Welcome to the Daily Dose of Higher Education from BreakDrink.com. This is the Thursday, May 23rd edition and I’m Sue Caulfield. Thanks for tuning in as we bring you the latest and greatest in the world of today’s colleges and universities.

Equity Gap Widens

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/23/two-year-colleges-serve-more-disadvantaged-students-less-money [story]

http://tcf.org/bookstore/detail/bridging-the-higher-education-divide  [source]

Follow the story on Twitter: #TCFbest #comm_college @TCFdotorg

“Our higher education system, like the larger society, is growing more and more unequal.” This statement came out of a reaction to a recent report released by the Century Foundation entitled, “Bridging the Higher Education Divide.” It reported that community colleges receive far less funding and serve a geater population than private institutions. The report focused on the fact that community colleges also tend to serve a greater population of disadvantaged students and should have access to funds that would support their mission. It went as far to suggest that if the Department of Education did not act, litigation in states that claimed education as a constitutional right could be a way to gain acces to these funds. Additionally, it’s suggests involving outcome-based funding and laws providing incentives to private institutions for recruiting low-income students.

$420M and 4,314 Students Later

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/23/look-back-ford-foundation-international-fellowships-program [story]

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/06/16/ford [source]

http://www.fordifp.net/ [source]

Follow the story on Twitter: #FordFoundation #global

Four thousand three hundred and fourteen student from twenty-two countries; these are the numbers the Ford Foundation released this week as it graduated its last class from the International Fellowship Program. This program received recognition during its inception for the unique mission of targeting disadvantaged students from all different countries. The program meets students where they are, prepares them before they attend an institution and offers programs in their native languages. Fellows were chosen based in their potential and the program’s success relies on working relationships with the host institutions. The Ford Foundation boasts that 90 percent of alumni have completed their degrees and 82 percent have returned to their home countries to put this knowledge to good use.

Hofstra Alumni Petition For Better Security Off-Campus

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/hofstra-alumni-petition-for-better-security-off-campus/ [story]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hofstra-suspect-won-praise-parole-panel-19239733 [story]

Follow the story on Twitter: #campussafety #Hofstra

Last Friday, an off-campus student house was robbed and a student of Hofstra University lost her life. Andrea Robello was caught in friendly fire as police tried to free her, her twin sister and housemates who were being held hostage. Andrea was buried this week. Her death and several other off-campus incidents this year have students and alumni questioning what the institution can do to better protect their students. Recent alumni have developed a petition, asking members of Hofstra’s administration to act. The petition has over 2,000 signatures. Hofstra’s president Stuart Rabinowitz has issued a statement saying that the university’s public safety officers do the best they can. The university has created a task force to begin to address these issues, but it will be difficult for them to maintain control beyond the university’s boundaries.

Thats it for today! Don’t forget to tune in next week for the next edition of Daily Dose. Happy Thursday!

Follow the conversation: #DailyDose @BreakDrink

Daily Dose of Higher Education for May 21st [Audio]

Welcome to the May 21st edition of the Daily Dose of Higher Education for BreakDrink.com.  I’m Shawn Brackett with today’s news in one minute or less.

Our first story tonight: the government of China has banned the discussion of seven subjects in classrooms.  Included in the ban are freedom of the press, mistakes of the Chinese Communist Party, and the wealth of top party leaders.  Not included in the ban are how institutions are supposed to enforce the ban. http://chronicle.com/article/China-Bans-7-Topics-in/139407/?key=Gm52dARjaXNEZyxmNjlCYDpTYXE6NExxMnJJYnomblFREg%3D%3D [story]

Next, a former player on Baylor’s basketball team has stated Coach Kim Mulkey pressured players to hide their sexuality.  Brittney Griner, a player on the team, said that the coach and other staff wanted players to keep sexuality private to not harm recruiting efforts. http://espn.go.com/wnba/story/_/id/9289080/brittney-griner-says-baylor-coach-kim-mulkey-told-players-keep-quiet-sexuality [story]

