Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
While two institutions share the name Wheaton College, and both are proud of their liberal arts traditions, they are actually quite different. The one in Illinois is a Christian college, while the one in Massachusetts is not. The one in Massachusetts was for many years a women's college, while the one in Illinois never was. But people seem to have a hard time telling them apart. In May, the commencement speaker in Massachusetts talked about alumni who were in fact alumni of Wheaton in Illinois. Now Forbes is having difficulties. In its new college rankings, the entry with data for the Illinois college features contact information and a photograph of the college in Massachusetts, and vice versa.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
The University of Scranton Press is being closed due to the tight budgets of its university, The Times-Tribune reported. The press is relatively small and relatively young, and published about 200 books during the 22 years in which it operated. "Basically, it was a budgetary decision. We are a tuition-driven institution, and these are tough economic times," said Harold Baillie, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Our main priority is the education of our students, and that takes precedence in the distribution of our resources." Among the areas of focus for the press have been Roman Catholicism and Pennsylvania. Books currently under contract will be released.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
The president of Tel Aviv University, Joseph Klafter, has asked to see the syllabi of several sociology courses, raising concerns among some professors, Haaretz reported. The request followed a report from a right-wing group that said that some sociology courses at the university have adopted a "post-Zionist" philosophy instead of a Zionist one. Some say that the president is just trying to get a read on the situation to better respond to criticism. Others say that requesting the syllabi is inappropriate. "Right-wingers are trying to divide and label people in academia in a process designed mainly to sow fear. The university president shouldn't have cooperated with such an attempt," one told Haaretz.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
Washington State University, facing a new round of state budget cuts, is planning to eliminate three of its nine vice president positions, The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported. While the university has not announced details of the plan, officials said that it would save at least $700,000 from that change.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
Nelnet announced on Friday that it had agreed to settle a federal False Claims Act lawsuit that accused the company (along with other student loan providers) of taking advantage of a loophole in federal law to derive hundreds of millions of dollars in excess federal subsidies. The company, without admitting liability, tentatively agreed to pay $55 million to settle claims by a former federal worker that Nelnet, Sallie Mae, and others had illegally profited from a provision in federal law that allowed them to continue to make loans for which they were guaranteed an interest rate return of 9.5 percent. It was not clear as of Sunday if other lenders in the case had reached similar settlements, but the Journal-Star of Lincoln, Neb., reported that the judge in the case had issued an order Friday canceling a trial that was set to begin tomorrow.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday ordered raises of 7 percent for the past academic year (awarded retroactively) and 4 percent for the new academic year for faculty members at Chadron State, Peru State and Wayne State Colleges, The Omaha World-Herald reported. The court ruled because of an impasse between the faculty union, affiliated with the National Education Association, which has been pushing for the raises, and the state college system, which said that they couldn't be afforded. The Supreme Court ruling upheld findings of the state's Commission on Industrial Relations, which had called for the raises to be awarded. State college officials said that paying for the raises could lead to serious budget cuts, potentially including layoffs.
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 3:00am
Johns Hopkins University, which has been among the more prestigious and wealthy private universities not to operate with need-blind admissions (under which undergraduate applicants are admitted without regard to financial need) is moving in that direction. In a profile of Ronald Daniels, the new president of Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun noted that he asked the university's admissions and financial aid offices to operate on a need-blind fashion in admissions this year, and that the institution was able to do so. The university is hoping to announce a shift to operating under such a system as a matter of official policy.
Friday, August 13, 2010 - 3:00am
The University of North Carolina System will allow all students to opt out of abortion coverage in their health insurance plan, The News & Observer reported. The move follows criticism from anti-abortion groups that students were being forced to have abortion coverage and to pay for others' abortions. University officials said that because of the way the plan's budget is set up, the premiums don't actually pay for specific procedures, and that declining abortion coverage will not affect fees. But students will now be given the choice to reject coverage for their own plans.
Friday, August 13, 2010 - 3:00am
Purdue University has rejected the idea of outsourcing the work currently done by 700 custodians, the Associated Press reported. The university had been considering the move to save money, and some on the campus protested the idea. University officials said that a review determined that the quality of work couldn't be matched by a private company and that the university also benefits in intangible ways from the connections between the workers and the institution.
Friday, August 13, 2010 - 3:00am
Research presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association by the counseling services director at Hofstra University provides additional evidence that rates of depression are rising among college students, Web MD reported. The research compared student records of those who sought counseling at a private university and found that between 1997 and 2009, the share of those diagnosed with moderate to severe depression increased to 41 percent, from 34 percent. In addition, the percentage of students seeking counseling who are using medications for depression, anxiety and ADHD increased to 24 percent, from 11 percent.
