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Category: Higher Education/System

On Campus: State funding per-student at UW-Madison dropped by 9.3% in past decade, report found

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Wisconsin State Journal

The state of Wisconsin reduced per-student funding at UW-Madison by 9.3 percent between 2002 and 2010, after adjusting for inflation, according to data released today by the National Science Board, the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation. State funding per student at UW-Madison dropped from $10,275 to $9,324, according to the report. Trends in state funding are even bleaker at other major public research universities, the science board found.

Penn State president to face alumni in Pittsburgh

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Madison.com

Penn State University President Rodney Erickson will face a crowd of alumni Wednesday in Pittsburgh, some of whom aren?t happy about the way the school handled the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. It?s the first of three town hall meetings scheduled this week, two months into Erickson?s tenure as president.

Ben Bromley: Even colleges flunk geography

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Wisconsin State Journal

….the recent college conference realignments don?t seem so well-intended. The NCAA has become a campus meat market at bar time, with everyone hooking up out of desperation. “You say you need a 12th school so you can establish a conference championship football game and secure a 10-year TV deal with ESPN? Here?s the key to my apartment, big boy.” As always, money and college athletics make strange bedfellows. This is why San Diego State is sleeping with Rutgers. And it?s why our kids will have to learn geography someplace other than universities.

Campus Connection: Need a job? Go to college, but don’t study architecture

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Capital Times

Most students, parents and leaders of higher education still view a college degree as a ticket to a brighter future. But as the economy continues to struggle picking up steam and as costs associated with higher education continue to soar, more and more people are starting to question whether it?s worth it. The answer? According to a new report out of Georgetown University?s Center on Education and the Workforce, it depends on your major.

….Steve Schroeder — the director of UW-Madison’s Business Career Center — isn’t sold on the notion that what one majors in is as important as some other factors. “We have seen a trend in the past decade with many employers caring less about the major and more about the leadership involvement and personal attributes of the candidates,” he says. John Archambault, an assistant dean for student development in UW-Madison’s College of Engineering, adds in an email: “I think students should study what they love — because they will do better academically.

Wis. prisoner accused of starting a fake university

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Madison.com

A lifelong con man imprisoned in Wisconsin is accused of starting a fake university from prison. The state Department of Justice charged 45-year-old Kenneth Shong with felony fraudulent writings in Winnebago County. According to the complaint, Shong was at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution in 2006 when he encouraged another inmate to enroll in “Carlingford University,” saying it granted degrees.

Walker unveils new council to prep students for college, jobs

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Wisconsin State Journal

Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday he is creating a new council to help better prepare students for college and careers. The move comes after Walker and the Legislature last year cut $71 million over two years from funding for Wisconsin?s technical colleges, whose primary mission is to train students for available jobs. Democrats and others criticized that cut and a $250 million reduction in funding for the University of Wisconsin System as harmful to worker training efforts.

Walker unveils new council to prep students for college, jobs

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Wisconsin State Journal

Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday he is creating a new council to help better prepare students for college and careers. The move comes after Walker and the Legislature last year cut $71 million over two years from funding for Wisconsin?s technical colleges, whose primary mission is to train students for available jobs. Democrats and others criticized that cut and a $250 million reduction in funding for the University of Wisconsin System as harmful to worker training efforts.

On Campus: UW-Madison is ranked 13th ‘best value’ public university by Kiplinger’s

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Wisconsin State Journal

Kiplinger?s Personal Finance ranked UW-Madison as the 13th best value public university, the highest of any university in the Big Ten Conference. Last year, UW-Madison was ranked 14th by Kiplinger. Criteria include measures for both academic quality and affordability, such as: average ACT and SAT test scores, four-year graduation rate, sticker price, financial aid, and average debt at graduation.

Citizen Dave: We might have been a part of it, New York, New York

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Isthmus

Imagine if the University of Wisconsin had a campus in New York City dedicated to competing with MIT and Stanford for being the premiere science and high tech research campus in the nation. That possibility was on the table recently when Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a competition to create a new world-class science campus on underutilized acreage on Roosevelt Island in the East River. The land for the new campus would be given free to the university that competed successfully for it. Bloomberg was offering a $400 million grant in land and infrastructure.

Keeping College Students From the Polls

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New York Times

Next fall, thousands of students on college campuses will attempt to register to vote and be turned away. Sorry, they will hear, you have an out-of-state driver?s license. Sorry, your college ID is not valid here. Sorry, we found out that you paid out-of-state tuition, so even though you do have a state driver?s license, you still can?t vote.

Political leaders should be encouraging young adults to participate in civic life, but many Republican state lawmakers are doing everything they can instead to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election. Some have openly acknowledged doing so because students tend to be liberal.

Madison360: Wisconsin a leader in keeping students from polls

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Capital Times

The lead editorial in Tuesday?s New York Times focuses on how Republicans nationwide have fixated on making it harder for students to vote. Opines the Times: “Next fall, thousands of students on college campuses will attempt to register to vote and be turned away. Sorry, they will hear, you have an out-of-state driver?s license. Sorry, your college ID is not valid here. Sorry, we found out that you paid out-of-state tuition, so even though you do have a state driver?s license, you still can?t vote.”

Ohio State football team gets bowl ban, other penalties

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Madison.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? The NCAA hit Ohio State with a one-year bowl ban and other penalties on Tuesday for a scandal that involved eight players taking a total of $14,000 in cash and tattoos in exchange for jerseys, rings and other Buckeyes memorabilia. The university had previously offered to vacate the 2010 season, return bowl money, go on two years of NCAA probation and use five fewer football scholarships over the next three years. But the NCAA countered with a bowl ban in Urban Meyer?s first year as head coach in 2012, further reduced the number of scholarships and tacked on a year of probation.

The Growing Demand for Global Talent

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The following is a guest post by Gilles Bousquet, the dean of the Division of International Studies and vice provost for globalization at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is also chair of the Statewide International Education Council and co-chair of the University of Wisconsin System Task Force on Economic Development and Globalization.

At a roundtable discussion last spring in Milwaukee hosted by the Wisconsin International Education Council, the vice president of global human resources at Johnson Controls told educators: ?Our talent development and acquisition activities across the organization are the most critical factors for us as a company to grow and to thrive. So, it is all about people.? At a series of meetings I had with business officials in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai in November, executives at several American companies ? including giants like 3M and Caterpillar in addition to up-and-coming ones like Madison-based Promega and TrafficCast ? vigorously repeated that same message.

Albert R. Hunt: College sports need a government intervention

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Capital Times

WASHINGTON ? Politicians love to celebrate, not chastise, big-time college athletics. There were two exceptions: More than 100 years ago, when President Theodore Roosevelt intervened to clean up the brutality of college football, and almost 40 years ago, when Congress passed Title IX, requiring colleges and universities to allocate a fair share of their athletic budgets to women. Both worked. Washington may be about to step in again.

In wake of scandals, UW System eyes policies on contact with minors

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Wisconsin State Journal

High-profile child sex abuse scandals at two universities have prompted the University of Wisconsin System to review its policies on employee and volunteer contact with minors and the reporting of crimes against children on campus. UW System officials say they want to make sure that the sex abuse allegations engulfing Penn State and Syracuse universities would not go unnoticed here. They say they want to make sure that proper policies are in place and that steps are taken in the event abuse is reported or observed.

Waukesha County idea could help students

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin?s twin two-year postsecondary school systems aren?t an efficient use of resources or particularly helpful for students. One two-year system that combines the state?s technical colleges and the University of Wisconsin?s two-year campuses probably makes more sense for students, businesses and Wisconsin?s workforce.

UPDATE: Virginia Tech gunman believed to be dead

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WKOW-TV 27

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A law enforcement official says the gunman who fled after killing a police officer on campus is believed to be dead. The law enforcement official had knowledge of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. After the officer was shot Thursday, authorities found a second body in a campus parking lot. It was not immediately clear if that second body was that of the gunman.

2 Dead At Virginia Tech, Authorities Search For Suspect

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WISC-TV 3

CNN) — Two people were found dead Thursday at Virginia Tech — one of them a police officer who was shot during a traffic stop — and the whereabouts of the suspect were unknown, the school said. Shortly after noon, a Virginia Tech police officer made a routine traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall, and the officer was shot and killed, school spokesman Mark Owczarski said. There were witnesses to the shooting, he said.

Police officer shot on Virginia Tech campus

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WKOW-TV 27

RICHMOND, VA (WKOW) — Virginia Tech says a police officer has been shot, and a possible second victim has been reported at a parking lot near the campus. The campus-wide alert at 12:36 p.m. said: “Gun shots reported- Coliseum Parking lot. Stay Inside. Secure doors. Emergency personnel responding. Call 911 for help.”

Campus Connection: Are colleges failing to prepare students for workplace?

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Capital Times

Many employers don?t think college graduates today have the necessary skills to fill job openings. According to a survey conducted by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, only 7 percent of hiring decision-makers believe the higher education system does an “excellent” job of preparing students for the workplace. Similarly, only 16 percent reported that applicants are “very prepared” with the knowledge and skills they would need for the job.

UWM agreement would promote school in China

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Madison.com

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee?s chancellor is expected to sign an agreement in Beijing, China Monday that?s aimed at increasing the university?s international profile. Under the recruiting agreement, UWM would be marketed throughout China, Milwaukee?s third-largest trading partner.

Colleges Strengthen Oversight Plans in Response to Sex-Abuse Allegations

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Chronicle of Higher Education

In the wake of scandals over child sex-abuse allegations at Pennsylvania State and Syracuse Universities, many colleges are reviewing their policies on the oversight of minors and how they deal with abuse claims, while some institutions are wrestling with the proper role of governing boards during crises. On a conference call Friday, some 20 Division I athletics-conference commissioners and senior NCAA representatives discussed compiling a list of best practices for dealing with allegations of abuse.

UW-Madison could have office in China by June

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Wisconsin State Journal

A UW-Madison office in Shanghai could be open as soon as June, according to officials who just returned from a trip to China to explore the possibility of the university?s first foreign outpost. Gilles Bousquet, dean of the division of international studies and vice provost for globalization, said that would be the “ideal” timeline but it hinges on continued support here and getting the necessary permits in China. He said UW-Madison is convening a planning team to determine next actions.

Questionable Decisions Cast College Leaders in Harsh Light

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Controversial leadership decisions at Penn State and the University of California at Davis dominated headlines over the past month, yet the damage may extend well beyond those two institutions. Both crises have raised broader questions about the moral credibility of college leaders, adding weight to the nation?s brewing discontent with higher education at the very time when public disaffection for banks, government, and other institutions is also on the rise.

“It?s not a good time to lose credibility in America,” says Daniel Yankelovich, a pollster and scholar of public opinion. And “this just adds to the credibility problem” for colleges.

Sara Goldrick-Rab: Students occupy colleges

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Capital Times

In a sense, this movement was inevitable. Higher education has been transformed over the last 50 years, reshaped in many ways that bring into question what it?s for, how it works, who should lead it, and most importantly who it is serving. It is the failure of colleges and universities to sufficiently grapple with and address those key questions that led students to Occupy Colleges, and faculty to stand with them, and that set up college administrators to be largely inept in response.

Sara Goldrick-Rab is an associate professor of education policy studies and sociology at UW-Madison.

UW-Madison student ‘completely stunned’ to be Rhodes Scholar

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Capital Times

Homework doesn?t stop, even for a newly minted Rhodes Scholar. After surviving a nerve-wracking interview and learning she won the coveted award, Alexis Brown had to set aside her excitement momentarily to finish the task at hand: a paper due before Thanksgiving break. “I was completely stunned,” said the 21-year-old UW-Madison student a few days after the announcement. “Still am.”

Giving Student Athletes a Voice

Posted on
New York Times

In the super conference environment, there are powerful incentives to ignore the interests of student athletes. They deserve a share of the proceeds of their labor. And they deserve a seat at the tables where the terms of future conference alignments are determined. [A columns by UW-Madison law professor Linda Greene, a co-founder of the Black Women in Sports Foundation.]

Campus Connection: Do promise scholarship programs help students earn college degrees?

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Capital Times

At first glance, a program launched last week that will provide college scholarships for up to 2,600 current ninth-graders attending public schools in Milwaukee looks similar to a growing number of initiatives across the country designed to give students the boost they need to pursue a college degree. But The Degree Project is different in one significant way: It was built from the ground up as a research project to collect data and to examine whether these so-called promise programs are a wise use of funds in an era of limited resources.

