Authority meeting last night on the relocation of an affordable housing development.

Three Americans Share Nobel Prize for Medicine
Associated Press | October 05, 2009
TOCKHOLM (AP) -- Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.

America Falling: Longtime Dominance in Education Erodes
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 05, 2009
Henry T. Yang, a prominent engineer, is one of a half-dozen American academics and entrepreneurs who sit on an international panel that advises Singapore's government on its higher-education and research efforts. At its last meeting, the group reviewed plans for a new public university, the country's fourth.

Key for Future Investment: Researchers' Response to America's Recovery Act
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 05, 2009
The inclusion in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of an additional $10.4-billion for the National Institutes of Health presents an unprecedented opportunity for biomedical and behavioral research. How scientists respond may well determine the public's long-term support for academic research. By thoughtful stewardship of those resources, they can bolster the nation's future enthusiasm for science as a socially responsive and effective enterprise.

Prepaid College Savings Plans Might Not Cover All Costs
New York Times | October 04, 2009
In the last two decades, more than a million families around the country have invested in state funds that pledged to cover the cost of attending their state’s public colleges and universities, regardless of how much tuition increased.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 32 Institutions
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 04, 2009
The 32 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $244-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

A System for Fighting Digital Defamation
Inside Higher Ed | October 02, 2009
Part I of this two-part series argued that it was inappropriate for colleges and universities to assume responsibility under in loco parentis for protecting college students from anonymous digital defamation, and that institutions should instead empower students by educating them on available strategies and resources.

Overreporting Sexual Assaults
Inside Higher Ed | October 02, 2009
The University of California at Davis revealed Thursday that for at least three years it reported an inflated number of sexual assaults to the federal government.

Colleges Often Turn a Blind Eye to Student Gambling Problems
New York Times | October 02, 2009
Sometime last year, the University of Alabama got serious about raising awareness on campus of gambling addiction. For about a week, there were articles about the subject in the student paper and some talks on campus, Shannon Shorr, a business major, recalled.

Future Docs Are Confused, Too
Inside Higher Ed | October 01, 2009
Struggling to understand the national debate over health care? You're not alone -- your future doctor may well be baffled, too.

M.I.T. Taking Student Blogs to Nth Degree
New York Times | October 01, 2009
BRIDGE, Mass. — Cristen Chinea, a senior at M.I.T., made a confession in her blog on the college Web site. “There’ve been several times when I felt like I didn’t really fit in at M.I.T.,” she wrote. “I nearly fell asleep during a Star Wars marathon. It wasn’t a result of sleep deprivation. I was bored out of my mind.”

Tufts Paper to Media: Leave Our Sex Lives Alone
U.S. News and World Report | October 01, 2009
Last week, the Tufts Daily published a story on a new university policy that prohibits students from having sex in their dorm rooms if the sexual activity interferes with their roommates' privacy, studies, or sleep schedule. Over the weekend, traffic on the Tufts Daily site spiked 300 percent because of growing interest in the policy.

Ten More Years for ex-Wharton Prof in Sex Case
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 30, 2009
A former Wharton School professor - already serving a 15-year federal prison term for trafficking in child pornography - was sentenced yesterday to 10 years more for smuggling still photos and video of himself having sex with a 16-year-old Brazilian boy.

Curbing College Gambling
Inside Higher Ed | September 30, 2009
A lottery ticket or an online game of Texas Hold’em might be a little bit easier to avoid than a beer at a party, but an industry-funded panel released a report Tuesday urging colleges and universities to handle student gambling much like student drinking.

Tufts: Not in Front of the Roommates
Boston Globe | September 30, 2009
College may be a time for experimentation, but even the most open-minded freshman can get a little chafed at a roommate who brings a sexual partner into a one-room double. And for less easygoing students, coping with roommates’ nocturnal activities can be downright traumatic.

For Those Withholding SAT Scores, Advice on Completing the Common Application
New York Times | September 30, 2009
As high school seniors and their counselors get deeper into fall, they will surely find themselves wrestling with the fine print and ramifications of the College Board’s new Score Choice policy.

NJ Medical, Dental School to Pay $8.3 Mln for Alleged Kickbacks
Bloomberg News | September 30, 2009
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey agreed to pay the government $8.3 million to settle allegations that it illegally paid kickbacks to cardiologists and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release.

Physicist Named Williams College President
Boston Globe | September 29, 2009
After an extensive national search, Williams College has named a 44-year-old dean from Johns Hopkins University as its next president, tapping a theoretical physicist who has surged through the academic ranks.

More U.S. Students Picking Canadian Universities
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 28, 2009
Terese Schireson was looking for a large college in an urban setting with substantial numbers of international students that wouldn't force her to go deep in debt.

The 'Veritas' About Harvard
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 28, 2009
What happens when the gods of high finance dump a gigantic pile of gold on the richest university in the world? It sounds like the kind of hypothetical one might pose in a smoke-addled dorm room at 2 a.m. But it is, of course, what actually happened to Harvard University, along with a few of its elite competitors, over the last 20 years.

'The Chinese Are Coming'
Inside Higher Ed | September 28, 2009
Carleton College has 18 new students from China this year, and they are paying about half of their own expenses. A handful of them don't need any financial aid at all. While Chinese graduate students are no shock on university campuses, significant cohorts of undergraduate applications from China are a new phenomenon at most colleges. Just a few years ago, Carleton had only three or four students enrolling from China, and it never enrolled students who could afford to pay their own way.

Changing Skyline: Erdy McHenry's New Drexel Dorm Ambitious, Flawed
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 25, 2009
The rap in Philadelphia on Erdy McHenry Architects is that their buildings are show-offs. They're too stylish, too trendy. They lack real depth. You don't want to look too closely at the details, either.

Brandeis President to Step Down
Boston Globe | September 25, 2009
Brandeis University president Jehuda Reinharz, after months of sharp criticism over his financial stewardship and plans to close the university’s renowned Rose Art Museum, announced yesterday that he will resign at the end of the academic year.

Drexel Pledges Free Degrees to Returning Vets
Philadelphia Business Journal | September 25, 2009
Drexel University has pledged to make is college degrees essentially free to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan under the federal government’s new “Yellow Ribbon” supplement to the GI Bill.

College Officials Brace for Hit From Economy
New York Times | September 25, 2009
The talk this week at an annual gathering of college admissions officers and high school counselors included the usual topics, like how to deal with “difficult” parents and the names of hot student prospects. But the conversations — in panel discussions, in hallways and over crab cakes — always seemed to circle around to one subject: the economy.

California's Budget Crunch: The Universities Protest
Time | September 25, 2009
Thousands of students, faculty and staff boycotted classes and staged rallies across the 10-campus University of California on Thursday to protest dramatic cuts to the system's budget and proposed additional hikes in undergraduate fees.

The College Calculation
New York Times | September 24, 2009
The most subversive question about higher education has always been whether the college makes the student or the student makes the college. Sure, Harvard graduates make more money than graduates of just about any other college. And most community-college students will end up making far less than graduates of flagship state universities. But of course these students didn’t enter college with the same preparation and skills. Colleges don’t help to clear up the situation either, because they do so little to measure what students learn between freshman and senior years. So doubt lurks: how much does a college education — the actual teaching and learning that happens on campus — really matter?

For a College Applicant With a Learning Disability, Additional Hurdles
New York Times | September 24, 2009
For students with learning disabilities, the thicket of applying to college can be even more impenetrable than for students without such issues.

A Notoriously Daunting Financial Aid Form Gets a Makeover
New York Times | September 24, 2009
The college admissions process is sufficiently cumbersome that high school counselors are not usually inclined to burst into applause. And yet, in an oversized meeting hall in Baltimore this afternoon, several hundred counselors who had gathered from around the country were moved to clap as if they were at an Orioles game across the street.

It’s The Economy, Applicants
New York Times | September 24, 2009
The rapport between college admissions officers and high school counselors here at the annual Nacac convention is demonstrably light-hearted, but there is a palpable undercurrent of anxiety.

With State Budgets Tanking, Cost of Merit-Based Scholarships Gets a Second Look
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 24, 2009
As lottery revenues plateau and budget pictures worsen, students may see some state merit scholarships become less generous. Historically, lawmakers have been reluctant to trim the popular programs, but their cost has been a concern for years.

Harvard Law Students Left Hanging as Firms Cut Offers
Bloomberg News | September 23, 2009
Many students entering their final year at top law schools, including Harvard and New York University, haven’t landed the full-time jobs they would normally have claimed by now, firms and school officials said, a reflection of the shrinking demand for legal services.

Stanford Reports Endowment Investments Fell 26%
Bloomberg News | September 23, 2009
Stanford University’s investments lost 26 percent in the 12 months ended June 30, mirroring declines at the larger endowments of Harvard and Yale.

University of Illinois President to Step Down After Scandal
New York Times | September 23, 2009
The president of the University of Illinois announced Wednesday that he would resign, after a scandal over admissions practices that has for months enveloped the state’s premier public university.

U.S. College Recruiters Find Growing Market Overseas, in Vietnam
USA Today | September 23, 2009
Besides the brochures, application forms and give-away trinkets spread on the table in front of her, Claudia Colnar keeps a U.S. map handy. Inevitably, "Where's Wyoming?" is the first question she'll get when recruiting Vietnamese students to her community college.

Dartmouth Inaugurates Ivies’ First Asian President
Bloomberg News | September 22, 2009
Dartmouth College inaugurated Jim Yong Kim as its president today, making him the first Asian- American to lead an Ivy League institution.

Yale’s Investments Fall 24.6% on Buyouts, Energy
Bloomberg News | September 22, 2009
Yale University, whose endowment strategy became a model for schools across the country, said its investments lost 24.6 percent in the past year because of declines in private equity, energy and real estate.

Defining 'College Ready,' Nationally
Inside Higher Ed | September 21, 2009
That too many young people come out of high school ill-prepared for college or the work force is little disputed. The questions of why that's so and how to fix the situation, however, have too often resulted in finger pointing, with many college faculty members complaining that high schools are asking too little of their students and high school officials saying that colleges send mixed signals about what they want students to be able to do.

New President Has Dartmouth Eager for Change
Boston Globe | September 21, 2009
In an annual rite, incoming Dartmouth College students dutifully lined up to shake the president’s hand, one of many perfunctory events that kick off each school year.

What Colleges Don't Know About Admissions
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 21, 2009
Colleges are woefully out of sync with students and their families in understanding what's important to them and how to communicate with them. That's the key message from a study of collegebound high-school seniors that I recently conducted. The good news is that colleges can do something about it before it's too late.

RIT Trades Invention Rights for Research Dollars and Says You Should, Too
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 21, 2009
The Rochester Institute of Technology was not the likeliest of institutions to lead a revolution in the way universities think about partnerships with companies. Luckily, nobody told that to Bill Destler. Two years ago, as RIT's new president, Mr. Destler began to champion a new approach to the sometimes-stormy negotiations surrounding corporate-research relationships, believing the dissonance was nothing less than a threat to America's economic competitiveness.

Asian Universities Seek Students From Nearby Shores
New York Times | September 19, 2009
Attending a university overseas has long been an aspiration for many Chinese. “My father said ‘Why do you want to stay in China? Open your mind, look at the world,”‘ said Bao Qianqian, 25. The predictable choice might have been Australia or Britain, where her two sisters and thousands of her countrymen have studied. But Ms. Bao decided to embark on a journey that would keep her closer to her home in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, improve her English while still giving her the chance to converse with Chinese speakers, and enjoy substantially lower costs.

Will a Killing at Yale Affect Applications This Year?
New York Times | September 18, 2009
News of the killing of a Yale graduate researcher in a campus lab — and the arrest of a co-worker on Thursday — has rippled through American kitchens and living rooms.

Sexton to Stay at N.Y.U. ‘at Least’ Until 2016
New York Times | September 18, 2009
John Sexton took office seven years ago as New York University’s 15th president. And if the university’s board of trustees has its way, he will serve at least seven more.

House Approves Overhaul of Student Aid Policies
U.S. News and World Report | September 18, 2009
The House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday to overhaul the federal government's student lending policies. This is a major legislative victory for President Obama, who considers signing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 into law a top domestic priority, Inside Higher Ed reports.

Children's Hospital Celebrates Its Benefactors
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 17, 2009
Her name was Emily and she lived only three days 21 years ago, but she is the reason that Lynne and Bill Garbose gave money to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Hope Lives Here fund-raising campaign.

Rice Students Get a Taste of Poverty
U.S. News & World Report | September 17, 2009
Some students at Rice University increased their awareness of poverty by experiencing it for a few days, the Rice Thresher reports.

Colleges Play the Name Game
U.S. News & World Report | September 17, 2009
Many colleges are switching names to attract students, but are some schools profiting from confusion?

Does Branding Pay Off for Colleges? Harvard Thinks So
Fast Company | September 17, 2009
It has taken a while for branding to seep into the world of higher education. Traditionally universities and colleges have not been staffed by professional marketers. There has been a revulsion toward the concept of Customers, in favor of Students. Education has been the mission; it was never about the Bottom Line. But due to increasing competition for private and state funding and the proliferation of school choices including for-profit and online learning options, colleges have been turning to branding and marketing as a tool to compete more effectively and drive enrollment and donations.

Rutgers University receives record donations despite economic downturn
The Star-Ledger | September 17, 2009
Despite one of the worst economic climates in decades, Rutgers University has received record donations from people and foundations.

House Passes Bill to Expand College Aid
New York Times | September 17, 2009
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that expands federal aid to college students while ending federal subsidies to private lenders.

Kaplan Survey Shows Many College Applicants Consider Admissions Officers Fair Game for Facebook Friend Requests
Reuters | September 17, 2009
Over 70% of Admissions Officers at America`s Top Colleges Report Applicants Have Requested Them or an Admissions Office Colleague as a "Friend" on Facebook or MySpace

Luxury Dorms: Purdue University, Other Schools Build Swanky Housing to Lure Undergrads
Chicago Tribune | September 17, 2009
Inside this pricey new residence hall, Purdue University students enjoy maid service and private bathrooms. Each room has its own climate-control panel, and students don't even have to confer about the settings. There are no roommates.

Universities Establish Own Way to Tell Public about Findings
McClatchy Tribune News Service | September 16, 2009
Concerned that journalism's economic problems are reducing Americans' understanding of science, medicine and other research, 35 of the nation's top universities — including Johns Hopkins, Stanford and UC- Berkeley — have announced they will feed their own accounts of their discoveries directly to top news sites on the Internet.

Colleges Face Swine-Flu Challenge as Number of Sick Students Surges
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 16, 2009
Fraternity and sorority recruitment had just wrapped up and classes were about to start when the first wave of coughing and sniffling students reached Washington State University's health center.

Growing Graduate Enrollments
Inside Higher Ed | September 16, 2009
As the economy started to decline last year, more Americans were deciding that graduate school was a good place to be.

Obama's Student-Loan Plan: A Government Takeover Few Can Argue With
Time | September 16, 2009
On its face, it would seem to be a gift to Barack Obama's conservative critics, who have spent the summer painting the new Democratic President as a socialist who is eager to nationalize the entire health-care system. After all, the Administration's proposal to restructure the student-loan industry is, in many respects, much closer to an actual government takeover than its relatively tame market-driven health-reform plan. But as the House holds hearings and looks likely to pass a student-loan bill this week, it's clear that the education overhaul is not going to be the high-pitched battle that opponents and the White House once expected it to be.

New Jersey Acts to Help Veterans Adjust to College
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 15, 2009
They made it through months of hard service on battlefields across Iraq and Afghanistan. And many have overcome physical and mental wounds of war. But some veterans now face challenges they weren't trained for: mountains of paperwork and a maze of programs to negotiate as they make the transition to college classrooms.

Five Universities Pledge Open Access to Journals
Inside Higher Ed | September 15, 2009
For years, as more academics have embraced "open access" publishing -- in which journals are published online and free -- a constant refrain from many publishers has been that the model would deprive them of the revenue they need for high quality editing and peer review. That argument was at the center of a recent report on the economics of journal publishing commissioned by the National Humanities Alliance. That argument was also cited by the Association of American University Presses to oppose federal open access requirements -- over the objections of some of its members.

University Presidents Push for Global Health
Inside Higher Ed | September 15, 2009
The focus a dozen miles away at the Capitol was domestic health reforms, but here five university presidents took the stage Monday to push for intellectual and financial support to sort out an even bigger mess: global health.

Recession Eases, but Worst Effects May Still Be Ahead for Colleges, Moody's Report Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education | September 15, 2009
The short-term budget pressures that have buffeted the nation's college campuses have begun to abate, but the harshest effects of the economic downturn may still be seen, says a new report from Moody's Investors Service.

Colleges Find Creative Ways to Cut Back
Time Magazine | September 14, 2009
A funky roommate named recession is settling in on campuses this fall as colleges and universities slash budgets for virtually everything from salad bars to ski teams. U.S. colleges and universities suffered, on average, a 23% endowment drop in the second half of last year, according to a study by a group of campus business officers

Colleges Map Hazy Routes to Limiting Emissions
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 14, 2009
Nearly 400 colleges are expected to submit their climate action plans this week, a major step in the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. The heavily detailed reports, which took colleges many months to produce, map out strategies for limiting emissions for decades to come.

H1N1 Virus Kills Cornell Student
U.S. News and World Report | September 14, 2009
A Cornell University junior died Friday because of complications from the H1N1 flu virus, a Cornell Daily Sun story carried by UWire says. Warren Schor, a 20-year-old from Clinton Corners, N.Y., was an economics and management major.

Obama Tries to Coax the Middle Class into Saving for College
Los Angeles Times | September 13, 2009
Dismal college savings statistics among middle-income families have the Obama administration pushing for a series of changes to so-called 529 plans, the cornerstone of tax-favored higher education savings accounts.

Colleges Seeing Lots of Early Flu
Washington Post | September 13, 2009
Flu has hit early and hard on campuses in the Washington region, spawning, at last count, 435 cases of flulike illness at the University of Maryland, 95 at the University of Virginia and several dozen at other institutions.

Safety in New Haven: A Tale of Two Cities
Yale Daily News | September 13, 2009
On the other end, Cornell University reported only 2.7 criminal offences per 1,000 students. And the University of Pennsylvania — which Yale students surveyed thought was the most dangerous Ivy — reported only six criminal offenses on campus per 1,000 students.

Harvard's Endowment Drops Sharply Amid Recession
Associated Press | September 11, 2009
The total value of Harvard's endowment plunged nearly 30 percent in the last fiscal year as the Ivy League institution's portfolio was battered by the worldwide recession, the university's management company said.

Washington Whirlwind
Inside Higher Ed | September 10, 2009
Health care is dominating the headlines and consuming most of the oxygen in federal politics these days, and that's likely to remain the case through the fall as President Obama and Congress work to pass legislation to reform the American medical system.

College Corner: Coping With Swine Flu
New York Times | September 10, 2009
During the week of Aug. 29 through Sept. 4, The College Health Association counted 4,045 new swine flu cases from 204 reporting colleges and universities, with 73 percent of those institutions reporting new cases during that week.

Graduation Rates: Challenge, Expectations May Play a Role
USA Today | September 10, 2009
Researchers studying how to improve graduation rates at public colleges and universities have come up with a surprising and counter-intuitive finding: Many students may fail to complete a bachelor's degree not because the work is too hard — but because they're not challenged enough.

Washington Ranked 4th-Best Area for Attending College in New Report
Washington Post | September 09, 2009
A new report identifies Washington as the nation's fourth-best metropolitan area for attending college, behind New York, San Francisco and Boston.

Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates
New York Times | September 08, 2009
If you were going to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you’d probably have to start with the Wall Street firms and regulatory agencies that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to Wall Street’s fellow bailout recipients in Detroit, the once-Big Three.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 32 Institutions
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 07, 2009
The 32 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $268.4-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available. The campaign with the largest gain in the last month is the University of Pennsylvania, with $37.2-million.

Colleges Should Create a 'Compact for American Places'
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 07, 2009
These days we in higher education hear much about the rapidly evolving "virtual" world. The digital domain is seen as being, as one magazine put it, "unburdened by a physical location." But while colleges and universities embrace the tools of the digital age, we must acknowledge that what happens in real places is the true determinant of the quality of people's lives and the future of the American environment.

2,000 Washington State Students Report Signs of Swine Flu
New York Times | September 05, 2009
At least 2,000 students at Washington State University have reported symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus, university and local health officials said, in what appeared to be one of the largest outbreaks of the virus on a college campus.

Crimson and Green 
New York Times | September 04, 2009
William Fitzsimmons had never seen so many expensive clothes in his life. It was the fall of 1963, the first day of his freshman year at Harvard, and the blue-collar scholarship student from Boston found himself agape, and angered, by a campus teeming with tweed and Top-Siders.

Company Says Research It Sponsored at Pitt and Hopkins Was Fraudulent
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 04, 2009
Technology-transfer deals at universities can easily go sour, but rarely do they end up with the corporate partner suing an inventor and his institution for research fraud. The University of Pittsburgh and the Johns Hopkins University now find themselves in that unusual situation, as a company that says it spent millions of dollars sponsoring research by a prominent scientist, expecting to use his promising inventions as the basis for a new test for prostate cancer, is now accusing the professor and the institutions of falsifying his results.

Questioning the Return on Educational Investment
New York Times | September 03, 2009
What kind of returns do you expect on your educational investment? A National Public Radio segment on Tuesday, titled “Is a College Education Worth the Debt?” questioned the necessity of a college degree in an economic downturn.

Rating Colleges by Their Contribution to the Social Good
New York Times | September 02, 2009
Washington Monthly magazine came out with its own college rankings today, naming the nation’s “best’’ colleges from a very different vantage point from that of U.S. News and World Report.

Students Borrow More Than Ever for College
Wall Street Journal | September 02, 2009
Students are borrowing dramatically more to pay for college, accelerating a trend that has wide-ranging implications for a generation of young people.

Stanford Fires 412 Employees After 30% Drop in Endowment Value
Bloomberg News | September 02, 2009
Stanford University said it fired 412 non-faculty employees this year as the school slashed its budget after a record endowment decline. An additional 60 jobs may be cut by the end of the year, the school said.

Blow to National Merit Scholarships
Inside Higher Ed | September 01, 2009
The University of Texas at Austin is ending participation in the National Merit Scholarship Program, the largest single campus departure in years from the program, which enjoys considerable prestige in some circles but is controversial in others. The university plans to shift the funds to need-based aid.

Harvard Backs Off Media Policy
New York Times | September 01, 2009
Harvard Medical School is backing off a new student policy that would have restricted interaction with the news media after students complained it would chill their ability to talk about current issues in medicine, school officials said Tuesday.

Purge of Iranian Universities Is Feared
New York Times | September 01, 2009
As Iran’s universities prepare to start classes this month, there is growing concern within the academic community that the government will purge political and social science departments of professors and curriculums deemed “un-Islamic,” according to academics and political analysts inside and outside Iran.

University of Virginia Endowment Declines 21% as Markets Fall
Bloomberg News | September 01, 2009
The University of Virginia’s endowment fell 21 percent to $3.96 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, hurt by declines in stocks, private equity and real estate.

In Trying Times, 5 Growing Majors
U.S. News &World Report | September 01, 2009
In a time when college budgets are shrinking and college is less affordable, there are still parts of higher ed that are flourishing. The Chronicle of Higher Education identified five majors that are growing at rapid rates at colleges and universities across the country.

Leveling the NSF Playing Field
Inside Higher Ed | August 31, 2009
Colleges and universities contribute significantly to the cost of federally sponsored research projects, through what they spend on research labs and equipment, faculty start-up packages, and "indirect" costs that aren't reimbursed by the government.

In a Recession, Is College Worth It? Fear of Debt Changes Plans
USA Today | August 31, 2009
Darla Horn, 26, acknowledges she didn't give much thought to the cost of college when she enrolled at State University of New York in Purchase. "My plans were to get out of Texas, and college became incidental," says Horn, who grew up in Nacogdoches, a city of about 32,000 near the Louisiana border. Because she didn't qualify for financial aid, she took out student loans, graduating in 2005 with a double major in journalism and anthropology and more than $80,000 in debt.

A New Web Site for Tweets From Colleges
New York Times | August 31, 2009
Looking to take the temperature of a campus from afar, with some help from new media and social networking? GlobalQuad.com, a site launched last week, is focused on helping its users do just that. It’s a niche Web site that chronicles college life via Twitter. Indeed, GlobalQuad itself is a sort of microcosm of that popular micro-blogging site, aggregating the 140-character tweets of institutions and their affiliated student or community groups.

The Peer-Review System Is Broken
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 31, 2009
I fear writing this essay. I fear it because I'm sure that some journal editor out there is going to see my name and think, "Oh yeah, Dan Myers. We haven't asked him for a review in a while. He'd be perfect for that paper on X." Please, no, I beg you, a thousand times, no.

Transfer Troubles in California
U.S. News & World Report | August 31, 2009
California may be known worldwide for its inclusive, affordable, accessible network of higher education institutions, but a recent report highlights a schism in the system: Students are having an extremely difficult time transferring out of community colleges into four-year schools, the Los Angeles Times reports.

They're Back, and They're Bad: Campus-Gossip Web Sites
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 31, 2009
Students have more ways than ever to post anonymous attacks on classmates, thanks (or rather, no thanks) to new and expanded online forums promising to be bigger and juicier than the infamous JuicyCampus, which drew fierce protests from harassed students before it shut down earlier this year.

Your Comments on a Theory About Rising College Costs
New York Times | August 28, 2009
Professors were quick to take issue with the argument — described in a post on Thursday –that college tuition increases are, at least in part, a result of professors who devote most of their time to research.

Temple, Faculty Union Reach Agreement
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 27, 2009
With classes for the new semester set to start Monday, Temple University has reached a tentative contract agreement with its faculty union, officials from both sides announced yesterday.

Raising Questions About Why College Is So Costly
New York Times | August 27, 2009
An opinion article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week raises interesting questions about why going to college is so expensive, and points an accusing finger at professors and their research work.

An Education Debate for the Books
Washington Post | August 27, 2009
It was move-in day at St. John's College. Within the thick walls of 106-year-old Randall Hall, a father and son teetered along a hallway carrying a refrigerator. Another pair emerged from the stairwell with a rack of shirts hanging from a crutch. And everywhere, books. This was, after all, the Great Books school.

Governor Begins Effort Toward Cleansing Tainted U. of Illinois Board
New York Times | August 26, 2009
In an effort to control damage from the state’s worst scandal in public higher education, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn on Wednesday appointed to the University of Illinois board of trustees two new members who he said would help restore integrity to the admissions process.

Hot Type: Yale U. Press's Attempt to Avoid Risk Has Risks of Its Own
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 26, 2009
Very few university-press decisions generate much heat beyond the academic world. Yale University Press, however, has lately made headlines in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and many corners of the blogosphere. But this is the kind of publicity no publisher wants.

Using Student Loans to Slow Tuition Growth
Boston Globe | August 25, 2009
IT’S back-to-school time for college students, which means big tuition bills. Most will defer large out-of-pocket costs until after college through the use of student loans. No one is happy about the explosion in student loan debt to pay rising tuition, but there is a silver lining: We can use student loans to slow tuition growth.

SAT Scores Steady for Class of ’09
New York Times | August 25, 2009
Average SAT scores in reading and writing declined by one point this year, while math scores held steady, according to a report on the high school class of 2009 released Tuesday by the College Board.

It’s Harder to Get Into Elite Colleges, Researchers Find
New York Times | August 25, 2009
This won’t come as a big surprise, but getting into elite colleges is getting harder as competition for limited openings heats up, according to a new paper reported on today by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Temple Says Faculty Stalling Contract Talks
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 24, 2009
Temple University has filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint against the faculty union, accusing it of failing to continue negotiating a contract because of disagreement over union membership fees.

U.S. Colleges Prep for H1N1
USA Today | August 24, 2009
As millions of students head back to campus this month, college and university health care workers are stocking up on masks and flu-fighting drugs such as Tamiflu as they encourage students to get both annual seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine in mid-October.

Are Social Networks Making Students More Narcissistic?
USA Today | August 24, 2009
College students say social networking makes them more narcissistic, a national survey reports today — and they also believe their generation is the most narcissistic of all. That's what a majority of 1,068 college students said when asked about narcissism in a poll on social networking sites in June by Ypulse.

Rosemont College Welcomes First Coed Classes
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 23, 2009
When Rosemont College decided to become coeducational, officials thought that based on experiences at other schools that had converted in recent years, about 10 percent of their first freshman class would be men - maybe 20 percent, if they were lucky.

H1N1 Scenarios
Inside Higher Ed | August 21, 2009
The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services on Thursday released their most detailed guidance yet on how colleges should prevent H1N1 outbreaks and what options should be considered if they take place despite such efforts. Given that the severity and size of outbreaks could vary widely, the guidance is more of a menu of options than a rulebook -- and the ideas cover everything from washing doorknobs to ending the requirements that students submit medical notes for absences to when to consider suspending operations.

Letting Students Know They May Qualify for Additional Aid
New York Times | August 21, 2009
The fall is shaping up to be incredibly busy for financial aid offices around the country, as more students affected by the recession seek money to help pay for school.

Canada's Elite Universities Propose a National Strategy for Higher Education
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 21, 2009
Canadians have long held an egalitarian view toward their universities, generally agreeing that none should be treated as more special than any other.

International Admissions Fall
Inside Higher Ed | August 20, 2009
For the first time since 2004, admission of international students to U.S. graduate schools has declined, and students from India and South Korea are applying in significantly fewer numbers as well, according to a report released today by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Education Secretary Criticizes Steep Rise in College Costs
New York Times | August 20, 2009
In an interview to be broadcast on the Tavis Smiley program on PBS, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan predicts that as tuition continues to rise, students will increasingly turn to schools that are “smarter and more creative” about lowering the cost of a college education.

Rethinking How Colleges Present Themselves on the Web
New York Times | August 20, 2009
When Connecticut College completed a redesign of its Web site in 2007, its new homepage featured something new: a tab for the sciences. “We found that people don’t realize a liberal arts college can have a strong sciences program,” says Lisa Brownell, director of college publications, who oversaw the project.

Average ACT Scores Flat for High School Class of 2009
New York Times | August 19, 2009
The average score on the ACT, the standardized test that colleges use (along with its main competitor, the SAT) to help make college admissions decisions, was unchanged in 2009, when compared with the previous year’s scores, the test maker said in a report scheduled for release Wednesday.

Group Offers Alternative Rankings Based on Curricula
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 19, 2009
Leaders of the University of Arkansas might or might not be pleased with how they fared in the new college rankings by U.S. News & World Report. But they can certainly take cheer from a report released on Wednesday by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, an advocacy group with a traditionalist bent. The council rated 100 colleges according to the rigor of their course requirements for undergraduates—and Arkansas was one of only a handful of institutions to earn an A.

Reputation Without Rigor
Inside Higher Ed | August 19, 2009
The form submitted by the provost at the University of Wisconsin at Madison deemed 260 of its 262 peer institutions to be of “adequate” quality. A survey from the University of Vermont’s president listed “don’t know” for about half of the universities. The forms provided by Ohio State University’s president and provost were virtually identical. And the University of Florida’s president, like his highly publicized colleague at Clemson University, rated his own institution well above many of his competitors.

College Rankings and Dueling Mission Statements
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 19, 2009
Selling the art collection because the endowment has lost value? Stealing another university's statement on plagiarism and calling it your own? Signing a secret agreement with a tobacco company that allows them to deep-six your scientists' research findings? Each of those recent, highly publicized administrative missteps serves as a reminder that, in higher education, an institution's reputation is fundamental to its well-being. Such decisions demonstrate a misunderstanding of higher education's norms and can be hazardous to an institution's health.

How to Scrape Together Cash for College
U.S. News and World Report | August 19, 2009
Back when jobs were plentiful, investments were growing nicely, and borrowing was easy—the good old days of 2007 and 2008—students and parents could generally cobble together the $18,000 or so annual cost of a year at a public university using some variation of the oft-recommended "thirds" strategy: one third from savings, one third from debt, and one third (about $500 a month) out of the family paychecks.

A Last-Minute Dash for Tuition
Wall Street Journal | August 18, 2009
Weeks or even days before classes start, hundreds of thousands of college students nationwide still don't know whether they'll be able to cover their tuition bills this year.

ACT prognosis: 23% Could Earn C, at Best, in First-year College Courses
USA Today | August 18, 2009
Even as high school graduates in recent years have grown increasingly better prepared for college, too many members of the class of 2009 cannot adequately perform all of the academic skills they will need to succeed, a report says.

Colleges Seek to Remake the Campus Tour
New York Times | August 18, 2009
For as long as high school seniors have been visiting colleges, it seems, there have been tour guides walking backward in front of them, breathlessly reciting statistics from a script while, hopefully, avoiding tree roots and other hazards.

$chool Ranking$
Time Magazine | August 17, 2009
Americans are suckers for a good ranking. Give people a copy of the annual U.S. News & World Report on the country's best colleges and you'll have them gloating, sulking and arguing over the results for hours. Ditto for the various lists put out by the Princeton Review. (Should Penn State really be this year's top-ranked party school? What happened, University of Florida?)

More Questions on Rankings
Inside Higher Ed | August 17, 2009
The single greatest part of U.S. News & World Report's formula for ranking undergraduate colleges is also the most controversial: the "peer rankings" in which college presidents rank all similar institutions. Criticism of the system as unfair has grown, leading many liberal arts college presidents to boycott this part of the system. The rankings system was also the subject of much ribbing when Clemson University released records showing that its president ranked his university about every other one in the country.

Student Aid, California to Cheyenne
Inside Higher Ed | August 17, 2009
More than 10 percent of the nation's college students are from California, and a much higher percentage -- given the country's demographic patterns -- live in and around areas with the highest costs of living. For students and families from those high cost areas, federal financial aid does not go as far as it does for peers from less expensive regions, because the formula for calculating how much a student's family is expected to pay toward his or her college expenses takes its financial resources -- but not its cost of living -- into account.

Coming to Campus: Books on Kindle
USA Today | August 17, 2009
This fall, writes our colleague, Blair Brettschneider, Arizona State University will experiment with a new kind of textbook: the electronic variety. According to The Arizona Republic, Amazon.com Kindles will be provided free to every student in professor Ted Humphrey's honors class on the history of human culture and thought.

Connecting Anxious Parents and Educators, at $450 an Hour
New York Times | August 17, 2009
If you’re going to do something, do it right. Such has been the longstanding philosophy of Suzanne Rheault, a 39-year-old mother of two who now lives with her family downtown. A Type-A — make that A-plus — overachiever, even by New York standards, she skated competitively as a kid, finished M.I.T. in three and a half years, and tested out of a chunk of her courseload at Columbia Business School. She conquered the marathon.

Federal Court Throws Out Challenge to U. of Texas Admissions Policy
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 17, 2009
A federal judge on Monday tossed out a lawsuit filed by two white applicants to the University of Texas at Austin who said they were rejected because of admissions policies that unfairly favored members of minority groups.

New NIH Director Says He Worries About Federal Support and Encouraging Young Researchers
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 17, 2009
Francis S. Collins took the leadership of the National Institutes of Health on Monday, telling the NIH staff his biggest fear centers on the possibility of a renewed decline in federal support for scientific research.

Temple to Cover Grants Amid Budget Impasse
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 15, 2009
Temple University will cover need-based state grants for students for the fall until the state budget impasse is resolved, officials announced yesterday.

Pa. Budget Impasse May Cut College Grants
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 14, 2009
For the first time since the 1970s, the state may fail to pay out need-based grants for students to attend Pennsylvania colleges and universities for the fall semester.

Hiring Women as Full Professors
Inside Higher Ed | August 14, 2009
When colleges and universities release reports about the state of gender equity on their faculties, administrators quickly follow up with a caveat: The numbers may look out of balance over all, they say, but that's because most of the senior professors are all men, and the greater share of women among junior professors provides reassurance that things will get better over time.

A Hand Up for Students Facing a Mountain of Debt
New York Times | August 14, 2009
The biggest problem for consumers of American higher education is that many of them must take on a mountain of debt to get the degree they want. That intimidating quandary has inspired some unique, though often unsuccessful, attempts to make student loans more affordable over the years.

Textbook Publisher to Rent to College Students
New York Times | August 13, 2009
In the rapidly evolving college textbook market, one of the nation’s largest textbook publishers, Cengage Learning, announced Thursday that it would start renting books to students this year, at 40 percent to 70 percent of the sale price.

Harvard Psychologist Is Named to Lead Foundation on College Access
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 12, 2009
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, a Virginia-based philanthropy that helps promising low-income students pay for college, has named Lawrence Kutner, a Harvard University psychologist, as its next executive director.

Strapped Colleges Keep Leaders in Luxury
Boston Globe | August 12, 2009
From the many windows of her stone mansion, MIT president Susan Hockfield enjoys a commanding view of sailboats gliding along the Charles River. When Northeastern president Joseph Aoun steps outside his five-story brick town house, he finds himself just across the street from Boston Common.

U. of Illinois Will Adopt Admissions Reforms in 8 Weeks, President Pledges
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 12, 2009
On Wednesday, less than a week after a state panel faulted administrators and trustees at the University of Illinois for an admissions scandal that erupted in May, President B. Joseph White said that he would impose an eight-week deadline on putting in place the panel's recommended reforms.

Harvard Leaves Itself Open to a Dressing-down
Boston Globe | August 11, 2009
In the fashion universe, the news from Verus Group was not exactly earth-shattering: It was launching a collection of high-end men’s sportswear named Harvard Yard, under license from Harvard University.

Study Shows Rise in Average Borrowing by Students
New York Times | August 11, 2009
Although about a third of the students who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2007-8 graduated with no debt, nearly the same as four years earlier, the average amount students borrow has increased, according to a policy brief released Tuesday by the College Board.

U. of Illinois Chancellor and Several Trustees Are Reluctant to Resign
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 11, 2009
Richard Herman, chancellor of the University of Illinois's flagship campus at Urbana-Champaign, apologized on Tuesday for his role in a scandal over political favoritism in admissions in the university system, but he said he has no plans to resign, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Parent Gap
Inside Higher Ed | August 10, 2009
Many studies have found that low-income high school students and those whose parents are not well educated are less likely to enroll in college. And disproportionate numbers of black and Latino youth fall into this group.

Tax on College-Sports Sponsorships Could Raise Federal Revenue, Congressional Report Says
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 10, 2009
Uncle Sam could be $200-million wealthier in the next decade if colleges were to pay taxes on money they make from certain corporate sponsorships, a new report says.

Tenure Applications Go Digital
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 10, 2009
Sue N. Averill, associate provost for faculty affairs at Kent State University, has one overwhelming memory of her first few weeks on the job last year: a mountain of white-plastic bins looming over her head.

Arts Programs in Academia Are Forced to Nip Here, Adjust There
New York Times | August 09, 2009
If you are looking for a sign of how strapped the University of California, Los Angeles, is for cash, consider that its arts and architecture school may resort to holding a bake sale to raise money. California’s severe financial crisis has left its higher-education system — which serves nearly a fifth of the nation’s college students — in particularly bad straits. But tens of thousands of students at public and private colleges and universities around the country will find arts programs, courses and teachers missing — victims of piercing budget cuts — when they descend on campuses this month and next.

Harvard Management Hires 2 Executives
Boston Globe | August 06, 2009
Harvard Management Co., which runs the nation’s largest university endowment, has hired two new investment executives as it looks to come back from a year of sharp losses.

Passage to India
Inside Higher Ed | August 06, 2009
Kapil Sibal, minister of human resource development, is pushing to open India to foreign universities hoping to set up campuses there. Blair H. Sheppard, dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, is among those pulling for him.

Report Calls on All U. of Illinois Trustees to Resign
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 06, 2009
After spending nearly two months investigating an admissions scandal laced with political favoritism at the University of Illinois, a state-appointed panel issued its final report on Thursday, calling for the resignation of all members of the Board of Trustees, an overhaul of the admissions process, and new ethics policies for the board.

Drexel Begins Task of Replacing Papadakis
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 05, 2009
Drexel University yesterday launched its search for a new president with the hiring of Witt/Kiefer, a national executive search firm with an office in Philadelphia, university officials announced.

Temple Has a $175M 'Mess on Their Hands'
Philadelphia Daily News | August 05, 2009
The bitter war over Northeastern Hospital isn't over yet. Most of the battles in this months-long conflict have been won by Temple University Health System officials, who announced in March their decision to close the Port Richmond hospital because of mounting financial losses.

Taking Notes Beyond the Classroom
Inside Higher Ed | August 05, 2009
In 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced an OpenCourseWare system that would post videos and other course materials for virtually all MIT classes online for the world to see, thereby starting to break down the traditional barriers to higher education. Eight years later, we may be seeing the student response.

Merit By The Numbers
Forbes | August 05, 2009
In its recent commencement issue, an Ivy League college newspaper displayed a snapshot of the Class of 2009 "by the numbers." Although the students had by then been at the college for four years, all of the relevant "numbers" were based on a profile of the class at the time of enrollment. Prominently featured were the 157 children of alumni; the 9.7% of applicants who were admitted; and, last but not least, the median SAT math and verbal scores--740 and 750, respectively--of the class.

West Point Tops 'Forbes' Best Colleges List
USA Today | August 05, 2009
The U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., is the top college in Forbes magazine's list of America's best colleges.

Female Students Just as Persistent as Men in Engineering, Database Shows
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 04, 2009
It may be hard to attract women into engineering, but keeping them there doesn't seem to be a problem. That's the latest finding from a database of 70,000 engineering students at nine institutions in the southeastern United States tracked over a 17-year period ending in 2005.

U. of Illinois Trustee Quits Over Scandal
New York Times | August 03, 2009
The chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois resigned on Monday amid increasingly incendiary accusations that he encouraged an academic version of “pay to play” politics to flourish, allowing students to be admitted based largely on personal and political connections.

Scandals Lead to Promises of Reform in Australian International Education
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 03, 2009
Little has gone right for Australia's higher-education system this year. This spring a series of brutal attacks on Indian students enrolled in Australian higher-education institutions made international headlines, fraying the once vibrant relationship between the two countries.

Obama Celebrates Post-9/11 GI Bill
Associated Press | August 03, 2009
President Obama on Monday saluted the extension of GI Bill education benefits to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, saying they sacrificed abroad while others back home sought to make money or play politics.

The Wired Campus
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 01, 2009
A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student to pay four music companies $675,000, one day after the student, Joel Tenenbaum, admitted in court that he had downloaded and distributed more than two dozen songs that did not belong to him.

Millionaire Says He Can't Meet $16M Pledge to Fla. University
Associated Press | August 01, 2009
One of Florida Atlantic University's largest donors says he can't fulfill a $16 million pledge to the school, blaming the tough economy. It had been the largest donation in the university's history.

Harvard Isn’t Poor
Inside Higher Ed | July 31, 2009
It’s a dramatic tale: The story of the once-wealthy institution that houses America’s smartest -- our leading university, perhaps the world’s -- now just scraping by. Searches frozen and secretaries dismissed, hot breakfasts suspended, trash piled high: Harvard is “poor,” its endowment “collapsed,” according to according to Vanity Fair magazine.

The Real Costs of Merit Aid
Inside Higher Ed | July 31, 2009
When colleges defend the use of financial aid based on academic merit, they almost always make the case that it’s not an either/or question with regard to students from low-income families. An institution can benefit from recruiting top students with merit aid and still maintain its commitment to those with lots of academic talent but not much money. And by attracting students with merit aid, the argument goes, an institution may improve in quality, attract more funds, and even be able to do more for low income students.

What the SAT-optional Colleges Don’t Tell You
Washington Post | July 31, 2009
I don’t much like the SAT. When the SAT-optional movement began to gain momentum a few years ago, I cheered. Dozens of colleges told their applicants that if they didn’t want to submit their SAT or ACT scores, they didn’t have to. Some restricted this choice to students with high grade point averages, but it seemed to me a step in the right direction.

Alumni Use Old School Ties to Find Work
New York Times | July 31, 2009
THE last time Miriam Korn Haimes used Syracuse University’s career services, she was a kid. Twenty-one? Twenty-two, maybe? When you’re the Class of ’76, that’s ancient history. The bachelor’s degree nestles at the bottom of a rich résumé filled with professional benchmarks, including a 23-year career at JPMorgan Chase, topped by the title of senior vice president.

A Portrait of STEM Majors
Inside Higher Ed | July 30, 2009
From new federal grant programs to angst-ridden reports to Congressional scrutiny, concern has accelerated without pause in recent years about whether the United States is drawing enough young people to study science and technology fields in college. Policy makers have paid comparatively little attention, however, to how the students who enter those disciplines fare, and whether they stay in those fields once they enter them.

Foreign-Student Enrollments Are Likely to Climb, but Trouble May Lie Ahead
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 30, 2009
Despite economic turmoil worldwide, the number of international students coming to the United States this fall is likely to show a modest increase, according to colleges contacted by The Chronicle and visa figures provided by the U.S. Department of State.

Senate Considers Industry Influence in Continuing Medical Education
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 29, 2009
Greater safeguards are needed to protect patients from biased or inaccurate information that might be disseminated in continuing-medical-education courses that are lavishly supported by drug and medical-device manufacturers, an inspector with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told lawmakers at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Museum Overseers Sue to Halt Rose Closure
Boston Globe | July 28, 2009
Three members of the Rose Art Museum’s board of overseers filed a lawsuit yesterday to prevent Brandeis University from closing the museum, selling artwork, or using any of the Rose endowment for other purposes - a surprising move that a university lawyer called “frivolous and without merit.’’

God and Majors
Inside Higher Ed | July 28, 2009
Some parents of faith have long worried about the possible impact of (secular) colleges on the religious observances of their children.

Another Academic Physician's Ties to Industry Come Under Senator's Scrutiny
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 28, 2009
Documents released by a Senate committee detail $1.14-million in payments from Medtronic, a medical-device company, to a medical professor at the University of Minnesota who received Pentagon research funds to conduct a study involving one of the company's products, The New York Times reports.

Illegal Status Gives Harvard Grad Few Options
Boston Globe | July 27, 2009
Back in the concrete suburb of Los Angeles where he grew up, they call him “Harvard.’’ He is the pride of a neighborhood of children who grew up just as he did, bouncing from one crowded apartment to the next, sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor, wired to the constant threat of violence.

Do You Know a High-Achieving Student Kept From College Because of Money?
Washington Post | July 27, 2009
I try to stay away from the New York Review of Books. It is a trap for aimless readers like me. I may enjoy a piece on the last Khan of Mongolia. But that makes me want to sample a letter about derivatives or a review of what Titian thought of Tintoretto. Pretty soon it's bedtime and I have forgotten to do important stuff like talk to my wife and watch "The Closer" on TNT.

Top Party Schools List: Princeton Review Puts Penn State First On Infamous List
Associated Press | July 27, 2009
The nation's top party schools, according to Princeton Review's 2009 survey of 122,000 students...

2 Cambridge Worlds Collide in an Unlikely Meeting
New York Times | July 26, 2009
The radio dispatch about a possible breaking and entering on Ware Street went out at 12:45 p.m. — “two males, unknown race” who might still be in the house, according to police officials.

In an Uncertain Summer, Colleges Try to Control Enrollment 'Melt'
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 24, 2009
In the summer, what's true of Popsicles is also true of freshman classes: A little melt is fine, but too much can cause a real mess.

When the Kindle Hits the Ivory Tower, How Will the Academy React?
Wall Street Journal | July 24, 2009
On the topic of digitizing books, University of Illinois law professor Larry Ribstein weighs in this morning on his Ideoblog about the threat the paper-to-pixels move in publishing poses to law professors.

White House: Obama Regrets Distracting Media With Gates Response
Wall Street Journal | July 24, 2009
President Barack Obama regrets that his response to the arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. ignited a media firestorm, the White House said Friday.

Killer's Health Files Found; Va. Tech Families Dubious
Associated Press | July 23, 2009
The Virginia Tech gunman's missing mental-health records have been found at the home of a former university counseling official, more than two years after the bloody rampage, a discovery that angered victims' families struggling to understand how the killer fell through the cracks so disastrously.

Six Injured in Shooting at Texas Southern University
Associated Press | July 23, 2009
Six people were shot and wounded at a community rally on the Texas Southern University campus in what police think was a gang-related drive-by shooting, a school spokeswoman said.

Who Are Pell Grant Recipients?
Inside Higher Ed | July 22, 2009
Pell Grants are the federal government's largest direct grant to students with low family incomes. So it's no surprise that when Congress and administrations debate priorities for higher ed spending, the Pell Grant always is a hot topic. Does the program have enough money? Should it be an entitlement? Should it be protected from requirements that don't focus on financial need?

Endowment Losses From Harvard to Yale Force Cuts
Bloomberg News | July 22, 2009
Harvard University and Yale University are preparing for an extended period of austerity as U.S. colleges are forced to cut spending next year and beyond to offset the biggest investment losses since 1974.

Racial Talk Swirls With Gates Arrest
Boston Globe | July 21, 2009
His front door refused to budge, which is why Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., just home from a trip to China filming a PBS documentary, set his luggage down and beckoned his driver for help.

Medical Students Assail Research Universities Over Drug-Exclusivity Bill
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 21, 2009
Two groups that represent tens of thousands of students involved in medical research are taking the Association of American Universities to task for its “unconscionable” endorsement of a proposed federal law that would guarantee drug companies 12 years of exclusivity to sell certain kinds of drugs and vaccines they develop.

Gates Police Confrontation Ends With Charge Dropped
Bloomberg News | July 21, 2009
Police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dropped a disorderly conduct charge against Harvard University African American studies professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., calling his arrest last week “regrettable and unfortunate.”

Second Home for First-Gens
New York Times | July 20, 2009
As thousands of low-income, first-generation freshmen flock to campus in the next two months, many, despite their intelligence and optimism, will arrive only to be gone in an academic eye blink. Just 11 percent of them earn a bachelor’s degree after six years, according to the Pell Institute, compared with 55 percent of their peers.

Latina Law Students Get a Lift
Chicago Tribune | July 19, 2009
Perhaps the hardest thing for Sonia Sotomayor in law school was that there were no Sonia Sotomayors. That's where the daughter of poor Puerto Rican parents from the Bronx said she started "not feeling completely a part of any of the worlds I inhabit."

Pa. State Schools Announce Tuition Increases
Philadelphia Inquirer | July 17, 2009
Temple University announced yesterday that it will stay with the 2.9 percent tuition increase trustees approved in April. But the university said it might have to reexamine its tuition if the state adopts a budget that contains a proposed $21 million cut in funding for Temple.

Muslim Scholar Excluded from U.S. Wins a Victory in Federal Appeals Court
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 17, 2009
A federal appeals court ruled today that the U.S. government might have acted improperly in denying a visa to the the prominent European Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan.

Fund Raisers See Drop in Giving in 2008-9 but Expect a Turnaround
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 16, 2009
As colleges calculate their fund-raising totals for the fiscal year ending June 30, fund raisers are predicting that private money raised during that time will be about 4 percent less than the amount raised the year before, according to a survey by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education released Thursday. The fund raisers surveyed said they expected that trend to start turning around sometime in the next year.

Does Being at the Top of the Rankings Help Colleges?
U.S. News & World Report | July 16, 2009
Is there an impact on a college's admissions indicators as a result of its position in the U.S. News America's Best Colleges rankings? Is the influence of the rankings different depending on whether the school is a large research university or a smaller liberal arts college? How big could these effects be, and are they statistically significant?

A Privacy Law That Protects Students, and Colleges, Too
Wall Street Journal | July 16, 2009
A law designed to keep college students' grades private often is used for a much different purpose -- to shield universities from potentially embarrassing situations.

Book Smarts? E-Texts Receive Mixed Reviews From Students
Wall Street Journal | July 16, 2009
Last August, administrators at Northwest Missouri State University handed 19-year-old Darren Finney a Sony Corp. electronic-book Reader. The assignment for him and 200 other students: Use e-textbooks for studying, instead of heavy hardback texts.

Pa. Told to Reapply for College Stimulus Funds
Philadelphia Inquirer | July 15, 2009
Gov. Rendell cannot cut Pennsylvania's four state-related universities out of an application for $42 million in federal stimulus funds, the Department of Education said yesterday.

Trustees Are More Engaged but Still Need Improvement, Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 15, 2009
College governing boards are becoming more effective and engaged but continue to fall short in some areas, according to survey results released today by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

Yale’s Levin Backs Swensen Model Even After Losses
Bloomberg News | July 15, 2009
Yale University President Richard Levin defended the school’s investment strategy as working “spectacularly well,” even after the endowment fell by about 30 percent in the fiscal year ended June 30.

The Flu Waiting Game
Inside Higher Ed | July 14, 2009
With nearly 34,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 "swine flu" virus in the United States -- and an estimated one million people infected when untested cases are taken into account -- college and university health centers across the country are on high alert.

Can Corporate Funding Save Endangered College Classes?
Time Magazine | July 14, 2009
The nation's economic crisis is forcing schools to take unprecedented steps to survive: laying off teachers, cutting bus services, eliminating summer classes. But more drastic measures may not be far off. Could the next step in saving American education be Introduction to Nutrition, Sponsored by McDonald's or PricewaterhouseCoopers' Financial Accounting 101?

Harvard Increases Class Size
Financial Times (U.K.) | July 14, 2009
Harvard is to increase the size of its MBA class from this autumn from 900 to around 930 or 940. So far 942 students have enrolled on the programme, according to The Harvard Crimson, the university newspaper. It cites Deirdre Leopold, managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid at the business school, as saying that she expects enrolment to settle between 930 to 940 by the time classes begin in the autumn.

Colleges Will See a Decline in Megagifts, Experts Predict
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 13, 2009
The golden age for philanthropy—and the United States—may be over.

Private Effort to Create Courses Draws Praise — and Charges of 'Buying' Curricula
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 13, 2009
On a humid day in June, a few dozen young historians and political scientists have gathered in a sunlit, high-ceilinged, book-lined seminar room along the University of Virginia's central quadrangle.

Stanford, Duke, Rice, ... and Gates?
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 10, 2009
Dear Bill Gates, Hi! You don't know me, but I have an idea about how you should spend your hard-earned money. I'll bet you get a lot of that these days. It's an old idea, a 19th-century idea. But I think its time has come again. Two words: Gates University.

India Struggles to Become a Destination for Foreign Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 10, 2009
When Chen Jing and her classmates arrived in India two years ago they were shocked to discover that their university served meat only twice a week.

Update on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 33 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 10, 2009
The 33 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $387.5-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

New Index Will Score Graduate Students' Personality Traits
Washington Post | July 10, 2009
The Educational Testing Service wanted to help graduate school applicants prove they are more than a set of test scores. So it developed a tool to rate students across a broad sweep of traits -- creativity, teamwork, integrity -- that admission tests don't measure.

University of California Makes Cuts After Reduction in State Financing
New York Times | July 10, 2009
The University of California will use a combination of furloughs, deferred hiring and cuts in academic programs to make up for an $813 million reduction in state financing, its president, Mark G. Yudof, said Friday.

New Student Loan Program Offers Relief
Philadelphia Inquirer | July 09, 2009
Kelly Ohlert has a job at a Center City law firm, but she can't afford to buy a home to accommodate her growing family.

Disconcerting Data on Student Debt
Inside Higher Ed | July 09, 2009
You'd have to have been living under a rock not to know that student loan debt is a problem, and getting worse. The issue has become a stock part of politicians' speeches (including the new president's), motivated the creation of advocacy groups, and been the thesis of numerous conferences and reports.

Law Schools Mull Whether They Are Churning Out Too Many Lawyers
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 09, 2009
At a time when law-school graduates are facing greater debt and fewer job opportunities, the University of Miami School of Law has offered to pay accepted students to stay away—at least for a year.

Reassessing the Value of Research Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | July 08, 2009
Several U.S. senators and members of Congress — Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat from Maryland; Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee; Rep. Bart Gordon, a Democrat from Tennessee; and Rep. Ralph Hall, a Republican from Texas — are asking the National Academies to carry out a study of the status of American research universities.

New GI Bill Benefits Vary Widely by State
Associated Press | July 07, 2009
When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government's best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the “Government Issue,” one-size-fits-all standard the name implies — especially in California.

University of Illinois Admissions: Chancellor Says 'We Have to Fix' System
Chicago Tribune | July 07, 2009
The University of Illinois' favoritism toward students backed by powerful sponsors must come to an end, the principal enforcer of the campus' secret admissions system testified Monday.

Interracial Roommates Can Reduce Prejudice
New York Times | July 07, 2009
As a freshman at Ohio State University, and the only black student on his floor, Sam Boakye was determined to get good grades — in part to make sure his white roommate had no basis for negative racial views.

Harvard University Hillel House Hit by $780,000 Fraud (Update2)
Bloomberg News | July 07, 2009
A former accountant for Harvard University’s Hillel House, a Jewish student organization, stole about $780,000 over five years and spent the money on sports tickets and trips, the Massachusetts attorney general said.

Court Upholds Dismissal of Colorado Professor
Three months after a jury ruled that Ward L. Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor, w | July 07, 2009
Three months after a jury ruled that Ward L. Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor, was wrongfully terminated for his political views, a judge on Tuesday refused to give him his job back.

AP Interview: Harvard President Forced to Deal With Economic Crisis, but With a Softer Style
Associated Press | July 05, 2009
Drew Gilpin Faust started as Harvard's president when the university's prosperity seemed limitless. With its ballooning wealth, Harvard planned almost frenzied growth, from a building boom into Boston to vast increases in student financial aid.

My M.A., a Source of Pride and Regret
New York Times | July 04, 2009
In our discussion about the value of a master’s degree, we received hundreds of comments from readers who spent time and money pursuing a graduate degree. Many said earning an advanced degree was a wasted effort that did not enhance their skills or make them more attractive to employers.

We Rent Movies, So Why Not Textbooks?
New York Times | July 04, 2009
SUCCESS in Silicon Valley often emerges through trial and error. Willingness to buck popular trends can help, too.

Say Hello to Underachieving
New York Times | July 02, 2009
ERIN McAULIFFE had a vision for this summer. A 20-year-old junior at Bowdoin College, she had lined up an internship at a New York publishing house and imagined stimulating days leafing through manuscripts, and evenings of sparkling conversation with friends at downtown cafes.

Double Standard at Emory?
Inside Higher Ed | July 01, 2009
Emory University has been accused repeatedly over the last year of looking the other way while one of its prominent physicians built extremely close ties to the pharmaceutical industry and -- critics charge -- failed to adequately report those ties as required by university and federal regulations.

Paying College Tuition With Credit Card Gets Costlier
USA Today | July 01, 2009
Across the nation, a growing number of universities are making it harder — and costlier — for students to use credit cards.

Binge Drinking on Campus
New York Times | June 30, 2009
College presidents who have been blaming drinking-age laws for drunkenness at their schools had better look at their own policies. While the amount of binge drinking — downing five or more drinks in a row — remains high at colleges, it has dropped sharply among people of the same age who do not attend college.

Villanova Law Dean Sargent Resigns
Philadelphia Business Journal | June 30, 2009
Citing personal and medical reasons, Mark Sargent has resigned as dean of Villanova University School of Law, effective immediately, the school said Tuesday.

Tuition at U.S. Colleges Increases 4.3%, Lowest in 37 Years
Bloomberg News | June 29, 2009
Tuition and fees at private U.S. colleges and universities for the 2009-2010 school year will rise an average 4.3 percent, the lowest percentage increase in at least 37 years, according to a survey.

Teaching Online More Effective Than Face-to-Face, U.S. Finds
Bloomberg News | June 29, 2009
Internet-based teaching leads to better student achievement than face-to-face classes, a U.S. Education Department study found.

Penn State Extends Reach Worldwide With International Programs
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 27, 2009
At first blush, Penn State - tucked away in the mountains hours from a major city - may not seem a likely locale for a worldly program.

Utah University Lifts Ban on YouTube
Associated Press | June 27, 2009
Brigham Young University, a Mormon Church institution where students agree to live a chaste and virtuous life, has lifted its almost three-year policy of blocking access to YouTube.

In Hard Times, Colleges Search for Ways to Trim the Faculty
The Chronicle of Higher Education | June 26, 2009
The Jones Theatre at Washington State University is getting a $500,000 face-lift this summer. A construction crew has already ripped out its 500 orange and blue seats and is replacing them with new ones covered in a wine-colored fabric. The theater's walls are being painted a light beige, and a new set of black velour curtains will grace the stage.

Right to Remain Silent
Inside Higher Ed | June 26, 2009
Congress had nobly stated intentions when it enacted sweeping student privacy laws nearly 35 years ago, but several elected officials now question whether the legislation has become a shield to hide embarrassing truths about college athletics and campus safety. Joining the growing chorus of skeptics is an organization that's historically been uninterested in calls for greater transparency: the U.S. Department of Education.

PG-13? Not This College. Or That One. Or ...
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 26, 2009
Because campus life captures the popular imagination, screenwriters and film crews often eye the quad. That is, if colleges let them. When it comes to setting a movie or TV show on a campus, trademark owners reserve the right to fuss.

Another College Is Adding Weekends
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 26, 2009
TGIF could mean "Time to Get in Focus" for some students this fall at Camden County College, which will begin offering associate-degree programs on weekends.

Scholarships for College Dwindle as Providers Pull Back Their Support
New York Times | June 26, 2009
Students looking for college scholarships are going to have a harder time this year as providers, hammered by falling investment returns and declining philanthropic support, cut back.

Med School 'Senioritis'
Inside Higher Ed | June 25, 2009
Last March, Washington and Lee University's Law School dean told Inside Higher Ed that, "We wouldn't dream of training doctors only from a book," as a justification for his then newly unveiled plan to transform the third year of law school with experiential courses.

Bucknell President to Step Down Next June
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 25, 2009
Bucknell University president Brian C. Mitchell will step down next June, the university announced yesterday. Mitchell, who has led the university since 2004, said he had decided to pursue other goals and wanted to give trustees time to search for a replacement.

As Plants Close, Teenagers Focus More on College
New York Times | June 25, 2009
In the tight-knit, middle-class communities surrounding Dayton, many members of the class of ’09 knew exactly what they would do when they grew up.

Recession? Valet Parking Arrives
Inside Higher Ed | June 24, 2009
For some college students, "roughing it" may be a thing of the past. When the concept of starting a valet parking service came up at a recent Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees meeting, it seemed less out of place than one would think. With the number of students growing, and the number of convenient parking spaces on campus unchanged, the idea to charge students and faculty for such a convenience did not seem unreasonable.

Harvard Workers Stunned by Layoffs
Boston Globe | June 24, 2009
Harvard’s most senior administrators had for months foreshadowed the possibility of staff reductions, warning at a series of meetings and forums that they probably would have no choice as the university deals with the precipitous decline in its endowment.

Harvard University Loses Another Top Investor
Boston Globe | June 23, 2009
Harvard University, whose mammoth endowment has been slammed by the market downturn, is losing another one of its top investors.

Easing a College Financial Aid Headache
New York Times | June 23, 2009
The Obama administration is moving to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa, a notoriously complicated form that asks students seeking financial aid for college as many as 153 questions.

Graduate Test Goes where GRE Doesn't: Personality
Los Angeles Times | June 22, 2009
Because nearly half of all students who start doctoral programs don't finish, educators have long wondered how best to judge applicants to graduate schools and reduce that attrition rate.

O'Connor is Elected Chairman of Temple's Trustees
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 21, 2009
The Temple University board of trustees has elected the vice chair of a major Philadelphia law firm as its next chairman.

The Perils of Rejecting Affirmative Action's Aid
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 21, 2009
The conversation usually goes like this: A worried mother calls, asking for a list of college scholarships for which her budding collegian can apply. Surely there are pools of money available to Hispanic students with good grades.

College Settles on Crime Reporting
Inside Higher Ed | June 19, 2009
Dominican College in New York has agreed to pay $20,000 in a settlement with the state’s attorney general over charges that the private institution misreported statistics related to sexual assaults on its campus.

Cheyney Woes Tied to Unpaid Student Bills
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 19, 2009
Much of Cheyney University's financial woes were due to nearly $7 million in unpaid student bills, an amount that has been cut nearly in half the last few months, officials said yesterday.

Google Tricycle Snaps Views From Philly Campus
The Associated Press | June 19, 2009
Coming soon to a campus near you , the Google tricycle. A pedicab-like vehicle mounted with an 8-foot-high camera has been rolling around the pedestrian walkways of the University of Pennsylvania to collect panoramic images of the campus for Google Maps' Street View feature, which gives users detailed, street-level views of map locations over the Internet.

Colleges Strive to Ensure Intellectual Diversity
USA Today | June 18, 2009
Dozens of public and private colleges have taken steps to ensure their students are exposed to a range of intellectual views on campus, and to ensure that students can freely express their views, says a report being released Thursday.

For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings
New York Times | June 18, 2009
College life may look different in the not-so-distant future: Students squinting out dirtier windows, faculty offices with full wastebaskets and no phones, sporting events in which opponents never meet, and paper course catalogs existing only as artifacts of the wasteful old days.

Higher Ed and the Third Reich
Inside Higher Ed | June 17, 2009
A new book examines American colleges’ ties to Nazi Germany in the 1930s -- and chronicles a record characterized by indifference, complicity and collaboration.

New Business for 'U.S. News'
Inside Higher Ed | June 17, 2009
U.S. News & World Report is on the verge of officially announcing a major expansion of its rankings Web site. The announcement will focus on the new "University Directory" that has been in beta. The directory has a broader focus than the rankings -- with extensive listings in distance education and adult continuing education, not just the four-year residential colleges that are the focus of the rankings.

Head of New Cheyney Panel Puts Priority on Funding
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 17, 2009
Cheyney University has suffered from a lack of funding, and now it's up to the state, the alumni, and the community to fill the void, said the incoming chairman of a new advisory board for the school.

To Signal Your Interest in a College, Scan Here
New York Times | June 17, 2009
Those who worry that students are being packaged like high-end groceries by the college admissions process may be further unnerved by the latest trend in college fairs. It is the assigning of personalized bar codes to students as they enter a fair, enabling a student to then signal interest in an institution with a mere electronic swipe, no handshake or eye contact required.

Harvard’s Kim Confronts Dartmouth Legacy of Debt, Restive Alums
Bloomberg News | June 17, 2009
Jim Yong Kim, the next president of Dartmouth College, faces the challenge of raising the school’s stature, calming its restive alumni and restoring finances battered by a plunging endowment and a credit rating downgrade.

Obama Plans to Replace Bush’s Bioethics Panel
New York Times | June 17, 2009
Members of the President’s Council on Bioethics were told by the White House last week that their services were no longer needed and were asked to cancel a planned meeting, a council staff member said Wednesday.

President of Texas A&M's Flagship Resigns Under Pressure
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 15, 2009
The embattled president of Texas A&M University at College Station, Elsa A. Murano, has resigned, effective today. Her announcement on Sunday came one day before a special meeting of the system's Board of Regents during which she was expected to be fired or forced to resign.

Despite Economy, Columbia Manages Small Increase in Its Spending Plans
New York Times | June 15, 2009
While some other Ivy League schools are lopping budgets and issuing bonds, Columbia University just passed a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that is essentially flat and avoids the severe cuts faced by its peers.

Corporate Ties Help Build a University From the Ground Up
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 15, 2009
During the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear-power plant, news reporters camped out here, 10 miles north of the reactor site, describing the ominously deserted streets and darkened storefronts.

In Europe, Skeptics of New 3-Year Degrees Abound
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 15, 2009
Julian Dieler just finished his second year studying for an undergraduate degree in economics at Ludwig Maximilians University here. The economics department is well-regarded, but Mr. Dieler chose to study here not because of the university's national renown or its location in the heart of one of Germany's most affluent and picturesque cities.

More Than 100 Colleges Fail Education Department's Test of Financial Strength
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 12, 2009
A newly compiled analysis by the U.S. Department of Education and obtained by The Chronicle shows that 114 private nonprofit degree-granting colleges were in such fragile financial condition at the end of their last fiscal year that they failed the department's financial-responsibility test.

Stimulus Money Helps Colleges Avoid Slashing Budgets Now, but Big Cuts May Loom
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 12, 2009
This year was bleak for state higher-education budgets. But college leaders are even more worried about what comes next.

U.S. Faculty Members Feel a Lack of Clout, International Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 12, 2009
Compared with their peers in many other nations, faculty members at four-year colleges in the United States stand out in their insularity from the international academic community and their sense of a lack of power over their institutions' leadership and budgets, according to the unpublished results of a study involving surveys of faculty members around the world.

How to Fire Your President: Voting 'No Confidence' With Confidence
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 12, 2009
College faculties often use votes of "no confidence" to try to push out the leader of their institutions. Many do so, however, without giving much thought to what such a vote actually means, whether they are using it appropriately, or how it will affect their institution—and their own future.

I’m Going to Harvard. Will You Sponsor Me?
New York Times | June 12, 2009
IN the photo, the young person’s eyes are brown and kind-looking. She is in need of financial help. A new Web site that brings together the charitable minded and those in need has posted the details of her request.

Long-Serving President of U. of Virginia Will Retire Next Year
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 12, 2009
John T. Casteen III, the longtime president of the University of Virginia, announced today that he would step down at the end of the 2009-10 academic year.

View From the Top - Drew Faust, President of Harvard
Financial Times (U.K.) | June 12, 2009
Drew Faust took office as Harvard's 28th president on July 1 2007. Raised in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Ms Faust is a historian of the Civil War and the American south. Her most recent book is This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War . It was published in 2008 and nominated for a National Book Award.

Dartmouth Gets $50 Million Gift From Anonymous Donor
Bloomberg News | June 12, 2009
Dartmouth College received a $50 million gift, the largest in its history, from an anonymous donor for a visual arts center.

Drexel, Haddonfield Set to Announce Partnership
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 11, 2009
Drexel University and Haddonfield Memorial High School will announce tonight a first-of-its kind partnership that includes free college-level courses for high-achieving students and online classes, as well as mentoring and faculty-training programs.

Q&A: N.C. State's Interim Chancellor Talks About Managing in a Crisis
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 11, 2009
James H. Woodward’s job as interim chancellor at North Carolina State University began on Tuesday, amid a deep scandal over a hiring and one of the university’s worst budget crises ever. He arrived on the campus one day after the resignation of his predecessor, James L. Oblinger, and the firing of Mary P. Easley, a former governor's wife whose job has been at the center of the controversy. The university's provost and the chair of its Board of Regents have also stepped down over the scandal.

Don't Bank on It
Inside Higher Ed | June 11, 2009
Taseen Peterson is a portrait of the recession. A single father who worked as a loan officer in the mortgage industry, Peterson decided to go back to school as the real estate market dried up, figuring he’d ride out the downturn in college and come out the other end with a credential that would get him a higher paying job.

Harvard Law School Names Faculty’s Minow as Dean
Bloomberg News | June 11, 2009
Harvard Law School, where U.S. President Barack Obama and four current Supreme Court justices received degrees, named Martha Minow, a 29-year veteran of the faculty, to be the new dean.

Not-So-Secret Agents
Inside Higher Ed | June 10, 2009
American colleges seem increasingly willing to at least try out the use of agents in recruiting international students, and a series of events at the recent NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference only reinforced that reality. However, a serious debate still simmers about whether the use of agents best serves the interests of students, and a schism exists between those in international education who promote the practice and those in admissions who continue to reject the notion of incentive- or commission-based overseas recruiting on ethical grounds.

Giving to Colleges and Other Charities Declines Nearly 6 Percent
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 10, 2009
Donations to education organizations and nearly every other type of charity faltered in 2008, as contributions declined by 5.7 percent last year after adjustment for inflation, according to the new edition of Giving USA, which is scheduled to be released this morning. It was the steepest decline in the history of the survey, which has been conducted since 1956.

The Best University?
Inside Higher Ed | June 09, 2009
Clemson University officials took great umbrage at last week's assertion by a fellow administrator that they had rated "all programs other than Clemson below average" in the peer evaluations they filled out for U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of colleges and universities, as part of a larger (successful) institutional strategy to send the South Carolina institution soaring up higher education's version of the Billboard charts.

Gaming the Rankings
Inside Higher Ed | June 09, 2009
Last week, Clemson University researcher Catherine E. Watt presented the extensive efforts her university had taken in the last few years to raise its U.S. News & World Report ranking at the Association for Institutional Research. Clemson’s clearly stated goal is to make the U.S. News top 20 public research universities, and Watt was unusually frank about the many actions a college can take to increase its numbers for individual indicators. She stirred up the Clemson administration and other higher education worthies with her talk. Reports about her presentation were e-mailed at a great rate — we’re shocked, shocked that gaming is going on here!

College in Need Closes a Door to Needy Students
New York Times | June 09, 2009
The admissions team at Reed College, known for its free-spirited students, learned in March that the prospective freshman class it had so carefully composed after weeks of reviewing essays, scores and recommendations was unworkable.

Students Give Group Assignments a Failing Grade
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 08, 2009
Speaking before a crowd of more than 500 people here on Saturday afternoon, three undergraduates made a plea to the world’s college instructors: no more group assignments—at least not until you figure out how to fairly grade each student’s individual contributions.

Moody's Warns of 'Sharp Deterioration' in College Finances
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 08, 2009
Despite the deep recession, the latest report from Moody’s Investors Service on private colleges, released on Friday, shows that they are only now starting to feel the pinch and warns that a “sharp deterioration” is expected in the 2009 data. The new report looks at private colleges’ data only through June 2008.

Two U.S. Students at American University in Cairo Have Swine Flu
Bloomberg News | June 08, 2009
Two U.S. students at the American University in Cairo have contracted swine flu, Rehab Saad, a spokeswoman for the university said today.

The Age of Diminishing Endowments
Wall Street Journal | June 06, 2009
Richard Levin, the longest serving president in the Ivy League, had enjoyed a charmed run at Yale. In his first 15 years Yale's endowment notched up the best returns of any university's, and its innovative investment strategy became a model for many others. Mr. Levin rode the bull market to restore morale, launch a building spree, and strengthen the school in sciences and internationally. Yale dollars even spruced up shabby New Haven.

Economy Forces 2009 Grads to Dump Dream Colleges
Associated Press | June 06, 2009
The wretched economy has taught many of the nation's college-bound seniors a hard lesson: You can't always get what you want.

For New Graduates, Recession Yields Frustration — and Freedom
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 05, 2009
Each year's crop of graduates faces the inevitable question. What's next? For the tough-luck Class of 2009, that decision has been especially daunting. But expectations of an impressive answer have given way to sympathetic nods. Only one in five seniors who applied for a job had found one by springtime, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Campuses as Vet-Friendly Zones
Inside Higher Ed | June 05, 2009
All Dan Standage needed was a broom closet. “Basically I just said, give me a broom closet and as long as we have a space, people can say I know there’s a space for veterans…. Just by virtue of having that, it started something,” says Standage, a rehabilitation major and student coordinator of the VETS (Veterans Education and Transition Services) office at the University of Arizona.

President to Leave Seton Hall Next Year
New York Times | June 05, 2009
Msgr. Robert Sheeran, who has led Seton Hall University through 14 years of academic improvements, the opening of a school of diplomacy and three notable basketball seasons, said on Thursday that he would be stepping down as president at the end of the next academic year.

Clemson Assails Allegations That It Manipulates 'U.S. News' Rankings
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 04, 2009
Clemson University, stung by charges by one of its own researchers that it willfully manipulates the U.S. News & World Report rankings, fired back on Wednesday, saying the accusations are “outrageous” examples of “urban legends” that have surrounded the university’s campaign to reach the top 20 of public research universities.

Update on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 33 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 04, 2009
The 33 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $403-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

Harvard to Endow Chair in Gay Studies
New York Times | June 03, 2009
Harvard University will endow a visiting professorship in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies, a position that, it believes, will be the first endowed, named chair in the subject at an American college.

Protest Over Layoffs at Temple University
Philadelphia Inquirer | June 03, 2009
In response to recent staff layoffs, a group of Temple University staff and faculty members plan to protest today in front of president Ann Weaver Hart's Rittenhouse Square residence.

Delay of Doctoral-Program Rankings Leaves 'Post-Mortem' Panel With No Data to Dissect
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 02, 2009
Institutional researchers indulged in some black humor here on Monday about the National Research Council’s long-delayed report on a study of graduate research programs. A conference session about the study was titled a “post-mortem,” even though the results aren’t out yet, and no one can say when they will be.

Not So Politically Incorrect
Inside Higher Ed | June 02, 2009
Despite the recent dust-up at Liberty University, many politically liberal student groups continue to peacefully mingle at traditionally conservative institutions. Conversely, conservative groups continue to thrive in the minority at some colleges known for their more liberal leanings.

Long Climb and Fast Fall for Harvard Student
Boston Globe | June 02, 2009
She was a young woman from the toughest of neighborhoods when Chanequa Campbell stood in the opulent ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and gave a speech about her past and her future, bringing the moneyed crowd to its feet in prolonged applause.

Twitter Goes to College
U.S. News and Report | June 02, 2009
At the University of Texas-Dallas, history professor Monica Rankin needed a better way to get students involved in the classroom. The 90-person lecture hall was too big for back-and-forth conversation. So, with help from students in the school's emerging media program, she had her students set up accounts on Twitter—a micro-blogging service—and then use the technology to post messages and ask questions that were displayed on a projector screen during class. Rankin says that although the technology has its limitations, the experiment encouraged students to participate who otherwise would not have done so.

When It Comes to Saving Money on Electricity, Colleges See the Light in LED
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 01, 2009
James Dishaw's lighting revolution began about a year ago, when a salesman dropped by his office in the facilities department at Le Moyne College. The salesman came from a company that manufactures highly efficient LED lighting.

Thanks for Your Generosity. Now Can You Give Again?
Chronicle of Higher Education | June 01, 2009
As colleges grapple with declining endowments and increased financial needs, a growing number are asking their most generous supporters to dig even deeper.

City University of New York Program Plumbs for Elites Among Immigrants
Los Angeles Times | May 31, 2009
After completing a freshman seminar about immigration in New York, Anita Sonawane, a brainy undergraduate who happens to be a New York immigrant, had a transformative aha moment. It was something the professor said.

Texas Vote Curbs a College Admission Guarantee Meant to Bolster Diversity
New York Times | May 30, 2009
The Texas Legislature voted Saturday night to scale back a program under which Texans who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high schools were given automatic admission to the state university of their choice. The action put limits on a 10-year-old experiment to increase diversity in the colleges.

As Costs of Sports Rise, Students Balk at Fees
New York Times | May 30, 2009
In late April, students rebuffed the financially troubled athletic department at the University of New Orleans. They voted against a fee increase to help pay for varsity sports, leaving the university to consider dropping baseball, basketball and every other sport.

This Year, Colleges Recruited Students in a 'Hall of Mirrors'
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 29, 2009
This year would break all the crystal balls in admissions. That much seemed certain months ago. After all, the statistical models that deans use to predict enrollment outcomes rely on historical data, but no moment in recent history had looked so hazy or so dire.

Can the Ivy League Get Its Game Back?
Wall Street Journal | May 29, 2009
The schools of the Ivy League are among the nation’s finest and richest, with billions in endowments under their command. From law to business to medicine, they’re No. 1 in practically every department but one: sports.

Outside Experts Test Swarthmore's Elite
Philadelphia Inquirer | May 29, 2009
That morning last week, Sofia Rivkin-Haas, 22, felt as if her heart were beating "3,000 times per minute."

California Could Be the First State to Cut Student Aid While Hiking Fees
Los Angeles Times | May 29, 2009
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to dismantle the Cal Grant program would make California the first state in the recession-battered nation to eliminate student financial aid while raising college tuition, experts said this week.

Reaching Students Who Don't Report Depression
Inside Higher Ed | May 29, 2009
Among the greatest frustrations of campus mental health professionals is that those who need help the most may never seek out services that are available. “If you talk to college counseling directors about those on their campuses who have committed suicide, most of them never entered their centers," said Henry Chung, to many nods here, at a session at the annual meeting of the American College Health Association.

Colleges Face Challenges in Helping Foreign Students Adjust to Life in U.S.
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 28, 2009
American colleges pride themselves on welcoming students from around the world. But how effectively are they helping foreign students adapt to and thrive in an American setting?

Paying for Campus Health Care
Inside Higher Ed | May 28, 2009
It's not just Congress and the Obama administration that are pondering how to pay for health care. As the American College Health Association's annual meeting got underway here Wednesday, officials from Wisconsin private colleges reported on significant health and financial gains they have achieved by requiring all full-time undergraduates not only to have health insurance, but to participate in a common plan financed by a small part of their tuition dollars.

'Off-Track Profs'
Inside Higher Ed | May 27, 2009
Like the rest of higher education, elite universities have grown increasingly reliant on non-tenure-track faculty members. Leaders of those institutions are frequently unaware of the role played by adjuncts or how they have come to make up a larger share of the teaching force. The causes for this shift -- while related to money -- go far beyond the savings from hiring off the tenure track, and the blame may need to be shared by senior professors and graduate student unions. At the most celebrated institutions of higher education in the United States, the teaching quality of the adjuncts is many times better than that of those on the tenure tack.

New Push Seeks to End Need for Pre-College Remedial Classes
New York Times | May 27, 2009
After Bethany Martin graduated from high school here last June, she was surprised when the local community college told her that she had to retake classes like basic composition, for no college credit. Each remedial course costs her $350, more than a week’s pay from her job at a Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Harvard’s Forst to Leave After Less Than a Year
Bloomberg News | May 26, 2009
Harvard University Executive Vice President Edward Forst, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. manager who joined the school in September to oversee finances at his alma mater, is leaving after less than a year on the job.

Stanford Business School Names Saloner as Next Dean
Bloomberg News | May 26, 2009
Stanford University named Garth Saloner, a professor, the next dean of the Graduate School of Business. He will succeed Robert Joss, who is stepping down on Aug. 31 after a decade in the post.

Padel Resigns as Oxford Poetry Professor After Tainting Rival
Bloomberg News | May 26, 2009
Ruth Padel, the first woman chosen as Oxford University’s Professor of Poetry, resigned, saying she had “naively” told journalists about allegations of sexual impropriety that tainted her main rival for the post.

University Bans Club for Democrats
Associated Press | May 23, 2009
Liberty University has banned its fledgling College Democrats club, saying the group stands against the conservative Christian institution’s principles.

A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 22, 2009
One college graduate had smashed a ceramic piggy bank, while another had adorned a life-size human statue with nothing but a silver ball and chain. A third drew a picture of a woman in a red coat stumbling down a seemingly endless pathway. The objects were all part of an art show last month in which graduates expressed fear and frustration over their student-loan debt.

New Private Universities in Kuwait Pin Their Hopes on U.S. Partners
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 22, 2009
Sharply dressed in black suits and bright red ties, the two recruiters latch onto high-school students as they walk through the gates of Exhibition Hall No. 8 at the Kuwait fairgrounds.

Harvard's Faust Backs Path to Legal Residency
Boston Globe | May 21, 2009
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust yesterday backed federal legislation that would clear the way for illegal immigrant students to apply for legal residency, an endorsement that stunned students and drew criticism for a president who has largely steered clear of fierce debates.

When a Twittering College President Is Not Who He Seems
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 21, 2009
The Twitter account identified as belonging to Georgetown University's president, John J. DeGioia, features frank admissions about the mundane details of running a modern academic institution. Last week, for instance, the microblogger wrote that his face was tired from all the "fake-smiling" during graduation events. The PR office can't possibly approve, right?

Drexel Plans Search for Successor to Papadakis
Philadelphia Inquirer | May 21, 2009
Drexel University soon will launch a national search for a new president to replace the late Constantine Papadakis, the chairman of the board of trustees said yesterday.

Brandeis Halts Retirement Payments
New York Times | May 21, 2009
Buffeted earlier this year by the outcry over its plans to raise money by closing its art museum and selling the collection, Brandeis University said this week that it would suspend payments to the retirement accounts of faculty and staff members starting in July.

Arrest Made in Harvard University Slaying
Boston Globe | May 21, 2009
A 20-year-old New York City man surrendered to Cambridge police this evening and will now be charged with murdering a Cambridge man inside a Harvard University residence hall Monday afternoon, Middlesex prosecutors said tonight.

Duke Officials Hail Decision Blocking Andrew Giuliani Golf Suit
Bloomberg News | May 21, 2009
Duke University said it is pleased with a federal magistrate’s ruling against Rudolph Giuliani’s son, who sued the North Carolina school after he was bounced from the golf team.

Obama’s Student-Loan Overhaul Opposed by Republicans
Bloomberg News | May 21, 2009
President Barack Obama’s push to end federal subsidies for student lenders such as Sallie Mae and Nelnet Inc. would create a government monopoly over college loans, Republicans lawmakers said.

Commercialization in College Sports May Have 'Crossed the Line,' Congressional Report Says
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 20, 2009
Big-time college sports programs derive 60 to 80 percent of their revenue from commercial sources, suggesting that intercollegiate athletics—at least at the elite levels—may have "crossed the line" from an educational to a commercial endeavor.

Students' Next Test: Surviving Job Market
Associated Press | May 20, 2009
School's out, surf's up, summer beckons. Time for college students to see if they can stay afloat in the worst economy their generation has known.

Stanford University Eliminates 40 Jobs as Units Cut Budgets
Bloomberg News | May 20, 2009
Stanford University eliminated 40 jobs in its undergraduate and engineering schools after endowment losses forced spending cuts.

Man Wounded in Shooting at Harvard Dorm
Boston Globe | May 19, 2009
The shooting of a young man inside an entrance of a Harvard University residence hall shattered the quiet of campus yesterday as students studied for final exams and sent parents scrambling to check on their children while police combed the area for several assailants.

What Does a Degree Cost?
Inside Higher Ed | May 19, 2009
College tuition prices keep rising. State budgets are stagnant or shrinking. And policy makers, from President Obama on down, are increasingly calling for increases in the number of Americans who get some higher education or training.

Psst! Need the Answer to No. 7? Click Here.
New York Times | May 17, 2009
In the old days, college students might turn to classmates for help during all-night cram sessions before final exams. Now their study buddies are just as likely to be commercial Web sites with step-by-step solutions to textbook problems, copies of previous exams, reams of lecture notes, summaries of literary classics, and real-time help with physics, math and computer science problems.

Harvard President Made $775k in First Year on Job
Boston Globe | May 16, 2009
Harvard University paid its president, Drew Gilpin Faust, $775,043, including benefits, for the 2007-08 fiscal year, her first year on the job, according to the university's annual Internal Revenue Service filing released yesterday. It was the first time Faust's salary was made public.

Alumni Try to Rewrite History on College-Newspaper Web Sites
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 15, 2009
When Nickie Dobo wrote a column in 2003 for her college newspaper — The Daily Collegian at Pennsylvania State University — decrying the "hook-up culture" on the campus, she never expected it to resurface years later in an attack on her professional credibility.

Calculating the True Cost of Tuition Freezes at Public Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 15, 2009
Maryland's governor, Martin J. O'Malley, didn't get much of his legislative agenda through the General Assembly this year, but he did succeed on one front: preserving enough state aid for the public-university system to stave off a tuition increase for the fourth consecutive year.

News Analysis: What Yield Says About a College
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 15, 2009
The recession has turned Americans into numbers addicts. After all, endless supplies of statistics—stock prices, retail sales, the gross domestic product—are supposed tell us about the health of the nation’s economy.

NIH Makes No Promises as It Considers Regulations on Financial Conflicts
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 14, 2009
The National Institutes of Health, after months of pressure, announced last week that it would consider imposing tougher regulations aimed at reducing financial conflicts of interest in scientific research. But it might actually not do anything.

A Job With That Diploma? New Grads at Temple U Go Straight From Ceremony to Career Fair
Associated Press | May 14, 2009
New Temple University graduate Lauren Archut, still clad in her cap and gown and carrying a congratulatory bouquet, had one last stop to make before a celebratory dinner: the school's career center.

College Commencement Controversies Surround Obama
Associated Press | May 13, 2009
Arizona State University students are getting a graduation ceremony to remember forever. Wednesday evening's ceremonies were to include the president of the United States, rock icon Alice Cooper, hundreds of security officials and a crowd likely to fill Sun Devil Stadium.

Columbia Names Stanford Psychologist as Next Provost
Bloomberg News | May 13, 2009
Columbia University named Claude Steele, a psychology professor at Stanford University, as its next provost, the highest-ranked academic position after the president.

Chu Asks College Students, Presidents to Help Spend $37 Billion
Bloomberg News | May 13, 2009
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he will ask university presidents, deans, and students across the U.S. to help decide how to spend $37 billion in stimulus money.

The Harvard Disadvantage
Boston Globe | May 12, 2009
He was valedictorian of his senior class, and had been accepted at all 13 colleges to which he applied. But when Miguel Garcia entered Harvard University last fall, he felt he didn't belong.

Who's Teaching at American Colleges? Increasingly, Instructors Off the Tenure Track
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 12, 2009
At community colleges, four out of five instructors worked outside the tenure track in 2007. At public research institutions, graduate students made up 41 percent of the instructional staff that year. And at all institutions, the proportion of instructors working part time continued to grow.

