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Category: Higher Education/System

Our view: Do we value higher education tradition? (LaCrosse Tribune)

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….The affordable high-quality education offered by UW System schools has been a cornerstone of Wisconsin’s prosperity for decades. Here’s a question Wisconsinites should ask themselves: Might there be a relationship between Wisconsin’s sluggish economy and its recent slide in commitment to its public university system?

And here’s a question we might want to ask legislative and gubernatorial candidates: Are you planning to continue to chip away at our commitment to public higher education to balance the state budget?

With end of stimulus, tough times ahead for public colleges

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USA Today

Most state governments depend on federal stimulus money to keep public colleges and universities afloat, a new report says. But these funds may be drying up as the new fiscal year begins. Thirty-nine states used stimulus money to support higher education in the past year, compared to only 14 states the year before, according to the report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

On Campus: Grandparents University is a national trend

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Wisconsin State Journal

Forget the 18-year-old crowd. College is now for 80-year-olds, too. UW-Madison has been inviting grandparents on campus for 10 years as part of its Grandparents University, a way for them to experience college life with their grandchildren, between the ages of 7 and 14. Now, the idea has been picked up at other colleges.

Connie Schultz: Every college student should own a passport

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Capital Times

….This summer, one of the largest state universities in the country — Ohio State — is launching a new program to encourage every incoming freshman to get a U.S. passport. The program, ?Gateway to the World,? is designed to encourage the roughly 6,600 freshmen — 30 percent of whom are first-generation college students — to get used to the idea that their community is a global one.

….OSU is encouraging, but not requiring, entering students to get the passports. Part of the reason is cost. U.S. passports cost about $100, which does not include the price of required photos. Evanovich said OSU is exploring ways to help those students in need, with passports and studies abroad.

I hope that OSU figures this out sooner rather than later and that other colleges and universities across the country follow suit in starting their own passport programs.

Campus Connection: Cornell follows UW’s lead in pressuring Nike

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Capital Times

It took awhile, but another institution finally decided to follow the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s lead in putting a little pressure on athletic apparel giant Nike.

Back on April 9, UW-Madison decided to cut ties with Nike due to alleged labor rights abuses at two factories in Honduras. Nike paid UW-Madison nearly $50,000 for the right to use the university?s name or marks — such as Bucky Badger or the “motion W” — on apparel it made during the most recent academic year.

College programs help alumni, others bond with grandchildren

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USA Today

First launched at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 10 years ago, Grandparents Universities are now offered by dozens of schools. The bigger programs, such as the University of Wisconsinâ??s, tend to provide mini-courses similar to the programs offered to students. “Dairy science is very popular here,” says Kate Dixon of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Dixon says classes arenâ??t the programâ??s main draw. “What we hear year in and year out is that itâ??s the mixing of generations thatâ??s really unique,” she says.

State universities can require clubs follow anti-bias rules

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USA Today

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a state law school may refuse to recognize a religious student group that discriminates against gay students and non-Christians, in a 5-4 decision that could affect campuses nationwide. Dividing along ideological lines with the liberals in control, the justices said that a public university may condition official recognition of a student group on the groupâ??s agreement to open membership to all students who want to join.

Supreme Court Decision on Law School’s Anti-Bias Policy May Have Limited Impact

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Chronicle of Higher Education

A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court held Monday that a California public law school did not violate the First Amendment in denying official recognition to a Christian student group that effectively excluded homosexual students from membership based on their beliefs and behaviors. But the parties involved in the case, as well as experts on student organizations, disagree over whether many colleges have policies similar enough to the one at issue in the case to be affected by the decision.

College towns do OK in recession

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USA Today

For many American cities, the decade after 2000 played out in two starkly different scenes: Years of euphoric growth and prosperity followed by a crushing reversal. For others, there was no heady boom â?? but no dramatic downturn either.

Federally subsidized student loans moving from private banks July 1

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CNN.com

Big changes to how student loans will take place July 1, and while the students themselves arent likely to notice much, taxpayers stand to save $68 billion over the next 11 years.The changes — part of the health care reform legislation passed by Congress in March — moves all taxpayer-backed college loans for students to the Department of Education and away from private banks.

Susan Fischer, director of financial aid and the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said that the school has made the changes to its computer system to handle the direct loan switch. They also have a big push to tell their students that they need to sign a new loan document promising that they will repay the balance.

