The State Engineering Association filed suit Wednesday against numerous state agencies to halt layoffs and collect unemployment compensation benefits from the state...Among the agencies listed on the suit are the University of Wisconsin System, the Office of State Employee Relations, the Department of Justice, the Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Transportation...

A vast majority of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students voted Wednesday to pay more tuition to save certain student programs and 11 campus positions. Students now annually pay a $60 "academic initiatives" fee to support such campus services as disability resources, academic advising, graduate research and violence prevention. A record number of students participated in Wednesday's online vote to add $45 to that fee. A second question asked if they would bump up the fee another $15, for a total increase of $60 a year, to add more services such as extended library hours and increased research opportunities. About 84 percent of students, or 2,923, voted in favor of the $45 increase to maintain services, compared with 539 opposed. Of that same pool of voters, about 78 percent, or 2,684 students, also supported increasing the fee to $60, while 770 said no...

One of the world's biggest charitable foundations has awarded close to $10 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for influenza virus research. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $9.5 million in a five-year grant to UW-Madison research scientists who are studying viral mutations that could be early warning signs of potential pandemic flu viruses...

Robert (Bob) Engelhard, professor emeritus of forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, was recently inducted into the Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame. The Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame was created in 1984 to give special recognition to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the field of forestry in Wisconsin...

The Associated Students of Madison’s Academic Affairs Committee Chair Jonah Zinn says he’s hoping the group’s staunch focus on improving textbook accessibility and affordability this semester will yield solid results...Two major endeavors the group has tackled thus far this semester include the textbook swap, which has since ended, and the ongoing Affordable Textbook Campaign, which began in September...

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay employees will take their first state-mandated furlough day Nov. 27, closing down much of campus the day after Thanksgiving...

A faculty committee has been established at UW-Eau Claire to discuss collective bargaining rights for faculty and staff of the university. According to Student Senate minutes from Oct. 29, collective bargaining would create a union for faculty and staff that would allow easier negotiations with the state for pay and benefits...

Because of H1N1 and other various reasons, professors sometimes need to cancel class, but how they go about it has become a small problem on campus. Ann Duginske, speaker of the Oshkosh Student Association (OSA) Assembly, will be working with faculty, staff and department heads to discuss policies regarding class cancellations...“We don’t see this as a widespread concern,” Duginske said...

The Freedom from Religion Foundation objects to UW-Whitewater calling its gathering for Fort Hood victim Amy Krueger a prayer vigil. The Madison-based organization said the gathering was appropriate, but it should have been called a memorial service...

UW-Whitewater has created an outreach program to assist non-traditional students who are close to graduation but failed to complete requirements. "These students have made a huge investment but never completed their education," said Jodi Hare-Paynter, interim registrar and admissions director. "We want to help them graduate." A $90,000 grant that became available in 2008 has been used by both the college of Letters and Science and the Registrar's Office to fund the program...

Despite the recent incidents of racist graffiti on campus, a new wall is being built outside Boebel Hall solely to be covered in student tags. The art department is encouraging students to spray paint responses to the cases of racist graffiti that have been found in the residence halls...

Kenosha’s newest college, Herzing University, opened its doors to local officials Wednesday, showing off new classrooms, lecture halls, state-of-the-art labs and equipment...

Renée Herzing, president of Herzing Educational System, and Gerald Lott, dean of Herzing University-Kenosha answer questions about the city’s newest college...KN: Do you see yourself competing with institutes of higher education already established here like the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Carthage College, Gateway Technical College and schools like Concordia University? Herzing: “We feel we can complement Gateway, Parkside and Carthage”...

...Modeled after a program at the University of Wisconsin, Check BAC (pronounced check back) allows student season-ticket holders who are ejected from a game for intoxication offenses to attend future games by submitting to blood alcohol testing...

For the first time since fall began, new cases of flu among college students have started to drop, hinting that this wave of the swine flu pandemic has peaked, the American College Health Association reported...

...But with few exceptions, and for a variety of practical and legal reasons, term-paper mills have mostly managed to stay out of legal trouble, says Stetson University School of Law Dean Darby Dickerson. She notes in a Villanova Law Review article that cheating and plagiarism "are as common on college campuses as dirty laundry and beer." Now though, a class-action lawsuit working its way through a U.S. District Court in Illinois could provide a road map for those who find their work online without their authorization. The judge has found a provider liable on six counts, including copyright infringement, unfair competition and other fraud-related claims...

...The Chronicle Reviewn asked some prominent thinkers on issues of education, communications, and news and cultural literacy how the decline of those news media will affect higher education. Here are excerpts from their answers...

A new report by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education may provide clues on how best to shepherd students from two-year to four-year institutions...