December 6, 2012

New England Journal of Higher Ed - Re-Dedicate State Resources to Higher Education (December 6, 2012) - Today's global economy requires a highly skilled labor force that is prepared to compete on the world stage. Studies from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Brookings Institution and the Conference Board have all identified building and maintaining a highly skilled workforce as a national and local imperative...

CT Mirror - Budget Cuts Stall Plan to Hire Additional College Faculty (December 5, 2012) - The state's largest public college system has suspended its plans to hire 47 new faculty members after savings from a much-touted reorganization were used last week to help close the growing state budget deficit...

Inside Higher Ed - Scrambling to Understand Veterans (December 4, 2012) - Most colleges are failing to track the performance of their students who are veterans or active-duty members of the military, according to the results of a new survey, and most do not understand what can trip them up on the way to graduation...

Chronicle of Higher Ed - In Oil Country, Enrollments Slow Amid a Gusher of Jobs (December 3, 2012) - Oil started flowing here in Alex Castillo's hometown, and all his friends could talk about was how much money they could make straight out of high school. Stories were circulating about pipe welders earning $60 an hour and truck drivers hauling pipes for six-figure salaries-without ever setting foot in a college classroom...

Community College Times - 14 Colleges Earn 'Leader College' Distinction (December 3, 2012) - Fourteen community colleges have recently attained the "Leader College" distinction from Achieving the Dream (ATD), joining more than 50 other two-year colleges recognized for raising persistence and completion rates and closing achievement gaps...

Chronicle of Higher Ed - Culinary School Gives Latinos a Taste of the Top (December 3, 2012) - Priscilla Lee Sandoval had not expected to be where she is now, stripping tiny rosemary leaves from their stalks in the bustling kitchen of the Culinary Institute of America's San Antonio campus, a chef's toque on her head...

Inside Higher Ed - Keeping Adjuncts From Benefits (November 30, 2012) - Youngstown State University is the second institution to be public about cutting adjuncts' hours to avoid Affordable Care Act-related costs...

Community College Times - Turning Life Experiences Into College Credits (November 30, 2012) - Years before Linda Lukey became director of testing and prior learning assessment (PLA) at Rio Salado College (RSC) in Arizona, she was on a pathway similar to that of many adult learners: Lukey had earned a variety of credits from various higher education institutions, held several jobs and participated in volunteer programs, but she had not yet earned a degree...

Chronicle of Higher Ed - House Bill Would Make Major Changes in Student-Loan Debt Collection (December 5, 2012) - A bill that Rep. Thomas E. Petri plans to introduce as soon as this week would essentially eliminate the Education Department's need to hire private agencies to collect student-loan debt, by replacing that system with automatic withdrawals from borrowers' paychecks...

Inside Higher Ed - Rethinking Grants and Loans (December 5, 2012) - A report released today calls for an overhaul of the federal financial aid system, including ending subsidized loans, enrolling students in income-based repayment, and directing the savings from the changes to the Pell Grant...

Glastonbury Life - Never Too Late (December 5, 2012) - Two years ago, at the age of 37, Juliet Kapsis found herself at a difficult crossroads in life. The Bloomfield resident had tried attending college on several occasions, but hadn't been able to complete her degree...

CT Mirror - Big Grant Will Promote Hartford School, Charter Ties (December 5, 2012) - A new multimillion-dollar grant to Hartford's public schools not only will strengthen the city's ties to charter schools, it could bolster a charter movement that some educators believe has never fulfilled its potential in Connecticut...

Inside Higher Ed - The Fund-Raising Cliff? (December 6, 2012) - For more than a year, higher education organizations have urged Congress to somehow avoid the "fiscal cliff" -- the dramatically named combination of spending cuts and tax hikes that will take effect Jan. 2 if lawmakers cannot agree on a plan to reduce the deficit and extend expiring tax cuts and benefits...

Inside Higher Ed - The Best Idea I've Heard All Week (December 6, 2012) - As regular readers know, I have a bone to pick with the "credit hour." Although it's nearly ubiquitous in American higher education, its origins were pedestrian and it tells us nothing about actual learning. Worse, in many of its applications, it defeats any efforts to increase productivity, since it denotes learning in units of time...

CT Mirror - Hey Connecticut College Students: At Least You're Not in New Hampshire. (December 5, 2012) - Faced with tight budgets, all the states in New England have slashed funding to higher education. Students in New Hampshire, though, may be feeling it a bit more. The state has completely eliminated state support for financial aid for its students, reports the New England Board of Higher Education...

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