The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

No Guarantees Elite IHEs Will Bring ROTC Back

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obamacalled for college campuses to “open their doors to our military recruiters” and the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Most of the elite universities with no R.O.T.C. programs have indicated that they are prepared to bring the military onto campus. But that is no guarantee that such programs will materialize. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/education/28rotc.html?_r=1

Open Textbook Advocate David Wiley Shares Video Message Encouraging Faculty To Ditch Costly Textbooks

There are 400 million openly licensed materials that can empower teachers to be better instructors through that openness. But there's a big barrier: adoption. In this video, David Wiley talks about the opportunity and the challenges. Watch the video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiyjhdTRiwo&feature=player_embedded

Straight As At Columbia Not Uncommon

At least 8 percent of Columbia’s 5,934 undergraduates received straight As or A-pluses last semester, according to a document leaked to Spectator on Wednesday. The spreadsheet, which was leaked from an advising dean to his advisees in an apparent email gaffe. The document also indicates that the more senior the class, the more straight As reported. Those majoring in economics form the largest bloc, with 39 students. Read more at:
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2011/01/27/least-8-percent-cc-seas-get-straight 

 

Today's Students Include Largest Group Of Mixed-Raced People Ever

The crop of students moving through college right now includes the largest group of mixed-race people ever to come of age in the United States, and they are only the vanguard: the country is in the midst of a demographic shift driven byimmigration and intermarriage. One in seven new marriages is between spouses of different races or ethnicities. Many young adults of mixed backgrounds are rejecting the color lines that have defined Americans for generations in favor of a much more fluid sense of identity. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/30mixed.html?hp

Yet Another Ranking - The Most Influential IHEs On Twitter

Watch out US News and World Report, there’s a new ranking system in town. Does your college have Klout? In all seriousness, Twitter influence is a revealing metric for colleges.The most influential ones must be both tech-savvy enough to have a well managed Twitter account and have the most influential professors, alums, and others engaging with them.So who tops the list? I’m proud to say my own alma mater, Stanford, is number one! Check out the top ten. Read more at:
http://klout.com/blog/2011/01/the-most-influential-colleges-on-twitter/

IHEs Reviewing Practices After The Latest Tragedy

No one gathered around the conference table here is pointing fingers at Pima Community College. As the staffers at Eastern Kentucky University who step in when students show signs of trouble, they know firsthand the challenges of dealing with someone like Jared Loughner. Just as colleges nationwide ramped up efforts to make their campuses safer after the Virginia Tech tragedy in 2007, the link between Pima Community College and the Arizona shootings has prompted colleges to again review their practices. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-01-27-threat27_ST_N.htm

Endowments Bounce Back In 2010

The value of university endowments increased an average of 11.9 percent for fiscal 2010, making up most of the ground lost in the previous year. Every major asset class except real estate showed gains this year, the study found, but domestic equities performed best, with a 15.6 percent increase.Still, endowments at the 850 colleges and universities included in the study — representing $346.5 billion in assets — are not back to their prerecession levels. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/education/27endow.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

North Carolina Legislators Considering Big Cuts To Higher Education

North Carolina lawmakers will consider slashing the ranks of university professors and raising college tuition during the General Assembly session that begins Wednesday, overshadowed by a budget crisis that could eliminate some degree programs. Republicans taking charge of the state's budget for the first time since 1898 are promising deep cuts to close a projected $3.7 billion gap. And the $2.7 billion total the state budgeted last year to run the University of North Carolina's 16 campuses isn't off limits. Universities have projected that a 10 percent budget cut would mean eliminating 2,000 positions, half of them faculty members, along with 6,400 fewer course sections. Read more at:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/01/universities-block-nc-legislature-budget-ax

Emotional Health Of College Students At All-Time Low

The emotional health of college freshmen — who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school — has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago. Campus counselors say the survey results are the latest evidence of what they see every day in their offices — students who are depressed, under stress and using psychiatric medication, prescribed even before they came to college. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/education/27colleges.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

The Complex World Of Higher Education Fundraising

Decades ago, gifts may have been presented to colleges with a handshake and wink; nowadays they are documented with carefully written agreements detailing the donor's commitment and the university's obligations. Still, there can be miscommunications. University of Connecticut officials aren't saying much about went wrong in their relationship with donor Robert G. Burton, the Greenwich businessman who is demanding the return of $3 million. Welcome to the complex and delicate world of major collegiate fundraising. Read more at:
http://articles.courant.com/2011-01-25/news/hc-uconn-donor-guidelines-20110125_1_donor-gift-college-fund-raising