Universities Weblog

This is the question on many a politician's–and student's– mind. With a long-sought voting majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, Democrats now have the power to change the laws set by former Republicans. One of the 'hot' issues is higher education.

The Higher Education Act, enacted in 1965 as a part of Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" program, helps low-income students by providing federal funding for loans, grants and scholarships. Congress must periodically reauthorize the act, often making changes. Since President George W. Bush took office, the Republicans failed to raise the maximum Pell Grant amount significantly as promised. Instead, in February 2002 the Republicans fixed student-loan interest rates at 6.8 percent for new loans taken out after July 2006. The Higher Education Act is up for reauthorization this December, but the Republicans currently in power are likely to leave it on the back burner so the Democrats have to deal with the reauthorization. Should they get this opportunity, Democrats in both houses have several issues to tackle: the Pell Grant caps, interest rates on Student Loans and tax breaks for college students.

(Source: Princeton University)

Are Asian-Americans penalized in the elite-college admissions process? Yes, says a Yale freshman rejected by other top colleges, including Princeton, which he's now suing. He hopes to shed light on an emerging issue: that Asian-Americans face tougher odds than do white, black and Hispanic applicants.

Read this commentary from the Boston Globe:

In most contexts on college campuses, Asian-Americans are "people of color," a stripe in the multicultural rainbow. But when it comes to elite-college admissions, Asian-Americans put a strain on the usual "minority" alliances.

Princeton's admissions office, for its part, maintains that it makes no effort to align student demographics with that of the national population. Describing Li's complaint as "without merit," Princeton spokespeople have said that every student is evaluated using both academic and nonacademic criteria (such as leadership and artistic ability). And like other colleges, Princeton defends giving black and Hispanic students, children of alumni, and athletes a boost on the nonacademic side of the ledger.

Read on here.

This case certainly warrants further attention. Stay tuned.

(Source: Trinity University)

We all know blogging has caught on, and that people of all stripes, including me, are trying their hand at it. So, evidently, are college presidents.

Consider this bit from the New York Times:

Thanks to an e-mail message from "trinity gurl," an anonymous cybersnoop, Patricia A. McGuire, the president of Trinity University here, suddenly faced a digital-age dilemma.

"When I first started learning about blogs, I said, 'Well, here I like to discourse on issues of the day, connect with the campus community,' " recalled Dr. McGuire, who said she wrote all her own entries. "Here's a way I can talk a couple of times a week to everybody."

Read the rest here. And check out President McGuire's desk. You think yours is cluttered?

Some people, including the author of this article, think they do.

It seems a rather strange argument…at first glance, what effect could community colleges possibly have on high schools? According to the author, quite a big one.

Many well-intentioned people recommend that high school students go to the local community college, then transfer. Brown points out what every California high school student, and many middle schoolers, know: They can get into a community college no matter what. Given such a readily available, seemingly respectable college choice, many high school students go through a very lackluster four years of high school without taking the right courses to be able to get into a four-year college.

The author goes on to posit that since "grades don't matter" to get into community college, students don't bother to study for high school courses.

This seems a rather harsh opinion, and certainly casts community colleges in a negative light. Are two-year schools really not at all particular? Would students who would normally be conscientious in high school suddenly change their ways if they decided to go to a community college? What do you think?

(Image Source: BAM)

Not that kind of early decision.

No, I'm talking here about a different use of the term. Consider my latest Chronicle of Higher Education column:

As elite universities balance social equality with magazine rankings in the debate over early-admission programs, I, too, am wrestling with a question of early decision.

Interview marathons usually follow a familiar formula of phone interrogation, in-person grilling by the search committee, and a beauty-contest parade around the campus. Typically we subject three or four people to that treatment, collect reactions from our colleagues, call handpicked references, and attempt to reach a decision based carefully on a complex prescription consisting of one part scientific algorithms and two parts navel gazing.

Finish it here and draw your own conclusions. Would you end an interview prematurely?

Oh, and what's with Beaker? Read the column and find out.

(Source: Emerson College)

Yesterday's Boston Globe Magazine ran a piece on Emerson College, a Boston institution dedicated to communications and visual and performing arts. Its famous alumni include Henry Winkler ("Fonzie"), Jay Leno, denis leary and Norman Lear, among others. Of course, it's easy to get overlooked in Boston if you're not named Harvard, MIT, BU, BC or Northeastern.

Anyway, here's a bit:

Surrounded by cafes and restaurants, dingy bars, stores selling old books, the Loews movie theaters, the Common, and the Theater District, the actual campus of Emerson does, indeed, hide in plain sight. It's something that [President Jacqueline] Liebergott, as head of this performing arts and communications school, wrestles with often. Marshaling physical presence is a tough task in this vibrant district where historic buildings are packed together like teeth, and Emerson isn't aided by any of the markers that other schools enjoy. There is, for instance, no T stop to its name, unlike Harvard, MIT, BU, and BC. No signs direct you to what the school calls its "Campus on the Common," and the Emerson buildings, purchased one by one, are no campus beacons.

But Liebergott, a trained speech pathologist who joined the faculty in 1971 and became president in 1993, is consoled by the knowledge that Emerson's existence in this neighborhood is itself a triumph of sorts, a testament to the college's ambitious climb toward more recognition and mind space. Signs are but bells and whistles she can do without for now. After all, people may ask where Emerson College is, but fewer people are asking what Emerson College is.

Read the full article here.

(Source: University of Pennsylvania)

Good ol' alma mater is in the news again. This time it's our president, Amy Gutmann, who's being chastised for appearing in a Halloween photo with a student dressed as a suicide bomber. Evidently, folks assumed it was Gutmann's way of demonstrating her support for such activities.

Read this from InsideHigherEd.com:

Controversial Facebook photographs are supposed to get students - not college presidents - in hot water. But days after hosting her annual Halloween party at the presidential home, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann finds herself the subject of criticism after a photograph of her posing with a student dressed as a suicide bomber circulated online.

Saadi has since apologized for the costume. He wrote on his Web site that he doesn't "support terrorism, violence or anything that is against society," and that the costume - like many others on Halloween - was simply meant to portray a scary character.

You can read President Gutmann's letter to the Penn community here, and draw your own conclusions.

College? Affordable? Can those two words even exist in the same sentence? They can, with a little research. Here's an article that may make it easier. College Education Weekly offers five possible solutions.

One way to make that college education more affordable is to live at home while you earn your degree. That way, you won't have to pay the extra costs of room and board. If you can't find a college or university that is within commuting distance of where you live, you may want to consider taking classes at an online university. Beginning your education at a community college and transferring to a larger university is another great way to save money.

Every bit of information helps when it comes to financing college. Check out the article, and good luck!

(Source: Yale University)

Yale University. Top law school? Check. Great medical school? Check. First-class drama school? Check. Premier business school? Um….

Not yet. The Yale School of Management ranks 15th in the most recent U.S. News survey of business schools. That's not bad, unless you're Yale.

Enter a new dean with Harvard and Stanford B-school credentials. He's revamping the curriculum, raising a bunch of money and reworking Yale's public image. His goal? Nothing less than the top five.

Consider this bit from the Boston Globe:

When the name on the door is Yale, there's no room to be second class in the field of business education.

Podolny, who arrived here from Harvard Business School in July 2005, immediately began working with the Yale management school faculty, students, alumni, and recruiters to remedy what most agreed was a disconnect between its MBA curriculum and how management plays out in today's business world. The result was a decision to scrap traditional courses like marketing, finance, and organizational behavior, which aligned with the "siloed" structure of businesses in an earlier era, in favor of an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to integrate the challenges and interests 21st century managers will face.

Read the full article here.