The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Senate Will Consider Extending Violence Against Women Act To Include IHEs

The United States Senate is expected to vote soon on reauthorizing the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which enjoys the support of 61 senators, possibly before the end of April, which isSexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This measure will extend many important programs, and for the first time specifically extend VAWA's protections to all college and university campus communities. One of the most important aspects of the measure will complement Title IX's requirements concerning how institutions handle disciplinary action in sexual violence cases. Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/s-daniel-carter/violence-against-women-act-on-campus_b_1424908.html

FBI Sees American Universities As Fertile Ground For Foreign Spies

Hearkening back to Cold War anxieties, growing signs of spying on U.S. universities are alarming national security officials. As schools become more global in their locations and student populations, their culture of openness and international collaboration makes them increasingly vulnerable to theft of research conducted for the government and industry. While overshadowed by espionage against corporations, efforts by foreign countries to penetrate universities have increased in the past five years. Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-08/american-universities-infected-by-foreign-spies-detected-by-fbi

Illinois Legislators Once Again Try To Kill Politically-Influenced Scholarships

Politicians love to talk about the importance of education. In Illinois, legislators go a step further and personally award scholarships to state universities -- sometimes to friends, donors and political allies. For a century, each Illinois legislator has had the power to hand out a few scholarships every year without regard to students' needs or qualifications. Now, after the failure of repeated efforts to end the $13.5 million-a-year program, opponents are making a new push to eliminate the waivers as Illinois officials try again to clean up the state's image after two consecutive governors wound up in prison. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2012/03/28/in_illinois_college_can_be_a_legislative_favor/ 

 

Governor Suggests His Panel On Higher Education Should Focus On Trade Schools And Online Learning

As he asked a high-powered panel to help him chart the future of higher education in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday avoided any mention of the deep spending cuts he has advocated for the 18 state-supported universities in each of his first two years in office. Instead, he emphasized the value of trade schools and the potential of online instruction in preparing young people for jobs. But asked about the cuts at an impromptu news briefing after his speech, the Republican governor challenged critics of his plan to suggest alternative measures to balance the budget. Read more at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57395585/pa-gov-asks-panel-to-assess-future-of-higher-ed/

President Obama Tells Governors To Increase Funding For Higher Education

President Obama focused his remarks to the nation's governors today on education, urging chief executives of both parties to invest more in education. The countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow," Obama said. In particular, Obama urged the governors to "get more teachers in classrooms," and to assist higher education. The latter topic includes community college training for new kinds of industrial jobs and ways to reduce the burden of student debt. Read more at: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/02/obama-to-governors-spend-more-on-education/1#.T00TlYdmKn-

More States Linking Higher Ed Funding To Performance

You get what you pay for, the saying goes. A growing number of states are linking higher education dollars to student success, not just enrollment. Performance funding is being adopted or strengthened in a majority of U.S. states. Paying for performance isn't a new idea: Twenty-six states adopted performance funding--usually in the form of small bonuses--between 1979 and 2007, according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Half of those states, though, cut the bonuses when state budgets tightened.
Now, states are moving to Performance Funding 2.0. Some states are increasing the dollars. A few--Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee--are basing higher-education funding primarily on performance measures, not enrollment. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-201202271155usnewsusnwr201202240224ccperformancefeb27,0,2238505.story

Vermont Establishes Program To Increase College Enrollment

At 15, Terri-Ann Zweeres is getting a glimpse of what it takes to go to college. While other teens are in study hall, she and about 14 other Bellows Free Academy High School students take a class every three days at Community College of Vermont called introduction to college studies that’s intended to prepare them to go on to higher education. It’s one of a number of strategies in Vermont to get more students to pursue higher education or training after high school. While students here do well academically compared with other states and the state’s high school graduation rate is the second highest in the country, its rate of those who go onto postsecondary education right out of high school is among the lowest at about 44 percent. Read more at:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-19/news/31077773_1_higher-education-national-student-clearinghouse-vermont-department

President Obama Will Roll Out His Plan To Curb College Tuition

President Obama is expected to use his budget unveiling today to flesh out his threat last month to curb runaway college tuition increases - potentially by withholding federal student aid from those colleges that fail to keep prices down. While Obama sought to allay parental concerns by announcing additional billions in financial aid to be distributed to schools that best hold down costs and graduate the neediest students, the president has set off alarms among higher-education officials sensitive to any proposals that resemble price controls. Read more at:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-13/news/31056051_1_student-loan-debt-neediest-students-tuition

Will Delaware Finally Have To Cut Higher Education Funding

Higher education leaders in Delaware have tried to decipher what the changes might mean here. Based on the details available, some aspects of what Obama proposes would not favor Delaware colleges and universities, many of which have costs exceeding the national average in their category. But at the same time, Delaware has also resisted cuts to funding of higher education the last two years, something only a handful of states can claim. In Gov. Jack Markell's recommended budget, UD, DSU and Delaware Tech all received modest increases in funding a year after funding remained flat. Read more at:
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120208/DCP08/202080336

Legislators' Vested Interests In Florida's IHE Will Make Restructuring A Challenge

Amid a clamor to overhaul a state university system lawmakers say isn’t cutting it, Sen. John Thrasher wants to ban lawmakers from holding jobs with public colleges and universities they fund. Given past scandal, Thrasher said it’s best to eliminate the “conflict of interest.” But deeply vested interests, at universities and in the House and Senate, are among the most formidable walls to significant overhauls. Read more at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/29/2614995/lawmakers-face-big-hurdles-in.html

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