Minnesota school funding would remain flat over the next two years while state colleges and universities would see a slight cut under bills legislators approved Wednesday...State colleges and universities will see state aid cut by about 6 percent, but $168 million in federal stimulus money helps soften the cuts to just more than 1 percent. The higher education bill also includes a cap on tuition increases. University of Minnesota students will not see their tuition go up more than $300 a year over the biennium. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities can't impose tuition hikes of more than 3 percent each year...
Many colleges are confronting the possibility of budget cuts, layoffs, or the closing of academic programs. Niko Canner, a management expert, recently spoke to The Chronicle about how institutions can protect their values as they make such painful changes...Though shared governance has been negatively stereotyped as a roadblock to change, Mr. Canner said, college presidents, deans, and department chairs who know how to manage within that higher-education tradition may actually be at an advantage, at least compared with executives now struggling over downsizing and restructuring in the corporate world... (paid subscription required)
...While tenured faculty may feel more secure in their jobs than employees in more beleaguered industries, there’s little question that the quality of life many professors have come to expect is deteriorating at many institutions. Workloads are increasing while pay is stagnant or falling, and the threat of layoffs has brought an edginess to the Ivory Tower that some professors say hasn’t existed in decades...
University of Florida president Bernie Machen didn't grow up poor, but he remembers juggling multiple jobs while working his way through college. The dental surgeon says he's inspired by students who have it even tougher than he did. So he donated his entire $285,000 bonus last year to a scholarship program he founded for low-income students at risk of being shut out of a college education...
Researchers have known for decades that rising education levels positively influence a host of social factors: income, health, voting rates and even the likelihood that a person will stay out of prison. Education matters. A new website seeks to quantify just how much...
Leaders of historically black colleges say they'll fight a reduction in a federal program they call a financial lifeline at a time of economic distress for the schools and their students. President Barack Obama's education budget, unveiled Thursday, included major spending increases in many areas -- but didn't include an extra $85 million that black institutions have received annually for the past two years thanks to a 2007 change to the student loan laws...
