Notes in the Margins: Lobbying, reading emails, and a decline in language studies

The Universities Are Major Lobbyists Now The incentive systems favor more university spending rather than cost reduction. (Minding the Campus)

Let’s Shake Up the Social Sciences It is time to create new social science departments that reflect the breadth and complexity of the problems we face as well as the novelty of 21st-century science. (The New York Times)

Parents Shell Out Less for Kids in College Parents are giving their children less cash to pay for college amid continued economic weakness, adding to pressure on students to borrow money, rely more on grants and scholarships—and in many cases, live at home. (The Wall Street Journal)

Stats reveal languages decline The proportion of British 18-year-olds applying for non-European language degrees has fallen by more than a third in three years, according to new research. (Times Higher Education)

No Evidence Harvard Officials Read Faculty E-mails, Report Says A review commissioned by the university found that administrators involved in searching faculty e-mail accounts did not believe they had violated privacy rules. (The New York Times)

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