Several colleges that have been experiencing high profile financial difficulties received bad news this week from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditor placed Greensboro College on warning status, and Lambuth University on probation. Notre Dame Seminary, in Louisiana, was also placed on probation. The Southern accrediting group has responsibility for the region with most of the historically black colleges -- and sometimes has disputes with those institutions. But in this week's round of decisions two historically black colleges were removed from warning status (Florida Memorial University and South Carolina State University) and one was removed from the probation list (Alabama A&M University).
Higher Education Quick Takes
Quick Takes
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
An anonymous donor to Chemeketa Community College, known as "The Investor," has given nearly $300,000 over the last two years to support prison education programs. A feature article in The Oregonian details the impact of the gifts. Since Congress barred the use of most federal student aid for prison education, programs have dwindled. According to the article, the donor has no personal or family history with being in prison, and believes the education programs are an important investment in the community.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
Appropriators from the U.S. House and Senate reached agreement Tuesday on a compromise spending bill that would finance education, labor, health, science and other federal programs for the 2010 fiscal year. The omnibus legislation, which is designed to be the first of two Congress will consider to fund the numerous spending bills that lawmakers have so far failed to pass for the fiscal year that began October 1, would increase spending for the National Institutes of Health to $31 billion and for the National Science Foundation to $6.9 billion, set the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550, and provide $1.4 billion for worker training.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
Authorities have fined two students at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and told them they can't continue their business of selling reptiles out of their dormitory room, the Associated Press reported. Acting on a tip, officials found that the students' room contained snakes (including one rattlesnake, two adult pythons, and several younger pythons), an alligator, three chameleons and mice. The students said that they were using classified ads to sell the animals.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
A student fired a rifle at a math instructor in class Tuesday at Northern Virginia Community College, but there were no injuries, The Washington Post reported. According to authorities, the student fired two shots as the instructor shouted for other students to duck, and the shooter then went into the hallway and waited without incident for police to arrive.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
Princeton Review said Tuesday that it had completed its $170 million takeover of Penn Foster Education Group, which provides career training and administers an online high school. The transaction, which was announced in October, will double the testing company's revenues and mark its entrance in the growing career education market.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
With about 200 protesting workers in attendance, and facing charges of allowing wasteful spending, the board of the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District on Tuesday backed off a layoff plan that would have cost more than 100 jobs, The San Jose Mercury News reported. Board members have cited the terrible budget situation in California to justify the layoffs, but critics have noted that the district's outgoing chancellor was found to have charged the district for travel to El Salvador and Scotland, raising questions about whether available funds have been used effectively.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
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The appointments above are drawn from The Lists on Inside Higher Ed, which also includes a comprehensive catalog of upcoming events in higher education. To submit job changes or calendar items, please click here.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
Northeastern University will today announce an adjustment to its famous co-op program -- in which students mix extended semesters in a work environment along with traditional coursework -- that will allow students to complete the program in four years instead of five, The Boston Globe reported. Students in the four-year program will take some courses online and will have two six-month work experiences instead of three. Northeastern officials cited student demand as the reason for creating the new option.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 3:00am
The University of Oxford has announced new procedures for electing its prized professorship in poetry, The Guardian reported. All 300,000 Oxford graduates are entitled to vote, but until now, they had to show up at a specified time and place to do so, limiting participation. Under the new rules, people will be able to vote in person or online -- and over a longer time period. The shift follows a particularly divisive vote, but observers are split on whether the new process will encourage more civility in the selection process.
