By Doug Lederman. The idea that relatively few colleges and universities can thrive entirely on their own has taken hold in several quarters recently, as financial and demographic woes squeeze many institutions' bottom lines. But while predictions of mergers and consolidations proliferate, so too does evidence that combining colleges -- and even close collaboration -- is hard to pull off even when it seems to make good sense. Read more...

By Josh Logue. All are historically black colleges or universities, and shootings have occurred on or near all of the campuses in the last month. All but the incident at North Carolina Central and one of two shootings at or near Tennessee State had at least one fatality. Texas Southern and Miles also saw multiple shootings this year. Read more...

By Carl Straumsheim. A key first endorsement from the University of Michigan Press has a group of disability studies scholars hopeful that their guidelines for publishing accessible digital books is slowly gaining momentum. Read more...

By Ashley A. Smith. Enrollment agreements, students with debts in the tens of thousands and deceptive recruiting tactics -- these topics are usually found in the news or a political debate. Read more...

By Andrew Mytelka. Report: “Core Principles for Transforming Remediation Within a Comprehensive Student Success Strategy”
Organizations: Complete College America, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and three other groups
Summary: The organizations behind this “joint statement” set forth “six core principles” for increasing the number of students who complete college. The statement effectively updates a document released by some of the same groups three years ago that took to task the state of remedial courses. More...

By Andrew Mytelka. A design student at California State University at Long Beach was among those killed in the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday. The student, Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old Californian, was attending the Strate College of Design during a semester-abroad program, according to a statement posted on Long Beach’s website. More...

By Nick DeSantis. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the arguments of religious colleges and other faith-based nonprofit organizations against the contraceptive mandate of President Obama’s signature health-care law, the Associated Press reported. More...

By Andy Thomason. Just days after helping to force two prominent University of Missouri leaders to resign, leaders of the activist group Concerned Student 1950 have put out a call for African-American students to share their college experiences on Twitter. More...

By Andy Thomason. The American Association of University Professors has called for the repeal of so-called campus-carry legislation, which permits people who hold concealed-handgun licenses to carry their weapons at colleges. More...

By Andy Thomason. Georgia’s Board of Regents voted on Tuesday to approve the merger of Albany State University and Darton State College, marking the seventh consolidation of Georgia public colleges in recent years. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the merger is the first in the state to combine a historically black institution with one that is mostly white. More...