Home  News Room 

Confusion on State Authorization

Inside Higher Ed

May 20, 2013

The Education Department announced Friday that it would push back by a year the deadline for complying with a rule requiring states to authorize colleges within their borders, but did little to clarify a regulation that colleges and their representatives say is confusing and difficult to navigate. The new deadline is July 1, 2014.

Education Dept. May Have Overpaid Loan-Collection Agencies, Report Says

Chronicle of Higher Education

May 20, 2013

At a time when the amount of defaulted federal student loans continues to climb, the Education Department has been forced to pay private debt-collection agencies based on self-reported estimates of their commissions and bonuses, not precise data, due to glitches in an online debt-management system it launched more than a year ago.

Missing the (Grade) Point

Inside Higher Ed

May 20, 2013

The study "Is the Sky Falling? Grade Inflation and the Signaling Power of Grades", has just been published in Educational Researcher. It calls in to question numerous claims about grade inflation over the years by asserting that other metrics should be used in calculating grade inflation.

Higher ed budgets up in admin category

New England Center For Investigative Reporting

May 19, 2013

Massachusetts universities and colleges that say they're trying to hold down costs have increased their number of administrators three times faster than their number of students, according to federal data analyzed by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting.

Is higher education a public or private good?

Eagle, Wichita, Kan. – Opinion Piece

May 19, 2013

Everybody living in a society with a high percentage of college graduates benefits considerably from higher education – even those who never attend or complete college. An educated population produces more growth, creates more wealth, and retains jobs better than an uneducated one.

U.S. Campuses Wrestle With Safety Perceptions

New York Times

May 19, 2013

Growing concern about student safety in the United States long predates the Boston bombings. Mass school shootings — like the one by a Korean-American student that killed 32 at Virginia Tech in 2007, or the massacre that left 20 children and 6 teachers dead at a Connecticut elementary school this past December — have shocked the public both inside and outside the United States.

Obama makes no excuses at Morehouse College

Examiner.com

May 19, 2013

At a time when many graduates are going to be faced with a tough economy, where job opportunities are hard to come by, President Obama told graduates at Morehouse College, an all-male private college that they have obligations to be role models for "those still left behind," according to Obama at the graduation ceremony.

Graduation Rates: Flawed as a Measure of Colleges, but Still Useful

Chronicle of Higher Education

May 19, 2013

As the graduation rate is used more often as a proxy for quality, the debate over its effectiveness becomes more intense. Some college officials maintain that graduation rates are a poor predictor of student success because they don’t measure an individual student’s chance of success. 

Feds rooting out 'unwelcome speech' on campus: But what is that?

Christian Science Monitor

May 18, 2013

The failure of the University of Montana to respond adequately to rape and sexual assault allegations against popular football players has led to a broadening of how the federal government defines sexual harassment, causing free speech advocates to worry that the new policy will be used to punish “unwelcome” flirting and chill the right to speak freely on campus.

Elizabeth Warren focuses on college debt; Congress must join the debate

Boston Globe - Editorial

May 18, 2013

Congress has a number of mechanisms to address an untenable student-loan situation, starting with requiring colleges to provide students with more information on the details and implications of the loans they’ll be taking out. Meanwhile, stricter scrutiny of higher-ed institutions — by both loan applicants and loan approvers — might prompt some students to reject the entreaties of disreputable or low-quality institutions. Warren deserves credit for jump-starting a debate with implications for millions of students, thousands of institutions, and the future of the US economy. Now, Congress needs to follow through.