Next, a college reinstates an instructor after a student slaughtered a chicken in public for a course art project. The Alberta College of Art and Design has reversed its decision to fire Gord Ferguson, the chair of sculpture at the institution after public outcries over allegations the dismissal violated Ferugson’s academic freedom. http://www.calgaryherald.com/ACAD+reinstates+teacher+fired+after+chicken+slaughter/8390756/story.html [story]

Lastly tonight, a piece by the Denver Post on how the state of Colorado is struggling to retain high-profile faculty at public universities. The story notes how Colorado universities compensate faculty at 5% to 35% lower than peer institutions in other states. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23286956/colorado-research-universities-struggle-stop-poaching-faculty [story]

Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.

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Welcome to the Daily Dose of Higher Education from BreakDrink.com. This is the Thursday, May 9th edition and I’m Sue Caulfield. Thanks for tuning in as we bring you the latest and greatest in the world of today’s colleges and universities.

Publisher Threatens to Sue Blogger for $1-Billion

http://chronicle.com/article/Publisher-Threatens-to-Sue/139243/  [story]

http://scholarlyoa.com  [source]

http://chronicle.com/article/Predatory-Online-Journals/131047/  [source]

Follow the story on Twitter: #beallslist #scholarlyoa #openaccess

By day, Jeffrey Beall poses at the University of Colorado as the metadata librarian. By night, he provides the academic world with some justice through his well-known blog “Scholarly Open Access.” Now, Beall is being sued by an India based company, the OMICS Publishing Group,for being listed on his blog as a questionable open access publisher. Beall received a “poorly written threatening letter” from the publisher, stating that his claims against the company were demeaning and against the India Information Technology Act. OMICS is suing for $1 billion and Beall could spend up to three years in India in jail. This is not the first time OMICS has been featured in a negative light; OMICS has appeared in The Chronicle for similar practices that Beall had cited the company for in his blog. False advertising, claiming to be associated with accredited organizations, and overcharging authors to publish their pieces are some of the reputations that are associated with OMICS. OMICS Publishing Group plans to proceed with the lawsuit but it is unclear as to whether it will take place in the United States or India.

Holistic Mental-Health Care Can Earn Colleges a New Accolade

http://chronicle.com/article/Holistic-Mental-Health-Care/139285/  [story]

http://www.jedcampus.org/  [source]

Follow the story on Twitter: #mentalhealth #jedfoundation @jedfoundation

Mental health counseling is something that varies from institution to institution across the United States. Lately, it has become a hot topic in higher education as colleges report that student levels of anxiety are on the rise. The Jed Foundation is looking to fix this by promoting their new program, JedCampus. This program will offer a standardized way of assessing mental health training across an institution’s staff. The goal is to have every member of the college community trained to look for signs of distress amongst the students they come into contact with. Institutions can earn the JedCampus Seal by applying for the program, which has a fee of $650 and an 80 question assessment test. Information is gathered from this and the Jed Foundation then gives recommendations and tools to each institution, using the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s resources as a guide. John MacPhee, the foundation’s director says they believe this will work because it can be tailored to each institution.  ”Every school is different,” MacPhee says. “We want to see that the school has a plan.”

Follow-up: #FreeCooperUnion story

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/16/debate_what_caused_cooper_unions_fiscal  [story]

Follow the story on Twitter: #freecooperunion @freecooperunion

In follow up to the story from last week, the students of Cooper Union have had members of the student body protesting in the presidents office for nine days now. The live stream during the first 48 hours attracted attention from all over the world. The link above shows what has transpired since this first day, including a formal address by the students to the administration stressing that they could no longer support the college President, the President’s response, and other responses from the administration. It should be noted that not all students are in agreement with these actions; three students drafted a letter to the student body stating they supported the efforts of the administration and looked forward to a time when Cooper Union could return to a tuition-free state.  We’ll continue to follow this story as it progresses.

Thats it for today! Don’t forget to tune in next week for the next edition of Daily Dose. Happy Thursday!