To Lend or Not to Lend?
Inside Higher Ed | May 12, 2009
In the wake of shrunken endowments, credit crises, and budget cuts, it seems difficult to remember that only a year ago, the big news regarding college financing was that a number of wealthy colleges and universities were taking steps to enhance their financial aid programs by eliminating or reducing student loan expectations. At the time when those steps were taken, I was not convinced of their efficacy. The events of the past year have done little to change my view, and have made it even more important that those of us in higher education deploy our financial aid resources and define our priorities as carefully as possible.

Grassley Probes Texas Medical Professor Over Drugmaker Payments
Bloomberg News | May 12, 2009
A University of Texas psychiatrist failed to tell the school about more than $230,000 she received from drug companies while doing government-funded research on adolescents with depression, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley said.

Harvard to Cut Entering Ph.D. Class, Hot Breakfasts
Bloomberg News | May 11, 2009
Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences will cut the size of the entering class of doctoral students and take hot dishes off weekday dormitory breakfast menus, among measures to compensate for endowment losses.

Top Colleges See Little Fall in Commitments
New York Times | May 10, 2009
In an early indication that the economic downturn may not have disrupted students’ college choices as much as schools had feared, more than a dozen top colleges said last week that accepted applicants had committed themselves to attending next fall at about the same rate as last year.

College Commencement Speakers: Who Was Chosen, and Why?
Chicago Tribune | May 10, 2009
Come graduation season, choosing the right commencement speaker is crucial -- just ask Notre Dame. University presidents scramble all year planning who's going to deliver an address that symbolizes not only the school's status but the students' character as well. Here's who's speaking this year at some local colleges and why.

Historically Black Colleges Fighting Cut in Federal Program They Say Is Lifeline in Hard Times
Associated Press | May 10, 2009
Leaders of historically black colleges say they'll fight a reduction in a federal program they call a financial lifeline at a time of economic distress for the schools and their students. President Barack Obama's education budget, unveiled Thursday, included major spending increases in many areas — but didn't include an extra $85 million that black institutions have received annually for the past two years thanks to a 2007 change to the student loan laws.

Obama Seeks $31-Billion for NIH, $7-Billion for NSF in New Budget
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 08, 2009
President Obama on Thursday proposed a $30.9-billion budget for the National Institutes of Health for the 2010 fiscal year, including basic and clinical research. It sets a baseline 4.7 percent higher than the agency’s final budget under President Bush in 2008.

Staying on the Job
Inside Higher Ed | May 08, 2009
Among the many concerns of academics about the economic meltdown last year was that it would interrupt the steady flow of retirements that allow departments to bring in new colleagues who may represent disciplinary shifts (and who typically are paid less).

Hackers Steal Personal Information From UC Berkeley Health Services Database; 160,000 Notified
Associated Press | May 08, 2009
University of California, Berkeley, officials said Friday that hackers infiltrated restricted computer databases, putting at risk health and other personal information on 160,000 students, alumni and others.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 32 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 07, 2009
The 32 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $400.5-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

The New School’s Kerrey Is to Step Down in 2011
New York Times | May 07, 2009
Bob Kerrey, whose eight years as president of the New School have been marked by rising enrollment and faculty expansion but also by criticism and recent student protests, announced on Thursday that he would step down when his contract expires on July 1, 2011. Mr. Kerrey, 65, revealed his decision Wednesday evening to the university’s board of trustees at their final meeting of the academic year. The board unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its support for Mr. Kerrey and committing itself to a smooth transition.

Iraq Archeology: Field Museum, University of Chicago Training Iraqi Archeologists
Chicago Tribune | May 06, 2009
Iraq was home to some of civilization's first outposts and hosted conquerors from Alexander the Great to Americans.

How a Student-Friendly Kindle Could Change the Textbook Market
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 06, 2009
Rumors that Amazon will introduce a wide-format Kindle have the news media and bloggers speculating about whether the new gadget will spark an electronic-textbook revolution and lighten backpacks nationwide.

Harvard Endowment Losses Felt in Law School Staff, Library Cuts
Bloomberg News | May 06, 2009
Harvard University’s law school said it would cut staff and the university will close a library as part of its effort to save money after endowment losses.

Wesleyan Killer May Target University, Local Jews, Police Say
Bloomberg News | May 06, 2009
The killer of a Wesleyan University student remains at large and may target the Middletown, Connecticut, school and the local Jewish community, city police Chief Lynne Baldoni said today.

A Co-Ed Dorm Room? That Wasn’t Mentioned on the College Tour
New York Times | May 06, 2009
The National Review posted an article on its Web site on Monday that is bound to send shivers up the spines of the parents of some high school seniors — to say nothing of parents of students already in college.

N.C.A.A. Issues Postseason Bans for Poor Academic Performance
New York Times | May 06, 2009
The N.C.A.A. released its academic reform data Wednesday, and for the first time issued postseason bans for poor academic performance. The association penalized the Centenary men’s basketball team and the Jacksonville State and Tennessee-Chattanooga football teams. Jacksonville State is appealing its ban.

Ward Churchill Asks Judge to Order His Reinstatement at U. of Colorado
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 05, 2009
With the support of two major faculty groups and a long list of scholars, Ward Churchill has formally asked a judge to order the University of Colorado to give him back his job as a tenured professor, arguing that only his reinstatement will repair the damage that his dismissal did to his reputation and the greater cause of academic freedom.

Swine Flu Fears: Handshakes Noticeably Absent From Many College Graduations
Chicago Tribune | May 05, 2009
College students getting their diplomas this week may not get the handshake that typically goes with it. Because of fears of spreading swine flu, or H1N1, several colleges that kicked off spring commencements this past weekend enacted no-handshaking policies.

Proposals Would Transform College Aid
Washington Post | May 04, 2009
President Obama's health-care goals may be garnering attention, but his higher-education proposals are no less ambitious.

When to Call a Flu Day
Inside Higher Ed | May 04, 2009
Colleges across the country have seen a case (or a few) of probable or confirmed swine flu, and their responses have varied. Some have canceled certain events but otherwise are operating on normal schedules, while a few have shut down (as have many K-12 schools).

Universities Cutting Teams as They Trim Their Budgets
New York Times | May 03, 2009
After three decades of steady growth in the number of teams and student-athletes, colleges and universities large and small, private and public, east and west, are slashing millions of dollars from their sports budgets.

After Accepting Students, NYU Asks Them: Are We Too Costly for You?
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 01, 2009
April is decision month. And as college-bound seniors weigh admissions and financial-aid offers, the families of about 1,800 students admitted to New York University have gotten an unusual call.

Colleges Using Technology to Recruit Students Try to Hang On to the Conversation
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 01, 2009
Higher education traffics in reputations. To thrive as an institution means keeping up with competitors while setting yourself apart. But as good as colleges have become at building brands, the game is shifting to social media, where there is perpetual motion and little control.

In Interview, Education Secretary Cites Need for Improvement in College Completion and Cost Control
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 01, 2009
President Obama’s goal of putting the United States atop all countries in college-completion rates by 2020 is “ambitious” but attainable, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Thursday in an interview with The Chronicle.

Swine Flu Impact
Inside Higher Ed | May 01, 2009
The impact of the swine flu outbreak continues to grow on American colleges campuses -- even as the confirmed cases appear small in number and relatively mild.

U.S. Colleges Bask in Surge of Interest Among Chinese
Washington Post | May 01, 2009
It's an admissions officer's dream: ever-growing stacks of applications from students with outstanding test scores, terrific grades and rigorous academic preparation. That's the pleasant prospect faced by the University of Virginia and some other U.S. colleges, which are receiving a surging number of applications from China.

Swine Flu Hits Several Campuses
Inside Higher Ed | April 30, 2009
Ten students at the University of Delaware have been diagnosed with "probable" cases of swine flu, to date the most significant outbreak on a college campus in the United States. At least three other campuses may also have cases: the University of Notre Dame has a confirmed case of a student who had swine flu and who has recovered. San Diego State University has a suspected case and California State University at Long Beach has a probable case. (Confirmation and the varying levels of certainty reflect federal health guidelines and the status of inquiries into cases.)

College Recruiters Are Twittering, Too
USA Today | April 29, 2009
College admissions officials, keenly aware that their target audience grows more tech-savvy with every passing year, appear to be getting the hang of social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

To Friend or to Reject
Inside Higher Ed | April 29, 2009
When journalists have noted in the past year that some admissions officers were checking out applicants’ pages on Facebook or other social networks, there were murmurs online from high school students worried about whether their virtual personalities were suitable. And there were many warnings from guidance counselors and parents about maintaining a clean profile. Some, however, wondered if the Facebook surfing was really widespread in admissions offices.

That ‘Tweet’? It May Be From @Bryn Mawr
New York Times | April 29, 2009
A report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) released today describes how universities are using some of students’ favorite new technologies to revamp an admissions process that can sometimes be formulaic and impersonal. As a result, applicants may soon be devoting the same attention to their stream-of-consciousness, 140-character Tweets as they do to their personal essays.

Group Advises Stopping Flow of Gifts to Doctors
New York Times | April 28, 2009
In a scolding report, the nation’s most influential medical advisory group said that doctors should stop taking much of the money, gifts and free drug samples that they routinely accept from drug and device companies.

As Flu Cases Mount, U.S. Students Abroad Stay Put
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 28, 2009
College officials in the United States have not yet moved to pull students and faculty members out of Mexico, but they say they are closely monitoring the deadly outbreak of swine flu in that country.

Not Moving On Up: Why Women Get Stuck at Associate Professor
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 27, 2009
Message to deans, department chairs, and other administrators in higher education: Pay more attention to associate professors— particularly women, for whom the path to promotion is often murky and less traveled.

Obama Says U.S. Should Put 3% of GDP Into Research
Bloomberg News | April 27, 2009
President Barack Obama committed the U.S. to a goal of devoting at least 3 percent of gross domestic product to research and development as the country strives to remain a leader in science and technology.

End the University as We Know It
New York Times | April 26, 2009
GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publication in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).

University of Calif. Admissions Rule Angers Asian-Americans
Associated Press | April 25, 2009
A new admissions policy set to take effect at the University of California system in three years is raising fears among Asian-Americans that it will reduce their numbers on campus, where they account for a remarkable 40% of all undergraduates.

Harvard Advised to Name Ombudsman
Boston Globe | April 25, 2009
An independent committee recommended yesterday that Harvard University create a public-safety ombudsman and take other steps to mend the at-times rocky relationship between the campus police force and the diverse community it patrols.

Will the Economy Really Change Students' College Plans? Early Signs Say Yes
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 24, 2009
High-school seniors have only until May 1 to decide where they will go to college. While it is still too soon to tell if widespread predictions that seniors will flock to lower-cost institutions were accurate, two new surveys and conversations with guidance counselors suggest that the economic situation is indeed playing a large role in students' decisions.

Brandeis to Give Rose Art Museum Reprieve Until Fall
Boston Globe | April 24, 2009
Nearly three months after Brandeis University said it would close The Rose Art Museum and sell its $350 million collection, the future of the famed museum seems murkier than ever.

Give Me Liquidity!
Inside Higher Ed | April 24, 2009
Maybe being Harvard isn’t so great after all. Mesmerized by the investment returns posted by the wealthiest universities in recent years, colleges with endowments large and small have been drawn toward risky strategies that were credited with significant gains at some institutions. While the economic downturn doesn’t appear to have prompted a wholesale realignment, there are early indications that some investment chiefs are rethinking their approaches.

Temple OKs Low Tuition Hike; Boost in Aid
Philadelphia Inquirer | April 24, 2009
In a move made two months earlier than usual, Temple University yesterday approved its lowest tuition increase in 13 years and gave financial aid the largest one-year boost in its history.

To Save Money, M.I.T. Drops 8 Sports Teams
New York Times | April 24, 2009
High school students with dreams of competing in alpine skiing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, beware: when this academic year ends, the institute will no longer have a varsity team.

Obama Urges Overhaul of System for Making College Loans, Urges More Availability for the Young
Associated Press | April 24, 2009
President Barack Obama on Friday renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct government loans to young people, a challenge to a decades-old program with strong congressional support.

Student-Aid Administrators Recommend Changes in Financial Aid
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 23, 2009
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators announced a host of recommendations on Wednesday for improving the country’s financial-aid system.

2-Year Colleges Can Win Over Adjuncts With Benefits, Study Suggests
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 23, 2009
A new study of community-college faculty members suggests that offering adjuncts benefits like dental insurance does a lot to keep them showing up to work with a smile.

Crossing a Line
Inside Higher Ed | April 23, 2009
Everyone involved in the dispute over William I. Robinson talks about lines being crossed. A tenured professor of sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Robinson said that his critics have crossed lines of fairness by equating his criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, and that the faculty judicial system is crossing lines that are supposed to protect academic freedom by investigating him.

New Unrest on Campus as Donors Rebel
Wall Street Journal | April 23, 2009
Financially strapped colleges are angering their benefactors by selling school radio stations, auctioning Georgia O'Keeffe paintings and dipping into endowments for purposes their donors may not have intended.

College Board Steps Into the Immigration Debate
Los Angeles Times | April 22, 2009
The College Board is supporting legislation that would offer some undocumented youths a path to citizenship through college or the military. The association best known for the SAT and AP tests it administers is stepping into the contentious issue for the first time, just as President Obama is signaling that he may encourage lawmakers to overhaul immigration laws this year. The board's trustees have voted unanimously to support the legislation, known as the Dream Act.

U-Md. May Protect Alcohol Samaritans
Washington Post | April 22, 2009
University of Maryland students have long complained that school rules deter them from calling for help when they are concerned about the health or safety of a student who has been drinking heavily.

With Jobs Tight, M.B.A.s Head for Home
Wall Street Journal | April 21, 2009
After working in public accounting for three years, Joe Fusco, wanted to become an investment banker. So he invested more than $70,000 and two years into an M.B.A.

2 Charged in Threats Against UCLA Research Scientists
Los Angeles Times | April 21, 2009
Two animal rights activists have been charged with threatening and harassing UCLA scientists who use animals in their research, according to a Los Angeles County grand jury indictment unsealed Monday.

Student Loans: Default Rates Are Soaring
Wall Street Journal | April 21, 2009
Defaults on student loans are skyrocketing amid a weak job market for graduates and steadily rising tuition costs. According to new numbers from the U.S. Department of Education, default rates for federally guaranteed student loans are expected to reach 6.9% for fiscal year 2007. That's up from 4.6% two years earlier and would be the highest rate since 1998.

New Idea on Grad Students, Unions
Inside Higher Ed | April 20, 2009
New York University has been the site of a historic breakthrough for the push to unionize graduate teaching assistants -- and a bitter strike to preserve the union, which ended in failure, without collective bargaining. NYU administrators are now floating an idea that would give graduate students the right to join the university's adjunct union.

NYU Says Subject Tests Can Take Place of Basic SAT
Bloomberg | April 20, 2009
Candidates for admission to New York University, the largest private university in the U.S. by enrollment, can skip the basic SAT and ACT tests, and instead provide scores for three SAT subject or Advanced Placement tests.

Duncan Plans to Ease College Financial Aid Application Process
Bloomberg | April 20, 2009
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the Obama administration plans to ease the college financial aid application process to help more students obtain funds through programs such as Pell grants and Perkins loans.

Alleged Racial Incident Stuns Tufts
Boston Globe | April 19, 2009
Allegations of racism are roiling the Tufts University campus after an allegedly drunk freshman and members of a Korean student group got into fisticuffs earlier this month in a dorm lounge.

Students Hope to Beat College Waiting List
Boston Globe | April 18, 2009
Landing on a college waiting list used to mean that all an applicant could do is, well, wait - and hope. But in the elbows-out world of college admissions, savvy hopefuls, often with the help of private advisors and aggressive high school counselors, are launching full-scale campaigns to spring themselves from the list.

'Rankings Instinct' Is Unavoidable in College Admissions, Experts Say
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 17, 2009
Americans learn at an early age to use rankings to make all kinds of decisions. Jeffrey Brenzel calls it the “rankings instinct.”

In Grim Job Market, Student Loans Are a Costly Burden
New York Times | April 17, 2009
They bought into the notion that if they went to college — never mind the debt — their degree would lead to a lucrative job. And repaying their student loans would never be a problem.

Villanova Students Held in Linc Prank
Philadelphia Inquirer | April 16, 2009
An unbolted seat and a five-foot sign. That was the loot taken from Lincoln Financial Field early yesterday by a band of Villanova University students in an apparent college prank, according to Philadelphia police.

Harvard Dean Details Need to Slash Spending
Boston Globe | April 15, 2009
Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences faces a projected recurring annual deficit of $220 million within two years if it does not cut spending substantially and reshape its academic ambitions, Michael D. Smith, the group's dean, warned yesterday.

Safe Haven
Inside Higher Ed | April 15, 2009
How’s this for a scary job market? Things have gotten so bleak out there that Vanderbilt University is offering some of its graduating Ph.D. candidates a chance to buy extra time on campus.

Virginia Tech Drops Diversity Requirement From Tenure Policy
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 15, 2009
The president of Virginia Tech has asked the provost to remove from the university’s new guidelines on tenure and promotion a requirement that professors show an “active involvement in diversity,” which some conservative groups had criticized as a violation of academic freedom.

Harvard College’s Faculty to Cut Budget 19 Percent in 2 Years
Bloomberg News | April 15, 2009
Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the teaching body for most undergraduate classes at Harvard College, will slice $220 million from its budget over the next two years because of endowment losses.

Colleges Ask Donors to Help Meet Demand for Aid
New York Times | April 15, 2009
Faced with one of the most challenging fund-raising environments anyone can remember, colleges and universities are appealing to donors to help meet the swelling demand for financial aid.

Yale University Reaches Labor Accord, Avoiding Strike
Bloomberg News | April 14, 2009
Yale University reached agreements with two labor-union chapters representing clerical and custodial workers, avoiding strikes like those that marked previous negotiations.

UCLA Professor Stands Up to Violent Animal Rights Activists
Los Angeles Times | April 13, 2009
As soon as he heard his car alarm blare and saw the orange glow through his bedroom window, UCLA neuroscientist J. David Jentsch knew that his fears had come true.

Facebook Use Linked to Less Textbook Time
USA Today | April 13, 2009
Does Facebook lead to lower grades? Or do college students with lower grades use Facebook more than their higher-achieving peers?

Plan to Change Student Lending Sets Up a Fight
New York Times | April 12, 2009
The private student lending industry and its allies in Congress are maneuvering to thwart a plan by President Obama to end a subsidized loan program and redirect billions of dollars in bank profits to scholarships for needy students.

No Degree, but ASU Names Scholarship for Obama
Associated Press | April 12, 2009
Arizona State University says it will name a scholarship program after President Obama as it continues to be stung by its decision not to award him an honorary degree.

Tufts Launches Volley Against Bid to Unionize
Boston Globe | April 11, 2009
Tufts University president Lawrence Bacow has issued a preemptive strike against a growing movement to unionize the school's 1,200 administrative, technical, and clerical employees, calling the efforts unnecessary.

Wellesley College Cuts 80 Non-Faculty Jobs
Boston Globe | April 10, 2009
Wellesley College is cutting its workforce by 80 employees through layoffs and early retirements, becoming the latest institution of higher education forced to make significant cuts in the dismal economy.

Colleges Rethink Fund-Raising Expenses and Staffs
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 10, 2009
After several years of aggressive hiring, some college fund-raising operations are now cutting back as both revenue and investment income fall. The regrouping could slow growth plans on many campuses at a time when the need for private support has never been greater.

Land Baron
Boston Globe | April 09, 2009
It's hard to divorce Harvard University from iconic images of ancient brick buildings around manicured greens in Cambridge, near where solitary rowers pull single sculls along the Charles River.

Campus Still Split After Jury Sides With Professor
New York Times | April 09, 2009
A judge has yet to decide whether Ward L. Churchill, the controversial former University of Colorado professor, will get his job back, but on the campus here, some have already made up their minds.

Columbia Tells Researchers They Must Reveal Conflicts
Bloomberg | April 09, 2009
Columbia University said faculty must report any conflicts of interest when publishing research, a move made six months after two U.S. senators asked about ties between medical-device makers and the school’s scientists.

Harvard Cites Economy in Canceling Student Program
Bloomberg News | April 09, 2009
Harvard University officials canceled an optional January program slated to begin next year, citing the global economic crisis that has already cut almost a fourth from the school’s endowment.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 32 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 08, 2009
The 32 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $326.9-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

Colleges in 3 States to Set Basics for Degrees
New York Times | April 08, 2009
In the first American effort of its kind, universities and colleges in Indiana, Minnesota and Utah are starting pilot projects to make sure that degree programs in their states reflect a consensus about what specific knowledge and skills should be taught.

Are You a Twit If You Don't Want to Twitter?
Associated Press | April 08, 2009
Call it online sociability fatigue. And it's not just being felt by older folks who have lived most of their lives without the Web. As social networking grows, from stream-of-consciousness Twitter to buttoned-up LinkedIn, even some of the very young people who've helped drive these sites' growth could use a break.

Doctoral Universities Pull Ahead in Competition for Foreign Graduate Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 07, 2009
Foreign students applying to graduate schools in the United States are increasingly favoring doctoral institutions, which were already popular among them, while losing some interest in other types of colleges, according to survey results released today by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Emory University to Open Alice Walker Archives
Associated Press | April 07, 2009
The literary archive of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker will be opened to the public for the first time since she placed them at Emory University two years ago.

UC Makes it Official: Fewer Freshmen Get In for Fall
Los Angeles Times | April 07, 2009
The University of California confirmed today what applicants and guidance counselors already knew firsthand: It was harder to gain admission to many of UC's nine undergraduate campuses this year.

Constantine Papadakis, 63, Drexel University President, Dies
Philadelphia Inquirer | April 06, 2009
Constantine "Taki" Papadakis, 63, who oversaw a major expansion of Drexel University in his 13 years as its president, died last night from pulmonary complications, the university announced this morning.

A Retreat From ‘Need Blind’
Inside Higher Ed | April 06, 2009
For leading private colleges and universities, the 2006-7 and 2007-8 academic years were periods of excitement, as institutions greatly expanded the generosity of their aid policies, eliminating loans for some or all students and providing grants that made even the most expensive of colleges (by sticker price) significantly more affordable for many families.

A Rich Education for Summers (After Harvard)
New York Times | April 05, 2009
Lawrence H. Summers plays down his stint in the hedge fund business as a mere part-time job — but the financial and intellectual rewards that he gained there would make even most full-time workers envious.

College Tuition Hikes Lower than Expected
Los Angeles Times | April 05, 2009
As the recession deepened last fall and the value of college endowments melted away, some higher-education officials predicted that spring would bring the announcement of steep tuition hikes.

Colleges' Billion-Dollar Campaigns Feel the Economy's Sting
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 03, 2009
The economy's collapse has caught up with the billion-dollar campaign. In the past 12 months, the amount of money raised by a dozen of the colleges engaged in higher education's biggest fund-raising campaigns fell 32 percent from the year before, according to a Chronicle analysis.

The Complicated Task of Simplifying Student Aid
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 03, 2009
The first time Kathy Peterson saw the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the six-page form that the government uses to assess student need, she felt overwhelmed.

Churchill Wins Lawsuit, but Only $1 in Damages
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 03, 2009
A jury ruled on Thursday that the University of Colorado had illegally fired Ward Churchill in response to statements protected by the First Amendment. But it awarded the controversial ethnic-studies scholar only a token $1 in damages, leaving experts on academic freedom confused as to exactly what message other colleges should draw from the verdict.

Harvard Plans to Cut Capital Spending on Expansion After Losses
Bloomberg | April 02, 2009
Harvard University is planning to cut yearly capital spending by as much as half as it faces a 30 percent drop in its endowment.

Harvard Calls for Overhauling Makeshift Dorm Space
Boston Globe | April 02, 2009
Harvard University has a vision to upgrade dormitory life for its future undergraduates: More space. More privacy. No more roommates squeezed into common areas.

College Grads Face Worst Job Market in Years
Associated Press | April 02, 2009
David Maley left his internship at Lehman Brothers last summer figuring he would be back on Wall Street in a glamorous investment banking job once he graduated from Colgate University in May.

Colleges are the Ones Fearing Rejection Letters
USA Today | April 02, 2009
For college-bound students, it's time to make decisions — and to navigate a transformed landscape where acceptances and wait-list status might have different implications than they did just a year ago.

Princeton to Postpone $695 Million in Construction
Bloomberg | April 02, 2009
Princeton University will postpone an estimated $695 million in construction projects because endowment losses have caused a budget squeeze.

Report Describes Threats to American Dominance in Attracting Foreign Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | April 01, 2009
American colleges continue to dominate the increasingly competitive global market in foreign students, but the dominance is almost an accident, and, like British universities, those in America face growing competition from continental Europe, a British report contends.

Williams Stuffs Students Into Dorms as Economy Pares Endowments
Bloomberg | April 01, 2009
Wesleyan University plans to add 120 students to help shore up finances after its endowment fell 22 percent, an indication the recession is forcing doors to open a bit wider at top-rated U.S. colleges.

Stanford Medical Faculty Must Reveal Industry Income
Bloomberg | April 01, 2009
Stanford University School of Medicine will post on a Web site income earned by faculty members from consulting with outside groups and from royalty payments for inventions, the university said today.

Jury Gets Case of Fired Professor
New York Times | April 01, 2009
After a four-week trial, a jury in Denver is deliberating the case of Ward L. Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor who says he was fired because of an essay he wrote in which he called victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks “little Eichmanns.”

College Applications Now An Open (Face)book
Los Angeles Times | March 31, 2009
For a generation of students who share every detail of their personal lives in text messages, MySpace pages and other online postings, the college admissions chase is offering a lesson that some things are best kept private.

Students Push UC to Expand Terms of Ethnic Identification
Los Angeles Times | March 31, 2009
Nicole Salame, 19, was filling out an application to UCLA last year when she got to the question about race and ethnicity. She thought a mistake had been made. "I read it five times and was like, where is Middle Eastern?" the freshman recently recalled. "Is it on the other page, did it get cut off? I thought they forgot."

BC Won't Air Ayers Lecture by Satellite
Boston Globe | March 31, 2009
Boston College, citing pressure from Brighton residents and Boston police officers, refused to allow former radical William Ayers to deliver a student-sponsored lecture via satellite yesterday, frustrating student organizers who accused the college of sacrificing academic ideals to assuage public anger.

Harvard Bar to Entry Rises as College Offers More Aid
Bloomberg | March 31, 2009
Harvard University said it had the “most competitive admissions process in the history” of the school after the recession spurred more students to seek its financial aid.

Are the Lab Rat's Days Numbered?
Boston Globe | March 30, 2009
Bioengineers are striving to topple a scientific icon: the lowly lab mouse. And to replace bunnies, beagles, and other warm-blooded animals with insentient but biologically sophisticated substitutes.

Paying in Full as the Ticket Into Colleges
New York Times | March 30, 2009
In the bid for a fat envelope this year, it may help, more than usual, to have a fat wallet. Facing fallen endowments and needier students, many colleges are looking more favorably on wealthier applicants as they make their admissions decisions this year.

For Top Colleges, Economy Has Not Reduced Interest (or Made Getting in Easier)
New York Times | March 29, 2009
The recession appears to have had little impact on the number of applications received by many of the nation’s most competitive colleges, or on an applicant’s overall chances of being admitted to them.

Weeks of Wooing First Lady Pay Off for a New University
New York Times | March 28, 2009
Michelle Obama has chosen the University of California, Merced, the smallest, newest campus in a state system that includes heavyweights like U.C.L.A., as her sole stop on the college commencement circuit.

Discipline Goes on Trial at Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 27, 2009
The old rules of campus conduct draw sighs and scorn. That's from conduct officers themselves, who gathered here last month for their annual meeting.

A New Model for American Colleges Abroad: Quiet Partner
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 27, 2009
For the past two years, a steady stream of visitors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has made the roughly 7,000-mile trek from Cambridge to this gleaming desert city on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

You Can't Handle the Truthiness!
Inside Higher Ed | March 27, 2009
It appears the grass is still greener on the other side. A group of students near Tinseltown think a young movie star lacks the gravitas to give a commencement speech, while others in Virginia say their graduation day needs a little more star power. It didn’t take long for students at the University of California at Los Angeles to raise objections to the selection of James Franco, a 2008 UCLA graduate and actor in such films as Spiderman, Milk and Pineapple Express. Opposition is also forming at the University of Virginia, where a grassroots movement to recruit Stephen Colbert for “Final Exercises” failed to sway President John Casteen. Casteen went instead with Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson IIII, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge with a résumé that includes a lot of impressive work – just not a show on Comedy Central.

Economy May Be Beginning to Affect Study-Abroad Numbers
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 26, 2009
Applications to many overseas-study programs this summer and fall are down, and the economy may be to blame, according to a survey of study-abroad directors.

Campus Medical-Review Boards Often Fail to Police Themselves, Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 26, 2009
Universities' efforts to tighten conflict-of-interest rules involving their medical faculty members may be overlooking a key player: their own medical review boards.

The Impact of Dropping the SAT
Inside Higher Ed | March 26, 2009
A new research study -- based on simulations using actual student applications at competitive colleges that require the SAT or ACT for admission -- has found that ending the requirement would lead to demonstrable gains in the percentages of black and Latino students, and working class or economically disadvantaged students, who are admitted.

CUNY Meets Ambitious Fund-Raising Goal 3 Years Early
New York Times | March 25, 2009
When the City University of New York began an ambitious fund-raising campaign in 2004, the first in the system’s history, some were skeptical. “People were nervous at the time because it was new,” said Matthew Goldstein, the chancellor and himself a City College alumnus.

States' Prepaid-Tuition Plans Get Squeezed
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 25, 2009
Alabama's prepaid-tuition plan is hurting. Higher-education costs have climbed, a growing number of children are coming of age and using the money for college, and investments have suffered in the market. As a result, the state's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition plan, or PACT, doesn't have enough money to meet its future obligations.

