Notes in the Margins: Monitoring Muslims, affirmative action and Iraqi students

Justices Take Up Race as a Factor in College Entry By agreeing to hear a major case involving race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas, the court thrust affirmative action back into the public and political discourse after years in which it had mostly faded from view. I may be a signal that the court’s five more conservative members might be prepared to do away with racial preferences in higher education. (The New York Times)

Iraq seeks to educate more students in U.S. The Iraqi government has dispatched several top officials to Washington as part of an effort to raise interest in their country's students. (USA Today)

NYPD monitoring of Muslim students sparks outrage The mayor faced off with the president of Yale University on Tuesday over an effort by the city's police department to monitor Muslim student groups for any signs that their members harbored terrorist sympathies. (The Boston Globe)

University of Texas moves to enforce ‘slacker’ rule UT’s goal is to raise its four-year graduation rate nearly 20 points to 70 percent within five years. Here are some of the report’s recommendations. (The Washington Post)

Research must become irrelevant: this is how to prove an impact on policymaking Researchers must take time to listen to what politicians want. To have an impact on policymaking, we must try to marry our research interests with political agendas and manifestos. (Impact of Social Sciences)

• How Augsburg is going all Mark Twain
• How past U of M presidents view higher-ed today
• Metro State data breach affected 160,000 students