The Boston Marathon bombings last month hit the home of some of the world’s greatest universities. As the terror and violence played out in America’s education and research hub, each twist and turn seemed to touch on the very campuses that draw the best and brightest from across the globe. Lu Lingzi, a graduate student … Continue reading »
Pushing a Data-Driven Culture on One Campus
William D. Law Jr. was talking about “big data” before it was a buzzword. Mr. Law, president of St. Petersburg College, has long argued that colleges can improve student performance with a little number crunching, just as many businesses increase efficiency by looking for trends in all the contacts they have with their customers. Mr. … Continue reading »
USC Announces $70 Million Gift by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine
To his fans, Dr. Dre is known as a pioneer in hip-hop music and culture. The celebrated music producer, whose real name is Andre Young, was one of the creative forces behind West Coast rap, and his collaborations with artists such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Eminem have produced numerous hit songs. In the … Continue reading »
College Enrollment Fell by 2.3 Percent This Spring, Report Says
College enrollment in the spring-2013 term dropped by 2.3 percent compared with the same term a year ago, according to a report released on Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Four-year, for-profit institutions saw the sharpest enrollment decline among higher-education sectors tracked in the report, with a fall of 8.7 percent. The report … Continue reading »
Calif. Community Colleges Note a Positive Trend: More Summer Courses
Many of California’s community colleges are planning to expand their course offerings this summer, according to a news release from the office of the system’s chancellor—a positive trend after years of budget cuts that forced campuses to scale back or even eliminate their summer sessions. The chancellor’s office polled the 112 colleges in the system … Continue reading »
Students Try to Break Taboo Around Social Class on Campus
…Last fall, Ms. Berg and two classmates started a group to raise awareness of class and to advocate for more support for low-income students. So far, the group has put on several events, including a well-attended panel: “How Public Is Our Public University?” Next academic year, organizers want to reach out to new students especially, … Continue reading »
Teaching While Gay
I am one of dozens of professors who have been teaching a yearlong course called the “Common Intellectual Experience” at Ursinus College. All of our first-year students take the course simultaneously, grouped into classes of approximately 16, each led by a different professor. They read the same books at the same time, write papers with … Continue reading »
Time Has Come To Measure Quality In New and Different Ways
Access to higher education is increasingly seen as a right. Yet while 90 million adults are without a degree, and our standard of living is falling, barriers are being erected which impede access. The largest obstacle is cost. Four years of tuition can exceed the price of a new home in 2003 ($207,000). Simultaneously, state … Continue reading »
California’s Poor Families Need Better Access to College, Report Says
California’s working families remain undereducated, to their detriment and to the state’s, according to a report released on Wednesday. Among the four million working families in the state, a third are considered lower-income, defined as a family of four earning about $45,000 or less per year, says the report, “Working Hard, Left Behind,” released by … Continue reading »
Child Care and STEM Fields Are Called Barriers to Women at 2-Year Colleges
The shortage of affordable child care and the gender stereotypes that discourage women from pursuing careers in mathematics and science are two of the biggest barriers holding women back in community colleges, according to a report released on Thursday by the American Association of University Women. The report, “Women in Community Colleges: Access to Success,” … Continue reading »