“What we want to look at is if there is clear evidence that these programs work,” says Douglas Harris, a UW-Madison associate professor of educational policy studies who helped design the project and is its evaluator.

UW-Madison senior selected as Rhodes Scholar

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison senior Alexis K. Brown is one of 32 American students chosen as Rhodes Scholars for 2012. The awards, announced early Sunday, provide all expenses for two or three years of study at Oxford University in England. The winners were selected from 830 applicants endorsed by 299 different colleges and universities. The scholars will enter Oxford next October.

2 with Wisconsin ties named as Rhodes Scholars

Posted on
Chicago Tribune

A senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wisconsin native who is studying at Princeton University are among 32 American students named Rhodes Scholars for 2012.

Alexis Brown is an English and history major at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The Algonquin, Ill., native applied for the scholarship so she could finish her master?s degree in English language and literature.

Syracuse puts Fine on leave after police inquiry

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Madison.com

Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor says the school won?t turn a blind eye to child molesting allegations against longtime assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine. The school placed Fine on administrative leave Thursday night “in light of the new allegations” and an investigation by the Syracuse City Police. ESPN said the accusations were made by two former ball boys.

Sociology association encourages members to help improve Wikipedia

Posted on
Inside Higher Education

Erik Olin Wright didn?t have time to visit to the library before submitting his paper. But he sensed the author of the book he had been assigned to critique might be going too far when she suggested that George W. Bush administration?s response to the needs of black citizens after Hurricane Katrina was less ?swift and efficient? than Herbert Hoover?s following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

Gilles Bousquet: International education is critical

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Wisconsin State Journal

International education is more than learning a second language or becoming well-versed in world geography. In today?s new economy, it is all about preparing our young people to live, work, lead and compete in an interconnected, interdependent world. In a word, it is about employability. It also is about making sure that home-grown employers ? private, public and nonprofit alike ? can locally recruit the talent they need to fuel their growth in today?s increasingly global marketplace.

Campus Connection: International student enrollments hit record high

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Capital Times

The number of international students enrolled at colleges and universities across the country jumped by another five percent during the 2010-11 academic year according to the annual Open Doors report. There were a record 723,277 international students enrolled at higher education institutions, according to the report that?s published annually by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of State?s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. That figure marks a 32 percent increase from a decade ago. There were 9,248 international students studying in Wisconsin in 2010-11, an increase of 3.9 percent from the previous year.

Think big to tame college costs

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Wisconsin State Journal

….College seniors in Wisconsin who graduated with student loans last year owed an average of $24,627, according to an analysis by The Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit that gets money from the Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates, and others. Something has to change because the cost of a college education is growing so much faster than incomes and inflation.

University committed to stronger presence in China

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison sent four official delegations to China over the last two years, accelerated research connections with the country and aggressively recruited Chinese students to study here. Now, UW-Madison leaders are laying the groundwork for a physical foothold in China in what would be the school?s first foreign office.

….Not everyone believes UW-Madison should be establishing close ties with China. Tom Loftus, who until recently served on the UW Board of Regents, has called for the university to be more cautious.

?China isn?t Iowa ? there is censorship, human rights abuse, jailing of artists, defense lawyers and dissidents of all types,? Loftus wrote in an email to the State Journal. ?And, the Communist Party government has no compunction about punishing those countries and institutions that offend.?

Faculty discuss programs for new students

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Daily Cardinal

UW-Madison faculty discussed ways to improve programs for first-year and transfer students at the annual First-Year Conference Friday. Dr. Jennifer Keup, director of the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, said universities nationwide should integrate learning communities, diversity training and undergraduate research into their curriculum. She said these are among guidelines that can help first-year students succeed.

Long-distance collaboration: UW, China are close research partners

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Wisconsin State Journal

China may be 7,000 miles away, but it?s one of UW-Madison?s closest research partners. There are hundreds of collaborations as university faculty regularly beat a path back and forth to China, working on such areas as blindness, the milk yield of dairy cows and the impact of climate change on deserts. As UW-Madison considers opening an office in Shanghai ? its first foreign outpost ? the potential for developing even more research partnerships is at the forefront of administrators? minds.

“Although we are there every six months, it’s not a continuing presence,” said Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies and vice provost of globalization. “If we had somebody on the ground, they could take advantage of those relationships.”