In today’s headlines, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame and a legendary figure in higher education, died last night. In other news, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines yesterday to regulate broadband Internet service as a public utility, a move that will ensure that no content is blocked and that the Internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast lanes. These stories and more below:
Father Hesburgh Dies at 97
Inside Higher Ed (Feb. 27, 2015)
FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Setting Stage For Legal Battle
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) (Feb. 26, 2015)
Financial Aid for Undocumented Students Is Losing Its Stigma
The New York Times (Feb. 26, 2015)
OPINION: Community Colleges That Work
The New York Times (Feb. 26, 2015)
The Ever-Growing World of College Rankings
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) (Feb. 26, 2015)
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Headlines from the Past Week
Thursday, Feb. 26
The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to loosen restrictions on tax incentives for education savings, expanding 529 plans. Inside Higher Ed highlights a successful City University of New York experiment to help more students graduate from community college.
Wednesday, Feb. 25
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, proposed in a committee meeting Tuesday, scaling back some federal regulations on higher education that he said are draining universities of time and resources. Inside Higher Ed reports that teenagers who live in single-parent families are at a greater educational disadvantage today than they were 40 years ago, according to new research.
Tuesday, Feb. 24
More than half of Jewish students at American colleges reported personally experiencing or witnessing anti-Semitism within the past six months, according to survey findings. Research found that something is disproportionately deterring women and underrepresented minorities in graduate programs from pursuing science careers at research universities, and that it won’t be enough to attract more prospective scientists in order to increase the diversity of STEM disciplines.
Monday, Feb. 23
USA Today editorializes that colleges trying to reduce binge drinking on campuses should learn from the movement that has resulted in cutting teenage smoking in half, and an opposing view op-ed notes that campuses are already seeing great results in curbing alcohol abuse via strategic programs and events. The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights the success of Liberty University in online education, enrolling more online students that any other nonprofit college in the United States.
Friday, Feb. 20
Higher education leaders in Illinois react to the latest effort to slash higher education funding at the state level. Inside Higher Ed reports on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call on Congress to boost federal higher education spending to allow states to cut public college tuition in half, and The Boston Globe looks at alumni and the pressure on campuses to divest.