Ind. Bishop Will Boycott Obama at Notre Dame
Chicago Tribune | March 25, 2009
The Roman Catholic bishop whose diocese includes the University of Notre Dame says he will boycott President Obama's May 17 commencement speech at the Catholic school because of Obama's support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research.

New Political Study Center? Turn Right at Berkeley
New York Times | March 25, 2009
If you’re interested in studying left-wing social movements like organized labor, civil rights or feminism, there are dozens of universities and colleges that have created special programs and research centers devoted to the subject. But hardly any similar institutions exist in academia for those looking for a place to study the right wing in America and abroad.

Asian-American Lawmakers Pressure U. of California Over New Admissions Policy
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 24, 2009
Two panels of the California Legislature that deal with Asian-American issues plan to jointly hold a hearing next week to scrutinize a new University of California undergraduate admissions policy that could lower Asian-American enrollments.

MIT Faculty Votes for Free Public Access to Research on Web
Bloomberg News | March 23, 2009
Massachusetts Institute of Technology will make its research available to the public free of charge, becoming the first U.S. university to mandate the policy, by faculty vote, across all departments.

Fired Colorado Professor Defends 9/11 Remarks
New York Times | March 23, 2009
A former professor who has accused the University of Colorado of firing him because of a controversial essay he wrote about the Sept. 11 attacks took the stand Monday in his lawsuit against the university and offered a defense of those remarks.

At Amherst, a Lesson in Generosity
Boston Globe | March 22, 2009
Students at Amherst College have donated $70,000 from a reserve student activity fund to boost financial aid and help the school's lowest-paid employees avoid wage cuts.

Reevaluating Plans for Harvard-held Land
Boston Globe | March 22, 2009
Now that visions of boulevards with shade trees, outdoor cafes, and lots of foot traffic have vanished with the 12,000-plus point Dow Industrial, residents of North Allston and Brighton are looking around and asking "Where do we go from here?"

Columbia U. Opens First 2 International Research Centers
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 20, 2009
In what university officials say represents a new approach to the internationalization of higher education, Columbia University is building a network of six to eight research centers in capitals around the world. The centers are designed to engage faculty members and students from various disciplines to work together on international projects with universities, government agencies, and other organizations abroad.

Regents Tell Iowa, ISU and UNI to Freeze Salaries
Associated Press | March 20, 2009
Iowa's Board of Regents unanimously approved Thursday a resolution directing the state's three public universities to freeze the salaries of non-union employees for 2009-2010.

Students Will Start Paying Sooner Under New Private Loans
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 19, 2009
With defaults rising and investor confidence low, banks and other lenders are rethinking the way they structure private student loans.

Foreign Students Are Less Inclined to Seek Jobs in the U.S., Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 19, 2009
Foreign students who have traditionally stayed in the United States after graduation are beginning to find their job prospects more promising back home than in the U.S., a trend that is being accelerated by recent protectionist measures by American companies, according to a report being released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Pirates Class at University of Chicago Among Most Popular Courses for Spring
Chicago Tribune | March 18, 2009
If you were looking for more proof that pirates are popular, here's some news from the University of Chicago: More undergraduates registered for the anthropology class "Intensive Study of a Culture: Pirates" than almost any other course for the spring quarter, which begins March 30.

Cambridge Raises Entry Bar as Student Numbers Rise
Bloomberg News | March 17, 2009
The University of Cambridge will raise the bar for admissions starting next year because too many students are meeting its entry requirements.

Harvard Government School to Offer Access to Faculty Papers
Bloomberg News | March 17, 2009
Research and academic articles written by faculty at three Harvard University schools will be available to the public free on a searchable Web site the institution said it plans to operate by midyear.

State Colleges Also Face Cuts in Ambitions
New York Times | March 16, 2009
When Michael Crow became president of Arizona State University seven years ago, he promised to make it “The New American University,” with 100,000 students by 2020. It would break down the musty old boundaries between disciplines, encourage advanced research and entrepreneurship to drive the new economy, and draw in students from underserved sectors of the state.

Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?
New York Times | March 14, 2009
JOHN Thain has one. So do Richard Fuld, Stanley O’Neal and Vikram Pandit. For that matter, so does John Paulson, the hedge fund kingpin. Yes, all five have fat bank accounts, even now, and all have made their share of headlines. But these current and former giants of finance also are all card-carrying M.B.A.’s.

False Positives on Plagiarism
Inside Higher Ed | March 13, 2009
Student plagiarism drives professors crazy. And even as some question the educational value of trying to detect and punish plagiarism, services that review papers for lack of originality are popular with many college administrators and professors. One area within academe where skepticism of plagiarism detection services has been high is among those who actually teach writing. Past meetings of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, which attract thousands of composition and rhetoric instructors, have featured sessions debating the uses of such services.

Harvard Doctor Resigns After Plagiarism Charge
Bloomberg News | March 13, 2009
Harvard Medical School doctor Lee Simon, accused last year of plagiarizing a scientific article on immune disease, has resigned. Simon, a rheumatologist at the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, resigned last week, said David Cameron, a spokesman for the Boston-based medical school. He was also a former staff member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Boston College Freezes Pay After Endowment Loss
Bloomberg News | March 13, 2009
Boston College will freeze some salaries and cut other operating expenses after the school’s endowment lost 25 percent of its value in the past six months.

Tufts Says It Will Lay Off Dozen, Freeze Pay
Boston Globe | March 12, 2009
Tufts University has frozen salaries and laid off more than a dozen staff members, but says it will be able to balance its budget for the next two years, despite a projected 30 percent dip in its endowment.

Spending Bill Could Lower Price of Contraceptives at Campus Health Centers
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 12, 2009
The $410-billion spending bill that President Obama signed on Wednesday contains a provision that will allow pharmaceutical companies to once again supply college-health clinics with discounted birth-control pills and other contraceptives.

Grade Inflation Continues at Varying Pace in Colleges, Says Researcher
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 12, 2009
Is “A” really for average? At some highly selective private colleges, perhaps it is, according to a new analysis of grade-point averages released this week by Stuart Rojstaczer, a retired professor known for his study of grade inflation.

US, College to Offer Degrees to West Bank Palestinians Enrolled in Joint Program
Associated Press | March 12, 2009
A first-of-its-kind collaboration between an American college and a Palestinian university will allow Palestinian students to earn American degrees on a West Bank campus.

Temple Says Fund-raising Campaign Good but Not Great
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 11, 2009
Temple University expects to exceed its fund-raising campaign goal of $350 million by its December deadline, but not by as large of an amount as officials had originally anticipated.

Black Graduation Gap Grows at Maryland Universities
Baltimore Sun | March 11, 2009
African-American students are falling further behind their peers at state universities, according to data released yesterday that show a widening gap in graduation rates despite efforts to close it.

University of California System Raises Tuition for May by 9.3%
Bloomberg News | March 11, 2009
The University of California system raised tuition for its courses that begin in May by 9.3 percent, working to help close a $115 million budget shortfall.

A Focus on Outcomes
Inside Higher Ed | March 10, 2009
President Obama is making a serious play to become the education president his predecessors have angled to be. Two weeks after he challenged every American to get at least one year of college and proposed a 2010 budget that would significantly refashion the student loan and Pell Grant programs, the president plans to return to the theme of education as key to the country's economic future and its citizens' personal advancement.

Editorial: Medical Mistakes
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 10, 2009
The New Jersey Legislature should approve a bill that would require the state to make public the number of preventable mistakes that occur each year at individual hospitals.

For Universities, Expected Shift on Stem-Cell Funds Means New Opportunities and New Risks
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 09, 2009
President Obama plans to sign an executive order today largely ending eight years of limits on federal financing of human-embryonic-stem-cell research that have tangled university laboratories in bureaucracy while slowing advances in one of the most promising fields of medical research.

Applications Drop 20% at Williams as Economy Sours
Bloomberg News | March 09, 2009
Applications dropped at seven of the top eight liberal-arts colleges in the U.S., led by a 20 percent plunge at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Offensive E-mail Roils Dartmouth Campus
Boston Globe | March 08, 2009
Just one day after Dartmouth College became the first Ivy League school to appoint an Asian-American president, one of its students marred the historic moment with a racist e-mail sent out over a daily satirical campus listserv.

In Shifting Era of Admissions, Colleges Sweat
New York Times | March 07, 2009
As colleges weigh this year’s round of applications, high school seniors are not the only anxious ones. Just as nervously, colleges — facing a financial landscape they have never seen before — are trying to figure out how many students to accept, and how many students will accept them.

Cornell University Cuts Spending, Plans $500 Million Bond Sale
Bloomberg News | March 07, 2009
Cornell University, facing a budget deficit, will cut endowment spending by 15 percent and raise as much as $500 million from selling bonds.

Stanford University Cuts Spending 13% as Endowment Value Slides
Bloomberg News | March 07, 2009
Stanford University, with the third- largest endowment in the U.S. last year, will freeze salaries as it cuts $100 million, or 13 percent, from its general funds budget starting in September.

University Draws Fire Over Accusations of Animal Cruelty
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 06, 2009
ABC's news program Nightline showed a report Wednesday night alleging abuse of chimpanzees at the New Iberia Research Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The report followed, and partially relied upon, video shot at the facility by the Humane Society of the United States, a leading animal-protection organization (The Chronicle, March 4). The news report fanned the fires of controversy surrounding the center and the charges of mistreatment of research animals, and U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday to severely limit animal research.

Failure of George Mason U.'s Persian Gulf Campus Sparks Concern About Overseas Ventures
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 06, 2009
Late last month, when George Mason University’s campus in the Persian Gulf emirate of Ras al Khaymah became the first American educational venture in the region to collapse, its administrators immediately blamed the international economic meltdown.

Sabbaticals on Leave
Inside Higher Ed | March 06, 2009
Considered one of the great benefits granted college professors, the sabbatical is that rare occasion when a professor’s work can become his life.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 32 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 06, 2009
The 32 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $306.2-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

2 Universities Seek Answers After $114-Million Vanishes in an Alleged Swindle
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 05, 2009
Panic set in on Friday, February 13. That's when administrators at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University began to worry that $114-million they had invested with two Wall Street veterans might have vanished.

Endowment Declines Continue, Survey Indicates
Chronicle of Higher Education | March 05, 2009
A new survey from the Commonfund Institute on the investment performance of 235 education endowments found that the funds earned an average return of minus-24.1 percent in the six months ending December 31, 2008.

University of Chicago Cuts Budget as Endowment Drops
Bloomberg News | March 05, 2009
The University of Chicago reduced operating budgets for this year and next and halted $30 million in building projects after its endowment fell 30 percent.

Rutgers Sees 50% Jump in Transfers as Economy Sours
Bloomberg News | March 05, 2009
Denise Corsini transferred in January from the private University of Tampa in Florida to the public Rutgers University in her home state of New Jersey, saving as much as $10,000 a year.

Budget Cuts Endanger Stem-cell Research in N.J.
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 04, 2009
It seems like just yesterday that Gov. Corzine was pushing to put New Jersey on the cutting edge of stem-cell research. What a difference a recession makes.

Doctors Try to Halt Patients' Negative Online Reviews
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 04, 2009
Some doctors have started fighting back against ugly Internet reviews by asking patients to abide by what are effectively gag orders that bar them from posting negative comments online.

Yale Raises Attendance Costs 3.3% to $47,500 for Next Year
Bloomberg News | March 04, 2009
Yale University said it will cost undergraduates at Yale College 3.3 percent more to attend next academic year, joining fellow Ivy League and other selective universities in raising tuition and cutting budgets in the face of declining endowments.

Schools Crunch Calculus of Stimulus
Wall Street Journal | March 03, 2009
Schools struggling with some of their worst budget crises in generations are taking stock of President Obama's stimulus package -- hoping the money will restore funding for things like textbooks, teacher salaries and tuition.

New Hopkins President Enters in Rough Times
Baltimore Sun | March 02, 2009
As Ronald J. Daniels becomes the 14th president of the Johns Hopkins University today, he's expected to eat lunch with students in a dining hall and take a campus tour. That's about the most fun he'll be allowed.

Letting Caregivers Say They Are Sorry
Philadelphia Inquirer | March 02, 2009
One of the first lessons parents teach their children is to say "I'm sorry" when their actions cause hurt or an unintended consequence. I certainly teach my children to acknowledge their mistakes, not run from them.

Scientists Fear Visa Trouble Will Drive Foreign Students Away
New York Times | March 02, 2009
When Alena Shkumatava opens the door to the “fish lab” at the Whitehead Institute of M.I.T., she encounters warm, aquarium-scented air and shelf after shelf of foot-long tanks, each containing one or more zebra fish. She studies the tiny fish in her quest to unravel one of the knottiest problems in biology: how the acting of genes is encouraged or inhibited in cells.

Dartmouth College Names Jim Yong Kim as President
Wall Street Journal | March 02, 2009
Dartmouth College named a Harvard University doctor and anthropologist, Jim Yong Kim, as its new president. The Ivy League school, based in Hanover, N.H., had earlier announced that its president, James Wright, would retire after 11 years.

Well-Regarded Public Colleges Get a Surge of Bargain Hunters
New York Times | March 01, 2009
Admissions officers at the State University of New York college campus here are suddenly afraid of getting what they have always wished for: legions of top high-school seniors saying “yes” to their fat envelopes.

The Biggest Campus Paycheck May Not Be the President's
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 27, 2009
Congress and other watchdogs have grilled colleges in recent years for what some regard as the excessive pay of their chief executives. But presidents and chancellors are a minority of the highest-compensated college employees, a Chronicle analysis has found.

George Mason U. Will Close Its Campus in the Persian Gulf
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 27, 2009
George Mason University has decided to shut down its branch campus in the Persian Gulf emirate of Ras al Khaymah, after its local partners drastically slashed the campus’s operating budget while expecting the university to nearly double the number of students enrolled at the campus, the university's provost said Thursday.

Surgeon's Royalties Bring Heat to a Medical School With a Strict Ethics Policy
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 27, 2009
The University of Wisconsin enjoys a sterling reputation for policing the ethics of its medical school faculty and staff.

Colleges Warning Students About Travel to Mexico
Associated Press | February 27, 2009
The State Department and universities around the country are warning college students headed to Mexico for spring break of a surge in drug-related murder and mayhem south of the border.

Mount Holyoke President to Resign
New York Times | February 26, 2009
Joanne V. Creighton, president of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., announced she would step down at the end of the 2009-10 academic year. Since Dr. Creighton became president in 1996, Mount Holyoke, a women’s college, has had a 50 percent increase in applications. Currently, 18 percent of students are from outside the United States, and 20 percent of its domestic students are eligible for Pell Grants. Founded in 1837, Mount Holyoke is the oldest of the Seven Sisters colleges.

Harvard to Curtail Major Land Purchases in Allston
Boston Globe | February 26, 2009
Harvard's president, Drew Faust, said yesterday that the university owns nearly all the land it needs to expand in Allston, but she stopped short of pledging a moratorium on acquisitions in the neighborhood, where residents are increasingly vexed by decaying Harvard-owned parcels as development plans are put on hold.

Big Changes on the Way in Lending to Students
New York Times | February 26, 2009
The Obama administration outlined a vast overhaul of financial aid programs for college students, one that would end years of federal support to banks and other lenders, in its budget proposal unveiled on Thursday.

Giving: Up, but Going Down
Inside Higher Ed | February 25, 2009
One by one the annual studies of higher education finance -- state college budgets, endowments levels, etc. -- have come out, finding that last year was a good one -- and that change (for the worse) is a-comin'. Add to the list today's Voluntary Support of Education report from the Council for Aid to Education, which documents charitable giving to higher education.

Cuts Likely at Temple Health
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 25, 2009
Edmond Notebaert, the new leader of Temple University Health System, yesterday warned of $40 million to $50 million in spending cuts this year, but he was short on details on how those savings would be achieved.

Big U.S. Role in Lending to Students
New York Times | February 25, 2009
The federal government has quietly increased its support of the student loan market to such a degree that the real question may be whether there is a role left for private lenders at all.

Allston Residents Blast Harvard Officials
Boston Globe | February 24, 2009
Harvard University officials attempted to placate Allston residents at a standing-room-only community meeting last night by reiterating the school's commitment to the neighborhood despite an expected delay in expanding its campus across the Charles River.

Economy Lifting College Prospects of the Well-heeled
Boston Globe | February 24, 2009
For students applying to college, it's a very good year to have strong grades and deep pockets. Especially the latter. As colleges and universities provide more financial aid to families hit by the recession, they are also more likely to give wealthier students preference in admissions and scholarships to help offset that extra cost, according to college administrators and consultants.

An Option to Save $40,000: Squeeze College Into 3 Years
New York Times | February 24, 2009
Here’s one way of cutting college costs: get a degree in three years, instead of four. This fall, Hartwick College, a small liberal arts college in Oneonta, N.Y., will offer students the option of doing just that, at a savings of more than $40,000.

Fordham Reaches a Compromise on Its Expansion Plans
New York Times | February 24, 2009
Fordham University, after months of contentious discussions with community groups and elected officials, has reached a compromise on its proposal to turn its four-building site near Lincoln Center into a 12-building campus.

Study Abroad Shifts in Troubled Economic Times
Inside Higher Ed | February 23, 2009
A conference session here on being proactive in economically reactive times attracted a (proactive or reactive?) crowd. “The size of this audience, given the number of people here, shows that misery does love company,” Stevan Trooboff, president and CEO of the Council on International Educational Exchange, said Friday during the Forum on Education Abroad’s fifth annual conference.

The Big Test Before College? The Financial Aid Form
New York Times | February 21, 2009
Most everyone agrees that something is very wrong with the six-page federal form for families seeking help with college costs. Created in 1992 to simplify applying for financial aid, it has become so intimidating — with more than 100 questions — that critics say it scares off the very families most in need, preventing some teenagers from going to college.

Four Animal Activists Arrested for Allegedly Harassing UC Researchers
Los Angeles Times | February 21, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco -- Four animal activists have been arrested for their alleged roles in attacking and harassing animal researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz over the last 18 months, the FBI announced Friday.

Flat Applications to Law Schools Spark Worry
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 21, 2009
With a few notable exceptions, applications are flat this year compared with last at law schools nationally and in the Philadelphia region - a trend that is worrisome to some legal educators.

Labor Bill Would Make Organizing Unions Easier
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 20, 2009
The election of President Obama and Democrats' gains in Congress have provided momentum for contentious legislation that could make it significantly easier for employees of private colleges to unionize. The measure may also help settle the dispute over whether faculty members and graduate students should have the right to engage in collective bargaining.

Backers of Title IX Hope Obama Will End 'Stalemate' Over Enforcement
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 20, 2009
Supporters of Title IX say they hope that President Obama will step up enforcement of the federal gender-equity law and help college athletics departments comply with its requirements during a time of fiscal hardship.

Hundreds Gather to Support N.Y.U. Protest
New York Times | February 20, 2009
Hundreds of people gathered outside the New York University student center early Friday in support of protesters who had been barricaded in the building’s cafeteria for more than 24 hours and who had ignored the university’s 1 a.m. deadline to end the demonstration.

NU Offering Postgraduate Tuition Break
Boston Globe | February 20, 2009
Northeastern University seniors and recent graduates will receive a 25 percent tuition break on master's and professional programs beginning this summer, the college announced yesterday.

Short Study-Abroad Trips Can Have Lasting Effect, Research Suggests
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 20, 2009
The length of time students study overseas has no significant impact on whether they become globally engaged later in life, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, a conclusion that is sure to add fuel to the already fiery debate over the efficacy of increasingly popular short-term study-abroad programs.

Pitt Gets Parkinson's Funds Due to Madoff Losses
Associated Press | February 20, 2009
The University of Pittsburgh is receiving $75,000 in emergency funds for Parkinson's disease research in the wake of losses due to the Bernard Madoff financial scandal.

Harvard Slows Its Growth in a Boston Neighborhood
New York Times | February 19, 2009
Harvard University announced Wednesday that it would slow its expansion into the Allston neighborhood of Boston because of a steep decline in the university’s endowment and other economic pressures.

Nonprofits Nervous over Philadelphia Tax Proposal
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 19, 2009
Nonprofit organizations fear a proposed amendment to Philadelphia's tax regulations will allow the city to tax an array of activities that they have always assumed were exempt.

Brandeis Woes Put President on the Line
Boston Globe | February 18, 2009
When Jehuda Reinharz took the helm of Brandeis University in 1994, it was, as one professor put it, a university with champagne ambitions operating on a beer budget. As president, Reinharz, whose charisma and personal story have charmed legions of donors, raised hundreds of millions of dollars and propelled the private Waltham school into one of the top colleges in the country.

University of Tennessee President Suddenly Resigns
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 18, 2009
University of Tennessee President John Petersen abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he met his goals and wasn't forced out.

Taking Raises, and Taking Heat
Inside Higher Ed | February 17, 2009
College presidents who declined raises and bonuses this year may have lost money, but they gained goodwill and political capital. As might be expected, the opposite appears true for those who clung to their often generous rewards even as budgets were slashed.

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes
New York Times | February 17, 2009
Prof. Marshall Grossman has come to expect complaints whenever he returns graded papers in his English classes at the University of Maryland.

UC Wants the Truth on Student Applications
Los Angeles Times | February 17, 2009
Reporting from Concord -- The gray-and-green warehouse in suburban Concord seems an unlikely headquarters for a statewide detective operation, and the fact checkers at work there insist they are not mercilessly probing the lives of California's teenagers.

Bill Would Limit College Credit-card Offers
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 16, 2009
Credit-card companies would be required to tell potential customers about the dangers of debt before issuing credit cards on college campuses under a bill moving through the New Jersey Legislature.

College Campuses Debate Administrators' Lofty Pay
BusinessWeek | February 16, 2009
The president of the University of Florida got a nearly $300,000 performance bonus in 2008. So did the head of Florida State University. Meanwhile, Governor Charlie Crist authorized double-digit tuition increases at all public universities in Florida, which has been hit hard by foreclosures and bankruptcies. But largesse for university presidents wasn't confined to the Sunshine State last year.

Students Aim for Gun Rights on Campus
Washington Post | February 15, 2009
Kyle Smith agreed to play the bad guy. In a scenario eerily designed to imitate the Virginia Tech massacre, when a lone gunman shot and killed 32 people in the nine minutes it took for campus police to respond, Smith burst into a classroom here Saturday, his right index finger pointed as if it were a gun drawn, and immediately "shot" the teacher between the eyes.

Colleges and Students Cheer Congress's Economic-Stimulus Deal
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 13, 2009
The compromise, $789-billion economic-stimulus bill that Congress is planning to try to deliver to President Obama by Monday contains large sums of money for student aid and biomedical research, and would give states billions of dollars to ease budget cuts to colleges and schools.

Tufts Dean to Be Named Envoy to N. Korea
Boston Globe | February 13, 2009
Having recently returned from a fact-finding trip to North Korea, Stephen W. Bosworth, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, will have little time to unpack his bags in Medford before heading back to the region - this time as President Obama's special envoy to North Korea, according to administration officials.

Johns Hopkins Cuts Salaries, Hiring as Fund Falls 20%
Bloomberg News | February 13, 2009
Johns Hopkins University is freezing hiring for faculty and staff and cutting executives’ salaries after its investments fell about 20 percent in the second half of 2008 because of the global financial crisis.

EEOC Can Sue Public University, Court Rules
Inside Higher Ed | February 11, 2009
The Eleventh Amendment protects public universities from lawsuits by former employees under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act — but it does not prevent the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from suing the colleges on the aggrieved employees’ behalf, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Harvard Offers Early Retirement Packages
Boston Globe | February 11, 2009
Harvard University is offering voluntary early retirement to staff members as its latest move to cut costs, according to a university announcement yesterday. The program, available to staff over 55 years old who have worked at Harvard for 10 or more years, follows salary freezes and closer scrutiny over hiring. "We have taken a variety of steps to respond to the current financial situation," said Kevin Galvin, Harvard spokesman. "The early retirement program is another step in that process."

Harvard Retreated From U.S. Stocks as Market Tumbled
Bloomberg News | February 11, 2009
Harvard University, the richest U.S. college, sold 67 percent of the U.S. stocks held by its endowment in the fourth quarter as the equities market endured its biggest loss in 21 years.

Harvard University to Offer Buyouts to 1,600 Workers
Bloomberg News | February 11, 2009
Harvard University will offer buyouts to about 1,600 non-faculty employees as the school slashes its budget after losing at least $8 billion, or 22 percent, from its endowment.

Survey of Chief Academic Officers Raises Concerns About Diversity and Longevity
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 10, 2009
The top academic post at colleges—chief academic officer—tends to be a fairly short-term job and is not nearly the steppingstone to the presidency that it should be, says a report issued on Monday by the American Council on Education.

Politicians Praise and Pressure Colleges
Inside Higher Ed | February 10, 2009
Margaret Spellings was not among the politicians who spoke at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting here Monday, but she was indirectly a factor in the warm reception received by those who did. Her replacement, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, is very much in his honeymoon phase, and he generated a standing ovation from the assembled college presidents before he even uttered a word, primarily because he is not Spellings. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who spoke an hour later, was similarly well-received, in large part because the Tennessee Republican (and former U.S. education secretary) fended off what he viewed as the Spellings Education Department’s attempts to interfere inappropriately in higher education.

Who Gets What: Stimulus Would Give Colleges and Students Unprecedented Influx of Aid
Associated Press | February 09, 2009
The stimulus plan emerging in Washington could offer an unprecedented, multibillion-dollar boost in financial help for college students trying to pursue a degree while they ride out the recession.

Dartmouth to Cut 60 Jobs After 18% Endowment Decline
Bloomberg News | February 09, 2009
Dartmouth College, the smallest school in the Ivy League, will fire 60 of its 3,300 non-faculty employees after its endowment value fell 18 percent because of the global recession.

Applications Surge at Cooper Union
New York Times | February 08, 2009
Afreen Juli, a senior at the Bronx High School of Science, applied early to Cooper Union, a college in Manhattan that specializes in engineering, art and architecture. So did 10 of her classmates, the most ever from Bronx Science, one of the city’s most selective public schools.

Harvard Presses on with Plans to Boost Its Arts Programs
Boston Globe | February 08, 2009
Harvard University president Drew Faust's arts initiative, announced in December amid dismal budget projects, will become a reality after all - at least parts of it.

Universities Building, but Warily
Boston Globe | February 08, 2009
Harvard University, Lesley University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - all of them significant taxpayers, land owners, and employers in Cambridge - came before the Cambridge Planning Board last Tuesday night to talk about the future of their institutions and how the downturn in the economy has affected their planning and development initiatives.

New Medical-School Programs Put Students on a Fast Track to the White Coat
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 06, 2009
In January, California's lieutenant governor proposed a fast-track medical school that would shave three years off the training needed to become a physician. It wasn't the first time such an idea had raised eyebrows.

Downturn in Federal Research Spending
Inside Higher Ed | February 06, 2009
In urging lawmakers to crank up spending on scientific research in the economic stimulus package Congress is now debating, university lobbyists have focused their rhetoric on the potential of the money to produce jobs and “expand the knowledge base and produce the discoveries that will sustain and improve the nation’s economic competitiveness,” as the Association of American Universities put it in a letter to senators this week. Given the bill’s purpose and the political necessities of the times, that focus makes sense.

Without Change, Campus Arts Programs Could Risk Their Survival
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 06, 2009
Buried in the recent news about big endowment losses and the steps colleges are taking to weather the economic crisis is an emerging pattern: Culture, it would seem, is expendable.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 34 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 06, 2009
The 34 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $1.166-billion in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

U.S. Officials Arrest Rwandan Teacher
Associated Press | February 06, 2009
A Maryland college professor accused of genocide in his home country of Rwanda has been arrested for being in the U.S. illegally, immigration officials said Thursday.

Brandeis President Issues an Apology
Boston Globe | February 06, 2009
Brandeis University president Jehuda Reinharz issued a public mea culpa to the university community yesterday, admitting that he mishandled last week's announcement about the planned closing of the school's Rose Art Museum.

UC Regents Move Toward Easing Admissions Requirements
Los Angeles Times | February 05, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco -- University of California regents Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a controversial change in freshman admission standards that would drop the requirement for two SAT subject exams and make more students eligible for a review of their applications while guaranteeing entry to fewer.

Brawl Leads Cheyney to Ban Campus Parties
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 04, 2009
Cheyney University has temporarily banned campus parties after fights broke out among revelers Saturday night, leading police to use Tasers and pepper spray to disperse a crowd of hundreds, university officials and police said.

Blacks Less Likely to Take A.P. Exam
New York Times | February 04, 2009
More than 15 percent of the three million students who graduated from public high schools last year passed at least one Advanced Placement exam, the College Board said Wednesday, but African-American students were still far less likely to have passed, or to even have taken, an A.P. exam than white, Hispanic or Asian students.

Professor Accused of Genocide Is Removed From Teaching Duties
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 03, 2009
A professor of French at Goucher College has been removed from his teaching duties pending investigations into accusations that he was involved in the 1994 genocide in his native Rwanda.

Downturn Threatens the Faculty's Role in Running Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 02, 2009
Professors are losing their grip. Tough economic times are leading administrators to propose swift changes that short-circuit faculty governance, long a prized principle that gives professors wide-ranging authority over educational matters.

U.S. Academics Lag in Internationalization, New Paper Says
Chronicle of Higher Education | February 02, 2009
American professors who have spent time abroad as adults are more likely to incorporate international perspectives into their teaching and research, according to a new paper written by a group of researchers at Seton Hall University.

Not So Thrilled
Inside Higher Ed | February 02, 2009
Colleges like “Athena,” “Dupont” and “Corinth” have served as settings for celebrated and popular novels that explore the sometimes-seamy underbelly of academe. In creating these fictional institutions, Philip Roth, Tom Wolfe and Alison Lurie obeyed an unwritten rule in the genre of acadmic novels: Don’t pick on real colleges, and be accurate and fair if you absolutely must name an existing institution.

