31 août 2014

An article called "So you want to date a teaching assistant" has set off a furor at Western University, in Ontario. The article appeared in the special issue of The Gazette, the student newspaper, for new students. The piece described strategies such as Facebook stalking, dressing to attract T.A. attention, office hours visits, and so forth. Reaction has been intense -- most of it negative. The union that represents T.A.s at Western posted a response saying that the piece had essentially been "a guide on how to sexually harass another human being." The provost wrote a letter to the editor in which she said: "Not only does the spirit of the article run contrary to Western’s efforts to have a workplace and learning environment that is free from sexual harassment, it is disrespectful of the essential contribution graduate teaching assistants make to Western’s academic mission." Read more...

The National Association for College Admission Counseling has released draft proposed additions to its Statement of Principles of Good Practice that would expand on last year’s change permitting member universities to use commission-based agents in international student recruiting if they ensure accountability, integrity and transparency. The proposed additions, to be considered by the NACAC Assembly at the annual conference in late September, would flesh out those terms. Read more...

By Brian Jacobs. The dominion of open educational resources is apparently looming large, if one were to judge by a blog thread touched off with a panel discussion at a recent Knewton event. David Wiley, participating in the panel, made the bold claim that “in the near future, 80 percent of textbooks would be replaced by OER content.” Jose Ferreira responded critically to that view a few days later with a blog post, to which Wiley offered a dissenting reply. Michael Feldstein then weighed in with a dissenting perspective of his own. Read more...

By Ulf Kirchdorfer. Depending on the geographic locus, the beginning of the semester is upon us and we have begun to do real work, finishing the musical chairs game of finding seats for students in the classes they need or a match with an instructor that they can live with for 50 minutes three times a week. Read more...

By Colleen Flaherty. Institutions say complying with the Affordable Care Act has caused them to pass on some costs to employees, according to a new survey from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Read more...

By Paul Fain. For-profit higher education has tried previously to create voluntary standards for quality and responsibility. But those attempts at self-regulation, which many saw as too self-serving, failed to take hold. Read more...

By Ry Rivard. College presidents want to help graduates find jobs but believe their institutions are struggling to do so, according to a recent survey by Gallup and Inside Higher Ed.
Nearly nine in 10 presidents said an emphasis on “critical thinking” skills and personal development is very important throughout college in order for graduates to get jobs. Read more...

By Carl Straumsheim. A Salem College faculty member last semester took an uncompromising approach to curbing syllabus and inbox bloat: Why not ban most student emails. Read more...

By Charlie Tyson. People get furious with Cynthia Jones. Philosophy is known as the blood sport of the humanities, and Jones, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas-Pan American, doesn’t shrink from conflict. But she’d been sparring not just with fellow philosophers in seminar rooms, but with people from all corners of her campus. Read more...