Notes in the Margins: Wiccans, eBooks and the Miami athletics scandal

Wiccan days included on Tenn. university calendar Wiccan and pagan students at Vanderbilt University might get to take an excused day off from class to dance around the maypole. (USA Today)

Women See Value and Benefits of College; Men Lag on Both Fronts At a time when women surpass men by record numbers in college enrollment and completion, they also have a more positive view than men about the value higher education provides, according to a nationwide Pew Research Center survey. Also, while a majority of Americans believe that a college education is necessary in order to get ahead in life these days, the public is somewhat more inclined to see this credential as a necessity for a woman than for a man. (Pew Research Center via NAICU)

What Electronic Textbook Provider Has The Biggest Library? Campusbooks, a 12-year-old textbook price comparison site, recently gained the ability to compare offerings when it expanded its database of texts across seven different etextbook makers — thus receiving access to their catalogs. (Mashable)

Experts Consider Impact of Changes to Federal Loans on Student Debt Will an increase in federal loan limits ease our nation's educational debt burden? (U.S. News & World Report)

A Huge Scandal, but Probably Not the Harshest Penalties There appears to be little doubt that the severity and breadth of the claims against Miami’s athletics program are worse than what peers like Ohio State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon and Louisiana State encountered in recent months. The N.C.A.A. continues to try to bolster enforcement, but it does so against a backdrop of television contracts in the billions and some coaching salaries that eclipse $5 million. (The New York Times via NAICU)

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