News

July 17, 2009
Education Brief

How Obama's $12-Billion Plan Could Change 2-Year Colleges

After the dazzle fades from the president's proposal to spend an unprecedented $12-billion to improve programs, courses, and facilities at community college, many questions will remain. The Chronicle takes an in-depth look at how the plan might play out.

Drive-Time History, With a Dry Sense of Humor

Three professors in Virginia aspire to make history lively for listeners to their public-radio show.

A Green Building at Ithaca College Demands Help From Its Occupants

Ithaca College's newest energy-efficient building requires its inhabitants to collaborate.

Education and Labor Officials Pledge Closer Cooperation on Job Training

The officials told the Senate education committee on Thursday that they would align their departments' programs better to prepare people for work.

Belmont U. Course Hints at What It Means to Be an American

Ten students and two professors share "40 States in 40 Days," a six-credit, 9,300-mile bus tour of the United States.

Fund-Raising Offices Make People a Priority as Budgets Are Cut

In the face of declining revenue and institutional budget cuts, college advancement chiefs are working to protect their most-valuable assets: frontline fund raisers.

Job Training Is Priority at Education Dept., State Leaders Are Told

Martha J. Kanter, the U.S. under secretary of education, told state higher-education leaders at their annual meeting that she would make priorities of improving job training and helping students who work.

In an Unusual Partnership, a College Swaps Tuition for a New Building

Finlandia University, a small institution in Michigan, offers free tuition to local high-school students in exchange for a school-district building and athletics fields.

Leaders of the College of New Jersey Overturn a Widely Protested Tenure Denial

Top officials at the College of New Jersey have taken the unusual step of granting tenure to an assistant professor after an English Department committee voted unanimously in April to recommend against it.

Audio: Students' Money Woes and Misconceptions

Beth Kobliner, author of "Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties," spoke with students on college campuses this spring about how they should manage their money. She shares some of what she heard from them with The Chronicle.

Green Activists Mine W.Va. for New Nicknames as Mountains Are Blasted Away

Three environmentalists contend that the West Virginia University Mountaineers should be renamed to reflect the devastation caused by strip mining and mountaintop-removal mining.

Obama's Plan for Community Colleges Raises Hopes and Questions

The president drew on the experiences of people at Macomb Community College, near Detroit, to argue his case that Washington needs to give serious attention to community colleges.

House Bill Would End Guaranteed Student Loans and Overhaul Perkins Program

The bill, which will be introduced by the chairman of the House education committee today, would also provide additional mandatory money for Pell Grants and expand the Perkins Loan program by $5-billion, Congressional aides confirmed Tuesday night.

Trustees Are More Engaged but Still Need Improvement, Survey Finds

College governing boards are becoming more effective and engaged, but still fall short in some areas, according to survey results released today by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

Personnel Matters Private for University Leaders? Not in Nevada

Last week marked the first time regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education voted not to renew a president's contract in an open meeting. For the man under the spotlight, the experience was not one he would recommend to anyone.

2 Colleges Share How They Created Net-Price Calculators

At their annual meeting, student-aid officials give tips on developing the soon-to-be-mandatory online tools that estimate a student's college costs.

In Student-Loan Crunch, Credit Unions See Opportunity

The shortage of traditional sources of private student loans has opened a door for a new class of lenders: credit unions.

Editor Hopes to Do for Jewish Life What He Did for Communism

The former editorial director of Yale University Press and general editor of its celebrated Annals of Communism series is now in charge of one of the world's most important archives of Jewish life.

British Student Sees How French Higher Education Works -- or Doesn't

A British student who went to France to learn about wine and tourism in the Bordeaux region instead became an expert in French activism when academic protests disrupted her studies.

Obama to Propose Graduation Goal and $12-Billion in Programs for 2-Year Colleges

The president will call on the nation's community colleges today to produce five million more graduates by the year 2020 and will propose spending $12-billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at two-year institutions.

Direct Lending Takes Center Stage at Aid Administrators' Meeting

Conference attendees wanted to know whether President Obama's plan to eliminate the guaranteed-student-loan program will be realized, and what it will mean for their jobs.

Some Small Colleges Worry About the Cost of Obama's Loan Proposal

Student-aid officers on some campuses are worried about the administrative cost of switching from the bank-based guaranteed-loan program to direct lending if President Obama's plan is adopted.

Proposed Changes in Perkins Loan Program Leave Student-Aid Officials Wary

Education Department officials tried to persuade colleges that President Obama's new program would resemble the existing one, but aid administrators weren't buying it.

Audio: In a Washington Minute -- Student Lenders Push for a Last-Ditch Compromise

Last week 32 student-loan groups circulated a counterproposal to President Obama's plan to end bank-based student lending. But with Congress poised to take up student-loan legislation in the coming days, lenders' time might be running out, say Kelly Field and Sara Hebel.

Video: Creator of 'The Sims' Talks Educational Gaming

Will Wright, the video-game designer responsible for some of the best-selling titles of all time, says that video games are better at inspiring students to learn than actually teaching them.

In Banning Houseplants, a College Hopes to Break the Mold

The Jefferson College of Health Sciences has ordered the removal of potted plants from a campus building to fight the potential for fungal growth.

Obama Expected to Announce Major Proposal to Support Community Colleges

The president called for fresh financial support for America's community colleges on Sunday as two-year institutions anticipate the rollout of what could be a multibillion-dollar plan on Tuesday.

Private Effort to Create Courses Draws Praise -- and Charges of 'Buying' Curricula

A group with conservative connections urges young professors to teach its course on American history, and it pays to sponsor the course and to interest scholars in teaching it.

Colleges Will See a Decline in Megagifts, Experts Predict

Fund raisers will need to focus more on donors who can give from $100,000 to $999,999, said speakers at the annual conference of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Brigham Young U. Marks More Than 2 Decades in Israel

The university, one of the first American institutions to open a campus in Jerusalem, has faced the difficulty of running a study-abroad program in an unstable country. But now it is being joined by two other American colleges.

From Chronicle of Higher Education (July 13 to 17, 2009)

 

 

 


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