Wed.Dec 13, 2023

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New Diversity Officer Departs Quinnipiac University

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Quinnipiac University’s chief diversity officer plans to leave the role at the end of December, according to The Quinnipiac Chronicle. Dr. Wayne Gersie Quinnipiac University Dr. Wayne Gersie would be the fifth diversity and inclusion official to depart the university in less than a year, reported the Chronicle , noting the announcement came Dec. 7 in an email from President Dr.

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House Committee Advances Pell Grant Expansion

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Key lawmakers on the education committee say they are open to reconsidering a provision that would cut off federal student loans to the nation’s wealthiest private colleges. The House Education and Workforce Committee voted Tuesday in favor of a bill that would expand the Pell Grant to short-term career training programs that last between eight and 14 weeks, despite opposition from some higher education associations.

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Study: Relationship Between Digital Reading, Improved Comprehension Marginal

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has published new research on digital leisure reading habits, suggesting a mostly nonexistent relationship between digital reading and improved reading comprehension with ‘slightly positive’ effects in higher ed. Lidia Altamura “ Do New Forms of Reading Pay Off? A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Leisure Digital Reading Habits and Text Comprehension ” published Dec. 12 in Review of Educational Research , a peer-reviewed journal of the

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The Abuse of Scholar Activism

Confessions of a Community College Dean

The Abuse of Scholar Activism Elizabeth Redden Wed, 12/13/2023 - 09:18 AM Ideologically driven scholar activism contributes to campus antisemitism, Rebecca Cypess writes.

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Study: Relationship Between Digital Reading, Improved Comprehension Marginal

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has published new research on digital leisure reading habits, suggesting a mostly nonexistent relationship between digital reading and improved reading comprehension with ‘slightly positive’ effects in higher ed. Lidia Altamura “ Do New Forms of Reading Pay Off? A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Leisure Digital Reading Habits and Text Comprehension ” published Dec. 12 in Review of Educational Research , a peer-reviewed journal of the

Research 255
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Shenandoah University’s Device Program Gives Students the Tools to Succeed

EdTech Magazine - Higher Education

Since 2009, the iMLearning program at Shenandoah University has been giving devices to incoming undergraduate students at the start of their college careers. Today, each student receives a MacBook Air, iPad and Apple Pencil, paid for through a fee in their tuition. By standardizing technology across the student body, faculty can more easily deliver lessons and troubleshoot issues.

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DEBRA JOHNS

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Debra Johns Debra Johns has been named assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She served as the senior associate director of admissions at Fairfield University. Johns earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont, and a master’s in education from the University of Vermont.

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Lancaster University elevates student counselling and mental health services with Symplicity Advocate

Symplicity

Symplicity ® Advocate™ renowned worldwide for student case management with over 300 universities in its network, is thrilled to welcome Lancaster University as a new partner in the United Kingdom.

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Brown Arrests 41 Student Protesters

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Brown University arrested 41 students Monday night following a sit-in at University Hall, where they demanded that the university divest its endowment from arms manufacturers, The Providence Journal reported.

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It’s a great time for higher ed to go electric

University Business

The electric vehicle (EV) transition is approaching faster than expected. A recent analysis by EY found that EV sales will outpace all other types of engines three years sooner than expected. Campuses need to be ready with convenient access to fast and reliable charging stations to support students, staff, guests and electrified fleets. Let’s look at the most compelling reasons colleges and universities should actively begin integrating EV charging stations into their infrastructure right now.

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More UK universities cutting ties with fossil fuel industry

The Guardian Higher Education

Student pressure pushes higher education institutions to commit to divesting from fossil fuels More UK universities are cutting ties with the fossil fuel industry in response to student campaigns, according to the annual survey of sustainability in higher education. The student network People and Planet has published its sustainability university league showing that 72% of the universities it surveyed have committed to divesting from fossil fuels – up from 65% last year.

