Quick Takes

The American Council on Education has launched a new Web site, Today's GI Bill, to help veterans learn about the new education benefits available to them, the college selection process, and how to succeed in higher education. The site -- debuting just before Veterans Day -- was created with support from the Lumina Foundation for Education.

The Academic Senate at the University of California at Berkeley backed a non-binding resolution last week that calls for an end to administrative subsidies for athletics and more faculty oversight of the sports program, The Daily Californian reported. Professors voted 91 to 68 in favor of the resolution, inspired by revelations not only that the athletics department is currently getting millions of dollars a year in campus "loans," but that the university had forgiven $31 million in previous shifts of funds that were supposed to have been repaid. Campus administrators opposed the resolution, and the athletics director, Sandy Barbour, called it "terribly unfortunate," the Californian said.

A quadriplegic student at East Central University has been ordered to leave a dormitory unless he hires an assistant to live with him, The Oklahoman reported. The university says that the requirement is a matter of safety, since the student can't leave his room without assistance. But the student says he can't afford to hire an assistant to live with him overnight.

Luke Ravenstahl, mayor of Pittsburgh, is proposing a 1 percent tax on college tuition, hoping to raise millions to help close the city's deficit, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Like other cities, Pittsburgh has long complained about the impact of tax exempt institutions on city services. The plan is expected to face strong opposition from colleges and universities.

The federal graduation rate and most other commonly used measures of college student outcomes leave out too many students and skip too many important milestones, the National Governors Association said in a paper that urges state leaders to develop additional, better measures. The report focuses on how the federal graduation rate, in particular, by omitting part-time students and students who transfer among community colleges, "can penalize institutions for serving disadvantaged students by understating these students’ performance."

Bandeirante University, in Brazil, on Monday announced that it was reversing the expulsion of a student who was kicked out for wearing a very short skirt, the Associated Press reported. The university did not announce why it was reversing its decision, but many Brazilians had mocked the student's ouster, noting that skimpy attire is common in the country.