Follow the conversation: #DailyDose @BreakDrink

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Higher Education from BreakDrink.com. This is the Thursday, May 9th edition and I’m Sue Caulfield. Thanks for tuning in as we bring you the latest and greatest in the world of today’s colleges and universities.

Cooper Union to Charge Undergraduates Tuition [Breaking] 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/nyregion/cooper-union-to-charge-undergraduates-tuition.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0 [source]

http://freecooperunion.com/ [source]

http://cusos.org/students-take-presidents-office/ [source]

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/32619423 [source]

https://twitter.com/FreeCooperUnion [Twitter page]

Follow the story on Twitter: #FreeCooperUnion #CooperUnion @FreeCooperUnion

On April 23rd, Cooper Union announced that it would begin to develop a policy to charge their undergraduate students tuition for the first time in the institution’s history. The college has expressed that it would charge students on a sliding scale, with the highest tuition bill topping out at $20,000. This would begin for the class of 2014 in the fall semester. Since then, students, alumni, and some members of the staff and administration have expressed their frustration and concern that this would clash with the university’s mission.  Student groups have mobilized using social media, with their most publicized act taking place this afternoon. The links above show the student organization “Cooper Union Student Action to Save Our School’s” webpage. A group of students have been sitting in President Jamshed Bharuch’s in silent protest since noon yesterday. They were addressed by the administration at about 5PM today. Please stay tuned to the livestream and follow the story on Twitter for updates. We wish for the safety for all the students, administration and staff involved.

As MOOC Debate Simmers at San Jose State, American U. Calls a Halt

http://chronicle.com/article/As-MOOC-Debate-Simmers-at-San/139147/ [source]

http://chronicle.com/article/Faculty-Backlash-Grows-Against/139049/ [source]

http://chronicle.com/article/San-Jose-State-Us-Faculty/139139/ [source - memo]

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Memo-American-Us-MOOC/139137/ [source - memo]

Follow the story on Twitter: #MOOC #edX #udacity #faculty

Following up on the great MOOC debate, our next story highlights a story from San Jose State University’s chapter of the California Faculty Association. Faculty expressed their deep distrust for the online learning model, stating that companies such as edX and Udacity are offering ways for public universities to replace faculty positions ‘for free.’ The university has made an effort to ‘highly recommend’ that many departments use content from edX or Udacity courses; the philosophy department has refused, and the faculty union quickly backed their efforts in a public written statement. Meanwhile in Washington D.C., American University faculty and staff received a memo from the provost, stating that the institution would not dive into the world of MOOCs before investigating the benefits and flaws. In this memo, the provost worked with the Faculty Senate to provide a list of terms which governed how professors may teach on a freelance basis. We will continue to follow the story of the big bad – or good – MOOCs, in the next editions of Daily Dose.

Amid Security Worries, Student Visas Come Under New Scrutiny

http://chronicle.com/article/Amid-Security-Worries-Student/139149/ [source]

Follow the story on Twitter: #internationalstudents #studentvisa #campussafety

With the acceptance of our school’s first international student, this article hit home tonight. One of the outcomes of the Boston Marathon bombings has been a call for increased security and procedure when dealing with international students. Higher education officials have expressed concern that students with student visas will be subject to unnecessary scrutiny because the bombing suspects were students, and their accomplice owned an expired student visa. This is expected to link to immigration reform and be used as an example. Educators state that the problem is not within the policy, but the system itself; custom officers often lack access to real-time information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information system, the electronic student-visa database. One must also remember that it is an institution’s job to maintain records, not enforce the law; college administrators fear that this one example will cause a reaction to try to fix a system that is not broken, or be used as a political platform against a population that does not have the right to vote to begin with. The Department of Homeland Security is currently working to fix the system to give all border agents access to the database, instead of initiating a manual check.

Thats it for today! Don’t forget to tune in on Tuesday as Shawn Brackett brings you the news in one minute or less. Happy Thursday!

Follow the conversation: #DailyDose @BreakDrink

Daily Dose of Higher Education for May 7th [Audio]

Welcome to the May 7th edition of the Daily Dose of Higher Education for BreakDrink.com.  I’m Shawn Brackett with today’s news in one minute or less.

