By Peter Schmidt. The American Association of University Professors has taken a formal stand in opposition to “trigger warnings,” or advance notices to students that instructional material might elicit from them a troubling emotional response. In a report issued on Monday, the AAUP argues that trigger warnings threaten academic freedom and the quality of instruction, and says there are better means of helping students who are the victims of trauma. More...

By Andy Thomason. Report: “Zero Marginal Cost: Measuring Subsidies for Graduate Education in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program”
Organization: New America Foundation
Authors: Jason Delisle, director of the foundation’s federal education budget project, and Alexander Holt, a policy analyst
Summary: The report examines the effects of two federal student-loan programs: income-based repayment, which allows borrowers to cap monthly payments at 10 percent of their annual income and have their debt forgiven after 20 years; and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which allows borrowers working in the nonprofit sector to have their debt forgiven after 10 years. More...

By Andy Thomason. The American Council on Education announced on Wednesday a project intended to make it easier for nontraditional students to earn four-year college degrees. Financed by a $1.86-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the new program will create roughly 100 free or inexpensive general-education courses that will earn students as much as two years’ transfer credit at some 40 participating colleges. More...