NEWS ABOUT: colleges and universities
colleges and universities stories: 36 news briefs
Government hopes trimming FAFSA will get more aid to those who need it
New York Times Jun 24, 09 5:49 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The White House today will unveil its plan to make it easier for students to get federal aid by cutting the fiendishly complex application down to size, the New York Times reports. The FAFSA—Free Application for Federal Student Aid—is notorious for being harder to fill out than a tax return, leading many parents to pay professionals to fill out its 153 questions, and an estimated 1.5 million students to simply give up.
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Spying 101 plan aims to mold future intelligence officers
Washington Post Jun 20, 09 9:28 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
It's like a cloak-and-dagger version of ROTC. The government wants universities to help train the next generation of spies, the Washington Post reports. The proposed program would recruit first- and second-generation students from diverse ethnic backgrounds, the Mideast and Asia in particular, and run them through a specialized set of courses to prepare them for their covert careers.
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Downturn has colleges looking for ways to save students time, money
Washington Post May 23, 09 9:28 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
A growing number of colleges are looking at ways to cram 4-year degree courses into 3 to help students combat tough times, the Washington Post reports. More than half of teens have changed their college plans because of the economy, according to a recent survey, and many in the world of higher education believe the time has come to rejig the centuries-old 4-year model to help students save time and money.
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investigation
Alleged al-Qaeda members enrolled in ring of fake schools
Times (UK) May 21, 09 8:47 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Thousands of young Pakistanis have entered Britain by applying for visas to study at sham colleges that issue fake diplomas and attendance records, the Times of London reports. Ten of the 12 men arrested last month when police busted an alleged al-Qaeda plot were enrolled at a bogus college; other terror suspects have been registered at a school with nearly 2,000 students but only three instructors.
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Providence mayor wants to charge them $300 a year
Associated Press May 13, 09 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Students at Brown University say they contribute to their community in countless ways, and a proposed $150-per-semester tax shouldn’t be one of them, the AP reports. “We’re more able to provide labor, we’re more able to apply the things that we're learning in the classroom, than we are to write a $300 check,” said one opposed to the plan from the mayor of Providence, RI.
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New York Times May 9, 09 10:52 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The poor economy has put a crimp in some universities' expansion plans and soured the relationship between others and the surrounding communities, the New York Times reports. For instance, Harvard’s planned $1 billion expansion into a Boston neighborhood is in limbo, leaving a 5-acre construction pit and vacant buildings. “We feel like we’ve been betrayed and taken advantage of,” a resident said.
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Admissions, financial aid officers 'fess up to checking social networking pages
Los Angeles Times Apr 29, 09 6:30 AM CDT
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A quarter of colleges check applicants' social networking pages or run their names through search engines, according to a new report. The colleges didn't say whether their online findings could make or break an application, but the study's authors believe overly candid online postings have the potential to sink one's chances. "No school wants to give a prestigious scholarship to someone standing on a beer keg and wearing a lampshade," said its author.
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Nearly $70 million given to colleges nationwide
New York Times Apr 25, 09 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
A wave of nearly $70 million in mysterious donations to a dozen colleges across the country has set off a happy guessing game in academic circles, the New York Times reports. "Whoever it is wishes to remain anonymous and I, for one, am perfectly happy to respect that," says the president of New Jersey's Montclair State, which received $5 million last month. It was Michigan State's turn Thursday—the school got $10 million.
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Top schools see no application shortage despite economy
New York Times Mar 30, 09 8:01 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Sure, a lot of people are cash-strapped, but don’t get your hopes up that the recession will boost your shot at an Ivy League school. Harvard got a record number of applications this year—29,112, a 6% jump from last year. And pricey universities like Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Stanford all saw application numbers soar, the New York Times reports. Still, some top smaller schools did see a decline in applications.
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Parents complain of hidden costs for students who already have insurance
NPR Feb 6, 09 7:57 AM CST
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Many parents of college students across America are paying double for their children's health insurance, an NPR investigation finds. Students are usually required to show proof of health insurance for admission, but then often find they can't use that insurance at college clinics. Parents complain that colleges automatically charge for health insurance and bury the charges in tuition bills.
