A report released today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation examines inequities in education of African-American students across the country. While the report mainly focuses on kindergarten through 12th grade, it also examines racial differences in graduation rates and the rates of college readiness. Read more...

Today on the Academic Minute, Kevin Wright, assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University, delves into how the communities offenders come home to often look a lot like the prisons they were just in. Read more...

Massive open online courses are estimated to become an $8.5 billion industry by 2020, growing from $1.83 billion today, according to a report by market research firm MarketsandMarkets. Read more...

Legislators in 10 states will announce today that they are introducing bills in their respective legislatures to create debt-free options in public higher education. Read more...

Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, on Friday urged students to buy and carry guns (and to learn how to use them). Speaking at the university's weekly convocation, Falwell said he was upset that President Obama and others have reacted to the killings in California by promoting gun control. Read more...

The College Board decided Wednesday to follow suit with recent FAFSA reform and begin accepting prior-prior year data for the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. Read more...

Over faculty opposition, the board of Western Carolina University on Friday approved the creation of a new academic center on free enterprise, The News & Observer reported. Read more...

Three major higher education groups on Friday urged the U.S. Department of Education to allow federally recognized accreditors to evaluate colleges differently based on the colleges’ performance. Read more...

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it has granted the requests for debt forgiveness made by more than 1,300 federal student loan borrowers who attended Heald College, a subsidiary of the now-defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain. Read more...