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May 2, 2008
Education Brief
Pursuit of High
Rankings May
Undermine
Diversity
Efforts
Two recent
studies conclude
that selective
colleges give
excess weight to
SAT scores to
improve their
college-guide
rankings, but
they could
attract more
minority and
low-income
students by
giving more
consideration to
other admissions
criteria.
News Analysis:
Competing
Meetings Kick Up
Sand in Academic
Freedom
Recent meetings
of scholars in
Middle Eastern
studies came at
the issues from
diametrically
opposing ends of
the ideological
spectrum, but
they didn't
disagree about
everything.
USA Today Ends
Student Award
Programs
The All-USA
College Academic
Team and the
All-USA
Community
College Academic
Team provided
cash awards to
undergraduate
"all-stars."
Congress Mulls
Consolidation of
Tuition Tax
Credits
Members of a
House
subcommittee
considered how
they might
simplify the
overlapping tax
breaks for
families of
students who
attend college.
Close to one in
five tax filers
who are eligible
for the benefits
fail to claim
them.
Weak Results
Found in Study
of Reading First
Program
In a report that
is likely to
rekindle
scholarly
debates about
reading-instruction
techniques, the
U.S. Department
of Education has
found that the
much-debated
Reading First
program has no
effect on
students'
reading-comprehension
skills.
Crossing a Chasm
for Bosnia's
Future
In the divided
country, a
professor of
English is one
of the few to
cross from one
political entity
to another to
teach a new
generation.
Higher Tuition
Isn't Finding
Its Way to the
Classroom
Students are
paying an
increasing share
of
higher-education
costs, but
spending on
instruction has
slowed since
1998, says a new
report.
Senate Acts to
Head Off
Student-Loan
Crisis
A bill it passed
on Wednesday
would allow the
secretary of
education to buy
up loans that
lenders have
struggled to
sell to
investors.
Colleges Step Up
Fund-Raising
Efforts to
Support Student
Aid
Under pressure
to be more
affordable, many
institutions
feel a
heightened need
to provide more
financial aid --
and they are
turning to
alumni and other
private donors
for help.
Summit Fosters
Partnerships for
Global
Development
Academics from
the United
States and
abroad used the
meeting to begin
discussions
about specific
university
partnerships.
Prominent
Higher-Education
Reporter to Step
Down at New York
Times
Karen W. Arenson,
who has been one
of the most
visible
higher-education
reporters in the
country for the
past 12 years
from her perch
at The New York
Times, has
accepted a
buyout package
from the
newspaper.
New Survey Will
Examine What
Makes
Arts-School
Graduates
Succeed or Fail
The survey,
which kicks off
today, will
provide a
statistical
portrait of the
lives and
careers of
dancers,
musicians, Web
artists,
painters,
writers, and
other members of
the nation's
creative class.
Ohio Judge
Selects Buyer
for Troubled
Myers University
An investor who
is known for
acquiring
financially
ailing
institutions was
chosen to buy
the university,
in Cleveland.
Tuition
Increases Are
Expected to Keep
Outpacing
Inflation
Most financial
officers at
private colleges
said they expect
such a rise to
continue, and
many put part of
the blame on the
competition to
offer special
amenities.
Penn Scores
Highest in
National
Green-Power
Contest
The University
of
Pennsylvania's
extensive use of
renewable energy
and efficiency
measures helped
put the Ivy
League on top in
a contest
sponsored by the
Environmental
Protection
Agency.
Efforts to
Expand GI Bill
Gain Ground in
Congress
Momentum is
building for a
bill that would
significantly
expand tuition
benefits for
veterans of the
wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan by
paying up to the
full cost of a
four-year
education at a
public college.
College Tech
Offices Deal
With Surge in
Campus-Piracy
Alerts
Colleges and
universities
around the
country are
reporting a
sharp,
unanticipated
increase in
complaints from
an industry
group about the
illegal sharing
of music and
movie files on
campuses.
Inquiry Faults
Handling of U.
of Washington's
Ill-Fated Ghana
Trip
The report by an
independent
investigator
said that the
study-abroad
program to a
remote village
in Ghana was a
major
undertaking
beyond the
ability of the
program
director. The
university is
re-evaluating
how it
administers such
programs.
An American
College in China
Struggles to
Deliver
Language
barriers and
faculty turnover
contribute to
the challenges
facing Missouri
State
University's
campus in China.
Administrators
acknowledge the
problems but
reject the
criticism that
the program is
promising more
than it can
deliver.
Santa Cruz
Graduate Wins
Student-Journalism
Award From The
Chronicle
Sam Laird, a
2007 graduate of
the University
of California at
Santa Cruz, won
The Chronicle's
David W. Miller
Award for
Student
Journalists.
Former
Instructor
Threatens to Sue
Dartmouth and
Some Students
for
Discrimination
A former
lecturer in
Dartmouth's
writing program
complains of
being subjected
to hostile and
exploitative
behavior.
Dartmouth says
her claims are
without merit.
2 Top
Administrators
Quit at West
Virginia U., but
President
Retains Support
of Board
It appears
unlikely that
Michael S.
Garrison will
resign or be
removed as
president in the
wake of a
transcript
scandal
involving the
governor's
daughter.
A Christian
University Puts
Faith in Its
Professors
Prospective
faculty members
at Whitworth
University, a
Presbyterian
institution in
Washington
State, have to
submit personal
statements about
their beliefs as
a key part of
the application
process. Even
so, they
represent a
variety of
denominations.
New Medical
College's First
Class Will
Receive Full
Scholarships
Officials of the
new school, at
the University
of Central
Florida, say
students who
graduate
debt-free will
be able to
pursue areas of
medicine out of
interest rather
than financial
need.
To Spice Up
Course Work,
Some Professors
Are Making
Videos
With
do-it-yourself
technology,
professors can
quickly produce
"video
solutions" to
specific
problems. And
their students
tune in to the
short-format
clips more than
to recorded
lectures, the
professors say.
Audio: Gordon
Gee's Guidelines
for a Successful
Presidency
Ohio State
University's
president, E.
Gordon Gee, is
one of the
nation's most
veteran
university
chiefs. He
describes how to
weather
challenges as a
president,
including how to
deal with
hostility from
Capitol Hill.
American Academy
of Arts and
Sciences
Announces 212
New Members
The American
Academy of Arts
and Sciences
announced on
Monday the
election of 190
new fellows and
22 new foreign
honorary
members.
What Admissions
Officials Think
A Chronicle
survey reveals
their concerns
about college
costs, changing
demographics,
and public
perceptions of
the jobs they do
in selecting
students.
New Group of
Scholars
Discusses
Islamic
Extremism at
First Meeting
The chairman of
the Association
for the Study of
the Middle East
and Africa
denounced the
academic traits
that he believes
impede open
discussion of
Islam in the
keynote address.
President Bush
Pushes Congress
for Quick Law on
Student Lending
Mr. Bush said
such legislation
is needed to
protect student
loans from the
national credit
crunch and to
ensure that an
economic
slowdown does
not result in
fewer
educational
opportunities.
From Chronicle
of Higher
Education (April
28 to May 2,
2008)
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