Lone Male Student Rooms at Bryn Mawr
Philadelphia Inquirer | February 02, 2009
Whether eating in the dining hall, strolling across campus, chilling in his dorm room, or rehearsing for a musical, James Merriam is, no doubt about it, an oddity at Bryn Mawr College - and not because of his long, persimmon-hued hair.

In Campus-Crime Reports, There's Little Safety in the Numbers
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 30, 2009
Numbers suggest certainty, and when it comes to campus crime, everybody wants answers. That's what the Clery Act set out to reveal: How many rapes, burglaries, assaults? When? Where? Enacted nearly two decades ago, the federal law requires colleges to send the government lengthy reports each year, detailing their policies and tallying their total crimes.

The $7-Billion Patch for Campus Maintenance
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 30, 2009
Now that a multibillion-dollar stimulus bill is moving through Congress in the latest attempt to bail out a faltering economy, the lawmakers and pundits who seemed to be asleep at the wheel over the past decade are suddenly gripped by the virtue of fiscal responsibility. They are criticizing parts of the bill that they find wasteful. Higher-education administrators should beware: This newfound righteousness and ire could soon point their way.

Recession on Top of Energy Crisis May Mean Power Boost for Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 29, 2009
For many Americans, the confluence of a recession and a growing realization that the nation needs to end its reliance on fossil fuels seems like a double whammy of bad news. But for the nation's research universities, it may be a golden opportunity.

Harvard Alumni Protest Investors’ Pay After Fund Loss
Bloomberg News | January 29, 2009
Harvard University alumni are protesting bonuses paid to the school’s money managers after its endowment, the largest in higher education, fell $8 billion in the four months through October.

U.S. Said to Give $60 Billion Student-Loan Backing
Bloomberg News | January 29, 2009
The U.S. Treasury agreed to commit as much as $60 billion to shore up the market for student loans and help reduce the illiquid assets clogging banks’ balance sheets, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Return of Grad Union Movement
Inside Higher Ed | January 28, 2009
Unions worked hard for President Obama in November — and those in academic unions have had high hopes that his actions would revive the movement to organize graduate teaching assistants at private universities.

Brandeis Students Promise Uproar Over Museum Closing
Bloomberg News | January 28, 2009
Brandeis University students called for a sit-in tomorrow to protest the school’s decision to close a museum and sell 6,000 art pieces.

Los Angeles Times
Inside Higher Ed | January 27, 2009
After a year of riding high, educational endowment investments began a downward spiral in the 2008 fiscal year, and the first half of 2009 was particularly brutal, according to two new reports released Tuesday.

Brandeis U. Plans to Close Its Museum and Sell Its Valuable Art Collection
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 27, 2009
Recession worries have claimed their latest academic victim: Brandeis University announced on Monday that it would close its art museum and auction off its collection of contemporary art, which includes works by Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, and Andy Warhol.

Outcry Over a Plan to Sell Museum’s Holdings
New York Times | January 27, 2009
The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said on Tuesday that it planned to conduct a detailed review of Brandeis University’s surprise decision to sell off the entire holdings of its Rose Art Museum, one of the most important collections of postwar art in New England.

Sorting Out the Stimulus
Inside Higher Ed | January 26, 2009
College leaders confident that the federal government’s economic stimulus package would pour billions of dollars into higher education should probably take a deep breath. A version of the legislation introduced in the Senate Friday would be somewhat less generous to colleges and students than the financial package unveiled by the House the week before, and while President Obama emphasized science and student aid in laying out his own plan Saturday, Republicans are balking at many of the spending proposals that would most benefit higher education.

To Protect and Amuse
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 23, 2009
Glocks and handcuffs are fine, but for two police officers at the University of Texas at Austin, levity is the best crime-fighting tool of all.

Anticipating Stimulus Money for Campus Projects, Colleges Get ‘Shovel Ready’
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 23, 2009
In almost the same breath in his inauguration speech this week, President Obama touted green technology and his desire for higher education to make changes to meet America's evolving needs.

Hopkins Campaign Raises a 'Stunning' $3.7 Billion
Washington Post | January 23, 2009
Johns Hopkins officials announced last night that they have raised more than $3.7 billion in an 8 1/2 -year fundraising effort, the second-largest total ever raised in a U.S. university campaign.

Changing Skyline: Temple's Artless New Building
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 23, 2009
The kind of places that make us feel good are those where the buildings follow a natural logic. In cities, we like our buildings to behave like soldiers on review. They're most appealing when they stand up straight and everyone in the row faces the same direction.

Academics Also Need New Jobs
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 23, 2009
A few weeks ago, I received a sad e-mail from one of my graduate students. She had recently interviewed for a very competitive job at an elite liberal-arts college, and everything seemed to go well. Shortly thereafter, though, she found out that she didn't get the job.

Many Phila. Area Students in College Took Some Remedial Courses
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 22, 2009
Almost half of the students from the Philadelphia area who entered state four-year and community colleges in 2007-08 took some remedial courses, evidence that having high school diplomas did not prepare them adequately, the state's education secretary said yesterday.

U. of California to Consider Covering Tuition for Families Below State's Median Income
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 22, 2009
The University of California's president, Mark G. Yudof, will propose that the university promise to cover tuition and fees for undergraduate students whose families make less than the state's median household income, $60,000 per year.

Colleges Convert Cooking Oil Into Biodiesel Fuel
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 22, 2009
Forgive the students at Sinclair Community College if they get the munchies when they pass the tractors that cut grass, blow leaves or sweep snow on campus: Oil that once cooked french fries and onion rings is being used to power the vehicles.

Survey: Politics, Money Concern College Freshmen
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 22, 2009
More than ever, politics and money are on the minds of new college students. The latest installment of a giant annual survey of college freshmen shows political engagement at a 40-year high, and more students than ever planning to take jobs on the side and settling for second-choice schools.

Study Sees an Obama Effect as Lifting Black Test-Takers
New York Times | January 22, 2009
Educators and policy makers, including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, have said in recent days that they hope President Obama’s example as a model student could inspire millions of American students, especially blacks, to higher academic performance.

Dartmouth to Cut Budget After Endowment Loses 18%
Bloomberg News | January 22, 2009
Dartmouth College, the smallest school in the Ivy League, plans to cut spending by 8.6 percent after its endowment fell $700 million in the final six months of 2008.

In Inaugural Address, Obama Vows to Restore 'Rightful Place' of Science
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 21, 2009
Barack Hussein Obama, a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, was sworn in on Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States and promptly vowed to put science and technology at the center of his efforts to restart the nation's ailing economy.

Parents Sue Ohio State Over Elevator Death
Associated Press | January 21, 2009
Ohio State University is being sued by the family of a student killed more than two years ago by a dormitory elevator.

Columbia Law School Uncovers $3 Million Loss Related to Madoff
Bloomberg News | January 21, 2009
Columbia University uncovered a $3 million loss related to Bernard Madoff, the school said. An alumnus, whose name wasn’t made public, made a 1980 gift to Columbia’s law school while retaining the right to decide how the money should be invested, the university said today.

2009 Philadelphia Sustainability Awards: Schools & Universities
Philadelphia Inquirer (GREENandSAVE.com Team) | January 19, 2009
Across the Philadelphia-area, students of all ages are being immersed into the green world. Starting their green education at a young age will have magnificent results on the attitudes of the next generation. There are already a great number of youngsters who are doing their part, and moving their schools in the right direction.

Pa.'s Franklin & Marshall Shutters Frat House
Associated Press | January 17, 2009
A fraternity house at Franklin & Marshall College has been closed because of safety concerns. College President John Fry has removed the Phi Kappa Tau house from the college's approved housing list for after it received a series of safety citations from Lancaster city officials.

Forecast Adjusted...Downward
Inside Higher Ed | January 16, 2009
What a difference a global financial crisis makes. While it’s not surprising that college fund raisers expect giving to decline this calendar year, a new report shows just how dramatically development officers’ outlooks have changed in the last few months.

Admissions Officials Anticipate a Spring of Uncertainty
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 16, 2009
Across the nation, college admissions staffs are digging through applications and beginning to predict their enrollment numbers for the fall, just as they do at this time every year. Based on what he has heard from colleges, David A. Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, describes 2009 as "a typical admissions year—with a big asterisk."

Families Await Sharpest Tuition Increases in Years
Associated Press | January 15, 2009
Most high school seniors and their families have not made final college plans for next fall. But they know this: It's probably going to cost more than they had planned.

Students Covering Bigger Share of Costs of College
New York Times | January 15, 2009
College students are covering more of what it costs to educate them, even as most colleges are spending less on students, according to a new study. The study, based on data that colleges and universities report to the federal government, also found that the share of higher education budgets that goes to instruction has declined, while the portion spent on administrative costs has increased.

Temple U, Facing Fiscal Woes, Cuts Next Year's Budget 5 Percent
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 15, 2009
To deal with declining state revenue and mounting financial woes related to the economy, Temple University will cut its budget for next year by 5 percent or $40 million and freeze salaries for non-union employees, President Ann Weaver Hart said this evening in an e-mail to employees and other members of the university community.

Harvard Medical School to Review Drug Research Ethics
Bloomberg News | January 15, 2009
Harvard Medical School, which lists more than 10,000 faculty members, said a committee will review its policy on conflicts of interest on drug research.

2 Groups Sue to Stop Drexel Campus in Calif.
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 14, 2009
Two groups have sued to stop a deal under which Drexel University would operate a campus outside of Sacramento, Calif.

Drexel Establishes $100,000 Academia Prize
Philadelphia Business Journal | January 14, 2009
Drexel University said Tuesday it has established a $100,000 award for exceptional achievement by a faculty member or researcher at a college, university or nonprofit research institution in the United States.

Centers of Attention
Inside Higher Ed | January 13, 2009
It wasn’t too long ago that Boston University officials started talking a big game about significantly increasing the size of its faculty and pushing into the major leagues of private research institutions. The economic downturn may delay that transformation, but university leaders say a dose of tough love can help keep the dream alive.

Princeton to Sell $750 Million of 10-, 30-Year Debt
Bloomberg News | January 13, 2009
Princeton University plans to sell $750 million of debt as soon as today, according to a person familiar with the offering.

Oxford University Says Investments Tumble 14
Bloomberg News | January 13, 2009
Oxford University, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, said its endowment fell by 14 percent to the end of October, hurting funding for student scholarships and building works.

The I.R.S. Considers Pressing Schools to Further Reveal Their Business Activities
New York Times | January 13, 2009
The Internal Revenue Service is considering expanding its scrutiny of colleges and universities to focus on billions of dollars associated with academic research, federal financing and intellectual property, a senior agency official said on Tuesday.

The I.R.S. Considers Pressing Schools to Further Reveal Their Business Activities
New York Times | January 13, 2009
The Internal Revenue Service is considering expanding its scrutiny of colleges and universities to focus on billions of dollars associated with academic research, federal financing and intellectual property, a senior agency official said on Tuesday.

At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard
New York Times | January 12, 2009
For as long as anyone can remember, introductory physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was taught in a vast windowless amphitheater known by its number, 26-100.

Despite Raises, Pa. University Execs' Pay Lags
Associated Press | January 11, 2009
When Pennsylvania's system of 14 state-owned universities was in its infancy, its top executives took home relatively modest paychecks. For years, the State System of Higher Education took pains to ensure that no university president was paid more than the governor. Today, the picture is drastically different.

Pa.'s Newest Medical School Nears Funding Goal
Associated Press | January 11, 2009
Pennsylvania's first new medical school in 46 years is nearing a big funding goal. Within the next week, Commonwealth Medical College will likely have enough donations to fulfill its promise of scholarships of $20,000 a year , or $80,000 total , for all 60 members of its first class.

Colleges Protect Workers and Cut Elsewhere
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 09, 2009
Most colleges have steered through the first jolts of the recession without resorting to layoffs, cutting employee benefits, or imposing across-the-board freezes on hiring. But the economic pain is afflicting campuses in many other ways, according to the findings from a new survey of chief business officers conducted last month by The Chronicle and Moody's Investors Service.

Princeton Cuts Budget as Endowment Slides
Wall Street Journal | January 09, 2009
Princeton University announced budget cuts to offset a steep expected drop in its endowment, becoming the latest wealthy college to institute austerity measures.

Weak Economy Could Curtail Flow of Indian Students Into the U.S.
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 09, 2009
More than 94,000 Indian students enrolled at American colleges and universities in the fall of 2007—up nearly 24 percent from two years earlier—making India the largest source of foreign students in the United States. But that boom may come to an end in 2009.

High Ranks for Swarthmore
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 09, 2009
At Swarthmore College, the motto could be "no child left unfunded." The highly selective small private college this year gave out $24 million in financial aid, with about half of its 1,450 students getting a share.

Pa. Community College Free to Laid-off Workers
Associated Press | January 09, 2009
A Pittsburgh-area community college is offering free tuition to laid-off workers who want to take classes in five different educational programs.

Associated Press
Bloomberg News | January 09, 2009
The University of California system may cut the number of in-state first-year students by 2,300, or 6 percent, as the recession squeezes the budget.

College 2.0: A Wired Way to Rate Professors—and to Connect Teachers
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 08, 2009
Who is the most wired teacher at your college? The folks at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County know the answer on their campus: Gerald Canfield, an associate professor of information systems. He came out on top in the campus's latest rankings of “most active instructors” using the university’s course-management system.

Temple University Area Site of MLK Day Projects
Philadelphia Inquirer | January 08, 2009
The first annual Martin Luther King Day of Service in 1996 came on the heels of a huge snowstorm that blanketed the city and reduced the turnout for the planned citywide day of service to only about 1,000. This year, 13 years later, 65,000 volunteers are expected to participate in more than 650 community-service projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Giving Choice and Taking It Away
Inside Higher Ed | January 07, 2009
It’s all about the students. That’s the message that the College Board has been sending about its controversial Score Choice program since it was announced in June. That’s not quite the message the board has been sending colleges — which are being explicitly offered options by the College Board that would limit student choice over scores or result in admissions offices having score information that students might not want reviewed.

Yale University Hires Ivy League’s Second Black Football Coach
Bloomberg News | January 07, 2009
Yale University hired Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Tom Williams to run its football program, making him the second black coach of the sport in the Ivy League’s history.

Moody's Sees Stiff Challenges for Colleges—Especially Private Ones—in Next Year
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 06, 2009
A new annual-outlook report from Moody’s Investors Service says that higher-education institutions are facing a range of challenges in the next year and a half. Although all colleges will face hardship, private colleges will be especially stressed compared with public colleges and community colleges.

It's Time to Improve Academic, Not Just Administrative, Productivity
Chronicle of Higher Education | January 06, 2009
Events since September leave no doubt that the American economy is in the midst of a major restructuring. While the consequences are not yet fully apparent, two powerful implications for higher education have become clear.

Harvard Braces for Kagan Departure
Boston Globe | January 06, 2009
When Harvard Law School dean Elena Kagan was passed over for the presidency of Harvard University nearly two years ago, law students and faculty threw a party in her honor to celebrate her staying on.

Drexel Gets Biggest Gift Ever: $25M
Philadelphia Business Journal | January 06, 2009
Drexel University said Monday it has received the largest individual private gift in its history, $25 million, from a non-alumnus member of its board of trustees who requested to remain anonymous.

Villanova U. in Licensing Deal with Coca-Cola Bottler
Philadelphia Business Journal | January 06, 2009
Villanova University said Tuesday it has entered into a long-term contract with the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. that makes Coca-Cola products the official beverages of its dining halls, retail cafés, convenience stores and vending machines.

Moody’s Predicts Stiff Challenges for Colleges This Year
Boston Globe | January 06, 2009
Colleges are said to be recession-proof, but this economic downturn will be the exception, a new report from Moody's Investors Service predicts.

Something New Brews in Berkeley: Patriotic Pride
Boston Globe | January 04, 2009
The hundreds who massed at the University of California on election night responded to Barack Obama's victory by heading off on a route that has been for a generation the sacred way for the activist left: out the campus gates, through Sproul Plaza, and down Telegraph Avenue toward People's Park.

Colleges Profit as Banks Market Credit Cards to Students
New York Times | December 31, 2008
When Ryan T. Muneio was tailgating with his parents at a Michigan State football game this fall, he noticed a big tent emblazoned with a Bank of America logo. Inside, bank representatives were offering free T-shirts and other merchandise to those who applied for credit cards and other banking products.

SAT Changes Policy, Opening Rift With Colleges
New York Times | December 30, 2008
This March, high school juniors taking the SAT will have the option of choosing which scores to send to colleges while hiding those they do not want admissions officials to see.

How Not To Get Into College
Wall Street Journal | December 24, 2008
As members of the largest U.S. high-school graduating class in history race to finish college applications, many are making some comical mistakes. Based on behind-the-scenes tales from college and university officials interviewed for today’s “Work & Family” Column, here are this year’s top college-admissions gaffes...

Applications Soar at Public Colleges
Boston Globe | December 23, 2008
Students are applying to the state's public colleges and universities in record numbers, as the nation's financial crisis forces more families to consider less expensive schools.

System Announces Rules For Worker Furloughs
Washington Post | December 23, 2008
The University of Maryland has begun its short-term furloughs for employees, part of the state's effort to make budget cuts as the economy worsens.

Yale to Pay $7.6 Million to Settle Grant Accusations
Bloomberg News | December 23, 2008
Yale University agreed to pay $7.6 million to settle accusations that it mishandled federal research grants.

Frenemies on Facebook
Inside Higher Ed | December 22, 2008
Buy the T-shirt. Join the Facebook group. Such is the process — not necessarily in that order — for many college-bound high school seniors. So it’s perhaps no surprise that admissions officials and students alike felt betrayed when they learned dozens of Facebook groups devoted to the “Class of 2013” at various colleges appeared to have been created by non-students who were more interested in marketing than getting chummy with future classmates.

New School Sit-In Ends
Inside Higher Ed | December 22, 2008
Early Friday morning, student protesters at the New School vacated the dining hall they had occupied for more than 30 hours after President Bob Kerrey agreed to an updated list of demands. Kerrey and other top administrators do not, however, plan to resign, as the protesters had initially sought. Instead, among a handful of concessions, the university agreed to give students representation in the selection of a new provost and to establish a “socially responsible investing” committee for its endowment.

Emory Ousts Professor Accused of Glaxo Drug Conflict
Bloomberg News | December 22, 2008
Emory University said it removed Charles Nemeroff as chairman of the university’s psychiatry and behavioral sciences department after finding he failed to disclose more than $800,000 in payments from GlaxoSmithKline Plc as required by university conflict of interest rules.

Private Colleges Worry About a Dip in Enrollment
New York Times | December 21, 2008
First came the good news for St. Olaf College: early-decision applications were way up this year. Now comes the bad news: the number of regular applications is way down, about 30 percent fewer than at this time last year.

Harvard Fund Managers Clear $26.8 Million
Wall Street Journal | December 20, 2008
Annual pay for six top Harvard University endowment managers totaled $26.8 million in the latest academic year, up 15% from the year before.

China Entices Its Scholars to Come Home
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 19, 2008
As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in the 1990s, Yusheng Zheng used to get together with other Chinese scholars and dream of going home.

Recession Rattles Nerves in Fund-Raising Offices
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 19, 2008
After years of growth and earlier predictions that higher-education fund raising would escape the brunt of the economic crash, the recession has started to affect colleges' efforts in that area, according to results of a Chronicle of Higher Education–Moody's Investors Service survey. Predictions are that 2009 may be even tougher, with shrinking annual funds and even job cuts among fund raisers.

Temple Hospital Rumors Fly
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 19, 2008
Temple University Health System said yesterday that it was studying how it could make its Northeastern Hospital more "cost effective," but a nurses' union believes the system is planning to "virtually close" the community hospital, and it already has scheduled a protest.

U. of Michigan Buys Huge Pfizer Complex in Ann Arbor as Research Ambitions Grow
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 19, 2008
Talk about seizing the moment: Two years after Pfizer Inc. announced that it was closing its giant research complex in the University of Michigan's hometown of Ann Arbor, the university approved a deal on Thursday to buy the site for $108-million.

Harvard Fund’s Best-Paid Managers Got $25.9 Million
Bloomberg News | December 19, 2008
Harvard University, the world’s wealthiest institution of higher learning, paid its five best- compensated investment officers a combined $25.9 million to manage its endowment for the year ended June 30, before the fund plunged 22 percent.

Tufts Lost $20 Million by Investing in Madoff Fund
Bloomberg News | December 19, 2008
Tufts University, the 156-year-old school in Medford, Massachusetts, said it lost $20 million, or less than 2 percent of its endowment, by investing in a fund tied to Bernard Madoff.

What College Trustees Could Learn From the Madoff Scandal
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 18, 2008
In the aftermath of the arrest of Bernard L. Madoff, the Wall Street broker who has been accused of defrauding universities, charities, and other investors of tens of billions of dollars, people are raising questions. They look at the great returns on investments that Mr. Madoff reported—gains of more than 10 percent in markets good or bad—and say such returns didn't make sense.

State Officials Approve Expansion by Columbia
New York Times | December 18, 2008
Columbia University cleared a major hurdle on Thursday in its effort to expand its campus into Manhattanville when state officials voted to approve the project, opening the door for the use of eminent domain to allow the university to acquire land from holdout owners.

NU Names Morton Owen Schapiro as its 16th President
Chicago Tribune | December 17, 2008
Northwestern University announced Tuesday that Morton Owen Schapiro, president of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., will become the university's 16th president.

Stem Cell Research Pioneer Leaves Hopkins for University of Maryland
Baltimore Sun | December 17, 2008
Stem cell research pioneer Dr. Curt I. Civin has been named to lead the new Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Pushkin Comes to Shove for Harvard Faculty as Endowment Plunges
Bloomberg News | December 17, 2008
Harvard University professor Stephanie Sandler is paid to ponder Russian poetry. Since the school reported two weeks ago that its endowment had nosedived $8 billion because of the global economic crisis, Sandler is worried more about budgets than about Pushkin.

Obama to Pick Arne Duncan, Leader of Chicago's Public Schools, as Education Secretary
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 16, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama will pick Arne Duncan, a longtime friend who leads Chicago’s public-school system, as his education secretary, Democratic party sources said.

Yale’s Endowment Drops 13.4%
New York Times | December 16, 2008
Yale disclosed Tuesday that its endowment had fallen at least 13.4 percent in the four months since June as the decline in asset values during the financial crisis takes its toll on another university.

University of the Sciences, Wistar Spawn Facility
Philadelphia Business Journal | December 16, 2008
The Wistar Institute and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia are unveiling their $1.1 million molecular screening facility Tuesday.

Temptation to Learn
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 15, 2008
The 1982 vintage of Lafite-Rothschild is among the most storied wines of the last few decades. To the serious collector, it is worth several thousand dollars a bottle, Robert J. Levis explained to his listeners.

Governor to Unveil a Low-Cost Student Loan Program
New York Times | December 15, 2008
Gov. David A. Paterson plans to announce on Tuesday the creation of a low-cost student loan program to help 45,000 students in New York State secure credit and cope with tuition increases at both public and private colleges.

West Chester U. Names President
Philadelphia Business Journal | December 15, 2008
West Chester University of Pennsylvania said Monday that its new president will be Greg R. Weisenstein, a provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Dakota.

Columbia to Finish Section of Campus, 113 Years Later
New York Times | December 14, 2008
Columbia University is finally completing the northwest corner of its six-block main campus in Morningside Heights, 113 years after construction began there.

Bryn Mawr College eyeing campus in Abu Dhabi
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 12, 2008
Bryn Mawr College is looking into becoming the first American women's college to set up shop in the oil-rich Middle East, but some faculty and students worry that the move clashes with the school's history of feminism and could dilute the school's stellar program.

UConn Seeks Approval for Hospital Merger
New York Times | December 12, 2008
THE University of Connecticut Health Center, which has survived with the aid of $52 million in state bailouts since 2000, is now hoping for legislative approval to merge with Hartford Hospital.

Harvard Is Urged to Bolster Arts, Playing Catch-Up With Yale
Bloomberg News | December 11, 2008
Harvard University should start a Master of Fine Arts program to fund degrees in writing, theater, sculpture and other artistic pursuits as a way to catch up with other Ivy League schools, an advisory group said.

Hard Times Could Shut Down More Colleges
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 11, 2008
For 15 years, Cascade College in Portland, Ore., struggled to find the fuels that any college needs: students to pay tuition, and donors to help build an endowment. Then came the global economic meltdown, and suddenly that struggle became an impossibility.

Bloomberg News
Inside Higher Ed | December 10, 2008
In good times, colleges boast about the amazing successes of their graduates. These aren’t good times — and some colleges are raising the prospect of dropouts to get donations.

Economic Downturn Is a Boon for For-Profit Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 10, 2008
The for-profit college industry, unlike the rest of higher education, is enjoying a financial tailwind that is only likely to improve in the next couple of years.

Library For Hire: Johns Hopkins U. Sells Services to an Online College
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 10, 2008
It’s a sinking feeling many students know all too well: That giant research paper is due soon, but they have no idea how to begin working on it. For online students, who typically do not have the option of walking across a campus to ask for help at the library reference desk, the task can be especially daunting.

Princeton Settles Money Battle Over Gift
New York Times | December 10, 2008
Ending a long legal battle over how closely a university must adhere to the terms of a gift, Princeton has reached a settlement with heirs to the A.&P. grocery fortune, allowing it to keep the bulk of a fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

New School Faculty Votes No Confidence in Kerrey
New York Times | December 10, 2008
Bob Kerrey, the Vietnam veteran and former Nebraska governor and senator known for his acerbic tongue and iconoclastic tendencies, was handed an overwhelming vote of no-confidence on Wednesday afternoon by the senior faculty at the New School, the Greenwich Village university he has run since 2001.

Those Taking Graduate Test Abruptly Drop in Number
New York Times | December 09, 2008
In bad times, the conventional wisdom has it, people flock to graduate school. But there is at least one sign that in this recession, that may not happen.

Rules Seek to Clarify FERPA
Inside Higher Ed | December 09, 2008
In an update of key federal privacy rules, the U.S. Education Department is trying to tell colleges what they can release about students, not just what they can’t release.

Editorial: College Costs
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 09, 2008
Dumb is a good way to describe America's approach to paying for a college education. A college diploma is treated like any other commodity, priced at whatever the market will bear. And the market, historically, bears a lot.

The College Board Settles Loan Inquiry
New York Times | December 09, 2008
New York officials say the College Board, the national association that writes and administers the SAT test, has resolved a two-state investigation into deceptive marketing of student loans.

Barnard Endowment, $200 Million in July, Is Braced for 25% Loss
Bloomberg News | December 09, 2008
Barnard College, the all-women’s division of Columbia University, has lost a quarter of its endowment value and faces increased demand for student aid because of the worst financial crisis since the Depression.

Shying Away From Graduate School
Inside Higher Ed | December 08, 2008
When the economy tanks, graduate school applications go up. That’s one of the few bits of good news in which educators could have reasonably taken comfort this year. No more.

Almost Ready for the Doctoral Program Rankings
Inside Higher Ed | December 08, 2008
Even the harshest critics of U.S. News & World Report would have to give the magazine credit for one thing: There’s no doubt when the rankings of colleges will come out. They appear like clockwork every fall.

College Application Plans Change as Family Budgets Shrink
Los Angeles Times | December 08, 2008
Since Laura Monte was a child, her parents had assured her that if she did well in high school, the family would find a way to pay for college. Now, things are not so certain.

Harvard Medical School Targets Budget Cuts of as Much as 10%
Bloomberg News | December 08, 2008
Harvard Medical School has asked its departments to target a 10 percent cut to budgets during the next 18 months, according to a document released by the institution.

Gates Grants Aim to Help Low-Income Students Finish College
New York Times | December 08, 2008
With concerns growing that the recession will make it even harder for low-income students to remain in college, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday announced nearly $70 million in grants as part of an ambitious initiative: to double the number of low-income students who earn a college degree or vocational credential by age 26.

Scarsdale Adjusts to Life Without Advanced Placement Courses
New York Times | December 06, 2008
The Advanced Placement English class at Scarsdale High School used to race through four centuries of literature to prepare students for the A.P. exam in May. But in this year’s class, renamed Advanced Topics, students spent a week studying Calder, Pissarro and Monet to digest the meaning of form and digressed to read essays by Virginia Woolf and Francis Bacon — items not covered by the exam.

Graduate Students' Pay and Benefits Vary Widely, Survey Shows
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 05, 2008
When it comes to the financial packages that graduate students receive to pursue their degrees, the devil is in the details. A Chronicle survey, conducted this summer and fall, of the pay and benefits of teaching and research assistants at more than 100 research institutions reveals a dizzying array of variables that students must compare.

On the Road to Tenure, Minority Professors Report Frustrations
Chronicle of Higher Ed | December 05, 2008
Minority professors on the tenure track aren't as satisfied with their academic workplace as their white counterparts are, says a new report.

Harvard Plans Bond Issue
Wall Street Journal | December 05, 2008
Harvard University is preparing to launch a $600 million bond issue in order to redeem a portion of outstanding debt obligations as well as to terminate specific interest rate swap agreements.

What Universities Can Do to Graduate More Minority Ph.D.'s
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 04, 2008
Universities have long rued the stark disparity between minority students' share of the population and their share of Ph.D.'s, especially in engineering and the sciences. And three decades' worth of efforts by private foundations and federal agencies seem to have had only sporadic positive effects. But in a session here Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools, three scholars said there is no legitimate reason for universities to give up on diversifying doctoral education. Successful models are out there, the scholars said, and ought to be imitated.

Harvard Hit by Loss as Crisis Spreads to Colleges
Wall Street Journal | December 04, 2008
Harvard University's endowment suffered investment losses of at least 22% in the first four months of the school's fiscal year, the latest evidence of the financial woes facing higher education.

