Notes in the Margins: Visa mills, Title IX and German science for sale

Frigid North Dakota Lures College Students Out-of-state students are flocking to North Dakota public colleges largely because their tuition is so cheap. (The Wall Street Journal)

Cash Tempts the Ivory Tower’s Guardians Two German universities secretly gave Deutsche Bank a big say at a research institute, raising eyebrows. (The New York Times)

Universities or Visa Mills? A Bay Area News Group investigation has found that thousands of foreign students enrolled in schools here probably should not have been in the country at all. They're being lured by unaccredited universities that promise help getting a prized student visa. But it turns out that these universities' legal right to assist with visas is in question. (San Jose Mercury News via University Business)

At Two-Year Colleges, Less Scrutiny Equals Less Athletic Equality Community colleges are routinely failing to provide enough athletic opportunities to women, as required under Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in education. Many community colleges offer an array of options for men but just a single team for women. And dozens of colleges over the years had no women on their athletic rosters, according to federal education statistics. (The New York Times)

UC Berkeley asks incoming students to say more than 'hello' 5,800 Berkeley freshmen and transfer students are asked to record their voices and accents, which will be mapped and compared to other students' samples. The project is part linguistic experiment, part social science and part ice-breaker. (Los Angeles Times)

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