Quick Takes

If Moody's Investors Service adopted the Department of Homeland Security's color coded advisory system, it would probably deem higher education to be at Code Orange, down from Code Red a few months ago. Its latest report on the state of higher education finance, issued Tuesday and available only to subscribers to the ratings agency, said that some of the most intense short-term pressures on the industry cited in a negative outlook in January -- like seriously constricted credit markets, and worries about big enrollment declines this fall -- have "eased to some degree." The agency also credits college trustees and presidents with taking "more painful steps [like layoffs and furloughs] to ensure operating balance demonstrating a good willingness to adjust to revenue realities." But the report also warns that significant troubles may lie ahead, including "family resistance to high tuition" and the disappearance of federal stimulus funds from fiscal 2011 budgets.

Hundreds of faculty members and others at University of California campuses say that they will not be in class next Thursday to protest the way the system is handling budget cuts, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. A turning point for many professors was the university's announcement that they could not take any of their furlough days on days that they have teaching assignments. Faculty leaders said that some of them should have come on such days to make it clear that severe budget cuts have an impact on teaching.

Fewer students are participating in study abroad programs and many colleges are cutting their budgets for study abroad because of the economic downturn, according to a survey conducted by the Forum on Education Abroad. The association surveyed its nearly 400 members, and 165 of them responded. About two-thirds said the economy had negatively affected their programs, with 59 percent reporting a decrease in the number of students enrolling (about half reporting declines of 10 percent or less) and 60 percent reporting that their institutions had cut their budgets. Most of the cuts came in operating budget support and staff travel. But the impact was clearly uneven, as 39 percent of respondents reported increased study abroad enrollments.

Barry Stern, former director of the Hillwood Museum at Long Island University, has been charged with stealing nine Egyptian artifacts from the collection and selling them through an auction house, Newsday reported. Stern's lawyer said he would not comment until his client surrenders to authorities today. Authorities say that Stern told Christie's, which sold eight of the artifacts, that he obtained them from his parents.

The White House did the unsurprising Tuesday: threw its weight behind House of Representatives legislation that would carry out several of President Obama's key higher education priorities. The Statement of Administration Policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget formally endorsed H.R. 3221, which would essentially end the lender-based guaranteed student loan program and use tens of billions of dollars in savings to increase funds for Pell Grants, a new community college initiative and other programs. The House could begin debating the legislation today. Education Secretary Arne Duncan had already backed the legislation when it was passed by the House Education and Labor Committee in July, and administration officials worked closely with House Democrats in crafting it. The White House statement takes issue with a few aspects of the measure, suggesting that it does not inject enough money into the Pell Grant Program and urging members of Congress to "strengthen accountability and transparency for institutions voluntarily choosing to participate in the College Access and Completion Innovation Fund," which would provide $3 billion to encourage states to invest in programs that improve college going and graduation. While some lenders still hold out hope that the Senate will challenge the administration's push for 100 percent direct lending, many observers believe that ship has sailed. The biggest fights going forward are likely to be over the college access fund -- whether the money flows through competitions or in block grants, whether it flows to state agencies or institutions, and whether private colleges can qualify for funds without sacrificing their independence.

Professors at four of the five Alamo Colleges (San Antonio's community college district) have voted no confidence in Chancellor Bruce Leslie, The San Antonio Express-News reported. Professors say that Leslie has intruded on their role by standardizing the curriculum, increasing class size, and relying on adjuncts rather than full-time, permanent professors. But trustees have said that they back Leslie, and that he is carrying out an agenda of reform and savings that the district needs.

Many Canadian universities are seeing increases in Latin enrollments, The Globe and Mail reported. Experts say that modern pop culture -- from HBO's "Rome" to Angelina Jolie's Latin tattoo -- is increasing student interest in the ancient language.

What's a pig? A student with H1N1. A pig in a blanket? That's a sick student staying home in bed. And the farm is the pig's parents' home. These definitions are part of an unusual H1N1 glossary produced at Johns Hopkins University to promote discussion of H1N1 and to have a chuckle as well. Some of the other definitions:

• Sleeze: to sneeze properly (into one’s sleeve) when a tissue isn’t handy.
• Boar War: An all-out on-campus effort to prevent the spread of H1N1.
• Bacon: What a pig experiencing an H1N1 fever feels like, i.e., fried. (Usage: Doctor: “Pig, how are you feeling today?” Pig: “Like bacon, doc.”)
• Hog tide: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer.