Mon.Oct 07, 2024

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After Helene, Structural Damage Minimal, Utilities Remain Dicey

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Colleges throughout the Carolinas are picking up the pieces after the devastating storm. But officials are confident students will be able to finish the semester. As colleges and universities across the western Carolinas start the cleanup from Hurricane Helene, administrators say a full recovery will take not just days or weeks, but months and possibly even years.

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Don’t Sleep on the Supplemental Essays!

Great College Advice

Most students will save the supplemental essays as the very last thing they do on their application. But those supplemental essays are important. Some would say they are as important as the Common App personal statement. Red flags are raised by admission officers when they read an excellent personal essay followed by a less than mediocre supplemental essay.

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The Art of Giving a Credible Recommendation

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Vanessa Doriott Anderson offers advice on a process that, if done well, should be anything but perfunctory. As the fall leaves begin to turn in my part of the country, I’m reminded that another season is upon us: the season of recommendations. Like piles of leaves, requests for these documents begin accumulating as the academic hiring cycle begins and graduate school applications come due.

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The uniqueness of learning: Rethinking the meaning of student-centred education

Teaching Matters Student Engagement

Image credit: unsplash, Ying Ge, CC0 In this extra post, Dr Adan Chew, Dr Jess Gurney, and Dr Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska, from Edinburgh Medical School, explore the concept of student-centred education through the lens of medical education and clinical practice. In considering different learning theories, they foreground the importance of social and cultural influences, and the uniqueness of the individual, on learning.

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September College Cuts Include Jobs, Programs and Athletics

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Facing multimillion-dollar budget deficits, some colleges announced they would ax jobs and academic programs. Others noted cuts are on the horizon. Jobs, academic programs and athletic teams were all on the chopping block at many universities last month as they struggled to plug budget holes amid declining enrollment.

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How toxic incentives are fueling an ‘epidemic’ of cheating in scholarly research

University Business

Flawed incentive structures for publishing scholarly work may be eroding faculty and research integrity at large, contributing to an “epidemic” of dishonesty and even cheating, says Phillip Magness, senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a think tank, and co-author of “ Cracks in the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education.” “Academia is an industry,” he says. “Even though we have private universities, it’s really kind of a private-pub

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Positive Partnership: Targeted Support for Scholarship Students Aids Retention

Confessions of a Community College Dean

The University of South Carolina launched an initiative to provide personalized advising for learners on scholarships who are at risk of losing financial aid. Since 2021, around 2,500 students have maintained their scholarships as a result. A May 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab found a majority of college students identified balancing academics with personal, family and financial responsibilities as their greatest stressor.

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Texas A&M International President Dies Unexpectedly

Confessions of a Community College Dean

The president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo died unexpectedly on Thursday, according to a university announcement. No cause of death was given for Pablo Arenaz, the university’s sixth president, who had served in the role since 2016. TAMIU first hired him as provost in 2008.

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The uniqueness of learning: Rethinking the meaning of student-centred education

Teaching Matters Student Engagement

Image credit: unsplash, Ying Ge, CC0 In this extra post, Dr Adan Chew, Dr Jess Gurney, and Dr Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska, from Edinburgh Medical School, explore the concept of student-centred education through the lens of medical education and clinical practice. In considering different learning theories, they foreground the importance of social and cultural influences, and the uniqueness of the individual, on learning.

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2 U.S. Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Two American scientists have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of microRNA “and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation,” the Nobel committee announced Monday.

IT 108
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Targeted Scholarship Programs Open Pathways for Disadvantaged Students

Higher Education Today

Title: Paying for College as a Student with Foster Care History: Findings and Recommendations from Discussions with Students in California Authors: Laura Packard Tucker, Devlin Hanson, and Annabel Stattelman-Scanlan Source: The Urban Institute Paying for a college degree is already a difficult process for many students, involving payment plans and a variety of sources of financial aid.

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Online Learners Earned Fewer Degrees Than Their Peers During For-Profit College Boom

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Pre–COVID-19 data shows that the outcome divide between online and in-person learners existed long before the pandemic accelerated the online sector’s growth, according to a report published last week by Third Way, a center-left think tank.

