The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Did This IHE Put Dance Students On A "Fat List"

t's no secret that dancers face heavy pressure to be thin. At Point Park University, like other schools with dance programs, a student tipping the scales too far risks getting a reminder about diet. Just the same, the school and its well-regarded dance program are in the uncomfortable spot this week of fending off complaints that they have taken the poundage issue too far. Simply put, Point Park says it does not have what some on campus have dubbed a "fat list" of its dance students. Read more at:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09302/1009167-298.stm

Hopkins Plays Body Double For Harvard In Facebook Movie

The brick and marble of the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus will double for the brick and marble of Harvard University in "The Social Network," a movie about the creation of Facebook that will shoot here Monday and Tuesday. Dennis O'Shea, Hopkins' director of communications and public affairs, says that Gerbes' presentation of Hopkins' Georgian-style architecture helped cinch the production's interest - and that the quality of the project helped sell "The Social Network" to Hopkins. Read more at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bal-social-network-1027,0,4920096.story

By 2014 Millions Of Students Will Earn Diplomas Online

According to Ambient Insight Chief Research Officer Sam S. Adkins, already some 1.25 million students in higher education programs take all of their classes online, while another 10.65 take some of their classes online. The two groups are still outnumbered by students who take all of their courses in physical classrooms, which Ambient Insight reckoned at 15.14 million as of 2009. But this situation will change drastically by 2014, at which time, Adkins forecast, only 5.14 million students will take all of their courses in a physical classroom, while 3.55 million will take all of their classes online, and 18.65 million will take some of their classes online. Read more at:
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/10/28/most-college-students-to-take-classes-online-by-2014.aspx

Student Will Pay More And Get Less At Flagship Publics

While U.C.L.A.’s money woes are extreme, they are familiar to many flagship universities. The University of Arizona, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Florida are among many that are scrambling because states are kicking in shrinking portions of their budgets. In this particularly hard year, in which university endowments have been hammered along with state coffers, federal stimulus money has helped most avoid worst-case scenarios. The stimulus isn’t a bridge; it’s a short pier. This fall, flagships still had to cut costs and raise tuition, most by 6.5 percent or more. And virtually all of the nation’s top public universities are likely to push through large increases in coming years. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/education/edlife/01public-t.html?pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

College Enrollment Hits New Record Level

Almost 40 percent of the nation’s 18- to 24-year-olds in 2008 were enrolled in college, a record number, according to a Pew Research Center report released on Thursday. The rise was driven almost entirely by a surge in students attending community colleges. Enrollment has been rising at two- and four-year colleges alike for decades. And most young adults still prefer four-year colleges, even though they are more expensive. But the increase in the rate of students going to college reflected in the Pew report was attributable almost entirely to increased community-college enrollment. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/education/30college.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Russian Academic Freedom

Word spread this month among the faculty members of St. Petersburg State University: According to a document signed on Oct. 1, they have to submit their work to administrators for permission before publishing it abroad or presenting it at overseas conferences. The order, which was circulated internally and made its way onto a popular Internet forum, says professors must provide their academic department with copies of texts to be made public outside Russia, so that they can be reviewed for violation of intellectual property laws or potential danger to national security. Read more at;
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/europe/28petersburg.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Staying Up Late For Learning At Overcrowded IHEs

He is a typical part-time student, with one exception. His class runs from 11:45 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., the consequence of an unprecedented enrollment spike that has Bunker Hill scrambling to accommodate hundreds of newcomers. In the dead of night, he and his classmates dissect Walt Whitman poems and learn the finer points of essay writing, fueled by unlimited coffee, cookies and an instructor who does push-ups beforehand to stay lively. While Bunker Hill offers two midnight classes — the other is Psychology 101 — and Clackamas Community College in Oregon holds welding classes until 2 a.m., others have added classes as early as 6 a.m. to make room for the jobless and others whom the recession has nudged back to school. Read more at:
http://www.universitybusiness.com/newssummary.aspx?news_date=2009-10-28&news_id=20821#top

Time To End Sports Subsidies At UC Berkeley

When UC Berkeley lends its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics millions of dollars to pay its bills each year - and even forgives that debt at times - it's helping a top-tier college sports program beloved by thousands of fans.But a growing number of Cal academics are disturbed by the practice, arguing that the prestigious research university should not subsidize elite athletes at a time of soaring college costs, faculty furloughs and reduced course offerings.UC Berkeley's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics - whose football team is in the Bowl Subdivision - is projected to run a deficit of nearly $6 million, rising to $6.4 million next year. Read more at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/27/MN0L1AAUM3.DTL&feed=rss.education

Knight Commission Says Athletic Directors Must Control Football Costs

College and university athletic departments might have to drop some sports unless reforms such as controlling the cost of coaching contracts are implemented, according to a survey released Monday. The survey of presidents of schools at major college football's highest level also suggests even the administrators aren't sure how to rein in costs. That's not saying no one will try: A group representing the athletic directors at those schools will present seven presumably cost-cutting proposals to the NCAA in the coming weeks. Commission members say finding ways to solve financial woes will be its most daunting challenge. Read more at:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMZyu8G7jFMDCT0xBrpYOj8cc7yQD9BIVGR03

Adult Learners In Online Courses Is Higher Ed's Growth Market

They live in different towns, but one evening -- without leaving the comfort of their homes -- a dozen or so college instructors gathered around a virtual campfire on the virtual campus of Drury University. Empowered by technologies and driven by student demand, local universities and colleges are making big strides in their offerings of online classes, posting double-digit growth semester over semester. With financial backing from their schools, local online educators say they hope to meet the desires of a changing student population while grabbing their share of this growing online education market, unfettered by campus walls. Read more at: http://www.news-leader.com/article/2009910260349