The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Weighing The Pros And Cons Of A Campus Visit By Obama

Would it be all right if the Leader of the Free World stopped by your campus for a little while? The offer, though, forced the university’s chancellor, Biddy Martin, to weigh the many benefits of a visit by a sitting president against the naked political purpose of that visit. In the end, the university said: Yes! Tuesday afternoon, thousands of students crammed cheek-by-jowl into the university’s Library Mall, both to see a world leader up close. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/us/29land.html?_r=2

IHEs Challenged To Balance Security With Campus Access

As authorities searched for the assailants in recent stabbings at two area colleges, college officials and security specialists said the attacks underlined the uneasy reality that even secluded campuses are susceptible to violence from outsiders and can reasonably do only so much to prevent it. As authorities searched for the assailants in recent stabbings at two area colleges, college officials and security specialists said the attacks underlined the uneasy reality that even secluded campuses are susceptible to violence from outsiders and can reasonably do only so much to prevent it. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/09/28/colleges_boost_security_consider_limits_following_series_of_attacks/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news

Concerns That Proposed Federal Regulations Will Challenge Academic Freedom

During a previous political uprising in the 1980s, academic institutions managed to fend off conservative attacks on some of the subjects taught on their campuses — from "peace studies" to kinky sexual practices, to bad history — with cries of "academic freedom." Where are those cries now that the federal government is on the verge of regulating the content of subject matter on college campuses and changing the way these institutions are accredited? Armstrong says the attempt by the government to regulate curricula "is part of an unprecedented power grab in which government has already moved to dominate such industries as automobiles, energy, health care, banking, home loans and student loans — and now seeks dominance over the colleges and universities themselves." Read more at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/fl-ctcol-academic-freedom-thomas-092720100927,0,1361153.story

Survey Finds Helicopter Parents Are Showing Up In Bigger Numbers

A new survey of admission officers at 387 386 colleges finds that helicopter parenting is on the rise. Of the colleges surveyed by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (which is part of The Washington Post Co.), 77 percent reported that parental involvement is increasing. As a result, 61 percent reported they were developing new programs for parents -- special Internet sites, seminars and tours. Colleges are responding by holding information sessions for parents alone, or separate campus tours for parents and children. One college said it was offering a "how not to hover" workshop. Read more at:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/2010/09/survey_helicopter_parents_hove.html?wprss=college-inc

Professors Feeling Right At Home In The Dorm

GWU is one of dozens of colleges across the country that place professors (and sometimes their families) in residence halls. It's a practice borrowed from the early days of academia that has grown in popularity in recent years, especially at large urban universities looking to create a more personal, small-campus feel. In exchange for free rent, these professors agree to live among the masses, answer questions, attend floor meetings, endure odd noises at late hours and host small gatherings. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/26/AR2010092603023.html

Please Leave In Four

Minnesota’s colleges are trying new strategies to convince students to earn their bachelor’s degrees in four years — a schedule that could save them, and their parents, thousands of dollars in tuition and expenses. Fewer than half of Minnesota’s college students earn their degrees in that time and many take five of six years. University officials are considering a move that would give students another incentive to graduate on time. Read more at:
 http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/177006/

Phony Talent Agency Swindles Student Association Out Of $30K

Hundreds of Montclair State University students started lining up well before dawn Wednesday to buy tickets to a much-anticipated homecoming concert featuring hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj. There was, however, one slight problem: Nicki Minaj was never booked to perform at the university. University police are now investigating and trying to recover about $30,000, which the Montclair Student Government Association paid a talent agency after signing a contract to book the concert. Read more at:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/montclair_state_university_aut.html

Lawsuits Against For-Profit IHEs On The Rise

Disgruntled students, employees and shareholders have filed a flurry of lawsuits against for-profit colleges since a federal investigation last month found deceptive practices at 15 campuses.Tampa lawyer Jillian Estes, whose firm has represented students in several class-action suits against for-profits, including Westwood College, says she hopes the federal scrutiny will bolster students' cases. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-09-27-1Aforprofit27_ST_N.htm

Men's Sports Teams Are On The Chopping Block

To achieve gender equity amid enrollment shifts and reduced revenue, colleges have been chopping men’s sports, with at least half a dozen on the endangered list and a couple facing extinction. “Every April, you hear about the spring slaughter,’’ said Minnesota men’s gymnastics coach Mike Burns, whose program is one of 17 remaining in a sport that numbered 124 in 1972. The change reflects the numbers game that schools play in order to meet the proportionality requirement that has become the favored method to comply with Title IX, the 1972 law forbidding sex discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds, and to avoid legal challenges. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/09/24/college_dropouts_increase/

Japan's Grad Programs Not Attracting Enough Students

In a country with a shrinking population, the latest trend in Japan’s higher education is something of a mystery: the number of universities and academic programs is rising. The growth is sharpest for professional graduate schools, where the number has soared from practically zero in 2003, when accreditation began, to 130 now. But there is one obvious problem: not enough students are signing up. The Japanese government says that nearly half of professionally oriented programs, aside from law schools, have yet to fill their stated student capacity. And the problem has been especially acute in graduate programs in education. Read more at: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/education/27iht-educLede27.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss