In Whose Interest?
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - Why would a few minority organizations that don\'t normally speak on higher ed issues suddenly issue statements backing for-profit sector? Could this be \"astroturfing\"?
No Christianity Please, We?re Academics
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - It\'s time for colleges to examine why students and scholars who are people of faith report so much hostility on their campuses, writes Timothy Larsen.
LinkedIn-iQuette
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - Jessica Quillin presents a set of dos and don\'ts for higher education professionals who venture onto the social networking site.
ETS Resumes Registrations in Iran for TOEFL and GRE
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - The Educational Testing Service has announced that it is resuming registrations in Iran for the Test of English as a Foreign Language and the Graduate Record Examination. New United Nations sanctions against Iran led ETS to cut off registrations as the testing service could not process funds coming from the country. Now, ETS has a new arrangement in place to process credit and debit cards in Iran in ways that do not violate U.S. enforcement of the sanctions.
Senate Panel Approves Spending Bill, Pell Shortfall and All
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted to pass along the 2011 budget bill that includes Education Department appropriations with no changes to the higher education provisions approved Tuesday by a subcommittee. As it stands, the bill keeps funding unchanged from 2010 levels for most financial aid and access programs, and boosts the National Institutes of Health\'s budget by $1 billion, to $32 billion. Also unchanged from the subcommittee bill is the absence of funding to make up for the $5.7 billion Pell Grant shortfall. The House of Representatives\' appropriations bill included that money, but the Senate committee\'s Democratic members said that a means for addressing it would have to wait until it goes before the full Senate this fall, or when it is combined with the House measure in conference.
Layoffs and Investments for Chicago City Colleges
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - Chicago City Colleges could see a series of reforms -- and also 225 layoffs of non-instructional employees -- under a budget announced Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. To save money, the two-year college system is eliminating positions, and centralizing many administrative functions at its seven campuses. With those savings and increased tuition revenue (due to enrollment increases), a series of enhancements are planned. More funds will be provided for technology and job training, with an emphasis on matching job training with actual jobs.
Nontraditional Route to Med School Success
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - The Mount Sinai School of Medicine has released research that suggests students can succeed in medical school without any of the three things normally assumed to be absolute requirements to get in -- organic chemistry, physics and the Medical College Admission Test -- The New York Times reported. Mount Sinai has long had a small program admitting students who studied humanities or social sciences subjects as undergraduates and didn\'t take the MCAT. The new research found that these students\' performance in medical school was equivalent to that of those who went through a traditional pre-med curriculum and who took the MCAT.
Reform Ideas for Texas Higher Ed
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - A committee considering ideas to reform higher education in Texas has released a draft with some of its ideas. The Houston Chronicle reported that these ideas include more of an emphasis on online education, shifts in policies to reward institutions for completion as opposed to enrollment, and new approaches to remedial education.
A Separation and a Return
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - Catholic center will no longer nominate and pay for adjuncts to teach Catholic thought at Illinois. And for at least one more semester, controversial adjunct will be back.
Support for Plaintiffs in Title IX Suit Against Delaware State
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:00:00 GMT - The AAUW (formerly the American Association of University Women) has awarded $11,500 to the Women?s Law Project in support of a key gender equity lawsuit against Delaware State University. The suit was filed by members of the women?s equestrian team who argue that the institution violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by cutting their team and replacing it with a competitive cheerleading team. The circumstances of the suit closely resemble those of a recently-decided suit against Quinnipiac University. In that case, a federal judge determined that the university had violated Title IX by cutting its women?s volleyball team and replacing it with competitive cheerleading, an activity the judge determined cannot be counted as a sport to determine gender equity compliance.