Higher Education Quick Takes

Quick Takes

Duke's China Campus Gains Ministry Approval
September 17, 2013

Duke University’s controversial campus in Kunshan has received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education, the university announced on Monday. Duke Kunshan University, a joint venture institution with Wuhan University, will accept its first students in 2014. It initially plans to offer master’s programs in global health and management studies; a proposed graduate program in medical physics is pending approval. The campus will also offer a liberal arts-oriented, semesterlong study abroad program for undergraduates. 

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Parchment Partners with GED Testing Service
September 17, 2013

Parchment, an electronic transcription service, on Tuesday announced a partnership with the GED Testing Service under which students who pass the high school equivalency test will receive free electronic diplomas and transcripts. The GED, which is owned jointly by the American Council on Education and Pearson, is gearing up for a move to become fully electronic next year. The new partnership will allow GED-holders to share their electronic transcripts with potential employers and colleges.

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California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Adopts Creative Commons Rule
September 17, 2013

The chancellor's office of the California Community Colleges has adopted a rule requiring all publicly funded grant and contract work funded by the chancellor's office be covered by a Creative Commons license, which authorizes use by others provided that acknowledgement is provided to the creator of the work. This means that academic or financial tools created with grants from the chancellor's office will be produced in ways that one college could use another's work. A statement from Chancellor Brice W. Harris said: "The tax-paying public shouldn’t be required to pay twice or more to access and use educational materials, first via the funding of the research and development of educational resources and then again when they purchase materials like textbooks they helped fund. So, ultimately this decision to change the board’s regulations will save taxpayers money over time."

 

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Taking Philosophy Too Seriously
September 17, 2013

Two men in a grocery store in southern Russia got into an argument about the ideas of Immanuel Kant, and after the discussion got heated, one man took out a gun and shot the other, Reuters reported. The man who was shot was hospitalized but his life is not in danger. Reuters provided this context: "Many Russians love to discuss philosophy and history, often over a drink, but such discussions rarely end in shootings."

 

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LSU Fraternity Apologizes for Mocking Kent State Killings
September 17, 2013

Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge is investigating and its Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity is apologizing for a sign that the fraternity displayed in advance of Saturday night's football game between LSU and Kent State University, The Times-Picayune reported. The sign referenced the 1970 killings at Kent State, and said: "Getting Massacred Is Nothing New to Kent St.," A statement from the university said: "LSU certainly does not condone this insensitive behavior and poor judgment by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity,” Ernie Ballard, director of media at the university. “LSU officials have spoken with the fraternity and believe that the students now understand the gravity of their actions. The students have issued a formal apology to Kent State University. LSU is also working with local and national DKE leaders in an effort to prevent this type of behavior in the future."

 

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Appeals Court Sides with Professor in Suit Against Northeastern Illinois U.
September 17, 2013

Faculty free speech advocates gained a victory Monday when an Illinois appeals court overturned a lower court’s ruling that Northeastern Illinois University was protected by state anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) laws in a defamation suit brought by a professor who alleged retaliation for her activism on campus. In its opinion, the court said that the university “does not refute any essential element” of Loretta Capeheart’s claims of defamation, including that a university administrator had said she “stalked” a student on campus. The court also found that the university failed to meet its burden of proof that that Capeheart’s case was a SLAPP, under the Illinois Citizens Participation Act.

Capeheart’s supporters, including the American Association of University Professors, have said that the act was designed to protect individuals from more powerful institutions, and that Northeastern Illinois’ defense was turning it on its head. The ruling reinstates Capeheart’s initial lawsuit against the university, which includes claims that she was denied a department leadership position for backing students who protested the Central Intelligence Agency and for publicly criticizing administrative spending. In an e-mail, Capeheart, who is still a tenured of professor justice studies at Northeastern Illinois, said “we are thrilled that the appeals court did not allow for the perversion of the act.”

A university spokeswoman said via e-mail that Northeastern Illinois is evaluating the decision and "weighing its options."

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Medical School, Race and Student Debt
September 17, 2013

Those hoping to see the medical profession diversify may need to consider the way debt appears to affect different kinds of medical students, says an article published Monday in the journal PLOS One. The study -- by researchers at Columbia University -- asked medical students nationwide to estimate how much debt they would have upon graduating. The answers varied by racial and ethnic group, with 77 percent of black students estimating that they would owe more than $150,000. For other groups, the share was smaller: 65 percent of white students, 57 percent of Latino students, and 50 percent of Asian students expect to graduate with those debt levels.

 

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Academic Minute: Sick Days and Flu Outbreaks
September 16, 2013

In today’s Academic Minute, Supriya Kumar of the University of Pittsburgh examines how flu outbreaks can be reduced by encouraging workers to use an extra sick day. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.

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U. of Virginia to Study Its History With Slavery
September 16, 2013

The University of Virginia announced last week that a special commission will study the role slavery played in the university's history, and how that history should best be reflected today. A number of universities -- among them Brown and Emory Universities -- have conducted such studies.

 

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Faculty Leaders Decry Tactics of Anti-Petraeus Protests
September 16, 2013

The hiring of David H. Petraeus, the former military leader and ex-director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to teach at the honors college of the City University of New York this year angered many faculty members when word leaked that he would be paid $200,000 for a single course. In response Petraeus agreed to teach the course for only $1.

But the University Faculty Senate is now defending the right of Petraeus to teach, and to walk to his class, following protests in which his critics shouted at him repeatedly, calling him a war criminal and vowing to follow him to every class session. A statement released by the Executive Committee of the body said: "Because they disagree with Professor Petraeus' views, these demonstrators intend to deprive him of his ability to teach and the ability of his students to learn from him.... Professor Petraeus, and all members of CUNY's instructional staff, have the right to teach without interference. Members of the university community must have the opportunity to express alternate views, but in a manner that does not violate academic freedom."

Here is video of the protests Petraeus has faced:

 

 

 

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