The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Privatizing U Of California Is The Wrong Solution

University of California President Mark G. Yudof went to Sacramento this week in another valiant effort to convince legislators that they're playing with fire when they shortchange the state's higher-education system. In the course of his presentation, he gingerly mentioned the P-word. The state university, he told them, is a statewide boon, adding: "We do not want to partially privatize it through raising fees." "Privatization" is a crowd-pleasing nostrum for public officials seeking to shed the budgetary cost of programs and services that they nevertheless know to be a public responsibility. It has a cheap but bright surface allure, like a fresh coat of whitewash. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik10-2009dec10,0,4424169.column

The New Normal For Higher Education

"The most successful institutions will not be those that ride out the economic downturn by returning to the status quo," said Madeleine d'Ambrosio, vice president and executive director of the TIAA-CREF Institute, in opening this year's TIAA-CREF Institute conference, "Smart Leadership in Difficult Times." More than 150 higher education leaders from around the country were gathered for this timely forum. Colleges and universities will be forced to "focus on enrollment, affordability and fund-raising" added d'Ambrosio, who also cited a Moody's report predicting the harshest effects of the economic downturn are likely still ahead for higher education. The result: a "new normal" for colleges and universities. Read more at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/A-New-Normal-for-Higher-prnews-3942864383.html?x=0&.v=1

Latest Issue Of University Business Now Available

The November/December 2009 issue of University Business in now available online. This issue contains articles on smart buildings, preventing fires on campus, going beyond ADA, how to use YouTube with success, the no-frills university and more. Find it at:
http://www.universitybusiness.com/toc/default.aspx

IHEs Contribute To Local Economies

Higher education institutions in Chicago's Loop generate more than $4 billion in regional economic output annually, including at least $60 million in student purchases directly from retailers, according to a report released Monday by the Chicago Loop Alliance. The Loop is home to 24 higher education institutions. The researchers estimate that the academic institutions themselves account for $2.1 billion in economic output in the Chicago area. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-study-economic-output,0,5162903.story

IHEs Look To Management Consultants To Cut Costs

When Holden Thorp, the chancellor of the University of North Carolina, was looking for ways to cut the university’s budget, he did what many executives in private industry do — hired a management consultant. The management consultants examined business functions but stayed away from academic issues like courseloads and tenure. For all its academic prominence, the 107-page report found, the university has plenty of inefficiencies. Still, some university employees criticize the hiring of Bain, or any outside corporate-oriented consulting firm, to advise on university budget cuts. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/education/15bain.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

IHEs Should Expect Less Revenue Through 2010

While parents may be depressed by the news that 58 colleges now charge more than $50,000 a year, the news isn’t much better for the colleges themselves. A survey by Moody’s, the rating agency, finds that nearly 30 percent of private colleges that responded are expecting a decline in net revenue from tuition and fees in the 2010 fiscal year. The big reason, Moody’s said, is a rise in discounts and financial aid as a result of the economic downturn. Despite the fiscal challenges, Moody’s found that undergraduate enrollment at the private colleges and universities surveyed was up by almost 1 percent. Read more at:
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/bleak-news-for-colleges-too/

Latest NYT Education Life Supplement Available

The New York Times published its quarterly Education Life supplement. This quarter the feature articles cover the 40th anniversary of the ROTC ban on campuses, students getting less for more at public universities, and holistic admissions strategies. There are many other interesting pieces about higher education in the supplement some which include textbooks, odd student jobs, and luxury dorms. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/education/edlife/index.html

Tough Times Ahead Despite Some Signs Of Stability

Last September, Boston University was the first local college to sound the alarm on an impending financial crisis that would soon penetrate much of academia: President Robert Brown curbed spending, froze staff hiring, and halted construction. As the economic picture brightened in June, Brown loosened the purse strings. BU is now looking to fill 159 jobs. Despite the relative stability, industry analysts and college financial managers predict that more difficult times may be ahead. The federal stimulus money that’s buoyed the budgets of the state’s public colleges will run dry in a year. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/10/30/amid_tumult_a_degree_of_stability/

Inequality Goes To College

The November 2009 issue of The American Prospect is a special issue that examines the growth of a two-tier system of American higher education defined by inequality. All the articles in this issue examine how there is an increasing gap in access to and affordability of higher education. Articles such as "Our Two-Class System" and "Rationing College Opportunity" point to the growing problem of a have and have-not system of American higher education. Read more at:
http://www.prospect.org/cs/special_report

Why Does It Take Four Years To Earn A Diploma

The three-year degree could become the higher-education equivalent of the fuel-efficient car. And that's both an opportunity and a warning for the best higher-education system in the world. For all of these reasons, some forward-looking colleges like Hartwick are rethinking the old way of doing things and questioning decades-old assumptions about what a college degree means. For instance, why does it have to take four years to earn a diploma? By eliminating that extra year, three-year degree students save 25 percent in costs. Read more at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/218183/page/2