Utah lawmakers have a rare opportunity this year to provide some of the state’s fastest growing institutions of higher learning with the money they need to catch up with the demands of what, in some cases, is an overwhelming rate of growth.
It’s a rare opportunity because the presidents of all universities and colleges in the state have agreed to a formula that would provide this equity — even though the University of Utah, Snow College, Utah State and Southern Utah University would receive none of the roughly $69 million the Utah System of Higher Education is asking for in order to put all schools on an equal level with funding at about $4,800 for each full-time student. More...

By Martine Powers. Members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology community were applauding the university’s president this weekend after he announced plans to establish an independent legal resource for students tangled in court issues as a result of their innovative work.
Rafael Reif’s announcement came after members of MIT’s faculty wrote a letter last week, signed by more than 800 others, that pushed for the institution to provide support to four undergraduates under investigation for fraud by the state of New Jersey because of a project that won them an award at a programming competition — a controversy haunted by the memory of Internet activist Aaron Swartz.
On Saturday, before the letter was even submitted to Reif, he responded in a campuswide letter — vowing support for the four students, and promising that the university would establish an initiative to serve students involved in legal battles that result from their entrepreneurial pursuits. More...

By Brian C. Mitchell. Writing for the Associated Press, Hope Yen reported recently that the earnings gap between young adults with and without bachelor's degrees has stretched to its widest level in nearly half a century. She suggested that it is a sign of the growing value of a college education despite rising tuition costs.
Citing Pew Research Center data, Ms. Yen noted that Pew found that even among the two thirds of young adults who borrowed money for college, about 86 percent said the degrees had been, or will be, worth it. More...

By Belinda Luscombe. More women are "marrying down," at least academically. For the first time in 50 years, the educational balance among married couples has tipped towards women. Wives are more likely to be the better educated partner than the other way around. The trend is particularly sharp among newlyweds; in 2012 almost 40% of college educated women were married to a guy without a degree. Read more...

By Keith Hoeller. More and more faculty at America's colleges and universities are underpaid and undervalued. Can that change?
In 2009, Money Magazine published a survey titled “The 50 Best Jobs in America.”  Their reporters analyzed job data and conducted an online survey of thirty-five thousand people, taking into account such factors as salaries, flexibility, benefit to society, satisfaction, stress, job security, and growth prospects. The proverbial college professor sat high on the list at No. 3, with a median salary of $70,400 for nine months’ work, top pay of $115,000, and a ten-year growth prospect of 23 percent. College teaching earned “A” grades for flexibility, benefit to society, and satisfaction, and a “B” for job stress, with 59 percent of surveyed professors reporting low stress. More...

By Andrew Garber. A bill that allows students brought to the United States illegally as children becomes the first law to pass the Legislature this year. It’s anybody’s guess if other bills will reach Gov. Jay Inslee before the session ends on March 13.
State lawmakers found something they could agree on Tuesday — allowing students brought here illegally as children to be eligible for financial aid. The House voted 75 to 22 to pass Senate Bill 6523 and send it to the governor, who has said he supports the legislation. The measure was approved by the Senate last month. More...

By Erin Griffith. Amid the recent flood of venture money, startups have learned that schools make complicated customers.
The promise of a digital-first education system has driven venture capital dollars into the fast-growing category of education technology startups. There are countless software portals aiming to create efficiencies in school systems and even more digital tools for streamlining the classroom. There are tutoring startups and MOOCs, or massive open online courses, that have attracted massive venture funding. And there are algebra games. Oh yes. Many, many, algebra games. More...

Higher education is high on the list of topics being discussed this legislative session.
The Missouri Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill that would establish five performance-based criteria for the state’s colleges and universities.
The action occurred on the same day the four-campus University of Missouri System held its 40th annual Legislative Day at the Capitol.
Performance, tuition and eliminating duplication are among the higher education priorities identified by legislators.
The performance funding proposal sponsored by Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, would place into law four standards set by state government and one selected by the school. Examples of state standards are student retention and graduation.
The schools voluntarily have received some performance funding money in the 2013-14 state budget. More...

By Libby A. Nelson. Determining what makes a good chocolate chip cookie and what makes a good college education might have more in common than you think.
Analogies (and advice) abound for the Obama administration’s forthcoming college rating system. It will be a Consumer Reports for colleges. Or a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Or a higher education version of the exhaustive Cook’s Illustrated reviews of skillets and blenders for every budget. Read more...