Higher Education Quick Takes

McGill University is facing scrutiny and criticism over an increased emphasis on diversity in medical school admissions, The Montreal Gazette reported. In the context of Quebec, diversity at McGill (historically an institution serving the English-speaking minority) in part means recruiting more Francophone students. In 2010, McGill eliminated the requirement that applicants take the Medical College Admission Test, which is not offered in French. Since then Francophone enrollment has increased from 31.6 to 37.5 percent. Some at the university, however, say that highly talented Anglo applicants are being rejected unfairly in the name of diversity. In Canada, the vast majority of medical students enroll in their home province, so this shift raises issues for Anglo students who are unlikely to be admitted to Quebec's Francophone medical schools.

Four former members of the Vanderbilt University football team were charged Friday with raping an unconscious woman -- also a Vanderbilt student -- in a dormitory, The Tennessean reported. The university, which had already suspended the former athletes and barred them from campus, issued a statement that said: "We are proud of the collective accomplishments of our student athletes over many years and we expect the highest standard of conduct from them. It is a privilege, not a right, to represent Vanderbilt as a student athlete, and when our standards of conduct are not met, we will hold our student athletes accountable. The charges brought today against the four former Vanderbilt football players allege conduct which is abhorrent and will never be tolerated. We will review our athletics program to be sure that it, like all other programs at the university, reflects our culture of community and respect for others and that our student athletes are held to the same high standards of conduct as all our students."

Israeli universities for the first time are being allowed to offer some faculty members individual contracts -- with salaries 30 percent higher than the norm -- instead of having all professors covered by collective agreements, Haaretz reported. The goal of the initiative is to recruit back to Israel star faculty members who have left for universities abroad, typically in the United States, where top faculty members earn more than they do in Israel.

The board of the University of North Carolina system voted Friday to bar campuses from offering gender-neutral housing, The Raleigh News & Observer reported. The university's Chapel Hill campus had decided last year to start offering some gender-neutral housing, and the board's action stops that plan from taking effect. The board acted without discussing the issue in public, but the Chapel Hill move has been criticized by conservative groups in the state. Advocates for gender-neutral housing have said that it is an important option for transgender students and for some gay and lesbian students who may face hostile environments in traditional housing. Members of Campus Pride, an organization the is an advocate for gay, lesbian and transgender students, protested outside the meeting, with signs that read "Trans Lives Matter."