Colleges cut financial ties to Russia amid Ukraine invasion
INSIDE HIGHER ED — The Arizona Board of Regents announced Monday it would exit all investments in Russian assets, adding the three-university system to a small but growing list of institutions that have severed economic ties with Russia as the country continues its invasion of Ukraine. The board “condemns in the strongest possible terms Vladimir Putin’s illegal…
Read More about Colleges cut financial ties to Russia amid Ukraine invasionHow anti-LGBTQ state bills affect students in higher education
DIVERSE ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION — On last Thursday, the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, signed a bill into law that will ban trans girls and women from playing sports in college and high school. This move comes less than a week after Wyoming’s state senators passed a budget amendment to stop funding the University of Wyoming’s…
Read More about How anti-LGBTQ state bills affect students in higher educationUniversity of Missouri policy allows president to make significant cuts in tenured faculty salaries
INSIDE HIGHER ED — In the COVID-19–induced chaos of spring 2020, the University of Missouri system quietly added a section to its rules and regulations that allows for individual tenured faculty salaries to be cut by up to 25 percent. This could be for productivity, enrollment or other reasons. The rule change went largely unnoticed for a year, until…
Read More about University of Missouri policy allows president to make significant cuts in tenured faculty salariesDC Appeals Court takes up college tuition refund cases
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Two separate lawsuits against American University and George Washington University have new life after an appeals court revived cases that allege both institutions violated contractual obligations to students when they shifted to online instruction in early 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. At the core of the issue is the refusal…
Read More about DC Appeals Court takes up college tuition refund casesHow the American Rescue Plan has affected higher education
DIVERSE ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION — The American Rescue Plan (ARP) last year provided one of history’s biggest one-time infusions of federal dollars to community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other higher education institutions through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). On Monday, the Department of Education (ED) announced a state-by-state breakdown of…
Read More about How the American Rescue Plan has affected higher educationThousands of borrowers eligible to participate Public Service Loan Forgiveness program amid recent changes
CNN — The Department of Education said Wednesday that it has so far identified 100,000 borrowers who are eligible for student debt cancellation due to the changes the agency made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in October. The cancellations for those people are expected to total about $6.2 billion in federal student debt relief.…
Read More about Thousands of borrowers eligible to participate Public Service Loan Forgiveness program amid recent changesGovernor of New Mexico signs bill making college tuition-free for most residents
CNN — For most New Mexico residents, college will now be officially tuition-free. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed on Friday Senate Bill 140, otherwise known as the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Act. First introduced in 2019, the plan will waive tuition for any students attending any in-state public school or tribal college, including community…
Read More about Governor of New Mexico signs bill making college tuition-free for most residentsWhy young Americans are hesitant to go to college
DIVERSE ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION — Among the myriad of issues impacting Americans, higher education does not rank high on the list, says one of the nation’s most influential pollsters. The cost of living, COVID-19, immigration, crime and climate issues continue to occupy the attention of most Americans, said Kristen Soltis Anderson, who is the author of…
Read More about Why young Americans are hesitant to go to collegeWhy women lawyers are leaving the legal profession
JD SUPRA — Lack of promotion opportunities, the pressure to meet billable targets, preservation of mental health, discrimination and a culture of fear and retaliation, lack of mentorship, unequal pay, as well as isolation, long billing hours and unpredictable schedules are all being cited as reasons why women are leaving the law as we conduct research…
Read More about Why women lawyers are leaving the legal professionHow the legal profession can improve diversity, equity, and inclusion
BLOOMBERG LAW — A recent study by consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates found that more than half of Fortune 500 companies employ a chief diversity officer—a position that LinkedIn has described as the “job of the moment.” After the murder of George Floyd in 2020 by a police officer, the pace only accelerated, with the hiring of…
Read More about How the legal profession can improve diversity, equity, and inclusion