Notes in the Margins

Why race-based affirmative action in college admissions still matters It is one thing to seek alternatives to race-based affirmative action that approximate affirmative action’s goals. It is quite another to defend such alternatives as the most desirable policy, to suggest that preferences for students from socio-economically disadvantaged families are superior to preferences for African Americans. (The Read more →

Financial Aid as Deception It’s not just that discounting scares students off; it also just confuses them, by leading them to think particular colleges are a good deal when the reality is such schools could put them in debt forever. Financial aid makes it easy to lie to students about college cost. (Washington Monthly) The Lawyer’s Apprentice How to Read more →

When the College Admissions Battle Starts at Age 3 While competition to secure a seat in a public prekindergarten program is fierce (roughly two-thirds of the estimated 41,000 applicants earned seats for the coming academic year), it’s even more cutthroat among private-school applicants. (The New York Times) College Cost Isn’t Poor Students’ Big Problem Whatever’s keeping low-income Americans Read more →

A roundup of higher-education news from around the country and the globe Read more →

A roundup of higher-education news from around the country and the globe Read more →

Short Courses for the Long Haul Adult Education Eases Path to Career Change (The New York Times) Historically black colleges face uncertain future Facing often steep declines in enrollment, these schools are struggling to survive. In the last 20 years, five historically black colleges and universities — or HBCU’s — have shut down and about Read more →

Avoiding Roommate Shock, Online Ultimately, college officials hope that these roommate-recommendation programs can combat a costly problem: interpersonal conflicts so severe that they can prompt students to transfer to other schools before their sophomore year. (The New York Times) Does Khan Academy Work? No one really knows how well it works. Sure, it’s cheaper than a real classroom, but Read more →

Here’s a look at some of the morning’s top higher ed education stories in Minnesota and the country. Read more →

Most with college STEM degrees go to work in other fields, survey finds The report comes at a time when national educational initiatives and funding are focused on increasing participation and graduation rates in the STEM disciplines, in part because of a belief that the United States is losing ground internationally. (The Washington Post) Appeals Panel Read more →

In Moody’s U.S. college credit ratings, downgrades far outnumber upgrades Moody’s has downgraded three dozen four-year colleges and universities since July 2013, a sign of continuing financial fragility in higher education. (The Washington Post) Should Colleges Be Able to Determine Costs of Living? There are three potential reasons why other costs included in the costs of attendance Read more →