The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Some Rejection Letters Are Easier To Take Than Others

Members of this year's record-size high-school graduating class applied to more colleges than ever -- and now, that's resulting in a heavier than usual flurry of rejection letters. Hundreds of students at high schools from Newton, Mass., to Palo Alto, Calif., have created cathartic "Wall of Shame" or "Rejection Wall" displays of college denial letters. Here, based on my own highly unscientific survey of actual letters, student interviews and message boards, are my picks for this year's most noteworthy college rejection letters. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124096471555766239.html

Admissions Using Twitter To Connect With Their Audience

College admissions officials, keenly aware that their target audience grows more tech-savvy with every passing year, appear to be getting the hang of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. "Social media tools, like Facebook, Twitter and blogs, are key to communicating with this generation of students," says Joyce Smith, the group's CEO. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-04-29-admissions-twitter_N.htm

Going Trayless Contributes To Campus Sustainability

Scores of colleges and universities across the country are shelving the trays in hopes of conserving water, cutting food waste, softening the ambience and saving money. The Sustainable Endowments Institute said that 126 of them had curtailed use of trays, some of them banishing trays only from certain dining halls, and some introducing, for example, “trayless Tuesdays.” Such moves are often part of a larger push to embrace environmentalism that includes hiring sustainability coordinators, introducing solar panels, composting dining-hall waste and encouraging students to turn off lights with catchy sayings like “Do It in the Dark.” Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/nyregion/29tray.html

President Obama Pays Close Attention To The College Generation

Smart politicians naturally reward supporters, so Obama is no doubt closely watching young adults who were energized by his youthful, tech-smart campaign. On the quintessential youth issue, making higher education more affordable, Obama has already taken decisive action. Obama sought to ensure that the economic downturn would not prevent students from attending college—by putting $8.5 billion for each of the next two years (a more than 50 percent increase in annual spending) into the Pell Grant program. Read more at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/195328

Is Higher Education The Next Industry In Need Of A Bailout

A college education, the logic goes, will increase your earning capacity over a lifetime and provide the humanist training to make you a reasonable, functioning citizen in a democracy. But in the swift kick in the American gut that is the current recession, higher education is the latest sector of society that has been hit hard by hard times. The signs of the carnage on the American university campus are numerous, which leads to an important question. Are American colleges and universities the next institution in desperate need of a stimulus package? Read more at:
http://www.miller-mccune.com/business_economics/the-financial-carnage-on-campus-1168

Coming Of Second Sputnik Era For Higher Education

In a speech on Monday at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, President Obama presented a vision of a new era in research financing comparable to the Sputnik-period space race, in which intensified scientific inquiry, and development of the intellectual capacity to pursue it, are a top national priority. The president laid out an ambitious plan to invigorate the country’s pipeline for innovation, from grade-school classrooms to corporate, government and academic research laboratories. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/earth/28speech.html

IHEs On Alert For Swine Flu Outbreaks

Swine flu has not hit U.S. college campuses, but campus health officials—aware that colleges are ideal environments for outbreaks—are building contingency plans in the case of an event. Schools are prepared to cancel travel or impose quarantines as local and federal authorities require. Health clinics are on the lookout for flulike symptoms. Officials have told students to "be alert and cautious but not panic" and have offered some very pragmatic advice: Wash your hands. Read more at:
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/04/28/colleges-prepare-for-swine-flu.html

Mixed Feelings On Campus About Humans Vs. Zombies

Clark is playing Humans vs. Zombies - or HvZ - an elaborate adult version of tag that has invaded 50 college campuses in New England and beyond. The game provides students with a distraction from studies as they chase one another from classroom buildings to dorms. Students say HvZ is a healthy way to keep them on campus on the weekends and away from drinking. But the game has come under scrutiny. Reports of large groups of students wearing bandannas and shouldering 2-foot toy guns have alarmed passersby on some campuses. The game has been banned at some schools. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/04/28/beware_this_game_is_infectious/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news

Life At No-Frills U

Kaileen Crane was hardly interested in the hefty price tag that comes with the traditional college experience. So she's paying $10,000 a year for the Advantage Program offered by Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), a private college. Forget about campus housing. Or a meal plan, or a gym with a climbing wall. This program is about the basics – core courses at a bare-bones satellite campus. But the price is less than one-third of what it costs for tuition and room and board at the main campus in Manchester. Read more at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0427/p02s01-usgn.html

Enrollment In Engineering Programs On The Rise

Across the United States, enrollment in engineering programs has risen to levels not seen in three decades. The recession appears to be one factor, as students and their parents look for dependable careers. But some education officials detect a shift in opinion about the profession itself, as global warming and stem-cell research make fields like chemical and bioengineering more than just wise choices for job-seekers – but fashionable ones, too. Many students are bringing to engineering a heightened sense of social responsibility. Read more at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0424/p02s01-usgn.html