A blow to pharma

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The ubiquitous presence of the pharmaceutical industry in doctor education in recent years has tainted medical education. Drug company participation is often part of a companyâ??s marketing plan; the presentations are designed to gin up interest in a new drug or to promote new uses for an old one. Such presentations may lead to overprescribing and quite possibly increases the cost of health care.

Campus Connection: What’s wrong with being intellectually engaged?

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Capital Times

** Ever wonder why many higher education leaders cringe when they hear cries that colleges need to spend less time teaching the classical subjects and more time giving students the tools theyâ??ll need to get a job in the “real world?”

** Auburn University is planning to build a campus in China, the Birmingham (Ala.) News reported earlier this week. This move would make Auburn “the first U.S. college with a major physical presence in that country.”

** Not long after the Big Ten Conference added the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to its membership in an attempt expand its reach and funnel more dollars to league athletic departments, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics put out its latest report calling for reforms designed to check what many view as out-of-control spending on college sports.

UW System learning how to best use virtual world

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Wisconsin State Journal

His students will know him this summer as Prof Cerise, a philosophy guru who wears sunglasses, has uber-cool spiky black hair and orates from a soaring stone lecture hall.In reality, UW-Whitewater professor Chris Calvert-Minor will be sitting in front of a computer â?? as will his students â?? and they will meet only virtually in the world of Second Life. Students will sit in an animated classroom with cushy armchairs and couches. UW-Milwaukee, Whitewater, Madison, Green Bay, Stout and Oshkosh are some of the UW System campuses using Second Life.

N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi Scours Globe for Its First Students

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New York Times

Laith Aqel, co-valedictorian of his high school graduating class in Wayne, N.J., and juggler of too many activities to list, says he always envisioned himself on a classic New England campus with â??Gothic architecture and big grass lawns.â? He weighed offers from Tufts University, Boston Collegeâ??s honors program and New York University.

State’s college enrollment shows slow growth – JSOnline

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A new report says enrollment in Wisconsin colleges isnâ??t growing as fast as it is in other states. The Pew Research Center says Wisconsin colleges and universities had 50,000 first-time, full-time freshman in 2008. That was about a 1% increase over the previous year.Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the entire nation had a 6% increase over the same period.

Education Department takes aim at for-profit colleges

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USA Today

The Education Department is proposing a number of rules today designed to protect college students and taxpayers from abusive or fraudulent practices, including aggressive recruitment tactics and allowing ineligible students to enroll and receive aid. Though all colleges that receive federal aid would be affected by the changes, the most controversial proposals are aimed at for-profit colleges, which have come under more scrutiny as their enrollments have increased.

Gay College Presidents to Meet in Chicago

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Noted: The groupâ??s planning committee of four presidents started by thinking of all the openly gay and lesbian chief executives in American higher education that they couldâ??a total of only 21. That number is larger, however, than the 11 identified by The Chronicle in 2007. And there are several recent hires among them, including presidents at Grinnell College and Montgomery College. Perhaps most notable was the 2008 hiring of Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Nebraska joins Big Ten

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Madison.com

So long, Big 12. Nebraskaâ??s membership in the Big Ten Conference is official.The Big Tenâ??s board of presidents and chancellors unanimously welcomed Nebraska to the club on Friday, just a few hours after the school formally disclosed its interest. The move takes effect July 1, 2011. Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman said the Big Ten offers stability “that the Big 12 simply cannot offer.”

More changes to come in conference realignment

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Madison.com

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott went on a come-join-us mission across Texas and Oklahoma over the weekend, a trip that could officially doom the Big 12 and set in motion another round of conference jumping. The conference tilt-a-whirl that started with Coloradoâ??s defection to the Pac-10 last week. The conference jumble started in December, when the Big Ten said it was looking at expansion. Nebraska and Missouri indicated theyâ??d be interested in switching allegiances and were given a leave-or-stay deadline of last Friday by the Big 12.Nebraska left, breaking ties with Big 12 schools that dated, in some cases, to the 1890s. The Cornhuskers will join the Big Ten in 2011.

Bielema liked Big 12 divisional alignment while at Kansas State

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema wasnâ??t too chatty when asked to comment on Nebraskaâ??s impending move to the Big Ten Conference from the Big 12. â??Youâ??ve heard so much over the last two months you donâ??t know where everything is,â? Bielema said Thursday morning on the Lucas & Lepay radio show. â??Believe me, theyâ??re not asking football coaches (our) opinion on anything. Bielema did speak fondly of his two-year stint in the Big 12 (2002 and â??03) as an assistant coach at Kansas State.

