The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

IHEs Have The Alert Systems But Students Aren't Enrolling

The massacre at Virginia Tech last year sent colleges nationwide scrambling to improve how they get alerts to students during crises on campus. One solution: Text messages sent to cell phones. But while hundreds of campuses have adopted text alerts, most students are not embracing the system - even in an age when they consider their mobile phones indispensable. Across the country, colleges "are really struggling with how to get the enrollment numbers up," said Steven Healy, Princeton University's public safety director and an expert on campus security. Read more at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/technology/story/437400.html

New Jersey IHEs Flooded With Applications

Applications to colleges and universities in New Jersey are soaring again this year, stressing out prospective students and admissions officers alike as they try to plan their futures. Many schools experienced double-digit-percentage hikes in applications over last year, enabling them to be more selective in their admissions and making it harder to get into many institutions. In college admissions offices, meanwhile, the flood of applications is causing logistical nightmares be cause so many students are postponing decisions until they understand all their options. Read more at:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1204176922113690.xml&coll=1

Liberal Arts Colleges Adding More Business-Focused Options

A growing number of liberal arts colleges responding to students' desire to obtain a strong grounding in finance and business during their undergraduate years. Classes in microeconomics and macroeconomics are no longer adequate—students are demanding more in-depth offerings, administrators say. In response, many are expanding their curricula to align more closely with the offerings of undergraduate business-school programs. In just the past year, Bard and Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., announced ambitious five-year programs intended for students who want more of a background in finance while at college. Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2008/bs20080226_508904.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_business+schools

Dartmouth's Program Reaches Out To Iraq War Vets

Several recently wounded veterans have found their way to this snow-coated Darmouth College campus, and many more have enrolled in other colleges, thanks in part to a counseling program conceived by Dartmouth President James Wright. Simultaneously troubled and inspired by the sacrifices soldiers made in the November 2004 battle of Fallujah, President Wright decided to visit military hospitals, walking bed to bed and encouraging veterans to think about college. He says college opened up a whole new world for him after a stint in the Marines as a young man. Read more at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0228/p14s02-legn.html

IHEs Will Resist Legislative Efforts To Force Endowment Spending

Under growing pressure from Congress, the country's wealthiest colleges and universities are sharply resisting calls to spend more of their soaring endowments to expand financial aid and curb tuition hikes that critics say are putting college beyond the reach of ordinary families. The pattern of deep-pocketed universities regularly raising tuition while amassing fast-growing fortunes has drawn unusual scrutiny from government leaders and higher education advocates over the past few months. They say elite colleges are hoarding wealth that could help open their doors to more poor and working-class families. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/28/colleges_guard_soaring_endowments/

Keeping The Commuter Campus Safe

Keeping college students safe on a commuter campus can sometimes be a challenge. Albany has two commuter campuses, Darton College and Albany Technical College. We spoke with both a day after a mass shooting killed students at Northern Illinois University to see what they do to keep students safe. Read more at: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7879954

Surge Of Applications Hits New Orleans IHEs

Colleges here are reporting a surge in applicants, buoyed, officials say, by high school students who helped with the hurricane recovery effort and want to return for classes.Compared to this time last year, applications are up by 24 percent at Loyola University, 28 percent at Xavier University, 43 percent at Our Lady of Holy Cross College, 85 percent at the University of New Orleans and nearly 100 percent at Tulane University, which has stopped accepting more. Read more at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5565030.html?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HENA_022608

Open Courseware Makes Higher Education Free To Anyone

Independent learners are reaping a harvest of new, free opportunities either to brush up on skills or pursue an education that had always been out of reach. Through what's known as "open courseware," anyone with Internet access can freely tap materials from about 5,000 courses at more than 150 colleges and universities around the world. But open courseware also is raising questions about how much interaction is necessary to make learning successful. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-02-26-open-courseware_N.htm

Debate Rages Over The Dumbest Generation Ever

A slew of new books, studies and films all tell a similar tale: Americans — especially young Americans — don't know much about much. Overfed on self-esteem, pop culture and digital entertainment, students are starved for genuine literary, historical, scientific and mathematical knowledge, critics say. But others say teens are working as hard as ever, tackling coursework their parents only dreamed of. Each time researchers and think tank types attack, the response from educators gets a bit wearier. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-02-26-dummy-fatigue_N.htm

Off-Campus Development Is One Key To Competitive Advantage

Universities, increasingly, are extending their reach to off-campus development in an effort to give their surrounding areas and town centers a vibrant and modern feel. In the process, they are becoming major drivers of economic development after concluding that their fortunes are directly tied to those of their cities. Another reason for the push is that institutions are recognizing that, along with lucrative financial packages and strong academic reputations, they need to have attractive and exciting college towns to lure top faculty and students. Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120407286615895105-PaOVHLLFB_UYXLBHuPIgZFK_UxI_20090226.html?mod=rss_free