The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

UC Employees Facing Salary Cuts, Furloughs Or Both

Budget cuts at the University of California have already hit students where it hurts. Enrollment caps have made it harder to get in – and those who have been admitted are paying more for their education. Now UC employees are about to feel the pain, too. University officials are considering cutting their pay – by 8 percent for workers making more than $46,000 and 4 percent for those making less. Regents will decide later this month whether to reduce salaries through pay cuts, furloughs or a combination of the two. Read more at:
http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/1991101.html?mi_rss=Education

Consider A P2P Loan For College

Parents or students scrambling for college money may want to consider person-to-person lending, also known as P2P lending, peer-to-peer lending and social lending. Families who cannot secure college funds through more traditional channels may find a P2P site to be a good alternative. Within the P2P industry, student loans have become a special niche. Some Web sites offer only student loans, but others offer a variety of loans. Here are a few of the major Web sites where you can look for a P2P student loan. Read more at:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/peer-peer-sites-offer-college-loans/

Get Them Thinking Green Right At The Start

This summer, officials at the University of Virginia Bookstore and the Housing Division are encouraging incoming first-year students to think green when purchasing college dorm necessities such as laundry detergent and notebooks. To jumpstart students’ eco-friendly mindsets, the U.Va. bookstore has placed many environmentally friendly products in four demonstration rooms in Page and Lile houses for incoming students attending summer orientation sessions. Read more at:
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200907010529/NEWS01/90701003

IHEs May Be Misinterpreting FERPA For Their Athletes

Universities that deny requests for records about athletes may be interpreting too broadly a federal education law that protects the privacy of students’ academic records, a federal education official said Monday. The official, Paul Gammill, said the Department of Education was taking a closer look at how universities carried out the privacy law, known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Ferpa), in the wake of a series of articles published recently in The Columbus Dispatch that found the law was often misused by college athletic departments seeking to withhold documents from public scrutiny that could be damaging or embarrassing. The reports also found wide disparities in the types of information that universities released. Read more at;
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30ncaa.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

FAU Faculty Will Fight Their Layoffs

Florida Atlantic University professors have filed a formal complaint against the school, claiming the layoffs of tenured faculty members violates their union contract. FAU officials announced in May that the school's 2009-10 budget includes laying off 25 staffers and five tenured professors. All of the professors teach in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The complaint, filed last week, is on behalf of four of the five professors who were told their last day would be in August. The fifth person chose not to be part of the grievance. Read more at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/education/story/1120391.html

Is A Master's Degree Worth It

But the debate presents difficult questions for young people, who face the most difficult economy since the Great Depression. Many have decided to go to graduate school, to wait out the storm. Several commenters on our forums even said they had no choice but to seek a master’s degree (and incur more debt), arguing that a B.A. today is the equivalent of having a high school diploma 20 years ago and more employers require a higher degree. How do students know if a graduate education is worth it or not? What degrees are worth getting, and which are not? How does a student weigh the risks and benefits gain a higher education degree? Four experts weigh in on the value of a master's degree. Read more at:
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/what-is-a-masters-degree-worth/

Using Plastic To Pay Tuition Will Probably Cost More

Across the nation, a growing number of universities are making it harder — and costlier — for students to use credit cards. Starting Wednesday, students at the University of Southern Maine who pay tuition using plastic will face a 2.75% processing fee. The movement comes as colleges face budget shortfalls and look to trim costs wherever they can. Traditionally, colleges have borne these costs themselves. But they're increasingly rethinking these policies — and passing costs along to students — amid the difficult economy. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2009-06-30-credit-card-fees-college-tuition_N.htm

College Presidents Need To Rethink Their Call For Drinking Age Change

College presidents who have been blaming drinking-age laws for drunkenness at their schools had better look at their own policies. While the amount of binge drinking — downing five or more drinks in a row — remains high at colleges, it has dropped sharply among people of the same age who do not attend college. Now comes new evidence that the age-21 requirement has been generally effective in reducing binge drinking — except among college students. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/opinion/01wed3.html

California Community College Fees Expected To Increase

Nearly 3 million California community college students are expected to face a 30 percent, $6-per-unit fee increase this fall regardless of how lawmakers ultimately decide to balance the state budget. The increase would lift fees to $26 per unit, about $780 a year for full-time students. But most students would qualify for waivers, grants or enhanced federal tax credits that should cover all of their fees, state and college officials say. Unlike University of California and California State University students, who have endured a relentless run of tuition increases in recent years, those at the state's 110 community colleges have not seen fees raised in five years. Read more at:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1n29fees225829-two-year-colleges-fees-likely-rise-/?education&zIndex=124127

No-Tuition Cooper Union Moves Ahead With Campus Upgrades

Harvard University put the brakes on a major campus expansion. Wellesley College froze salaries and laid off employees. Middlebury College cut financial aid for international students. But one private college is quietly skirting the crunch in higher education: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in Manhattan's East Village. The 150-year-old college, which charges no tuition, is nearing completion of a shimmering $150 million academic building. The expansions stem from Cooper's decision three years ago to ratchet back the financial risk in its endowment. Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631610981670647.html