The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Students Have New Reasons To Protest

Last week's college protests played out in color, and that was not the only difference. There were hundreds of students at various California campuses, generally not thousands, and no arrests. The students' concerns were not profound disputes like the war in Vietnam or the civil rights movement but something more prosaic: The relentlessly rising cost of education. Tom Hayden, the former California legislator who knows a little about protest, could see the contrast but still found something moving in last week's low-key uprising. He was speaking of the heightened competitive and economic pressures of college and what those have done to the time in life that is supposed to be open to the occasional protest, well-conceived or not. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-week27-2009sep27,0,5103616.story

Canadian IHEs Looking Better To U.S. Students

More American students are finding worth in Canada's higher-education system, where costs are lower than many private schools in the United States and in some cases similar to costs at flagship state schools, such as Pennsylvania State and Rutgers Universities. During the last decade, the number of American students at Canadian universities has more than doubled, says the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, to 8,200 in 2007-08, up from 3,312 a decade ago. The Canadian Embassy in Washington expects there will be as many as 10,000 this year, making the United States the second-largest exporter of students to Canada behind China. Canadian colleges are recruiting more aggressively; last week they launched a five-city tour in Baltimore. Read more at:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20090928_More_U_S__students_picking_Canadian_universities.html

Hoping It's Recession Proof Students Become Business Majors

Driven by the recession and one of the largest incoming freshman classes in the nation's history, the business major is experiencing a surge in popularity among students. Dozens of business schools are reporting an uptick in their entering freshman classes, with many boasting record enrollment and interest from high school graduates. At some schools, enrollment is up by as much as 10% or 15%, stretching them to capacity and, in some cases, forcing admissions officers to be more selective and tighten their criteria. Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/sep2009/bs20090924_680815.htm

Higher Education Needs A New Morrill Act

Given the precarious condition of state finances, we propose that President Obama emulate President Lincoln by creating a 21st-century version of the Morrill Act. Specifically, the federal government should create a hybrid model in which a limited number of our great public research and teaching universities receive basic operating support from the federal government and their respective state governments. This proposal for a national federal-state university system may require new models of financial governance that include federal and state oversight. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/25/AR2009092502468.html

Admissions Officials Ask "Will Students Even Apply?"

The talk this week at an annual gathering of college admissions officers and high school counselors included the usual topics, like how to deal with “difficult” parents and the names of hot student prospects. But the conversations — in panel discussions, in hallways and over crab cakes — always seemed to circle around to one subject: the economy. Admissions officers said they feared further price increases and cuts in university budgets, perhaps even in classes. They wondered whether this would create significant dips in yield, the number of accepted applicants who then choose to attend. For those at private colleges, one anxious worry prevailed: Will students even apply? Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/education/26admit.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Students At One Beta Site Not Impressed With Kindles As E-Textbooks

When Princeton University announced its Kindle e-reader pilot program last May, administrators seemed cautiously optimistic that the e-readers would both be sustainable and serve as a valuable academic tool. But less than two weeks after 50 students received the free Kindle DX e-readers, many of them said they were dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the devices. But though they acknowledged some benefits of the new technology, many students and faculty in the three courses said they found the Kindles disappointing and difficult to use. “I hate to sound like a Luddite, but this technology is a poor excuse of an academic tool,” said Aaron Horvath ’10, a student in Civil Society and Public Policy. “It’s clunky, slow and a real pain to operate.” Read more at:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/09/28/23918/

Harvard's President Says Libraries Must Get More Efficient

Harvard’s library system, which has more than 16 million volumes, is the oldest in the U.S. and the largest academic library system in the world, according to the school’s Web site. While the system is one of the school’s “proudest treasures,” it’s in need of better coordination, Faust said.  “Curious practices have grown up as the system has grown - - obstacles to sharing and coordination,” she said. Economic arrangements at the libraries discourage them from working together, she said. Harvard’s 70 libraries, for example, must work together to increase savings, she said in a speech today on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Read more at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aQvELZBe3VZc

Entrepreneurship Courses Are Hot At Community Colleges

Community colleges across the country have beefed up their offerings this year as laid-off workers search for training and tips on start-up success. But entrepreneurial and career-specific classes like the one Roberts attends are particularly popular in North Texas, where small businesses remain a financially feasible option because the recession has been milder here than in most areas. Entrepreneurial classes are taking off nationwide in myriad versions, said Heather Van Sickle, the executive director of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. Read more at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/092409dnmetcommcollege.40e75e5.html

U Of Illinois Ready To Recover From Admissions Scandal

Experts say the University of Illinois certainly has a black eye after being dragged through a high-profile admissions scandal, but its reputation and the fast public reaction from state officials could ward off long-term damage. They believe the worst is likely over after months of backlash from news reports that revealed trustees at its flagship Urbana-Champaign campus kept a list of politically connected students -- who in some cases were admitted over more qualified applicants. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinoisadmission,0,5289178.story

Community Colleges Looking To Send More Students Abroad

Community colleges, acknowledging increased attention to their role in preparing today's workforce for a global economy, are looking for new ways to send more students abroad. But just 114 of the nation's 1,200 two-year campuses offered study-abroad opportunities in 2006, up 34% from 2001, says a report by Raby released last year. Work and family obligations pose hurdles for many community college students, but Raby says lack of interest is not a problem. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-23-community-college-abroad_N.htm?csp=34