Alex FriedrichReport: UC pepper spraying could have been prevented The report concludes that UC Davis police failed to use standard procedures in planning for the protest, and recommends a top-to-bottom overhaul of the entire UC police force. (San Francisco Chronicle via University Business) Applicants Should Trust College Student ‘Ambassadors’ Less, Experts Say Applicants may not realize how carefully Read more →
MPR News Intelligence on higher education
Archives for April 2012
Apple, major publishers hit with federal antitrust lawsuit over e-book pricing According to the complaint, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, at least five publishers—Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin and Macmillan—conspired with Apple to fix prices for e-books ahead of the 2010 launch of the iPad tablet and iBookstore, forcing Amazon to raise prices Read more →
I’ve posted before about charges exchanged between the University of Minnesota administration and the group trying to form a graduate-assistant union — each claiming the other was acting unfairly during the unionization campaign. Now unionization supporters are claiming — as they did in January — that the U has been trying to silence talk of Read more →
Some MPR colleagues in the Public Insight Network are conducting a survey of college graduates of the Class of 2011: Class of 2011: What have you been up to since graduation? Maybe it’s a question you’re dreading — or one you’re eager to answer. Regardless of how it’s been, MPR News wants to hear your Read more →
Seems like some comments I posted by University of Minnesota chemistry professor Chris Cramer on the marketability of chemistry degrees touched a nerve with one reader, MSChemist: I have a Master of Science in Chemistry and have come to regret it intensely. Companies do not value chemists at all. The pharmaceuticals industry has been the Read more →
The ‘Cash Cow’ of U.S. Universities: Professional Certificates Instead of Degrees Responding to demand from more and more students, universities are jumping into the business of providing professional certificates that were once the domain of community colleges and for-profit providers like the University of Phoenix. (Time via University Business) Nearly 900 wrongly told they’re admitted to Read more →
This just in: Michael Hemesath named 13th president of Saint John’s University COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Michael Hemesath, professor of economics at Carleton College, has been appointed the 13th president of Saint John’s University by the university’s Board of Regents. He will begin his official duties on July 1, 2012. A 1981 SJU graduate, Hemesath is Read more →
MPR’s current Question of the Day, “How do you know if a college is right for you?” has produced some good tips so far, as well as a little snark and cynicism. (The tips so far tend to be practical. They don’t address the emotional ties that prospective students form to a college.) James writes Read more →
Measuring College ROI Calculating the return on investment (ROI) for a college education is a complex endeavor, with the outcome deeply dependent on methodology, assumptions, and other factors. One of the key factors that sets the PayScale methodology apart is that it results in an ROI figure that reflects not only costs and earnings, but also the likelihood Read more →
FBI: U.S. Colleges Infected by Foreign Spies Hearkening back to Cold War anxieties, growing signs of spying on U.S. universities are alarming national security officials. As schools become more global in their locations and student populations, their culture of openness and international collaboration makes them increasingly vulnerable to theft of research conducted for the government and Read more →