Discounting and the Difference Principle
The Incumbent Advantage
Texas Bill Would Kill In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
In 2001, Texas became the first state to pass a law granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. This week, lawmakers are considering a bill to repeal the law, The Houston Chronicle reported. While the fate of the effort is unclear, it has strong backing from the state's Tea Party movement. Read more...
Female Students and Critical Mass in Group Learning
Female students -- especially in their first year -- are more likely to actively participate and less likely to feel anxious if they have the chance to work in small groups that are majority female, according to a new study that will appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more...
Education Department Clarifies Loan Counseling Flexibility
The U.S. Department of Education on Monday clarified that colleges are able to take some active steps to help students avoid excessive loan amounts.
Federal law requires that colleges in most cases disburse to students any amount of federal loan they request so long as they are eligible for it. Read more...
Harvard U. Achieves Gender Parity in Junior Faculty Hires
For the first time in its history, Harvard University hired an equal number of women and men as junior faculty members in 2014-15, according to a new report from its Office of Faculty Development and Diversity. Harvard took on 62 new tenure-track faculty members this year, exactly half of whom were women; 24 percent were minority. Read more...
Man Quits as Women's Officer at U. of Tasmania
James Ritchie, a male student, has resigned as women's officer of the student union at the University of Tasmania. Ritchie's recent election to that post set off a furor. He has said repeatedly that he is committed to fighting discrimination against women. Read more...
New Reports on Competency-Based Education
The American Enterprise Institute's Center on Higher Education Reform today released two new reports on competency-based education, which follow a report the center released in January. The first paper uses results from a survey of hiring managers at companies around the country to learn about employers' perceptions of the emerging form of higher education. Read more...
Chegg Expands Counseling Services With InsideTrack
The student services company Chegg on Monday announced its users will soon be able to subscribe to career counseling from InsideTrack. The counseling service, currently in beta, will launch next month. Read more...