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Admissions Ambassadors available through WashU Law

CAPD

Washington University admissions ambassadors (current law students) can meet with you to answer questions, discuss application materials, and help with application strategy for any law school application. The full list of the services they offer is below. Admissions Ambassadors Can… ​Review Application Documents – ​Ambassadors can help review your resume, personal statement, addenda, and any other materials you plan on submitting on any given application!

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Legal Boomerang for Biden Loan Forgiveness

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Just hours after a federal judge allowed the Biden administration’s new student loan forgiveness plan to proceed, another judge blocked it.

IT 108
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We’re Here for You! Navigating Mental Health Abroad With ISA

ISA Journal

At ISA, we know that mental health is a topic relevant to every individual. Similar to physical health, staying mentally well is an ongoing practice and a highly individualized journey. While traveling, you may notice some shifts in your wellness that require unique interventions.

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Several Universities Report Double-Digit Gains In Their Endowments

University Business

Major universities are beginning to report the performance of their endowments for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2024, and the early news finds several institutions realizing double-digit investment gains. Here’s a rundown of some initial results. Brown University’s endowment saw an 11.3% investment return during Fiscal Year 2024. It racked up $728 million in investment gains and $203 million in new endowed gifts.

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From Enrollment VP to Parent

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Longtime enrollment professional Ryan J. Dougherty saw three disconnects and five surprising realities when he approached the college search as a parent. After more than 20 years in college enrollment, including several as a vice president, I thought helping my firstborn child choose a college would be second nature. Turns out, I was wrong. Being on the other side as a parent revealed how complex and emotionally charged the admissions process really is.

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EdTech Readership Survey

EdTech Magazine - Higher Education

Dear EdTech: Focus on Higher Education reader, We at CDW want to thank you for being a part of the EdTech community and hope you find our content helpful as you’re researching the latest technology trends and best practices in the higher education industry. As we continue to evolve our offerings and better serve our readers, we want to get your feedback on what aspects of our content you like and what we can do better.

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Oct. 7 Kicked Off a Difficult Year for Higher Ed. How Should Universities Move Forward Now?

Confessions of a Community College Dean

We asked higher ed leaders and thinkers to take stock of the fraught year just past and offer a vision for the future. They gave us a quarrelsome, eloquent earful. In retrospect, perhaps it was inevitable that the horrifying Hamas attack on Israel last Oct. 7—and the escalation of horrors that ensued when Israel invaded Gaza—would light a spark on many U.S. campuses.

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What does ‘nearly free’ mandate mean for AZ universities’ tuition?

University Business

How much can Arizona’s state universities charge students? There is a limit — but only on paper. The Arizona Constitution requires that instruction in the university system be “as nearly free as possible.’’ In 2003, John Kromko, then a Democratic state representative from Tucson and a student at the University of Arizona, cited that clause after the Arizona Board of Regents hiked tuition by a whopping 39.1%.

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Views From a Tumultuous Year for Higher Ed

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Views essays in the year since Oct. 7 have spoken to the many challenges campuses have confronted. In the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the start of the ongoing war in Gaza, U.S. higher education has been rocked by accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia and consumed with debates over free speech; diversity, equity and inclusion; political interference; the role of police on campuses; the wisdom, or not, of neutrality; the state of academic freedom—even the very values of

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Trump's DOD Failed to Protect Servicemembers from Bad Actor Colleges, But We Demand More Evidence

Higher Education Inquirer

The Higher Education Inquirer has been waiting since December 2017 for information from the US Department of Defense (DOD) about decades of predatory behavior by subprime colleges against military servicemembers, a disturbing pattern reduced by the Obama Administration and made worse again by the Trump Administration. We are still waiting for information, nearly seven years later and through multiple efforts, as Donald Trump runs again for President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

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Pain is the Point: Xenophobia and the Dangers of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

American xenophobia is as old as the United States. For most of America’s history there has not been a coherent immigration system. It was not until the late nineteenth century that a bureau of immigration was even forme d. While immigrants from China, Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean would come to the United States throughout this period, they were explicitly barred from becoming American citizens.