The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Aggressive Recruiting Helps Keep Enrollment Steady

In an economy where money is tight and everyone's looking for a bargain, Florida's most expensive universities are attracting more students than expected. The state's private universities, while battling decreased endowments and budget cuts, have been aggressively recruiting students this past year, even those who might think a $22,000-a-year price tag is out of reach. They're holding open houses to educate prospective students about what they offer. They're limiting tuition increases and offering incentives.Their efforts are showing signs of success. Most of the state's private colleges were able to maintain their enrollments or see modest increases. Read more at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1346447.html

IHEs Contribute To Local Economies

Higher education institutions in Chicago's Loop generate more than $4 billion in regional economic output annually, including at least $60 million in student purchases directly from retailers, according to a report released Monday by the Chicago Loop Alliance. The Loop is home to 24 higher education institutions. The researchers estimate that the academic institutions themselves account for $2.1 billion in economic output in the Chicago area. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-study-economic-output,0,5162903.story

Clemson Will Use Grant For Wind Power

What Clemson University officials are calling the largest research grant in school history will lead to a wind turbine research facility in Charleston and create an immediate 100 jobs for its construction.The grant could lead to thousands of jobs in the coming years, according to Clemson and state officials, who were involved with landing the $45 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and $53 million in matching funds.The wind turbine drive-train research facility will be at the university’s Restoration Institute. Read more at:
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/nov/23/big-grant-puts-clemson-wind-turbine-business/

Experts Debate Haves Vs. Have-Nots At UC

The University of California, which has already received $716 million in federal stimulus funds to offset a $1 billion budget gap, announced on Friday that it is raising student fees by 32 percent. That works out to about $2,500 per student a year. Student protesters said that the higher costs will make it even harder for middle class and poor students to go to college, and will widen the education gap between the haves and the have-nots. As they deal with tighter budgets, what should public universities do to balance fiscal responsibility and equal opportunity?

• Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, former college president
• Alfonso Trujillo, engineer
• Cindy Mosqueda, U.C.L.A. graduate student
• Richard Vedder, economist, Ohio University
• Jane Wellman, executive director, Delta Project
• Ronald Ehrenberg, economist, Cornell University

Read more at: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/haves-vs-have-nots-at-public-universities/?scp=1&sq=richard%20vedder&st=cse

Atheists On Campus

As the stigma of atheism has diminished, campus atheists and agnostics are coming out of the closet, fueling a sharp rise in the number of clubs like the 10-year-old group at Iowa State.
Campus affiliates of the Secular Student Alliance, a sort of Godless Campus Crusade for Christ, have multiplied from 80 in 2007 to 100 in 2008 and 174 this fall, providing the atheist movement new training grounds for future leaders. In another sign of growing acceptance, at least three universities, including Harvard, now have humanist chaplains meeting the needs of the not-so-spiritual. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-rel-atheism-on-campus,0,1207734.story

Direct School To Student Loans Increase

Not long ago, low-interest student loans were as easy to come by as a pass to get out of gym class. But the economic downturn and ensuing credit crunch put an end to that. As relatively cheap, private bank and federally backed loans became harder to come by, some colleges, vocational schools, and online institutions filled the void by lending directly to students. Since they're largely unregulated and come from many sources, the rise of direct school-to-student loans are hard to estimate on a national level. Read more at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/223727

Students Average Six Years To Get Bachelor's Degree

Students in Georgia are taking an average of about six years to get a bachelor's degree, instead of the traditional four, according to both the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and educational experts. The number is similar to a national trend, and could be due in part to an increase in older students who need more time because of family and job responsibilities, and minorities who are the first generation in their families to attend college. Read more at:
http://www.gpb.org/news/2009/11/20/students-stretch-out-college

Never Too Early For A Test Preparation Course

Test preparation has long been a big business catering to students taking SATs and admissions exams for law, medical and other graduate schools. But the new clientele is quite a bit younger: 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents hope that a little assistance — costing upward of $1,000 for several sessions — will help them win coveted spots in the city’s gifted and talented public kindergarten classes. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/nyregion/21testprep.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

How Paper Mills Got Their Project Report Is A Mystery

A college paper she had helped write as part of a group project while pursuing an MBA was available on at least five websites that sell research papers to students. Rieboldt, who graduated last year from the University of Phoenix in Pleasanton, Calif., doesn't know how the websites got the paper, on the topic of global communications. Nor, she says, do her five co-authors. Now though, a class-action lawsuit working its way through a U.S. District Court in Illinois could provide a road map for those who find their work online without their authorization. The judge has found a provider liable on six counts, including copyright infringement, unfair competition and other fraud-related claims. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-11-19-termpapers19_ST_N.htm?csp=34

Cuts At UC Create A Watershed Moment

As the University of California struggles to absorb its sharpest drop in state financing since the Great Depression, every professor, administrator and clerical worker has been put on furlough amounting to an average pay cut of 8 percent. Among students and faculty alike, there is a pervasive sense that the increases and the deep budget cuts are pushing the university into decline. The budget cuts in California, topping $30 billion over the last two years, have touched all aspects of state government, including health care, welfare, corrections and recreation. They have led to a retrenchment in state services not seen in modern times, and for many institutions, including the state university system, have created a watershed moment. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/education/20berkeley.html?partner=rss&emc=rss