The Canadian Association of University Teachers this week called for colleges and universities in Canada to sever ties to Confucius Institutes, which have been set up at many Canadian (and American) campuses with support from the Chinese government. Supporters say that the institutes are a valuable way to expose more students outside China to Chinese history and culture. But critics say that the institutes present an oversimplified and positive image of China and that universities that want the house institutes may feel pressure to avoid certain topics. Read more...

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a compromise budget bill that sets federal funding levels for the rest of this fiscal year and next year. Lawmakers passed the deal on a 64-36 vote and sent it to President Obama, who supports the measure and is expected to sign it into law. Read more...

Brandeis University and Penn State University at Harrisburg are ending their institutional memberships in the American Studies Association. Their moves follow the organization's vote to back the boycott of Israeli universities. The American Studies Program at Brandeis posted this statement on its website: "It is a with deep regret that we in the American Studies Program at Brandeis University have decided to discontinue our institutional affiliation with the American Studies Association.  We view the recent vote by the membership to affirm an academic boycott of Israel as a politicization of the discipline and a rebuke to the kind of open inquiry that a scholarly association should foster. Read more...

In July, there was much chatter about a Craigslist ad from the mother of a student about to enroll at Harvard University. The ad sought a young woman to have sex with her son, a virgin whom she feared was too shy to learn about women without some secret coaching from Mom. Now there is a new Craigslist ad -- this time from someone who appears to have just been admitted to next year's class. Read more...

Universities U.K. has withdrawn controversial guidance it released last month on gender segregation at “ultra-orthodox” religious events on campus after coming under criticism from the prime minister’s office. The guidance, which was intended to help British Universities balance their legal responsibility to protect freedom of speech while also meeting the requirements of nondiscrimination law, said that in regards to a hypothetical case study in which an outside religious speaker requested seating segregated by gender, “a balance of interests is most likely to be achieved if it is possible to offer attendees both segregated and non-segregated seating areas." Read more...

The Education Department’s research arm is seeking technical expertise from higher education constituents on how to develop the Obama administration’s proposed college ratings system. In a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the National Center for Education Statistics will issue a formal request for detailed input on how the administration should proceed with its proposal, which the department has dubbed the “Postsecondary Institution Ratings System” (PIRS). Read more...