College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.
New York Times | December 03, 2008
The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Report Prescribes 16-Hour Cap on Medical Residents' Workday
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 03, 2008
The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies, recommended on Tuesday that medical residents be restricted to working no more than 16 hours at a stretch, with more time off for sleep between shifts, in order to reduce potentially deadly medical errors.

Vermont Town Turns to College in Bid to Guide Change
New York Times | December 03, 2008
Old-timers in this hill town remember when a car driving through at night would draw residents to their windows. Now headlights routinely gleam on the narrow roads well past dark, as people who commute to jobs in Burlington and Montpelier come home to a place where the prospect of change looms larger each year.

Study Finds Disorders in 1 in 5 Young Adults
Associated Press | December 02, 2008
Almost one young American adult in five has a personality disorder that interferes with daily life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported yesterday in the most extensive study of its kind.

Downturn Paring College Dreams
Boston Globe | December 02, 2008
As their parents' investments shrink, today's college-bound high school students are scaling back their fantasies of enrolling at prestigious, expensive schools.

College President, Teach Thyself
Boston Globe | December 02, 2008
THE MOTTO of Suffolk University is "Honestas et Diligentia," meaning, roughly, "Honor and diligence." Unfortunately, the president and board of trustees at Suffolk seem to have a tin ear for Latin translations.

Terrorism Is Unlikely to Keep U.S. Colleges Away From India
Chronicle of Higher Education | December 02, 2008
Last week's terror attacks in Mumbai are likely to do little to cool India's standing as a higher-education hot spot, international-education experts say.

In Bad Economy, Students Worried About Internships
Philadelphia Inquirer | December 01, 2008
Kelly Pitcher knows how lucky she was to land a prized internship at SAP America Inc. in Newtown Square last fall. After this semester, the business-software giant is putting its internship program on hold, eliminating paid, on-the-job training for as many as 100 students a year.

Going Off to College for Less (Passport Required)
New York Times | November 30, 2008
Isobel Oliphant felt she was making an offbeat choice when she graduated from Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., and enrolled at the ancient university in this quiet coastal town of stone ruins and verdant golf courses.

Out-of-state Colleges Boost Recruiting Efforts in California
Los Angeles Times | November 29, 2008
Dory Streett didn't beat around the bush when she spoke to students recently at a high school near downtown Los Angeles about Colby College, a liberal arts school in Maine. It's 3,000 miles from home, there's snow for long stretches and its community of Waterville has only 16,000 residents.

Phila. Transplant Programs Risk Losing U.S. Funds
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 29, 2008
The failure to attract enough patients amid heavy competition among Philadelphia-area organ-transplant programs has closed one and put two others at risk.

Rising Enrollments Buoy Some Colleges, Burden Others
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 28, 2008
The nation's economic crisis is bringing colleges higher borrowing costs, smaller endowments, tighter budgets, and fears over the availability of loans for their students.

At Temple U., the City Is the Classroom
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 28, 2008
Joseph T. Suddath grew up in rural Williamsport, Pa. When he decided to transfer from the technical college there, he chose Temple University, in Philadelphia, because he wanted to meet people who didn't look or talk like those in his hometown.

Colleges Are Not Going Hungry, but Are in Need
New York Times | November 28, 2008
In a more normal year, the alumni fund-raising plea that turns up in the mail right about now seems perfectly in tune as the day for thanks gives way to a month of giving.

Need Blind, but ‘Gapping’
Inside Higher Ed | November 26, 2008
Colleges routinely boast about being “need blind” in admissions, meaning that they consider applicants without regard to their ability to pay. But even if they are need blind, and a new survey suggests they are, that may be very different from being an institution that any academically qualified student can actually attend.

Exceptions to the Rule
Inside Higher Ed | November 25, 2008
In sunny Orlando, Fla., where the temperature rarely dips below 32 degrees, residents seldom talk of a “freeze.” And even now, 12 months after the University of Central Florida placed a “freeze” on hiring, Terry Hickey remains reluctant to use the term.

N.E. Colleges See Profit in China's Multitudes
Boston Globe | November 25, 2008
Some elite American universities come to China to scout the smartest students possible. Other lesser known schools, particularly small private colleges around New England, arrive here with a far different motive: profit.

Beyond the Ivied Halls, Endowments Suffer
New York Times | November 25, 2008
Some of the nation’s universities are trying to sell chunks of their portfolios privately as their endowments swoon with the markets.

Dartmouth College Alumni File New Lawsuit Over Board’s Makeup
Bloomberg News | November 25, 2008
Seven Dartmouth College graduates, in a bid to ensure alumni influence in the selection of the school’s next president, have filed a lawsuit challenging the school’s September 2007 decision to expand its board.

Five Area Students Are Named Rhodes Scholars
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 24, 2008
A student from the University of Pennsylvania, one from Swarthmore College, and three from Princeton University were among 32 American Rhodes scholars named Saturday by the Rhodes Trust.

The Rutgers Mess
New York Times | November 24, 2008
Rutgers, the biggest and most important public university in New Jersey, has spent millions of dollars furthering its ambition to become a major football power that might otherwise have been devoted to academics. It has done so during a period of rising tuition and budgetary cutbacks in academic departments, and, worse, without any real oversight from the university’s president, Richard McCormick, and its Board of Governors.

Philadelphia Community College Begins $56 Million Project
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 21, 2008
The Community College of Philadelphia this morning will break ground on a $56 million construction project that will expand and redevelop its main campus.

Boston College to Cut Spending to Maintain Its Aid
Boston Globe | November 21, 2008
The president of Boston College, the Rev. William P. Leahy, called yesterday for a university-wide 2 percent budget cut in anticipation of increased requests for tuition assistance.

Survey: Pa. College Students Face High Cost, High Debt
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 20, 2008
Getting a college education is more expensive in Pennsylvania than in many other areas of the country, and students generally graduate with higher debt, says a state education report released yesterday.

Shrinking Endowments Offer Smaller Target for Lawmakers Seeking Mandatory Payout
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 20, 2008
If there’s a silver lining in the dark cloud hanging over campus budgets, it may be this: Colleges’ investment losses could ease Congress’s demands for mandatory endowment payouts, at least in the short term.

U.S. Agrees to Buy Student Loans to Ease Borrowing
New York Times | November 20, 2008
The Education Department announced Thursday that it would buy up to $6.5 billion of federally guaranteed student loans made in the 2007-8 academic year as part of its effort to make sure loans are available.

Early-Decision Applications Are Up at Colleges, in Spite of the Economy
New York Times | November 20, 2008
Given the current economic downturn, admissions officers at Wesleyan University thought there might be a decline in early-decision applications this year. But when the deadline passed last weekend, they found that the number had risen 40 percent.

MIT Looks to Slice $50m From Budget
Boston Globe | November 19, 2008
First, Boston University called for a freeze on hiring and future construction last month. Then last week Harvard announced possible cuts to programs and compensation. Now MIT plans to cut $50 million and delay renovations to an undergraduate dorm.

Privacy Concerns About U.S. Database
Inside Higher Ed | November 19, 2008
As a general rule, big government databases aren’t especially popular, and higher education’s recent experiences with them — be they the relatively new federal database to track foreign students in the wake of September 11, or a proposed “unit records” database to track the academic success of students as they move through the educational system — have generated controversy.

CSU May Cut Future Enrollment by 10,000
Los Angeles Times | November 18, 2008
The California State University system for the first time in its history is proposing to turn away qualified students due to a worsening state budget crisis.

Yale Announces Multimillion-Dollar Effort in India
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 18, 2008
Yale University will spend $30-million from its endowment on an ambitious interdisciplinary effort that will build its course offerings and faculty expertise in India as well as expand student recruitment, research partnerships, and faculty and student exchanges in the South Asian country.

Arcadia U. Lauded for Sending Students Abroad
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 18, 2008
Arcadia University, a 2,000-student school in Glenside, sends a higher percentage of its students abroad than any other college in the country, a national report released yesterday says.

Freshmen Will Get an Intense New Program
Boston Globe | November 18, 2008
Northeastern University will establish a special one-year program for Boston public high school graduates who are not ready for college, as part of a city initiative to boost the low rate of local students who earn higher degrees.

As Endowment Values Plummet, Some Institutions Consider Suing Over Investment Advice
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 18, 2008
As many as five endowments for colleges or charitable foundations that have suffered significant investment losses or were unable to access money in their accounts in recent months are considering legal action against their brokers or investment managers, alleging misrepresentation of risk or mismanagement, says a New York-based securities lawyer.

Study Abroad Flourishes, With China a Hot Spot
New York Times | November 17, 2008
Record numbers of American students are studying abroad, with especially strong growth in educational exchanges with China, the annual report by the Institute on International Education found.

Virginia Tech's Text-Message Alert System Partly Failed During False Alarm
New York Times | November 17, 2008
A report of what sounded like gunshots prompted Virginia Tech to use its text-message emergency-alert system last week for the first time, but the system failed to deliver all of the messages.

The Test Passes, Colleges Fail
New York Times | November 17, 2008
FOR some years now, many elite American colleges have been downgrading the role of standardized tests like the SAT in deciding which applicants are admitted, or have even discarded their use altogether. While some institutions justify this move primarily as a way to enroll a more diverse group of students, an increasing number claim that the SAT is a poor predictor of academic success in college, especially compared with high school grade-point averages.

Cuomo Investigating Colleges’ Deals With Health Insurers
New York Times | November 16, 2008
The New York attorney general began sending subpoenas and document requests this month to colleges including Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown and several State University of New York campuses as part of an investigation of relationships between the colleges and health insurance companies that cover students.

Hate Crimes Up on Campuses, Group Says
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 15, 2008
La Salle University has disciplined a fraternity and suspended several students over an off-campus fight last weekend in which several black students said they were assaulted and subjected to racial slurs that drew on the presidential election.

Colleges May Yet Feel Bite From Recession, Moody's Analysts Warn
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 14, 2008
American colleges have so far avoided some of the worst effects of the nation’s economic downturn. That could change quickly, financial experts told a conference that was held here on Thursday by Moody's Investors Service and The Chronicle.

Dartmouth Latest College to Announce Cuts
Boston Globe | November 14, 2008
Dartmouth College president James Wright announced a range of cost-cutting measures yesterday in the latest sign that the financial downturn is hurting the nation's colleges and universities.

New Temple Business School Building Comes Into Focus
Philadelphia Business Journal | November 14, 2008
With the opening of Alter Hall in January, Temple University’s schools of business and tourism will get a new home that will gather under one roof classes and offices now scattered in nine or so buildings across Temple’s campuses in North Philadelphia and Center City.

Vigilante Justice on Plagiarism
Inside Higher Ed | November 13, 2008
Faculty members complain constantly about plagiarism and trade stories about strategies to combat it. Loye Young thought he had a solution. On his syllabus at Texas A&M International University this fall, he wrote: “No form of dishonesty is acceptable. I will promptly and publicly fail and humiliate anyone caught lying, cheating, or stealing. That includes academic dishonesty, copyright violations, software piracy, or any other form of dishonesty.”

Studies Focus on Factors That Influence Freshmen's Success
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 13, 2008
Three new studies of college freshmen suggest that even the most promising can run into academic difficulties as a long-term consequence of experiences like attending a violent or run-down high school or being raised by parents who never went to college.

U. of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Working With a G.E. Unit, Plans Big Expansion Abroad
New York Times | November 13, 2008
As the dominant hospital system in western Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has few places at home to expand.

On College-Entrance Exam Day, All of South Korea Is Put to the Test
Wall Street Journal | November 12, 2008
Many offices and the stock market open at 10 a.m., an hour later than usual, to keep the roads free for students on their way to the test. All other students get the day off to keep schools quiet for the test takers. And while students are taking the listening portions of the tests, planes can't land or take off at the nation's airports. Aircraft arriving from other countries are ordered to circle at altitudes above 10,000 feet.

Struggling Economy Puts Colleges in a Tight Spot
Washington Post | November 11, 2008
The economic crisis hit home at Frostburg State University quite suddenly, just as students were arriving for the start of the school year: A lender told financial aid director Angie Hovatter on Aug. 25 that it would not have money for about 200 student loans -- money she thought they were going to get the very next day.

Harvard Looks to Tighten Its Belt
Boston Globe | November 11, 2008
Even the world's richest university is feeling the pinch from the economic downturn. Harvard's president, Drew Faust, said yesterday that the university is looking for ways to reduce spending across the campus, raising the specter of cuts to programs and compensation, as Harvard's endowment plummets. It is also assessing all aspects of its sweeping plan to expand across the Charles River in Allston, she said.

Colleges Are Urged to Be More Open About Where Their Money Goes
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 11, 2008
To be persuasive on college costs, universities must be more open about their budgets, a panel of college leaders said here today at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 33 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 11, 2008
The 33 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $545.3-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

Building a Better Admissions Test
Inside Higher Education | November 11, 2008
Most standardized admissions tests — from the SAT and ACT to those used for admission to graduate and professional schools, such as the Law School Admission Test — promise one thing: to predict academic success in the first year enrolled. Most standardized tests also face growing skepticism because white and Asian students tend to outperform, on average, black and Latino students.

Most Colleges Chase Prestige on a Treadmill, Researchers Find
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 10, 2008
The pursuit of institutional prestige has done little to improve the reputations of most colleges and, in fact, may be causing many of them to become less distinguishable from their competitors, according to research presented here on Saturday at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

Does It Matter Where You Go to College?
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 10, 2008
Viewbooks, rankings, and accountability measures cast colleges as distinctive and readily comparable. But the average student experience doesn't differ that markedly among institutions, says this year's National Survey of Student Engagement. Rather, the survey found, more than 90 percent of the variation in educational quality occurs among individual students on the same campus.

Colleges Struggle to Preserve Financial Aid
New York Times | November 10, 2008
FOR years, as the stock market roared, educational endowments swelled, helping private secondary schools and colleges provide more financial aid, expand and attract better faculty. But with the financial markets in crisis, those days are over.

College Too Pricey? Don't Blame Faculty Pay
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 07, 2008
During a debate among the Democratic presidential candidates at Saint Anselm College in January, Charles Gibson, the moderator, used what he thought was a realistic example of a two-career academic couple at the small college in New Hampshire. Between them, he ventured during a discussion about tax policies, they would earn about $200,000 a year.

Admissions and Aid Officials Brace for a Wave of Retirements
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 07, 2008
Over the next decade, thousands of baby-boom admissions and financial-aid professionals will retire, leaving colleges with empty chairs. Are there enough qualified applicants to fill all the seats?

In Search for Expertise, Harvard Looms Large
Boston Globe | November 07, 2008
When Barack Obama sought advice before a critical Senate vote on the terrorist surveillance program earlier this year, he called his friend and former colleague Cass Sunstein, a constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School.

Temple Health System's CEO Stepping Down
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 07, 2008
Joseph W. "Chip" Marshall, president and chief executive officer of the Temple University Health System, said yesterday that he was stepping down after seven years in the job.

Tough Times Strain Colleges Rich and Poor
New York Times | November 07, 2008
Arizona State University, anticipating at least $25 million in budget cuts this fiscal year — on top of the $30 million already cut — is ending its contracts with as many as 200 adjunct instructors.

Studies Link Use of Part-Time Instructors to Lower Student Success
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 06, 2008
At a time when colleges are under increasing financial pressure to rely more on part-time faculty, three new studies suggest that doing so erodes the quality of education many students receive.

Leaders Call for 'Transformational' Changes in Admissions
Chronicle of Higher Education | November 06, 2008
A storm is brewing in college admissions: A major demographic shift looms, public financing lags, and the expectations for higher education continue to soar.

Harvard in Discussions to Sell Stakes in Private-Equity Funds
Bloomberg News | November 04, 2008
Harvard University's $36.9 billion endowment is in talks to reduce its private-equity holdings as the financial crisis makes leveraged buyouts less profitable, a person familiar with the situation said.

Professors’ Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not
New York Times | November 02, 2008
An article of faith among conservative critics of American universities has been that liberal professors politically indoctrinate their students. This conviction not only fueled the culture wars but has also led state lawmakers to consider requiring colleges to submit reports to the government detailing their progress in ensuring “intellectual diversity,” prompted universities to establish faculty positions devoted to conservatism and spurred the creation of a network of volunteer watchdogs to monitor “political correctness” on campuses.

Colleges in Pa., N.J., Del. Get High Marks
Philadelphia Inquirer | November 01, 2008
Three Pennsylvania colleges and two other area schools have been recognized by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine as among the 100 best values in public colleges for 2008-09.

Associated Press
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 31, 2008
With little prompting, they pull out photographs of their time abroad as they talk about newfound friendships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Going overseas has made them think differently about their classes back on their campuses and has opened up new areas of interest and fresh fields of study. It was, they often say, transformative.

Analysis: New Strains Put Pressure on Traditional College-Pricing Model
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 31, 2008
Concern over the rising cost of college is nothing new, but it's taking an interesting turn. Most of the attention given to college costs focuses on the sticker price, but few students ever pony up that much. As that price rises, merit-based aid does, too, and most students get what amounts to a discount.

Even at Costliest College, Unease Over Downturn
New York Times | October 31, 2008
In the hypercompetitive world of higher education, a top ranking in national surveys is zealously sought. But during this moment of deep economic anxiety, Sarah Lawrence College finds itself No. 1 in an inopportune category: the nation’s most expensive school.

Cornell Bans Hiring as Financial Crisis Hits Schools
Bloomberg News | October 31, 2008
The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is beginning to shake up the budgets and planning on U.S. college campuses, even in the elite Ivy League.

Economy Forces College Hopefuls to Lower Sights
Wall Street Journal | October 30, 2008
High-school senior Kelsey Stokes initially planned to apply to what she calls her dream school, Northwestern University, under an early-admissions program. She had worked hard to get good grades and write her application essays, but as the deadline neared this fall, another obstacle presented itself: How her family would pay for college.

College Tuition Could Rise Sharply, Officials Warn
Los Angeles Times | October 30, 2008
A report released Wednesday by the College Board showed that the average price of attending college rose nearly 6% this fall, but education officials warned that the widening economic crisis might push tuition bills sharply higher next year.

An ‘Elite’ Dilemma
Inside Higher Education | October 29, 2008
George Washington University plans to direct financial aid toward continuing students who may be struggling to pay high tuition bills, rather than bolstering merit-based aid to recruit academically “elite” students that some faculty members contend are in decline on campus.

College Tuition Just Keeps Climbing
BusinessWeek | October 29, 2008
Tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities rose faster than those of private schools, yet again outpacing the rate of inflation, the College Board said in a report released Oct. 29.

Candidates’ Positions on Student Loans Reflect Experience and Market Views
New York Times | October 29, 2008
Barack and Michelle Obama paid off their last student loan on Jan. 17, 2004, a date they sometimes share with voters to commiserate over rising tuitions and the fact that the average graduating senior carries $21,000 in college debt.

On Campuses, McCain Supporters Are Running on a Shoestring and Conviction
New York Times | October 28, 2008
Andrew Natalo, a 21-year-old junior at Pennsylvania State University, carefully prepared for the weekly Students for McCain meeting. He reserved an extra-large classroom that could seat 100 students. He invited the rival College Democrats, so the two sides could have a friendly debate.

Baylor Med School, Rice University Discuss Merger
Houston Chronicle | October 28, 2008
Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have begun holding serious discussions that could lead to a merger of the state's top private university and one of the country's best medical schools.

Shooting on Arkansas Campus Kills Two Students
Wall Street Journal | October 27, 2008
A shooting in the heart of the University of Central Arkansas' campus killed two students and wounded a third person, authorities said early Monday.

Where Are the Minority Ph.D.’s? In Tampa, Actually
Inside Higher Ed | October 27, 2008
One by one they took to the stage to receive their plaques, each story seemingly more compelling than the last. The single mother with four kids. The young man who had lived in a friend’s car for a spell. The cancer survivor whose parents had died when he was four years old.

Pennsylvania Holds Hearings on College Affordability
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 27, 2008
Allyson Triplett was thrilled when she was accepted into a nursing program at the Community College of Philadelphia. But paying for it proved to be far more challenging than she had anticipated.

Fears of Drops in College Savings Accounts
Philadelphia Inquirer | October 27, 2008
Priscilla Applegate looked at the unopened college-fund statements in her kitchen and worked up the nerve to take a peek. When her son Alex was born 18 years ago, she and her husband started an American Funds account that they thought would one day cover his tuition. Eight years ago, they also invested in Pennsylvania's 529 college savings plan, known as nowU.

Fulbright Emphasizes Diversity Among Its Fellows
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 24, 2008
The Fulbright Program is one of the most successful fellowship programs around. About 1,500 students and 1,300 scholars from the United States and abroad are studying and working on Fulbrights this academic year.

Taking Facebook Back to Campus
Inside Higher Ed | October 24, 2008
As colleges try to adapt their more traditional outreach methods to the successive waves of students who live much of their lives online, it’s inevitable that some will start to ask whether they can marshal the ubiquity of social networking to attract applicants, connect to enrolled students and, once they graduate, keep track of them as alumni.

When Academic Freedom Lost its Meaning
Wall Street Journal | October 24, 2008
Late last week, the University of Nebraska rescinded an invitation to William Ayers to speak on its campus after the election. Mr. Ayers, the co-founder of the Weather Underground and the man responsible for bombing a number of federal buildings in the 1960s, has been the subject of much media attention recently, thanks to his associations with Barack Obama. When Nebraska politicians learned of Mr. Ayers's forthcoming visit to the university, they were outraged. Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson said: "His past involvement in a violent protest group and incendiary comments are not consistent with the agenda of unity that we need in America."

Six Degrees of E.M.B.A. Relationships
Wall Street Journal | October 24, 2008
When Jeff Swallow attended Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management Executive M.B.A program nine years ago, he never expected to find his future business partners.

Don’t Panic
Inside Higher Ed | October 23, 2008
John Fry is skipping over some of the biggest names in his Rolodex these days. With the economy in a downward spiral, the Franklin & Marshall College president says he’s not calling on donors who have fallen on hard times.

Apple Heads Off to School
Wall Street Journal | October 23, 2008
Apple Inc. is hiring the dean of Yale University's business school to start a project that it calls Apple University. The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker said Joel Podolny, the dean of the Yale School of Management, will join Apple as vice president and dean of Apple University. The company declined to provide details about the university or the position.

'Blah, blah' Letter to Alumni Draws an 'Ahem'
Boston Globe | October 22, 2008
Ever feel like that alumni fund-raising letter you received was just full of "blah, blah, blah?" It actually was for 6,000 graduates of Framingham State College. But the irreverent mailing rubbed some people the wrong way, and now college officials have apologized.

College Board Will Offer a New Test Next Fall
New York Times | October 22, 2008
Amid growing challenges to its role as the pre-eminent force in college admissions, the College Board on Wednesday unveiled a new test that it said would help prepare eighth graders for rigorous high school courses and college.

More-affordable Colleges on Student, Parent Minds
Boston Globe | October 21, 2008
One of Tom Woodbury's sisters went to Vanderbilt University, the other to Boston College. But they didn't choose those pricey private colleges during a financial market meltdown that took a sizeable chunk of the family's college savings.

Medical School Entrants Increase 2% to Record 18,036 in U.S.
Bloomberg News | October 21, 2008
Enrollment of entry-level students at U.S. medical schools climbed 1.6 percent to 18,036, the biggest class in history, with the number of Latinos increasing 10 percent.

Colleges Continue Irrational Policies on IB Program
Washington Post | October 20, 2008
American education has a tattered reputation in many respects, except for our colleges and universities. They are world leaders in quality and accessibility. The desire to provide our children the best in higher education unites Americans in a unique way.

Students Add Sabotage to College-entry Arsenal
Chicago Tribune | October 20, 2008
In the competition to get into the most selective colleges, some students and their parents are resorting to a tasteless tactic: bashing other applicants. The letters, mailed to college admissions offices, typically arrive without a signature. They say rival applicants cheated on exams or got suspended for underage drinking. Sometimes, they include an unflattering newspaper clipping or a sly suggestion to check out pictures on a student's Facebook page.

Tough Times Put the Squeeze on Colleges
Los Angeles Times | October 19, 2008
With family investments and house values battered by the financial crisis, colleges and universities in California and around the nation are seeing an increase in students seeking financial aid and are bracing for even more. At the same time, higher education's ability to meet that extra need is in question because the value of many college endowments has dropped as well, experts say.

Obsession With Rankings Goes Global
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 17, 2008
A Chinese list of the world's top universities would seem an unlikely concern for French politicians. But this year, France's legislature took aim at the annual rankings produced by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which claims to list the 500 best universities in the world. The highest-ranked French entry, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, comes in at No. 42.

Baylor Abandons SAT Payments
Inside Higher Ed | October 17, 2008
Baylor University has been seeking more national attention, but not this kind of attention. After several days in which educators and admissions experts nationally lambasted its plan to pay accepted applicants to raise their SAT scores (and presumably the institution’s ranking in U.S. News & World Report), Baylor is admitting a mistake.

Big Trouble, Potentially, for Little Colleges
Inside Higher Ed | October 17, 2008
Wealthy research institutions may be able to weather the economic downtown by delaying building projects and forgoing faculty raises, but a subsection of cash-strapped private colleges could be in serious trouble, according to a report released Thursday by Moody’s Investors Service.

Cornell Gets $50-Million Gift for International Research and Recruitment
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 17, 2008
Ratan Tata, an Indian industrialist and Cornell University alumnus, announced today a gift of $50-million to his alma mater to help recruit top Indian students to the campus and to support joint research projects with Indian universities in agriculture and nutrition.

Crisis Shakes the Foundations of the Ivory Tower
Wall Street Journal | October 17, 2008
The financial and economic tsunami that has ripped through Wall Street and the housing market is beginning to wash across the college green.

The College Credit Card Trap
New York Times | October 17, 2008
Add this to the list of the country’s financial woes: Credit card companies are aggressively targeting college students, many of whom are naïve about money matters and vulnerable to predatory offers that can get them permanently mired in debt.

Colleges Brace for Drop in Corporate Giving
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 16, 2008
Ask Dennis C. Washington, vice president for advancement at Kettering University, in Flint, Mich., what will happen with corporate giving to his institution, and he declines to take a guess. Donations from corporations, which make up a significant portion of Kettering’s fund raising, are a “mixed bag,” he says. While General Motors, which employs about 4,000 Kettering alumni, has just discontinued its matching-gift program that provided the university with $61,000 last year, the institution continues to receive five-figure gifts from other corporations such as UPS and Ford Motor Company.

Panel's Review Lands Medical School on Probation
Washington Post | October 16, 2008
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences was put on probation by its academic accrediting organization for being out of compliance on several standards, school officials told students and faculty yesterday.

Duke Expands India Offerings as U.S. Schools Seek Foothold
Wall Street Journal | October 16, 2008
Duke University plans to expand its programs in India, hoping the country's legislature will eventually relax restrictions that prevent foreign institutions from running full-fledged graduate-degree programs in the country.

In Downturn, Families Strain to Pay Tuition
New York Times | October 16, 2008
In difficult dinner-table conversations, college students and their parents are revisiting how to pay tuition as personal finances weaken and lenders get tough.

At MIT, Chic Nudges Geek
Boston Globe | October 15, 2008
Students wear circuit boards on their sweatshirts and sing in a cappella groups with names like Loga-rhythms and Chorallaries. They run a model railroad club. It meets on Saturday nights.

HR at a Global University
Inside Higher Ed | October 15, 2008
Many colleges have stated philosophies about their employment practices. They want faculty salaries to be consistent with those of peer institutions. They want staff members to be paid a “living wage.” They want policies that are “family friendly” or that promote diversity. To be sure, sometimes these philosophies may be more theory than practice, but they provide a framework for employees, managers, trustees and others to evaluate proposed policies.

NIH Freezes Large Grant to Emory
Wall Street Journal | October 15, 2008
The National Institutes of Health has stopped payments on a $9.3 million grant to Emory University as it investigates whether the school and one of its prominent faculty members, psychiatrist Charles Nemeroff, properly disclosed his consulting work for drug makers.

Milton Friedman Institute Spurs Chicago Faculty Clash
Bloomberg News | October 15, 2008
Professors at the University of Chicago say a proposed $200 million research center named for Milton Friedman, the late economist championed by conservatives, would enshrine the free-market philosophies they say have brought the global economy to the brink of ruin.

Baylor Faculty Members Condemn SAT Retaking
New York Times | October 15, 2008
Georgia Green, a music education professor at Baylor University in Waco, Tex., said she did not believe it when a colleague told her in June that Baylor was offering incoming freshmen financial incentives to retake the SAT.

Escape Route: Seeking Refuge in an M.B.A. Program
Wall Street Journal | October 14, 2008
Business is bad on Wall Street, and business schools across the country are bracing for the impact: A surge in applications this year to their full-time M.B.A. programs.

Baylor Rewards Freshmen Who Retake SAT
New York Times | October 14, 2008
Baylor University in Waco, Tex., which has a goal of rising to the first tier of national college rankings, last June offered its admitted freshmen a $300 campus bookstore credit to retake the SAT, and $1,000 a year in merit scholarship aid for those who raised their scores by at least 50 points.

Penn State Professors Get Own Trading Cards
Associated Press | October 13, 2008
Want to trade a glaciologist Richard Alley card for entomologist James Tumlinson? Pennsylvania State University is promoting its top faculty members and researchers on glossy trading cards that resemble baseball and football cards collected by sports fans.

Paul Krugman Wins Economics Nobel
New York Times | October 13, 2008
Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University and an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday.

Students' Views Move Left During College, but Researchers Say Peers, Not Profs, Are the Cause
Los Angeles Times | October 13, 2008
On issues such as abortion, gay marriage and religion, college students shift noticeably to the left from the time they arrive on campus through their junior year, new research shows.

Finance Students Keep Their Job Hopes Alive
New York Times | October 11, 2008
For students who set their sights on Wall Street during the boom years, the end has come just as they are getting ready to join the party. Wall Street recruiters have canceled or postponed visits to elite universities like Harvard, Princeton and Stanford, citing the turmoil in the markets.

