Notes in the Margins: Sports, blogging and studying amid upheaval

Duncan Calls for Urgency on College Costs As Occupy movement protests helped push spiraling college costs into the national spotlight, Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged higher-education officials Tuesday to “think more creatively — and with much greater urgency” about ways to contain costs and reduce student debt. (The New York Times)

Study assesses graduation rates Report finds analyzing characteristics of college students can better predict graduation rates. (The Cavalier Daily)

Fixing College Sports: Why Paying Student Athletes Won't Work The notion that we should pay college athletes has been floating around for years, and it can attach itself to any sordid event involving college sports. The trouble is that, while college athletics does need reform, paying players bears no relationship to the purported goal of helping protect college athletes. (The New York Times Magazine)

Should you enter the academic blogosphere? While the blogosphere has always included sites by students, professors, librarians, administrators and other university members, more scholars are now tying their blogs to their work-related activities and making the connection between online presence and career development. Melonie Fullick discusses the advantages and disadvantages of scholars taking the time to write a blog about their work. (LSE/Impact of Social Sciences)

Political upheaval is a dangerous temptation for American students abroad Many universities and operators of study abroad programs have been trying to prod students out of what can become a comfort zone of huddling with their fellow American students. That push to engage can be broadening in a “safe” country; in a country with a suddenly dicey political situation, it can be hazardous. (Associated Press via The Washington Post)

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