By Carl Straumsheim. How do you tell high school students they’re going to attend -- but not actually go to -- college?
It’s a conversation the University of Florida is having with potential students, parents and school counselors about UF Online, the institution’s degree-granting online arm. Read more...

By Carl Straumsheim. The federal government’s long-awaited data on the students enrolled in distance education courses nationwide provide a dubious baseline, a new study suggests, as confusing instructions, inflexible design and a lack of coordination have led colleges and universities to under- or overreport thousands of students. The study, conducted by the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies and the higher education consultant Phil Hill, raises serious questions about the integrity of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, the higher education data collection program operated by the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics. Read more...

By Claire Zillman. Women and minorities still make up a very small portion of students in math and science. Foreigners account for a growing share of the American academy, but work visas are scarce.
The Council of Graduate Schools and Graduate Record Examinations Board on Monday released a joint survey that assesses the state of graduate school education in the United States and the top line figures are encouraging: more people sought advanced degrees this year than last year. Applications to U.S. graduate schools were up 1% and first-time graduate enrollment increased by the same amount, as 459,000 people enrolled in graduate certificate, education specialist, master’s, or doctoral programs as first-time students in the fall of 2013. More...

By Sophia Harris. Some students who work long, unpaid college or university internships while paying high tuition fees say they feel exploited and that it’s time they got paid.
While unpaid internships have become a dirty concept in some parts of our economy, salary-free academic internships get a free pass because they happen within the confines of a college or university program where students learn in a real working environment for school credit. These internships are often known as practicums, work terms, work placements or clinical rotations. More...

By Mikhail Zinshteyn. A new rating system backed by the White House aims to evaluate nearly all of the nation's colleges and universities. Roughly 6,000 schools that educate around 22 million students are about to endure an unprecedented amount of federal scrutiny. More...