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The Ivy League Gets Attention, but Public Universities Are Far More Important - Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American

Ray Schroeder

Media attention to Ivy League schools distracts from the much more important—and undersupported—public university system. The past decades have seen huge increases in costs at public institutions of higher education. Measured in constant dollars, in the 1963–1964 academic year, tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions was $8,491. By 2021–2022 that figure was $21,878—almost three times as high.

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4 Challenges for Outsourcing in Hybrid Higher Ed Environments

EdTech Magazine - Higher Education

Higher education’s embrace of hybrid work environments began slowly years ago but picked up steam in 2020. Now, many higher ed institutions have a mix of staff, faculty and students engaging in remote work, teaching and learning a major percentage of their time. These hybrid work and learning environments present unique challenges when it comes to outsourcing IT tasks.

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Painting a Picture of More Student-Centric Career Services

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Better serving students in career preparation requires a strong understanding of what’s working and what isn’t, plus creative ideas for making career-focused events enticing and boosting utilization of available supports. Cross-campus discussion of three key questions can help. Getting students to engage with campus career centers—and, more specifically, to engage early in their college careers with services and events provided by these centers—has been a nearly universal challenge within higher

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Study Abroad Association Celebrates Rebound of International Education

Study Aborad Association

Study abroad is making a rebound! New data from the Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange indicates that study abroad programs have recovered to half of pre-pandemic levels, with 188,753 students from the United States going abroad in the 2021/22 school year. This report is the only long-standing, comprehensive information resource on international students and outbound study abroad students from the United States.

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Education Department Opens 6 More Title VI Investigations

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Another six universities are under investigation for alleged discrimination involving shared ancestry, according to the Education Department’s updated list of open inquiries.

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College of Saint Rose to Close, Local Reports Say - Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed

Ray Schroeder

Facing financial difficulties, the College of Saint Rose will close at the end of the academic year. The college’s Board of Trustees voted at a meeting Thursday to close the small, private college in Albany, N.Y., according to local news reports. The Times Union recently reported that the college had requested $5 million in emergency funding from the city of Albany as well as money from the state.

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Former Arizona State Employee Accused of Misspending $100,000

Confessions of a Community College Dean

A former Arizona State University technology employee faces 14 felony counts after an internal audit found he allegedly misspent thousands in university funds over four years.

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How AI Is Powering the Next Generation of Server Upgrades

EdTech Magazine - Higher Education

Higher education infrastructure is almost always being asked to do more. To handle more devices connected at the same time. To hold up when those devices demand more bandwidth and computing power. To support those devices wherever they’re operated and to respond when the newest storage, security, software and cloud solutions are introduced into the ecosystem.

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Free Speech Center Urges Caution on Tracking Campus Hate, Antisemitism

Confessions of a Community College Dean

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general and the secretary of homeland security Tuesday urging them to ensure a recent initiative to track hate threats and antisemitism on college campuses does not threaten First Amendment rights.

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The University of Wyoming officially commits itself to political neutrality

University Business

The University of Wyoming (UW) will stay politically neutral as it seeks to foster an environment where both freedom of expression and constructive dialogue can flourish. That’s according to the university’s new statement of principles — a public document crafted over several months and ultimately endorsed by every corner of the campus community, from students to staff to faculty and administrators.

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90 Days of reflection: the next generation wants more

College Forward

Dear College Possible Community, My first 90 days at College Possible Oregon have been filled with inspiring moments. As you might expect from a new director, I’ve spent the last few months listening to our dedicated staff, strong education partners, students and their families, and committed supporters to grasp the depth of student impact and what community partners hope for in communities throughout Oregon.

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After FSU snub, Florida’s AG launches antitrust probe against the College Football Playoff selection committee

University Business

Florida’s top prosecutor on Tuesday announced an antitrust probe against the College Football Playoff selection committee, seeking answers about why the undefeated Florida State Seminoles were kept out of the four-team competition this month. State Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement that her office is seeking communications from the 13-person committee about how it reached its decision on Dec. 3 that the playoff teams would be Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.