Big Ten adds Nebraska as 12th team

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany was beaming like a proud father after seeing Nebraska added as the leagueâ??s 12th school. “It is a historical day,” Delany said Friday in Lincoln, Neb., after a news conference to announce Nebraska was leaving the Big 12 for the Big Ten. “And itâ??s one that weâ??re all very proud of, welcoming Nebraska to the Big Ten family.”I think it is a phenomenal fit – academically, athletically and culturally.” The Big Tenâ??s Council of Presidents/Chancellors voted unanimously Friday to accept Nebraskaâ??s application. Nebraska is set to begin competition in the 2011-â??12 academic year, which means the 2011 football schedules already done must be revised.

While Nebraska appears Big Ten bound, what happens next is unclear

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Less than 24 hours before Nebraska officials were expected to announce the school would leave the Big 12 Conference and apply to join the Big Ten, expansion speculation reached dizzying heights. The most jarring moment came Thursday afternoon when KCTV News in Kansas City, Mo., reported that Big 12 members Texas and Texas A&M, thought to be headed to the Pacific 10, were exploring joining the Big Ten. Big Ten officials have declined to comment on any reports since commissioner Jim Delany said Sunday the leagueâ??s expansion could come in stages. Stage 1 appears to be the addition of Nebraska, which would give the Big Ten 12 teams and allow for a lucrative football championship game and divisional play.

Nebraska, Big Ten good for each other

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

No matter how big the Big Ten eventually becomes – the guess here is somewhere between 16 and 20 teams by the time it and the Pac-10 are done picking the Big 12â??s bones clean – it will always be called the Big Ten. Sentimentalists would call that tradition. Realists would call it marketing a familiar brand.

Nebraska to Big Ten reaction

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Itâ??s been a fun few months speculating who will head to the Big Ten – and, hey, letâ??s be honest, it isnâ??t over yet – but we finally have one answer: Nebraska.And while we saw this coming a couple of days ago, hereâ??s some initial reaction to Fridayâ??s official announcement from around the Web.

Job outlook brightens for new grads, but barely

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USA Today

Last year, no graduates of the California community collegeâ??s associate degree nursing program had a job in hand. “Weâ??re excited that finally something is happening,” said Sharon Johnson, the program director. This yearâ??s slightly better performance is one of many signs around the country that 2010 is a better year than 2009 for landing that first job out of college â?? but not by much.

Regents approve UWM water school plans

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee received the go ahead Friday to fund a preliminary plan for its new School of Freshwater Sciences. The regents approved $4.3 million in state building funds to begin design work for the freshwater sciences building, as well as the Kenwood research complex, at UWM. During the meeting, regents also announced that Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Michael Morgan will step down from that post and join the University of Wisconsin System as the systemâ??s senior vice president for administration and fiscal affairs.

Nebraska becomes the Big Ten’s newest member

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Madison.com

UW-Madison chancellor Biddy Martin used the words “positive” and “enthusiastic” to describe a Friday afternoon conference call involving the 11 members of the Big Ten Conferenceâ??s Council of Presidents/Chancellors. The group was elated to welcome Nebraska as the leagueâ??s 12th member and showed it by voting unanimously to accept the Cornhuskersâ?? application for admittance into the Big Ten. “I think this is a great thing for the Big Ten,” Martin said. “I think it stabilizes things and enhances the league. I hope that our fans will feel great about it.”

Lucas: Dueling Big Reds have a history

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Madison.com

The University of Wisconsin football program went 73 years between victories against Nebraska.Will the Badgers have to wait that long again to reprise one of their most memorable wins in Camp Randall Stadium history? And who will ultimately gain the bragging rights to being the Big Red in the Big Ten Conference? The Nebraska Big Red? Or, the Wisconsin Big Red?These questions can be raised Friday in light of the prospects of the Cornhuskers soon becoming the 12th member of the Big Ten. That, in turn, could lead to the imminent continuation of the series between UW and Nebraska.

Colleges: Ranking the state’s best Division I programs, by APR standards

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Madison.com

The University of Wisconsin volleyball team scored a perfect 1,000 on the Academic Progress Rate for the 2008-09 academic year, one of three Division I programs in the state to achieve that lofty standard. A rating of 925 equates to a 50 percent graduation rate, which is calculated over a six-year period leading up to a given academic year, while a rating of 900 translates to a 40 percent graduation rate. Other UW programs with outstanding scores include womenâ??s golf at 993 and womenâ??s rowing at 991, which rank fifth and sixth on the list, respectively. Of the marquee sports at Wisconsin, womenâ??s basketball carried a 986, followed by womenâ??s hockey (983), football (968), menâ??s hockey (967) and menâ??s basketball (966).