Our first story tonight: a new study finds Black and Latino graduate students borrow more to earn a doctorate.  The differences between White and Asian grad students and Black and Latino grad students held when the researchers controlled for area of study and time in program. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/07/study-finds-black-and-latino-grad-students-borrow-more-earn-phds [story]

Follow on Twitter: #gradschool #phdchat #STEM

Next, the governor of Montana has vetoed a bill that would have allowed students with concealed carry permits to bring their firearms onto campus.  The bill would have also permitted students to bring firearms into their residence hall room with a roommate’s permission. http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/07/montana-governor-vetoes-bill-allow-guns-campus [story]

Follow on Twitter: #Montana #gunrights #guncontrol

Lastly tonight, The Chronicle discusses an interesting study on the pathways from high school to community college.  The study, authored by the National Center on Education and the Economy, argues that certain standards should be relaxed (such as mathematics) to give institutions and employers more flexibility in preparing future workers. Others fear a return to “tracking” minorities into vocational education. http://chronicle.com/article/High-Schools-Set-Up/139105/ [story]

Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.

Daily Dose of Higher Education for May 2nd [Audio]

Welcome to the May 2nd edition of the Daily Dose of Higher Education for BreakDrink.com.  I’m Shawn Brackett with today’s news in one minute or less.

Our first story tonight: an open letter from the philosophy faculty at San José State University critiquing MOOCs.  San José State has contracted with EdX and Coursera to provide pre-packaged courses, but many professors remain concerned about the impact on the quality of learning. http://chronicle.com/article/The-Document-an-Open-Letter/138937/ [primary source]

Follow on Twitter: #SJSU #MOOCs

Next, a federal judge in Nebraska has ruled that university-owned housing is subject to the Fair Housing Act (FHA).  A student had filed suit alleging the University of Nebraska Kearney violated the FHA by refusing to allow her to bring a therapy animal into a university apartment complex (in contrast to an accommodation for a service animal under the ADA). http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/judge-university-housing-subject-to-fair-housing-act/article_961a765c-e81d-58cf-8bc5-15a14b8752b8.html [story]

Follow on Twitter: #UNK #FHA

Next, the US Department of Education has changed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. Starting with the 2014-2015 application, the FAFSA form will collect information regarding parents’ income without regard to gender.  http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-announces-changes-fafsa-form-more-accurately-and-fairly-ass [unfortunately abbreviated URL to the press release]

Lastly tonight, an investigative piece from The Chronicle on how some institutions are avoiding providing health care for adjunct faculty by limiting their work hours.  Set to begin in 2014, a provision of the Affordable Care Act mandates large employers to provide health care for employees who work at least 30 hours per week. http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Curb-Adjuncts-Hours/138653/ [story]

Follow on Twitter: #faculty #ACA

Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.

Welcome to the April 16th edition of the Daily Dose of Higher Education for BreakDrink.com.  I’m Shawn Brackett with today’s news in one minute or less.

Tonight our story is the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. I’ve included links to several stories of first responders rushing to help (http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/boston-heroes/index.html?hpt=hp_t2), the simple kindness of local Bostonians, and the efforts at connection and healing: these are stories that should be remembered.

As of last night, more than 5,000 people in Boston had filled out a Google Doc with offers of shelter and food.  This happened within 10 hours of the bombing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AoXVKFw1Uci5dFNpRGdWd2pXZTN4a3Fza0VhVTRVaGc&output=html.

Becca Obergefell (@oberbecca) has organized a way for folks around the world to show support to the Boston community. Go for a walk or a run, tag it with #RunForBoston on social media, and add your mileage to the Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1X5hW3F2eSZJ2bJLXIdXjwfn2yAgBGnRlXgKgozWC_ls/viewform.  When asked why they ran for Boston, some people said:

-”I’m running for those who can’t run anymore”

-”We are sisters and brothers”

-”To keep fear from winning”

This tragedy shook us, but take comfort in the good–the overwhelming good that surrounds us. Good night.