Omicron variant forces colleges to rethink COVID-19 plans
AP NEWS — Facing rising infections and a new COVID-19 variant, colleges across the U.S. have once again been thwarted in seeking a move to normalcy and are starting to require booster shots, extend mask mandates, limit social gatherings and, in some cases, revert to online classes. The threat of the omicron variant comes as a gut…
Read More about Omicron variant forces colleges to rethink COVID-19 plansHow colleges are responding to rising COVID-19 cases
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Middlebury moves all classes and final exams online; Cornell cancels all student gatherings; Penn calls off indoor social events; Tulane reinstates mask mandate; Rochester bans holiday parties; more colleges require booster shots. Colleges continue to respond to increases in the number of students getting coronavirus. Responses range from moving all classes and final exams…
Read More about How colleges are responding to rising COVID-19 casesHarvard University drops standardized test mandate for undergraduate programs
BLOOMBERG — Harvard College is dropping its requirement for SAT or ACT scores for future applicants as young as those currently in 8th grade. “Students who do not submit standardized test scores will not be disadvantaged in their application process,” William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at the Ivy League school, said Thursday in an…
Read More about Harvard University drops standardized test mandate for undergraduate programsFederal student loan payments set to resume in February 2022
YAHOO!NEWS — President Biden is set to allow payments on student loans to resume, just as expanded child tax credits end, potentially putting millions of Americans in a financial bind just as COVID-19 cases are rising. Democrats passed the expanded child tax credit as part of their pandemic relief bill in March, resulting in a $300 monthly…
Read More about Federal student loan payments set to resume in February 2022How interest rate hikes will affect student loan borrowers
CNBC — The borrowing costs for student loans could get more expensive soon. With the economy recovering from the pandemic and inflation a growing concern, the Federal Reserve is looking at raising interest rates three times in 2022. Those increases will impact both federal and private student loan borrowers. Here’s what you need to know.
Read More about How interest rate hikes will affect student loan borrowersMore colleges remove loans from student aid packages to combat student debt
THE WASHINGTON POST — Ohio State University and Smith College are the latest institutions to try to spare another generation of undergraduates from shouldering an all-too-common burden: student debt. Starting next fall, the schools will take loans out of their financial packages and instead pour philanthropic dollars into more grant aid for undergraduates. The decision…
Read More about More colleges remove loans from student aid packages to combat student debtCollege professors support resolution on academic freedom
INSIDE HIGHER ED — Academe needs a tougher, more organized response to the wave of state legislation or governing board policies limiting the teaching of race and other so-called divisive concepts. That’s the thinking behind an effort to get as many faculty senates as possible to adopt a resolution called “Defending Academic Freedom to Teach About…
Read More about College professors support resolution on academic freedomSixth months after graduation, only half of 2020 college graduates were employed
CNBC — The college class of 2020 entered one of the most hostile labor markets in recent history. During the first year of the Covid pandemic, employment decreased across the country. By many measures, college graduates fared best during this period, but as time passes, research is capturing just how difficult conditions are for young workers. The…
Read More about Sixth months after graduation, only half of 2020 college graduates were employedLaw firms grapple with decision to return to the office amid COVID-19 uncertainty
REUTERS — Law firm Goodwin Procter this week told its U.S. lawyers and staff that working in the office will be “entirely voluntary” until mid-March, citing the evolving state of the pandemic. The Boston-founded law firm had been “encouraging” lawyers to work in the office at least two days per week starting in November, and had planned…
Read More about Law firms grapple with decision to return to the office amid COVID-19 uncertaintyHow lawyers are affected by impostor syndrome
JD SUPRA — Have you ever felt that all your achievements are a fraud? That your professional accomplishments can be attributed to luck and you don’t deserve to be a lawyer? You’re not alone. That feeling is called the ‘impostor syndrome’, a phenomenon that can be experienced by people of all professions, lawyers included. Impostor syndrome plants a…
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