Ballot Initiatives That Oppose Affirmative Action Hurt All Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 10, 2008
During this election year, many of us who study race and education had hoped that the nomination of a black presidential candidate and the increased focus on race would have led to a related discussion of equal access to higher education and a turn toward a stronger commitment to the creation of a truly diverse society. But, unfortunately, state ballot initiatives are challenging the voluntary use of the race-conscious policies that can be vital tools for higher-education institutions that wish to promote equality of opportunity.

Debating the Merits of Merit Pay
Inside Higher Ed | October 10, 2008
The size of an across-the-board raise can reliably send shivers down a faculty’s collective spine, especially in times of budget stress. When merit enters the picture, however, alliances can break apart and areas of agreement (that many professors feel underpaid) can suddenly become points of contention.

Analysis: Financial Meltdown Hits Ivory Towers
Associated Press | October 10, 2008
For many colleges, the last 15 years have been a golden age. Philanthropy and Americans' grudging tolerance for high tuition fueled an unprecedented boom - investments in everything from gyms, dorms and labs to faculty and expanded financial aid.

Report: Even With Increase of Minorities in College, Attainment of Younger Generation Stalls
Associated Press | October 09, 2008
The number of minorities in college has increased substantially in recent years, but not fast enough to keep up with demographic changes. As a result, U.S. adults in their late 20s are reaching only about as far as the age group immediately above them in terms of educational attainment. And among Hispanics, a lower proportion has completed at least an associate's degree when compared with those age 30 and older.

French Writer Wins Nobel Prize
New York Times | October 09, 2008
The French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, whose work reflects a seemingly insatiable restlessness and sense of wonder about other places and other cultures, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. In its citation, the Swedish Academy praised Mr. Le Clézio, 68, as the “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization.”

Education Gains Stall for Latest Generation
Boston Globe | October 09, 2008
Since World War II, if not before, it has been assumed that children were more likely to graduate from college than their parents. Now, those generational gains appear to have stalled.

Presidential Hopefuls Agree on Need to Simplify Tuition Aid
Times Higher Education Supplement (U.K.) | October 09, 2008
When the presidents of six major US higher education associations sent a letter last month to the presidential candidates, urging expanded financial aid for students, they seemed to be preaching to the choir. Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama both say it should be easier for students and their families to get financial aid and tax credits to help pay for tuition. But while the ends are similar, the means are different.

Harvard Gets $125 Million In Largest One-Time Gift
Wall Street Journal | October 08, 2008
Medical-device billionaire Hansjörg Wyss gave $125 million to Harvard University, the largest one-time gift in the history of the school, which will rename and expand an institute for biological engineering.

Tilghman to Be Trustee of New Saudi University
Daily Princetonian | October 08, 2008
President Tilghman will serve on the board of trustees of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a new research university in Saudi Arabia, Princeton announced Monday.

Idea That Affirmative Action Stigmatizes Minority Students Is Challenged
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 08, 2008
A survey of students at seven law schools has found no evidence that affirmative action stigmatizes members of the minority groups that benefit from it, according to an article scheduled for publication in the California Law Review.

Last 2 Years Saw Modest Tuition Increases—but Those Days May Be Gone
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 08, 2008
Tuition and required fees at American universities increased at a measured rate over the past two years, according to a report released on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education. But given the recent downturn of the nation’s economy, that trend is unlikely to continue, say officials at the American Council on Education.

Rutgers U. Weighs Complaints of Bias Against Women in Political Science
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 07, 2008
Female faculty members and graduate students in Rutgers University's political-science department feel unfairly compensated and shut out of leadership positions by their male counterparts, says an internal university report obtained by The Chronicle. In at least one case, a woman has been afraid to complain about sexual harassment because of worries about retaliation.

E-Textbooks for All
Inside Higher Ed | October 07, 2008
Many observers, both in academe and in the publishing industry, believe it’s only a matter of time before electronic textbooks become the norm in college. Some campuses in particular may already be getting a glimpse of the future through partnerships with individual publishers or with consortiums.

Three Physicists Share Nobel Prize
New York Times | October 07, 2008
An American and two Japanese physicists on Tuesday won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work exploring the hidden symmetries among elementary particles that are the deepest constituents of nature. Yoichiro Nambu, 87, of the University of Chicago’s Enrico Fermi Institute, will receive half of the 10 million krona prize (about $1.4 million) awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Putting What Works to Better Use
Inside Higher Ed | October 06, 2008
When critics of higher education list the supposed sins of colleges and their leaders, they almost always say that institutions have paid too little attention to the academic success of students and failed to develop creative techniques to engage and challenge students. A report to be published today by the Association of American Colleges and Universities puts the lie to that charge, documenting at least 10 practices (learning communities, undergraduate research and the like) that colleges commonly and successfully use to improve the academic outcomes of their students.

Update on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 29 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 06, 2008
The 29 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $601.9-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

A Semester Abroad ... in Tinseltown
Los Angeles Times | October 06, 2008
Forget about Paris and a semester at the Sorbonne. Who needs to study in Florence or struggle with Mandarin for just months in Beijing? Instead, consider the allure of Burbank and the nearby Oakwood apartments. Think about Los Angeles' Wilshire district and the chance to speak like a Hollywood agent.

Another Fund Heavily Used by Schools Is Frozen
Wall Street Journal | October 03, 2008
A second investment fund offered by investment adviser Commonfund froze most withdrawals this week, posing possible financial strains for the 200 colleges and schools invested in the fund.

Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating
U.S. News and World Report | October 03, 2008
Teachers, long behind in the cheating arms race, may finally be catching up. They are using new technologies, including text-matching software, webcams, and biometric equipment, as well as cunning stratagems such as Web "honey pots," virtual students, and cheat-proof tests. The result: It appears to be getting at least a little harder for students to plagiarize from websites, text-message answers to friends during tests, or get others to do their homework.

California Passes Law Protecting Animal Researchers
Inside Higher Education | October 02, 2008
Responding to a string of firebomb attacks earlier this year and an increasing level of intimidation against scientists who perform research using animals in a laboratory environment, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law on Sunday a measure intended to provide new tools against those in the animal liberation movement who have destroyed property and threatened violence.

Colleges Scramble as Fund Is Frozen
Wall Street Journal | October 02, 2008
A fund that invests cash for about 1,000 colleges and private schools suddenly froze withdrawals this week, leaving school finance managers scrambling to make sure they have enough money for payroll and other bills.

IRS Releases Tax Questionnaire That Asks Colleges to Disclose More
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 02, 2008
Some 400 colleges across the country are about to be asked to disclose intimate financial details of their operations to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bank Freeze Leaves Hundreds of Colleges Cut Off From Short-Term Funds
Chronicle of Higher Education | October 01, 2008
Wachovia bank has frozen the accounts of nearly 1,000 colleges, leaving institutions unable to access billions of dollars they depend on for salaries, campus construction, and debt payments.

Campaigns Differ on How to Help With College Costs
Washington Post | October 01, 2008
The price of college continues to surge, and financial aid isn't keeping up. The Wall Street meltdown has hammered the stock market and college savings. And a college degree is ever more essential for finding a good job.

Classes Are Presidents' Privilege
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 29, 2008
Stephen Spinelli Jr. looked every bit the professor, standing before his class on entrepreneurship at Philadelphia University one night last week. But, at that moment, his classroom charisma had given way to pique.

The $375-Billion Question: Why Does College Cost So Much?
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 29, 2008
From the halls of Congress to the kitchen tables of American families, that long-simmering complaint — Why does college cost so much? — is getting louder and more urgent.

New York University Names Swarthmore's Bloom to Abu Dhabi Post
Bloomberg News | September 29, 2008
New York University, the largest private university in the U.S. by number of students, said Alfred Bloom will run the school's campus in Abu Dhabi.

New President at an Institute for Science
New York Times | September 29, 2008
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has chosen Robert Tjian, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, as its next president.

Study of Standardized Admissions Tests Is Big Draw at College Conference
New York Times | September 28, 2008
For the 5,500 college admissions officials and high school guidance counselors who gathered here over the weekend, there were discussions, debates and analyses of things like the ethics of tracking student applicants on Facebook and “Why Good Students Write Bad College Essays — and How to Stop It.”

As Endowment Returns Fall, Colleges Lower Expectations
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 26, 2008
After years of double-digit gains, college endowments are feeling the pinch from distressed financial markets. Some colleges are reporting negative rates of return for the fiscal year that just ended, and even those that performed better are wondering what the financial crisis will mean.

Creating the Anti-Rankings
Inside Higher Education | September 26, 2008
Could the process of selecting a college actually be educational or even ... intellectual? Could one imagine the day when high school students compare approaches to first-year biology instead of rock-climbing walls, the quality of writing instruction instead of U.S. News and World Report rankings?

NIH Director to Step Down in October
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 25, 2008
Elias A. Zerhouni, who steered the National Institutes of Health through a tumultuous six years of the agency's budgetary and ethics storms, announced that he will step down in October.

Columbia Provost Brinkley to Step Down, Return to Teaching
Bloomberg News | September 25, 2008
Columbia University Provost Alan Brinkley will step down to return to teaching history fulltime.

Voices of Inexperience, Relating War’s Horrors
New York Times | September 25, 2008
It’s possible that no cast on or off Broadway these days shares fewer professional stage credits than the young ensemble of “In Conflict,” a sober and very affecting docudrama about veterans of the war in Iraq. Many of the performers in the show, which opened Wednesday night in a Culture Project presentation at the Barrow Street Theater, are still students at Temple University, where this production was first staged last year.

Stanford Business Dean Robert Joss Plans to Step Down (Update1)
Bloomberg News | September 25, 2008
Stanford Graduate School of Business said Robert Joss plans to step down as dean next year after a decade in the position.

New Guide to Campus Mental-Health Treatment Outlines Students' Legal Rights
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 24, 2008
What are the steps for choosing a therapist? Will my parents find out if I seek treatment? Can my college require me to take a leave of absence? The answers to such questions appear in Campus Mental Health: Know Your Rights!, a new guide that explains the treatment options for college students who experience mental-health problems.

Emergency Overload
Inside Higher Education | September 24, 2008
Among the many, many requirements imposed on colleges as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act that President Bush signed into law in August was a provision mandating that campuses must make public their policies for responding to campus emergencies such as terror attacks and weather catastrophes.

Gamble on Gambling? Or Stay Safe in Cash?
New York Times | September 24, 2008
WMS Industries Inc. is one of the largest slot machine makers in America. This week, the students in Prof. Richard M. Levich’s “Managing Investment Funds” course at New York University’s Stern School of Business were mulling over whether WMS was itself worth gambling on.

BU to Shift More Aid to Needy Students
Boston Globe | September 23, 2008
Boston University will scale back a 35-year-old merit scholarship program for Boston public high school graduates and devote larger sums to city graduates who need it most, university and city officials announced yesterday.

Mixed Messages on Early Decision
Inside Higher Education | September 23, 2008
New data on college admissions suggest that “early decision” isn’t going anywhere, but that what struck many experts as a mad rush to increase its use may by slowing down a bit. After two years in which healthy majorities of four-year colleges reported that they were receiving more and more of such applications, the percentage reporting an increase dropped to 49 percent for the fall 2007 admissions cycle.

Job Coaches Help Get Professors Back on Track
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 23, 2008
In the publish-or-perish world of colleges and universities, writing is incredibly important because without published work professors don't get promoted and never earn tenure.

Emirates Look to the West for Prestige
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 22, 2008
It is hardly a secret that the United Arab Emirates has recruited universities from around the world to set up outposts in the Persian Gulf. Less well known is that it is also tapping Western academics to run its public higher-education system.

Students Ante Up for Pivotal Quest
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 22, 2008
Overbrook High School senior Walter Pinder was stunned when he got the three-page letter from Harvard in the mail over the summer, inviting him to apply and enticing him with a possible free ride.

Conservatives Try New Tack on Campuses
New York Times | September 21, 2008
Acknowledging that 20 years and millions of dollars spent loudly and bitterly attacking the liberal leanings of American campuses have failed to make much of a dent in the way undergraduates are educated, some conservatives have decided to try a new strategy.

College Panel Calls for Less Focus on SATs
New York Times | September 21, 2008
A commission convened by some of the country’s most influential college admissions officials is recommending that colleges and universities move away from their reliance on SAT and ACT scores and shift toward admissions exams more closely tied to the high school curriculum and achievement.

Rethinking Student Aid, Radically
Inside Higher Education | September 19, 2008
Under the aegis of the College Board, a baker’s dozen of the country’s top financial aid thinkers (rather than practitioners) have spent the past two years re-envisioning what the federal financial aid system should look like to best utilize the $86 billion the government provides each year in grants, loans and tax benefits — and to build the case, ultimately, for increasing that investment.

Admission Impossible: Influx Has School in Flux
Boston Globe | September 19, 2008
They guessed wrong. Brown University officials, facing the most tumultuous admissions season in memory, accepted an unusually high number of applicants, then dipped deep into the school's waiting list for even more, hedging their bets to fill the freshman class.

MIT Sloan to Add Two Degree Programs, First New Ones in Decades
Bloomberg News | September 18, 2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management will add two degree programs next year to meet demand for specialized business education.

Hurricanes Blamed for 13-Percent Jump in Student-Loan Default Rate
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 17, 2008
The government's measure of the rate at which college students default on their federally subsidized loans rose nearly 13 percent in 2006, with much of the increase attributed to economic troubles in states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Cornell U. Produces a Safety Video of Dos and Don'ts for New Students
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 17, 2008
Don't drink too much, download pirated files, light candles, or prop open doors. Warnings like those pervade the weighty work of admonition known as the student handbook.

Pell Grants Said to Face a Shortfall of $6 Billion
New York Times | September 17, 2008
Battered by a worsening economy, college students are seeking federal financial aid in record numbers this year, leading Bush administration officials to warn Congress that the most important federal aid program, Pell Grants, may need up to $6 billion in additional taxpayer funds next year.

GWU Adds Ethical Focus To Business Grad School
Washington Post | September 16, 2008
George Washington University Business School is overhauling its graduate program this year and says it is taking a chance: Will future MBAs value a new emphasis on ethics, or are they in it only for the money?

An Ambitious Approach to Overseas Expansion
Inside Higher Ed | September 16, 2008
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business announced ambitious plans Monday to develop a network of deep partnerships and branch campuses — what the dean calls a “physical presence of real scope and scale” – in Dubai, London, New Delhi, Shanghai and St. Petersburg.

Yale Endowment Climbs to $23 Billion, President Says in Letter
Bloomberg News | September 16, 2008
Yale University's endowment totaled almost $23 billion on June 30, the school's top official said, or about 2 percent more than was reported a year earlier.

Reforming the Requirement-Free Curriculum
Inside Higher Ed | September 15, 2008
Some prominent institutions, such as Columbia University or the University of Chicago, are famous for what they require of all undergraduates. Brown University has for the last 40 years been much loved in some circles, and disdained in others, for what it doesn’t require.

For Researchers on Animals, Ethics Training Is Sparse
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 15, 2008
Extremist protesters have made their statements this year with firebombs directed at researchers' homes, but even students with no penchant for violence voice misgivings about working with animals. Now discussions about animal-research ethics that were once confined to philosophy courses are showing up as requirements for graduate students in the sciences and veterinary medicine.

Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free
New York Times | September 14, 2008
Squint hard, and textbook publishers can look a lot like drug makers. They both make money from doing obvious good — healing, educating — and they both have customers who may be willing to sacrifice their last pennies to buy what these companies are selling.

Near BC, Little Common Ground
Boston Globe | September 14, 2008
If there's any area of community agreement that might allow approval of any single element of Boston College's 10-year expansion plan, it was not evident at Tuesday evening's meeting with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Hospitals' Mistakes Are Going Unreported
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 12, 2008
Two patients at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia required additional surgery last summer after objects were accidentally left inside their bodies, state health investigators found.

Harvard Endowment Returns 8.6%, Totals $36.9 Billion (Update3)
Bloomberg News | September 12, 2008
Harvard University's endowment, the richest of any school, returned 8.6 percent in 12 months, beating major indexes of investment performance.

A Clash Between UC Berkeley's Priorities and Those of Its Neighbors
Los Angeles Times | September 11, 2008
She calls herself Dumpster Muffin and lived in a tree on the UC Berkeley campus for more than seven months. In her view, university officials are bullies who want to destroy nature for the sake of football.

Student Newspapers Escape Most Financial Problems of Larger Dailies
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 11, 2008
It's all doom and gloom in commercial newspapers these days: buyouts, layoffs, and fleeing advertisers. But most student newspapers seem to be doing just fine.

ChaCha Service Raises Fears of Cheating Via Cell Phone
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 10, 2008
A new cell-phone service that promises to give free answers to virtually any question within minutes has some academics worried that it will be yet another device to help students cheat.

Temple's Town-Gown Trouble
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 10, 2008
Temple University's success in transforming the one-time commuter school into a thriving residential campus is causing growing pains in its neighborhood - prompting community residents to give university and city officials an earful last week during a heated town meeting.

A Vestige of Yale’s Past Fights for Life
New York Times | September 10, 2008
Gaddis Smith, Yale grad (undergraduate and doctorate), Yale history professor emeritus, son and grandson of Elis, is sitting at the corner table at Mory’s that was Bart Giamatti’s favorite perch when he was president of the university from 1978 to 1986.

Temple's Town-gown Trouble
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 10, 2008
Temple University's success in transforming the one-time commuter school into a thriving residential campus is causing growing pains in its neighborhood - prompting community residents to give university and city officials an earful last week during a heated town meeting.

Ph.D. Completion Gaps
Inside Higher Ed | September 09, 2008
Significant gaps exist — by demographic groups and disciplines — in who finishes Ph.D. programs. Generally, foreign, male, and white students are more likely to earn their doctorates after 10 years than are their counterparts who are American, female or minority.

Marketing Code for Student Lenders
New York Times | September 09, 2008
Resolving an investigation into whether they misled consumers, seven student loan companies have agreed to follow a code of conduct for their marketing, the New York attorney general’s office said on Tuesday.

Print Journalism Squeeze Hits Campuses
Inside Higher Ed | September 08, 2008
Students working at college newspapers are getting a true — and bitter — taste of the “real world.” Late last month, two student newspapers announced plans to curtail print publications, citing the same drain in advertising revenues that has prompted layoffs at commercial newspapers across the country. The Daily Californian, which serves the University of California at Berkeley, and The Daily Orange at Syracuse University, have both announced that they’ll scale back their print editions from five days to four, while maintaining an online presence throughout the week. Both are independent student newspapers, which rely on advertising revenue — not university money — to stay afloat.

College Presidents Defend Rising Tuition, but Lawmakers Sound Skeptical
New York Times | September 08, 2008
Two dozen college presidents and policy experts defended the rising costs of tuition on Monday and argued against forcing colleges to spend more of their endowments.

Dartmouth Names Immelt to Board After Suit Is Dropped
Bloomberg News | September 08, 2008
Dartmouth College named Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive officer of General Electric Co., to its board of trustees after an alumni group of the Ivy League school dropped a legal challenge opposing new members.

Student GOP Leader Resigns Over Obama Remark
Associated Press | September 08, 2008
The leader of a statewide group of college Republicans has been forced to resign after posting racially insensitive comments about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on the Internet.

No Athletic Dept at Vandy, but Much Success
Associated Press | September 06, 2008
As president of Vanderbilt University and four other prominent schools before that, Gordon Gee perceived an unhappy trend: Student-athletes were drifting away from the core of university life. They lived, ate and studied in a jock bubble.

City Eyes Closure's Effect on OB Care
Philadelphia Inquirer | September 06, 2008
City health leaders believe the closure of Chestnut Hill Hospital's maternity unit will not endanger Philadelphia's pregnant women, but some fear problems could grow and hope a new monitoring effort will alert them to trouble.

If Kent State Beats Goals, Professors Will Profit
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 05, 2008
Kent State University is trying a new and unusual tactic to improve its status, retention rate, and fund raising—paying cash bonuses to faculty members if the university exceeds its goals in those areas.

Update on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 28 Universities
Chronicle of Higher Education | September 05, 2008
The 28 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $632.4-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

College Loan Corp. to Cease Private Loan Disbursements
Wall Street Journal | September 05, 2008
One of the nation's largest student loan companies is exiting the remaining part of its student loan business. In a letter addressed to college financial aid officers, College Loan Corp.'s chief executive, Cary Katz, says the company will "cease all private loan disbursements effective immediately" because it lost its funding.

At Colleges, a New Freshman Rush
Boston Globe | September 05, 2008
Amherst College's freshman orientation is an eight-day extravaganza, an array of activities from mountain hikes and whitewater rafting to cooking and ballroom dancing. Tufts University's six-day calendar of events runs 35 pages, a smorgasbord of coffee klatches, carnivals, and scavenger hunts. Northeastern University's "Welcome Week," which spans 11 days, features tours of Fenway Park, rock concerts, and shopping trips to Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.

$400 Million Gift to Genetic Institute
New York Times | September 04, 2008
Eli and Edythe Broad, who are giving away a multibillion-dollar fortune made in real estate and insurance, announced on Thursday their biggest gift so far, a $400 million donation to the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard.

Less Affordable Colleges May Get 'F,' Land on Wall of Shame
USA Today | September 04, 2008
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, signed Aug. 14 by President Bush, will require the Department of Education to post online the colleges and universities with the highest percentage increases in tuition and fees in a three-year period.

Hearing on Columbia Plan Elicits Emotional Speeches
New York Times | September 04, 2008
The Empire State Development Corporation board this week held its only public hearing before it decides whether to use eminent domain to allow for the $6.3 billion expansion of Columbia University into Manhattanville.

Energy Costs Soar 14% in Year for U.S Universities, Report Says
Bloomberg News | September 04, 2008
Energy costs for U.S. colleges and universities soared 14 percent in the 12 months ended June 30, putting pressure on institutions with limited means of raising revenue.

Attacking the ‘Mismatch’ Critique of Affirmative Action
Inside Higher Ed | September 03, 2008
One of the more influential and controversial studies of affirmative action in recent years came from Richard H. Sander in 2004. The law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles analyzed statistics about black law students and argued that they show that affirmative action hurts them by helping many gain admission to institutions where they are unlikely to be top students. This “mismatch,” he argued, led to academic performance at lower levels than the same students would have achieved at the less prestigious law schools to which they could have earned admission without the consideration of race.

A Lower Legal Drinking Age? Health Experts, College Presidents Debate
Los Angeles Times | September 01, 2008
GORDIE BAILEY JR. had been in college only one month before he overdosed on alcohol. Urged on by members of a frat house he was intent on joining, the 18-year-old drank until he passed out, was dumped onto a couch and was found dead the next morning. The 2004 incident at the University of Colorado was one of the approximately 1,700 alcohol-related deaths that occur among college students each year in the United States. They include traffic accidents, falls, suffocation, drowning and alcohol poisoning.

Liberal Arts Tweaked to Round Out Resumes
Associated Press | September 01, 2008
Longtime Middlebury College economics Professor Michael Claudon should have been ecstatic. More and more students at the quintessential Vermont liberal arts school — nearly 1 in 6 — had picked his department as a major.

Professor Protests Over Black Admissions at U.C.L.A.
Associated Press | August 30, 2008
A professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, resigned from an admissions committee Thursday, saying he suspected officials were cheating to illegally admit more black students but have blocked access to data that would prove it.

‘Collision Course’ for Graduate Education
Inside Higher Ed | August 28, 2008
What’s wrong with graduate education these days? Is it what Ph.D. students are missing — teaching skills perhaps, or the ability to branch out beyond their area of specialization? Or is that too many students take too long to finish?

Sen. Grassley to Lead a Discussion on Endowment Spending and College Costs
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 27, 2008
The debate over how universities spend their endowments is returning to Capitol Hill. Sen. Charles E. Grassley and Rep. Peter Welch will hold a round table on September 8 in which higher-education officials and financial experts will discuss the relationship between endowments and college costs, as well as possible legislation that would require universities to spend 5 percent of their assets each year.

Fate of Pollock Painting at U. of Iowa Stirs Outcry in Art World
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 27, 2008
Jackson Pollock's "Mural," the wall-length jewel of the University of Iowa's art collection, sits safely in a secure, climate-controlled location in Chicago after being saved from the flooded campus earlier this summer. But the painting's long-term fate is less certain, as the possibility of selling it to pay for flood repairs is being debated in Iowa and the larger art community.

The SAT’s Growing Gaps
Inside Higher Ed | August 27, 2008
The average score on the SAT remained steady for the class of 2008 — with the critical reading (502), mathematics (515) and writing (494) scores all unchanged from last year.

Purdue, Citing Research Misconduct, Punishes Scientist
New York Times | August 27, 2008
An appeals committee at Purdue University has upheld findings of misconduct on the part of a professor who claims to have created energy-generating fusion in a tabletop experiment, the university announced on Wednesday.

Yale Revelation: Renewal for a Building and Its Original Designer
New York Times | August 27, 2008
It’s hard to think of a building that has suffered through more indignities than the Yale School of Art and Architecture. On the day of its dedication in 1963, the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner condemned the oppressive monumentality of its concrete forms. Two years later the school’s dean brutally cut up many of the interiors, which he claimed were dysfunctional. A few years after that a fire gutted what was left. By then the reputation of the building’s architect, Paul Rudolph, was in ruins.

In Platform, Democrats Promise More Money for Research and Student Aid
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 26, 2008
On the first evening of their four-day convention here, Democrats approved a platform that promises more federal student aid, greater support for research, and an end to the politicization of science.

Next Steps for E-Texts
Inside Higher Ed | August 26, 2008
Predicting when e-textbooks will become a viable alternative to the dead-tree variety churned from printing presses to millions of college students a year is a bit like asking whether newspapers will give way to the Internet. Everyone thinks they will, but it’s a question of when, and what the new paradigm will look like.

Higher-Education Platforms Develop as Convention Season Begins
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 25, 2008
With the Olympics completed, Americans can now turn their attention to the national political parties' conventions and the presidential candidates' platforms, including their higher-education proposals. The Democrats convene today in Denver, and the Republicans meet next week in St. Paul.

University Fires Professor Who Mooned
Inside Higher Ed | August 25, 2008
Becoming a YouTube star by mooning a room of students and professors doesn’t exactly provide job security for a professor without tenure.

As 'U.S. News' Rankings Turn 25, Harvard Stands Alone at No. 1
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 22, 2008
Higher education's favorite punching bag continues to expand. Twenty-five years after its debut, U.S. News & World Report's annual college guide has grown to include several new categories. This year, the ever-controversial America's Best Colleges features two new lists—a separate ranking of "up-and-coming" colleges, and a ranking of colleges by high-school counselors.

‘U.S. News’ Sees Drop in Participation
Inside Higher Ed | August 22, 2008
Even though many colleges will boast today about their placement in the annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report, more colleges than ever are declining to participate in the survey that makes up the single largest part of the magazine’s formula.

U. of Iowa Professor Accused in Grading Scheme May Be Dead
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 22, 2008
A University of Iowa professor who faced criminal charges for allegedly offering female students A’s if they would let him fondle their breasts may be dead. The Des Moines Register reported this morning that the police have been searching a 185-acre wooded park this week where the political-science professor, Arthur H. Miller, left his car on Tuesday morning.

Bid to Reconsider Drinking Age Taps Unlikely Supporters
Wall Street Journal | August 21, 2008
A new campaign highlighting campus alcohol abuse won heavyweight support this week as top college presidents signed a statement urging consideration of lowering the drinking age, but the effort is already encountering a powerful backlash.

Proportion of Professors Hired as Couples Rises, Study Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education | August 20, 2008
Thirty-six percent of professors at the nation's leading universities have partners who are also professors, and the proportion of faculty members who are hired as couples is on the rise. But even the nation's top research universities usually hire academic couples without written guidelines, raising questions about fairness and academic standards.

The Mommy M.B.A.: Schools Try to Attract More Women
Wall Street Journal | August 20, 2008
Ask any ambitious, young female college student about her plans, and she'll likely say she's heading for law or medical school, a great job or perhaps her own business start-up. What she probably won't say: She wants to get an M.B.A.

Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod.
New York Times | August 20, 2008
Taking a step that professors may view as a bit counterproductive, some universities are doling out Apple iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to students.

M.B.A.s Skip On-Campus Recruiting
Wall Street Journal | August 19, 2008
When she entered business school two years ago, software product manager Laura Mogilner assumed she would go back to the same field -- with a higher paycheck -- after graduating.

Anti-Feminist Lawyer Sues Columbia Over Women’s Studies Courses
Wall Street Journal | August 19, 2008
August is now on the downslope, and back-to-school is racing toward us. In fact, many law schools begin today. So let’s close out our Monday with another look at education & the law.

Tyler School of Art Will Relocate
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 19, 2008
Tyler School of Art was founded in Elkins Park as an idyllic retreat where students could get away from the distractions of the city and immerse themselves totally in the arts.

Turning the Tables on Affirmative Action Foes
Inside Higher Ed | August 18, 2008
Defenders of affirmative action have learned — as ballot measures to bar its use by public colleges spread from state to state — how to win support from educators, business leaders and politicians. But they’ve yet to marshal a majority of state voters to reject one of the measures.

Student Files Are Exposed on Web Site
New York Times | August 18, 2008
The Princeton Review, the test-preparatory firm, accidentally published the personal data and standardized test scores of tens of thousands of Florida students on its Web site, where they were available for seven weeks.

College Presidents Seek Debate on Drinking Age
Associated Press | August 18, 2008
College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.

Student Sues Lincoln University Over Assault
Philadelphia Inquirer | August 15, 2008
A Lincoln University student who was assaulted on campus in 2006 has filed a federal lawsuit against the school for failing to provide proper security.

Keeping Track of Students, and Staying in Touch
Inside Higher Ed | August 15, 2008