Report says college rankings have the potential to mislead

Each year, prominent lists of college and university rankings are compiled and released to the public, but a report conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago says those rankings have the potential to mislead.  Writing in Forbes, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says changing methodologies can distort results, and profit motives can create doubt.…

College athletes push for voter turnout while largely avoiding controversy as election nears

Lily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in. The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester,…

Bloomberg Philanthropies says investment in low-income students fell short 

More than $140 million from billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s charitable programs have been spent getting talented low-income students into top colleges, but an analysis of those programs found they fell short of goals.  The Wall Street Journal took a look at the programs, their objectives, and how they haven’t led to the results Bloomberg Philanthropies wanted…

Music students find community through ‘international chat’ program

State University of New York at Fredonia is trying a new method to help international music students feel at home. A professor at the school hosts informal chats — known as “international chat” — several times a semester. The goal, the school says in an article, is to function “as a study group session for…

Portland State U has tough time enrolling international students

Portland State university has a problem with its international student enrollment, and it wants to find out why. The school says it’s found potential fraud in about 14% of international applications. It’s also found that of the 46 students from India and Bangladesh it accepted, 20 sent deposits but only three actually enrolled. Read the…

Student from Bangladesh pursues academic passions at Mississippi school

Shihab Hossain Saran, a student from Bangladesh studying at the University of Southern Mississippi, is studying marine science with an emphasis on physical oceanography. Here, he talks about his successes and his visions for the future. (October 2024)  …

New US campus protest rules spur outcry from college faculty

Dissent is thriving this fall at American colleges, and not just among student activists. With student protests limited by new restrictions, faculty have taken up the cause.   To faculty, new protest rules threaten freedom of speech — and the freedom to think, both central to university life. This semester, some of the most visible…

Miami U. student’s fieldwork aids US officials in Serbia

An international student at Miami University in Ohio is helping the Serbian government and the U.S. Embassy through her research. Anastasija Mladenovska, who’s originally from Macedonia and who speaks English, Russian, Serbian and French, is studying political science, finance and Russia. As part of that, she did field research in Belgrade, Serbia. “By integrating herself…

Grace period for US student loan payments is over. Here’s what you need to know

NEW YORK — The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on September 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score. “The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are…

Boston university relaunches journalism curriculum to encompass humanities

Washington — As the fall semester begins, a women’s college in Boston, Massachusetts, has retooled its media-related curriculum to best reflect the ideals of the school’s namesake, the late journalist Gwen Ifill. Simmons University announced it would relaunch the media school as the Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences. A search committee also…

China’s youth unemployment fuels rise in postgraduate studies

Taipei, Taiwan — Youth unemployment in China climbed to nearly 19% in August, its highest level so far this year, according to official data. Analysts say that the higher level of youth unemployment is driving more college graduates to enroll in graduate schools to escape the job search as the world’s second-largest economy struggles. According to…

Board approves more non-lethal weapons for UCLA police after Israel-Hamas war protests

LOS ANGELES — The University of California board of regents approved Thursday additional non-lethal weapons requested by UCLA police, which handled some of the nation’s largest student protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Clashes between protestors and counter-protestors earlier this year on the campus led to more than a dozen injuries, and more than 200 people were…

Nine charged in police breakup of pro-Palestinian camp at US university

ann arbor, michigan — Authorities have filed charges against nine people who are accused of trespassing or resisting police during the May breakup of a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of Michigan. “The First Amendment does not provide a cover for illegal activity,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday, a day after charges were filed in…