Nebraska ‘optimistic’ Big Ten will accept request to join league

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Madison.com

University of Nebraska officials said Friday that they will apply for membership in the Big Ten Conference and expect to be accepted.Chancellor Harvey Perlman disclosed the plan during a meeting of the universityâ??s Board of Regents, proposing that play in the new conference begin in 2011 after one more year in the Big 12. He said he believed Nebraska is more “aligned” with the Big Ten when it comes to academics, culture and athletics.He also said the move offered stability “that the Big 12 simply cannot offer.”

Lucas: Alvarez’s alma mater enhances Big Ten brand

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Madison.com

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez had not given much thought to his alma mater, Nebraska, being an expansion candidate for the Big Ten prior to commissioner Jim Delany bringing up the topic during an informal discussion in January. “Itâ??s funny because it really hadnâ??t crossed my mind until Jim and I talked about it after the Rose Bowl,” said Alvarez, who was in Pasadena, Calif., to be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. “He asked me a lot of questions about Nebraska and whether I thought the school would be a fit.

New alliances, league affiliation ready to reshape college sports

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USA Today

The first ripple in a money-driven, potentially seismic shift in college sports came Thursday when the Pacific-10 Conference announced the University of Colorado will become its 11th member, beginning with the 2012-13 school year. The Big Ten Conference, which has had 11 members since Penn State joined in 1990, could be next with a major move. Regents at the University of Nebraskaâ?? which like Colorado has been a member of the Big 12 â?? could announce as early as Friday that the school is joining the 114-year-old league.

Program helps â??students in the middleâ?? graduate, go to college

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Wisconsin State Journal

This fall, Jeanet Ugalde will attend UW-Madison on a full scholarship to study nursing. But first, sheâ??ll be among the initial group of students receiving a diploma as part of a Madison School District program designed to give first-generation college-bound students the training to succeed in high school and post-secondary education. â??When I got the (UW acceptance) letter … I cried and I couldnâ??t believe it. I still canâ??t believe it. When I get the (tuition) bill around July and it says â??zero,â?? I will be so amazed,â? Ugalde, the first person in her family to graduate from high school, said of being accepted to college.

Clash of the Titans

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Inside Higher Education

Before he leaves to head the nationâ??s premier sports governing body, Mark Emmert may have a showdown with the worldâ??s leading athletics apparel provider. Emmert, who now serves president of the University of Washington and will soon become chief of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has been urged not to renew the universityâ??s licensing agreement with Nike. In a Tuesday letter to the president, the universityâ??s Advisory Committee on Trademarks and Licensing relayed its unanimous decision that the agreement be severed, barring a satisfactory resolution to an ongoing labor dispute between Nike and Honduran workers.

Campus Connection: Do Aussies have student loans figured out?

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Capital Times

Inside Higher Ed posted an interesting opinion piece outlining how the United States could go about changing its student loan system. A growing number of college grads are facing mountains of debt upon graduation, are struggling to make payments and are confused about their legal options.

Bruce Chapman, a professor of economics at Australian National University, and Yael Shavit, who will be starting Yale Law School in September, write that “this predicament was addressed and solved in Australia in 1989 — through income-contingent repayment systems that go beyond anything in the United States. The system has been effectively copied in many other countries. The U.S. system remains fraught with problems even though the solution has been transparent for over 20 years.”

College tuition discounts draw in students for summer

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USA Today

At least a dozen private and public colleges seeking to fill quiet summer campuses and bring in additional revenue are making undergraduates â?? and in some cases high school students â?? offers that are too good to pass up. In addition, as families look for recession-sensitive price tags, some private colleges are trying to stay competitive by offering one-year tuition freezes or four-year tuition guarantees.

College students have less empathy than past generations

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USA Today

College students today show less empathy toward others compared with college students in decades before, a study from the University of Michigan says. Students are less likely to agree with statements such as “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me” and “I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective.”

Regents consider steps to hold down textbook costs

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Madison.com

University of Wisconsin System campuses will be directed to take steps to help students save money on the cost of their textbooks. The Board of Regents is expected to adopt a policy Friday recommending campuses give students more time to shop around for best prices, publish estimated cost of books in course materials and use the same books as long as possible.