International
Free higher education has created no crisis – ANCYL | Contrary to the doomsayers, doubters and beneficiaries of commodification of education who characterize access to free tertiary education as a cost, the ANCYL is resolute that this is a necessary investment which in a long term will contribute towards economic growth of our country and moving away most of the families from the social welfare programmes.
Higher education committee will double its oversight | Cape Town – The portfolio committee on higher education and training has welcomed President Jacob Zuma’s announcement of a fee-free dispensation for poor students at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
Study finds more evidence of state school ‘advantage’ in degrees | Academic ability of comprehensive school students ‘not always realised’ until university, researchers suggest.
Re-imagining institutional accountability | “Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments” is UNESCO’s means to track the progress towards fulfilling the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on Education, part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDG’s goal targets ask countries to ensure that all children complete “free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education,” along with access to early childhood education and equal access for vocational opportunities and university schooling.
These charts show why Canadians shouldn’t worry too much about their household debt | For months now, reports have found that Canadians have some of the highest household debt levels in the world. But one pair of experts think things might not be as bad as they seem. “Household debt in Canada is seen by some as unsustainably high and a source of vulnerability for the financial system,” writes National Bank chief economist Stéfane Marion and senior economist Matthieu Arseneau, in a report released today. “But the international evidence suggests that Canadian household leverage and home prices are not abnormal.”
Moody’s warns of ‘negative impact’ on universities after $2.2bn funding cut | Universities Australia – which has lobbied against the government’s decision – seized on the report. Acting chief executive Catriona Jackson said the ratings agency was “simply stating the facts”. “Moody’s makes it crystal clear. The funding freeze imposed by the government is risking the financial health and sustainability of Australian universities and that hits students and the national economy,” she said.
U.S. National
Are Prospective Students About to Disappear? | Grawe takes what he considers a more precise approach to forecasting. He starts with generally accepted figures that show the (traditional) college-age population dropping in the Northeast and Midwest by about 5 percent by the mid-2020s. But he then tracks birth rates and finds that the economic downturn that started around 2008 led many people to delay starting families. The impact, starting around 2026, could mean a loss of 15 percent of the typical college-going population.
The History Ph.D.: Beyond ‘Alt-Ac’ | Alt-ac, shorthand for alternative-academic careers and now derided by many as suggesting that nonfaculty jobs are somehow inferior, might even be so 2011. That’s when the American Historical Association’s executive director, James Grossman, and its then president, Anthony T. Grafton of Princeton University, co-authored “No More Plan B: A Very Modest Proposal for Graduate Programs in History.” Citing the diminishing number of tenure-track history positions, the essay urged departments to remind graduate students early, often and enthusiastically of the many career paths open to them.
US proposals ‘could shut poorest students out of universities’ | Proposed changes to the law that governs the US higher education system could undermine universities’ efforts to increase access for low-income students and increase fraud within the sector, experts have warned.
We can help more college students graduate — at lower cost | Some colleges and universities have found ways to help students learn more and graduate more quickly. Often these ideas have little or no additional ongoing costs or that — by retaining tuition-paying students — generate offsetting revenue. The challenge is to put such lessons to work across the nation.
U.S. States and Territories
Defense of status quo won’t be the last word | Don’t change us, change the folks who have oversight over us. That was the disappointing, but not surprising conclusion of a committee convened by the state Higher Education Department to examine the haphazard collection of colleges and universities in New Mexico and their governing structure, perhaps the most decentralized in the nation.
The Fight to Rebuild a Ravaged University | On the island, as on the mainland, a college education is the only way to move up the socioeconomic ladder, and the only way to train the people who will create an economy that is based on more than service and tourism. For many Puerto Ricans, a college education translates to one thing: a degree from the University of Puerto Rico.
Nebraska higher ed leaders cringe over new proposed cuts | Nebraska higher education leaders cringed this week over new budget cuts proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts… “A cut of this magnitude would make it difficult for us to remain affordable for our 53,000 students and meet the workforce and economic needs of the state,” University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds said in a written statement.
Institutional
Grant Gives Tampa Bay Minorities Greater Access to STEM Degrees | The Tampa Bay Bridge to the Baccalaureate (TB-B2B), a partnership among St. Petersburg College (SPC), Hillsborough Community College (HCC) and State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, under its Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, to increase the number of minority students transferring into a STEM program at the University of South Florida (USF).
Small College Struggles in the Sights | The Council of Independent Colleges has been among the most bullish organizations when discussing the state of small private liberal arts colleges, but a heightened sense of concern underpinned much of the organization’s annual Presidents Institute this year.
Aligning Faith With Diversity | Allen, who had spearheaded diversity initiatives at several other Christian colleges, was initially skeptical of doing diversity work at a faith-based institution. “I vowed I would never do this kind of work for Christian colleges ever again,” says Allen. “Being a person of faith, I take my faith very seriously. I can get it if I’m talking to someone who is not a person of faith and I get a lot of pushback around being inclusive and accepting of others. But it adds another layer of frustration when it’s a brother or sister of faith. The irony is that most of the resistance that I’ve got has been from people of faith.”
Modeling Student Success | After working for more than two decades in higher education, Rosemond has become a staunch and unwavering advocate for students — particularly those who could benefit from some additional guidance and support. Now she is bringing that energy to her new role as executive director of retention and student success at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). In this capacity, she is charged with providing overall leadership, coordination and management in the areas of staff supervision and training, data collection and analysis, best practices and evaluation of student services programs and services.