Get Ready for July Madness

There are no brackets to guide you through it, but July is the prime month for presidential transitions at private colleges. To keep up on who's going where, visit our Comings and Goings page, with up-to-the-minute news of the many appointments now being made.

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Higher Education Reform/Innovation

Express Lane to a B.A. Inside Higher Ed March 11, 2010 What was a year ago an emerging idea about how to reduce college costs and better serve students has begun to take hold at colleges across the U.S., as more institutions introduce three-year bachelor's degrees.  Concerns about ever-rising college costs, compounded by the prolonged recession, and the Bologna Process's success in standardizing three-year, competency-based bachelor's degrees throughout Europe have helped to amplify the drumbeat that has played in the background for decades.

The Community College Spinoff Inside Higher Ed March 9, 2010 Leaders of a Florida community college are planning to create an independent university offering baccalaureate and graduate degrees, arguing that existing four-year institutions in the region are not helping enough of the two-year institution's low-income and minority graduates continue their educations.  The private university would be part of a larger experimental project attempting to create a truly "seamless" system of education, from kindergarten through college, around the existing community college.

Why subsidize wealthy college kids? CNN.com - Opinion Piece March 8, 2010 Most individuals assume that UC Berkeley and Stanford are equivalent institutions but the cost this year is roughly $25,000 at Berkeley and $50,000 at Stanford.  Why should someone who can afford the cost of Stanford get a price reduction at Berkeley?  If Californians want a system that effectively subsidizes a free college education for all who qualify, they need a tax structure that pays for it.  If voters are unwilling to raise taxes, then those who can afford to pay for college should, and scarce tax dollars should go to those who would otherwise will be blocked from attending.

Two Philadelphia area colleges to offer three-year degrees Philadelphia Inquirer March 6, 2010 Arcadia University said yesterday that it would offer three-year degrees in five of its 40 or so undergraduate programs, beginning in the fall.  Holy Family University will start more slowly, with one three-year degree program in business administration this fall, officials said.  Arcadia and Holy Family are among a growing number of colleges around the country looking to gain a competitive edge with less costly options for students.

Edison State University (Fla.) proposes new university Ft. Myers, Fla., News-Press March 6, 2010 Edison State College plans to create a private university offering bachelor's and master's degrees, a spinoff non-profit institution run by a different president and board of trustees.  Students would pay higher tuition rates than at Edison State, but the school would boast advanced liberal arts degrees not featured at Edison State.  Its niche would be low-income and minority students who want a college education, but not necessarily the residential experience or high price tag that accompanies it.

Saving the Life of the Mind Chronicle of Higher Education February 28, 2010 The distress signals are sounding for the liberal arts.  Again.  Enrollment statistics show that more than half of all undergraduates now choose majors in business, engineering, or nursing.  On some campuses, budget pressures are squeezing disciplines like German and philosophy into exile or extinction.  But there's another side to this picture.  Welcome to the new liberal arts.  (Part of a special report on "The Future of Liberal Arts.")

Online courses can reduce the costly sting of college Washington Post - Column February 26, 2010 StraighterLine is a serious education company and a force that could disrupt half a millennium of higher-education tradition.  The site offers students as many general-education courses as they care to take for a flat monthly fee, plus $39 per course.  As college tuitions go, it is more on the scale of a cable bill.  Industry leaders say the company could pose a welcome challenge but not a threat to prestigious bricks-and-mortar institutions.

More private colleges court community college transfers USA Today/Inside Higher Ed February 18, 2010 Community college transfer students are no longer being courted only by the usual suspects.  More private institutions, of every ilk, are aggressively recruiting students from two-year colleges, hoping to bolster and diversify their enrollments and capitalize on the belt-tightening of regional public universities.

Plan Would Let Students Start College After 10th Grade New York Times February 17, 2010 Dozens of public high schools in eight states will introduce a program next year allowing 10th graders who pass a battery of tests to get a diploma two years early and immediately enroll in community college.  Students who pass but aspire to attend a selective college may continue with college preparatory courses in their junior and senior years, organizers of the new effort said.

Making Liberal Arts Colleges Sustainable Forbes Magazine - Opinion Piece February 17, 2010 Given the steep price tag, many families are struggling with the financial burden and calling on schools to reduce price, increase financial aid or restrain costs. But balancing the expenses of a top-notch education with the experience of the liberal arts environment is a challenging task, since the things that make schools expensive are often what make them most attractive. Here are a few ideas for how we could change that.

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