Notes in the Margins: Part-time faculty, AP credit and 529 plans

Contributions to college-savings 529 plans are rising sharply after falling during recession The amount of money flowing into government-sponsored 529 plans has surged 75% in the last two years as fear of rising college tuition trumps fear of the stock market. Still, contributions remain well below the 2006 peak. (Los Angeles Times)

Use Of Part-Time College Faculty Is On The Rise The pop-culture image of an Old Dominion college professor - pipe-smoking, clad in a rumpled tweed suit, reading Shakespeare in an armchair - doesn't reflect reality anymore, if it ever did. (The Virginian-Pilot via University Business)

Can College Students Avoid the Social-Media Industrial Complex? Jonathan Franzen warns about our superficial, "like"-based economy, but recent and future graduates may have a hard time avoiding it. (The Atlantic)

Return of Islamic College Raises New Questions Supporters see the opening of the Chicago college, founded in 1981 in the Lakeview neighborhood, as an important step for Islamic instruction in the United States. But its detractors point to the college’s ties to a secretive and far-reaching international movement that has been accused of Islamism in some countries and of an overuse of non-immigrant work visas to hire foreign teachers in its schools in the United States. (The New York Times)

Colleges Set High Bar For Students Seeking Credit For Advanced Placement Exams Some high school officials think colleges have gotten more stringent because they don't want to part with tuition dollars. But university officials say education is foremost in their minds as they decide whether to award credit based on AP exam scores earned in high school. (Chicago Tribune via University Business)

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