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Students received timeout errors as server overloaded
New York Times Jan 1, 09 10:27 AM CST
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Some high school seniors submitting college applications hours before the Dec. 31 deadline encountered timeout errors and slowdowns that gave them quite a scare, the New York Times reports. The Common Application site—used by a million students to apply for 350 colleges—buckled twice under the volume of last-minute applicants. The site's director played down the delays.
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You know, when you get around to it
Times (UK) Dec 8, 08 7:00 AM CST
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The legions of those of us who "will do it later" are growing, reports the Sunday Times, but now there's a formula to figure out what chance you have of beating back your delay tactics. A Calgary University business professor claims in a new book, The Procrastination Equation , that up to 20% of the population are procrastinators—thanks in no small part to a widening variety of digital distractions. Oooh, time to check email.
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U. of Wash. students fume over column's bestiality illustration
Seattle Times Dec 6, 08 12:26 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
An opinion column denouncing gay marriage—and illustrated with an image of a man adjacent to a sheep—has many University of Washington students beside themselves and demanding sensitivity training for their student newspaper, reports The Seattle Times . The editor of The Daily has refused to apologize, citing the need for a “balance of viewpoints” in the paper.
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Critics say investing in flashy, athletes-only centers is unfair to other students
Chicago Tribune Nov 29, 08 11:41 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Resentment is building as college athletic tutoring centers nationwide get bigger and flashier, the Chicago Tribune reports. Critics say that the multi-million-dollar, athletes-only centers should be open to all. Some suggest that, since the centers are generally funded and run by the athletic department, they create a conflict of interest; a number have been accused of giving athletes a bit too much of a helping hand with homework.
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Needy students may lose out as college funding models collapse
New York Times Nov 8, 08 7:04 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Colleges and universities around the country are facing budget shortfalls so steep they could change the way they do business forever, the New York Times reports. With endowments shriveling, state financing being slashed, the cost of debt rising, and donors scaling back, both public and private institutions are cutting staff, postponing construction projects, pulling back financial aid, and raising tuition.
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Anonymous smear letters on the rise, say admissions officers
Chicago Tribune Oct 20, 08 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
With competition for college admissions ever rising, some students are aiming to get ahead by trashing their rivals. Admission officials around the US have reported receiving newspaper clippings, references to Facebook pages, and, in one case, a letter written in crayon pointing out other applicants' false claims or unseemly behavior. Schools tend to react in one of three ways, reports the Chicago Tribune .
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Families struggle to
pay college tuition as
loan market dries up
New York Times Oct 17, 08 2:46 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The economic downturn is hitting college students hard, the New York Times reports. Job losses and the disappearing loan market are strangling formerly robust family plans to foot college tuition fees. Private lenders, used by many students to fill the gap between federal aid and the total cost of college, are hiking interest rates and tightening standards.
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Hundreds of students made ill for days
Inside Higher Ed Oct 7, 08 2:22 AM CDT
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Noroviruses are sweeping US colleges, delivering severe cases of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The same crowded conditions which allow noroviruses to thrive on cruise ships give them free rein on campus, reports Inside Higher Ed . There have been recent outbreaks at Georgetown University, the University of Southern California and colleges in Oregon, Connecticut, Colorado, and New Jersey.
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Calls shortage of African-Americans 'unacceptable'
CNN Sep 9, 08 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Condoleezza Rice may be the second African American to become secretary of state, but she remains unimpressed by the number of blacks in the foreign service. "I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me. And that is just not acceptable," said the nation's top diplomat.
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Smaller class size helps Harvard back to top of influential US News ranking
Associated Press Aug 22, 08 9:40 AM CDT
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Harvard has reclaimed sole possession of the top spot in the ever-controversial US News and World Report rankings for the first time in 12 years. Princeton slipped to second, with Yale in third and Stanford and MIT tied for fourth spot. The magazine rates the halls of learning based on factors like SAT scores, reputation, and selectivity .
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