The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Law Schools Are Slow To Take Their Programs Online

Legal education has been slow to move to online classes, and the new master’s program is perhaps the earliest partnership between a top-tier law school and a commercial enterprise. The law school of Washington University announced Tuesday that it would offer, entirely online, a master’s degree in United States law intended for lawyers practicing overseas, in partnership with 2tor, an education technology company. The bar association does not approve master’s programs, beyond certifying that a new one at an approved law school will not detract from the J.D. program. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/education/law-school-plans-to-offer-web-courses-for-masters.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120509

Number Of Ph.D. Holders On Food Stamps Triples in Last Few Years

In this economy, even having multiple degrees isn't a guarantee against poverty. The number of PhD recipients on food stamps and other forms of welfare more than tripled between 2007 and 2010 to 33,655, according to an Urban Institute analysis cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The number of master's degree holders on food stamps and other forms of welfare nearly tripled during that same time period to 293,029, according to the same analysis. The boost in PhD recipients receiving food stamps is just the latest indication of how Americans are struggling in a down economy. Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/food-stamps-phd-recipients-2007-2010_n_1495353.html#s609260&title=10_South_Carolina

 

Reacting With Uncertainty To President Obama's Call For College Affordability

In a campus visit Friday morning, President Obama outlined his plans to keep college tuition costs in check, getting a wildly enthusiastic response at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Out in the world, the reaction to the president’s proposals — tying colleges’ eligibility for certain federal aid programs to their affordability and outcomes — was far more tempered. Most people stressed that they, too, wanted to make college education more affordable. But when it came to the particulars of the plan — and paying for it — there was no consensus. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/education/obamas-plan-to-control-college-costs-gets-mixed-reviews.html?_r=1

US And European B-Schools Profit From Asia's Business Boom

Fueled by an appetite for growth, corporations in China,India and other markets in Asia are sending an army of managers and executives to Western business schools to groom future leaders. U.S. and European business schools, meanwhile, are cashing in on the growing roster of clients from cash-rich companies and strengthening ties with the markets and people driving the world economy. Business schools are not always forthcoming with precise enrollment data, but a number of schools acknowledge that they have seen substantial growth in recent years. Martin Hackett, managing director of open enrollment programs at Wharton, said that the trend was clear and that the school’s open enrollment program this year attracted 50 percent more participants from India than last year. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/world/asia/09iht-educlede09.html?_r=1

New Option For Higher Education In Africa

Like many professionals in Africa, she considered enrolling in a remote program for a degree from a British or American university. However, she worried about the lack of human interaction. Instead, both Ms. Brown and Mr. Afinowi joined the first class of students on a new executive M.B.A. program offered by Ceibs, the China Europe International Business School, at its campus in Accra, graduating in December 2010. Founded as a joint venture by the European Commission, the Chinese ministry of foreign trade, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ceibs quickly became one of the most highly regarded business schools in the world. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/world/africa/02iht-educlede02.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

ABA Rules And Regulations Make Affordable Legal Education Next To Impossible

Duncan, which opened two years ago, has 187 enrollees, all of whom have wagered that this library — and everything else about the school — is up to scratch. Because before these students can practice in every state, Duncan needs the seal of approval of the American Bar Association, the government-anointed regulator of law schools. That means complying with a long list of standards that shape the composition of the faculty, the library and dozens of other particulars. Virtually every one of the country’s 200 A.B.A.-accredited schools, from the lowliest to the most prestigious, has to build a Cadillac, or at least come close. Duncan’s library costs $750,000 a year to maintain — a bargain when compared with competitors. Is it Cadillac enough for the A.B.A.? Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a-price-to-play-the-abas-way.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss 

 

Top B-Schools Compete For The Top Students

MBA applications at most schools have been down for two years running and that the cost of attending a two-year MBA program is nearly out of reach for many applicants. But what you may not know is that competition for the best and brightest students has never been more intense among the leading business schools. Last year, Harvard Business School, arguably the institution least in need of passing out cash to applicants or students, doled out a whopping $28 million on scholarships to its MBA candidates.

Dean At Only MBA Program Exclusively For Women Wants To Level The Playing Field

Minehan, who went on to become the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and is now dean of the management school at Simmons College, has seen women’s roles expand greatly in the corporate world since then. But they’re still far from being on a level playing field with men. At Simmons since August, she hopes to become part of the solution by attracting more students to the women’s college, and particularly to its MBA program, the only one in the country designed exclusively for women. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2011/12/04/simmonss_mba_program_only_one_exclusively_for_women/

B-Schools Look To Consumer Technology To Connect Their Students

While specialized education tools have long played an important role in the classroom, some of the most commonly used gadgets and Web sites have become teaching tools of choice at business schools like Essec and elsewhere. Facebook is increasingly used to foster a sense of community for business school classes that meet just a few times a semester; Twitter is used as a way for students to be heard in big halls, letting them ask questions during lectures without having to raise their hand or voice; and videoconferencing software is used at many business schools as a tool for communication between far-flung networks of professors and experts. Experts at Essec and elsewhere say that out-of-the-box consumer applications and gadgets are extremely valuable in the hands of business students. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/world/europe/a-scholarly-role-for-consumer-technology.html?ref=technology

 

Tuition Exchange Agreements Allow Out-Of-Staters To Get In-State Tuition

In the midst of her MBA search, she learned an exchange agreement between Alabama and South Carolina qualified her for in-state tuition. “It was a huge incentive,” she says of the discounted tuition status, which reduced the cost she would have paid as an out-of-state student by nearly $55,000 over the course of the program. Such exchange arrangements exist in 46 states and have been around for decades as a way to give students wider access to higher education resources that may not be available in their home states.  Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/business-schools/tuition-discounts-lure-students-out-of-state-11162011.html