Kansas Board of Regents relaxes rules to make layoffs of tenured faculty easier
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Giving just one day’s notice to the faculty governance chairs at its universities, the Kansas Board of Regents voted this week to allow for emergency employee terminations and suspensions. Tenured professors are no exception. All nine voting regents approved the temporary policy, which takes effect immediately until the end of 2022.
Read More about Kansas Board of Regents relaxes rules to make layoffs of tenured faculty easierA look at law school applications and parental education attainment
U.S. NEWS — There is no reason to hide your parents’ achievements. Your parents’ educational background can be a meaningful part of the context that shaped you, which is why some law schools ask you about it. But law schools neither favor nor begrudge the children of professionals.
Read More about A look at law school applications and parental education attainmentA look at student loan forgiveness proposals for parental borrowers
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Growing up in a small town near Trenton, N.J., Ewan Johnson said there were birthdays when his mother couldn’t afford to buy presents for him and his sister. There were times when she worked overtime in her job helping people with disabilities. “Going to college was literally my only way out,” Johnson says.
Read More about A look at student loan forgiveness proposals for parental borrowersInfluence of SAT falls as colleges adopt test optional admission policies
INSIDE HIGHER ED — The College Board’s announcement last week that it is killing the SAT Subject Tests and the SAT Essay was both rumored for some time and a surprise. Many had speculated that the board would be forced by the pandemic to make major changes. In the fall, it turned away hundreds of thousands of students who registered.
Read More about Influence of SAT falls as colleges adopt test optional admission policiesA look at college admission changes amid calls for a more inclusive student enrollment
THE HECHINGER REPORT — When Worcester Polytechnic Institute wanted to attract more Black, Hispanic and female students, it became the first nationally ranked science university to make the ACT and SAT standardized tests optional for admission. Eliminating the test requirement can increase low-income and first-generation students.
Read More about A look at college admission changes amid calls for a more inclusive student enrollmentEducation Department nominee Miguel Cardona looks to prioritize student loan forgiveness
CBS NEWS — Miguel Cardona, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, said he would support student loan forgiveness if confirmed, but gave little indication of what student debt relief might look like in practice. Last year federal student loan debt reached an all-time high.
Read More about Education Department nominee Miguel Cardona looks to prioritize student loan forgivenessBiden Administration sets priorities for Title IX changes
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Joe Biden entered the White House this week with high and wide-ranging expectations from higher education leaders, advocates for survivors of sexual violence and students for how his new administration will require colleges to handle and reduce sexual assault on college campuses.
Read More about Biden Administration sets priorities for Title IX changesHarvard University cancels course on policing technique amid public feedback
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Under pressure from students, Harvard University canceled a course that was to have been offered this semester on a controversial policing technique used in Springfield, Mass. The technique is known as C3, or Counter Criminal Continuum Policing. It involves citizens working with police to bring down crime.
Read More about Harvard University cancels course on policing technique amid public feedbackA look at the research behind video conferencing fatigue
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Much has been learned about Zoom and similar conferencing technologies. Zoom has updated the product monthly and even bimonthly as educators at all levels used the technology. It continues to improve. Zoom was so ubiquitous at the beginning of the COVID pandemic that is on its way to becoming an eponym.
Read More about A look at the research behind video conferencing fatigueReport: States move away from placement tests as pandemic drags on
INSIDE HIGHER ED — The pandemic has spurred more community colleges to experiment with additional measures for determining placement into college-level math and English courses other than a single standardized placement test score, according to a new brief from researchers at the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR).
Read More about Report: States move away from placement tests as pandemic drags on