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Possible Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Kills 1, Hospitalizes 3

Confessions of a Community College Dean

One Evergreen State College student died and two were hospitalized following what authorities suspect is carbon monoxide poisoning, The Olympian reported.

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NEW Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Info

UMSL Diversity

The end of the semester and the holidays can mean additional stressors. If you could use some support, the new EAP is there for you! Our new EAP program is administered by Optum Live & Work Well and offers free confidential support and other on-demand resources 24/7 by calling (866) 248-4094 (Access Code: UMISSOURI) or visiting www.Liveandworkwell.com For more information about the services that are now available to UMSL employees, please visit: the UM System Total Rewards page.

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New York University & Columbia University would lose tax exempt status under newly introduced bill

University Business

New York University and Columbia University are in danger of losing their tax exempt status, which translates to hundreds of millions of dollars a year. A bill being introduced would repeal the tax-exempt status of private universities that received property tax exemptions of $100 million or more during the prior year. Columbia and NYU fall into that category; together, they saved $327 million in tax breaks.

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Saving the River Giants: Academic Minute

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Today on the Academic Minute: Stefan Lovgren, research scientist in the College of Science at the University of Nevada at Reno, explores how to protect giant river creatures.

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Has the Israel debate caused a new McCarthyism in US universities? Our panel reacts | Panelists

The Guardian Higher Education

Researchers and civil liberties advocates call for the safeguarding of protected speech amid an uproar over campus activism Well before the Israel-Gaza war broke out, a new McCarthyism was already widespread on American college campuses. During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and 50s, about 100 professors were fired for supposed communist sympathies; according to Greg Lukianoff, co-author of The Canceling of the American Mind, the number fired for their political beliefs – primarily for conserva

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Dan Lenard of World Voices: Pulse Podcast

Confessions of a Community College Dean

This month’s episode of the Pulse podcast features a conversation with Dan Lenard, president of World Voices, a nonprofit trade organization for voice actors.

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Students can make provocative remarks if they do not break law, watchdog says

The Guardian Higher Education

Arif Ahmed of OfS says universities that infringe rights to expression will face fines under new system University staff and students can make provocative statements on subjects such as Israel and Gaza as long as they do not break laws on incitement or harassment, under proposals by the government’s campus free speech tsar. Arif Ahmed, the newly appointed director for academic freedom of speech at the Office for Students (OfS), said universities and colleges in England that infringed the rights

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Is fear over antisemitism the latest blow to America’s confidence in higher ed?

University Business

Public regard for higher education can be difficult to measure. Despite national polls revealing confidence in the sector has plummeted , employers still value candidates who possess a four-year degree. However, three university leaders were the subject of scorn last week at a Congressional hearing over how they’re handling antisemitism. While UPenn President Lizz Magill’s resignation is the most significant headline to enrapture those skeptical of higher education, other sources see

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Senate Bill Would Tax Universities to Fund Israel, Ukraine and Border Security

Confessions of a Community College Dean

Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wants to levy a 6 percent tax on 10 universities’ endowments to support Israel and Ukraine and fund border security efforts.

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US controversy points to tests facing UK universities free speech tsar

The Guardian Higher Education

Arif Ahmed will face a balancing act when his position – that legal speech gets protected – runs into messy reality England’s newly appointed university free speech tsar, Arif Ahmed, finds himself in the same position as the leaders of three of the US’s elite universities: having to nurture free speech on campus but struggling to explain those principles in real-life cases.

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2023 Year in Review

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 has been a year notable for its ups and downs on the higher education landscape with the elimination of affirmative action and the implosion of President Joe Biden’s student relief program. At the same time, scholars are working around the clock to stave off ongoing anti-DEI legislation that has already taken hold in states like Florida and Texas, where many politicians campaigned against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.