In today’s Academic Minute, Daniel Abrams of Northwestern University explains why the level of left handedness is a constant across most societies. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.
Higher Education Quick Takes
Quick Takes
June 13, 2012
North Dakota residents voted 2-to-1 on Tuesday to let the University of North Dakota stop using the "Fighting Sioux" name, The Bismarck Tribune reported. The vote appears to pave the way for the end to years of debate over a nickname/mascot that some Native American groups find offensive, and that the National Collegiate Athletic Association wants the university to retire. State legislation had barred the university from doing so, but the vote clears the way to end that law.
June 12, 2012
Some student leaders may be questioning Wesleyan University's recent shift away from need-blind admissions, but Moody's Investors Service is applauding the change, The Hartford Courant reported. In fact, a new report from Moody's suggests other private colleges may want to follow Wesleyan's lead. "These actions ... are credit positive for Wesleyan, as well as other selective private colleges that could look to this model as an avenue for growing tuition revenue in an increasingly difficult higher education market burdened by stiffening tuition price resistance and rising student loan burden," Moody's said.
June 12, 2012
In today’s Academic Minute, Bayani Cardenas of the University of Texas at Austin reveals what’s going on beneath the surface of a hot spring. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.
June 12, 2012
The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities on Monday released a set of "core principles and standards" for their members on the education of veterans. The for-profit group's five "tenets" include a call for counseling by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for all veterans who are prospective college students, as well as a list of disclosures colleges should make, including graduation and job placement rates for military and veteran students. However, the association pushed back against the use of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's "Know Before You Owe" form, the use of which the Obama Administration recently required as part of an executive order on veterans' education.
June 12, 2012
It's the 40th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination in educational settings on the basis of sex, and while the landmark legislation has done much to level the playing field in academics and athletics, there remains work to be done. That's what the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, an alliance of more than three dozen national organizations including the American Association of University Women and the American Civil Liberties Union, says in a lengthy new report analyzing the state of Title IX at 40. There's still room for improvement in how universities and the government apply and enforce Title IX in athletics, sexual harassment, the STEM fields and other areas, the report says. But it also identifies a handful of recommendations that span all the areas covered by Title IX. In short, they are: improved public awareness of Title IX with active education efforts on the part of all stakeholders, including advocacy groups and the federal government; continued and enhanced enforcement by the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, including compliance reviews in areas not currently monitored, such as the treatment of pregnant and parenting students; a requirement by Congress for schools and colleges to provide "enhanced" education data collection and reporting, including more detailed cross-tabulation by campus sub-groups; better identification, training, communication and transparency regarding Title IX coordinators; and restored federal funding to state education agencies for gender equity work, including funding state Title IX coordinators and programs and for technical assistance with compliance.
June 12, 2012
The Faculty Senate Executive Council on Monday issued a statement questioning the decision of the university's board to seek the resignation of Teresa A. Sullivan as president -- the announcement of which stunned the campus on Sunday. The faculty statement said that "we are shocked and dismayed" by the news. "The Faculty Senate Executive Council has worked closely and effectively with President Sullivan during her two-year term. She has impressed us with her intelligence, leadership, and commitment to transparent administration and open, honest communication. We witnessed her renowned dedication to higher education," the faculty statement said. It added: "We find the board's statement inadequate and unsatisfactory.... As elected representatives of the faculty, we are entitled to a full and candid explanation of this sudden and drastic change in university leadership. We intend to investigate this matter thoroughly and expeditiously, and will meet with the board as soon as possible."
A request to the university for a response from the board chair was not answered.
June 12, 2012
As the trial of Jerry Sandusky -- the former Penn State coach accused of sexual abuse of many boys -- started Monday, reports surfaced of new scrutiny on the former president of Penn State, Graham Spanier. NBC News reported that -- according to newly discovered documents -- Spanier discussed with other top officials whether to report Sandusky in 2001, when they heard an allegation about Sandusky's apparent abuse of a boy. Spanier and the other officials agreed it would be "humane" to Sandusky not to report the allegation to authorities. Lawyers for Spanier did not return calls seeking comment.
June 11, 2012
Matt Arnold, a Republican running for the Colorado Board of Regents (Colorado is a state where regents are elected), says it is irrelevant that he has claimed to have a master's degree he did not earn, The Denver Post reported. Arnold has in the past claimed a master's degree from the School of Advanced International Studies, part of Johns Hopkins University. He now says that he did the coursework, but didn't do the required thesis -- and that those questioning his false claim are engaged in "minutiae." He explained that "I was more interested in getting on with my life than trying to, quite frankly, waste more time in pursuit of academic BS that no one cares about." Arnold added that "I think that's one of the big problems, quite frankly, with education these days. We're graduating a bunch of people who hang letters after their names, but they have no useful skills."
June 11, 2012
Three people were killed, and three others injured in a shooting Saturday night at an apartment complex near Auburn University that houses many students. Two of those killed were former football players, and one of them was still a student at the university. One of those injured is still on the football team. The university released these statements about the shootings, and is providing extra counseling services on campus.
