By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
Every week StudentAdvisor compiles the top stories in college news. Here are some of the biggest stories that made the headlines this week:
Sierra Nevada College President resigns to save money.
With much concern about the rising costs of college tuition, the high compensation of school administrators such as college presidents is a hot topic of debate. But for one college in Nevada, this may no longer be an issue. After analyzing the financial situation of his school, Richard Rubsamen, President of Sierra Nevada College, has decided to throw in the towel. "I was tasked by the board with planning for financial sustainability in order to (ensure) the long term health of the college. It was clear to me where reductions had to occur. While the idea of leaving the college is very difficult, it is the right thing to do. I need to lead by example and practice what we teach," explained Rubsamen in a statement released earlier this month.
Notre Dame tells Kansas high school to stop using Fighting Irish logo.
The students and administration in one Kansas high school are learning a tough lesson in copyright infringement. Chapman High School, which was nearly destroyed by a tornado in 2008, has been told by the University of Notre Dame to stop using the famous Fighting Irish logo. It's a common occurrence for high schools to adopt popular professional and college sports mascot logos as their own without going through the official licensing steps. Chapman is currently running a contest to find a new a logo.
Indiana University study reveals non-traditional students can expect notable wage increase if they continue their studies.
A new study released by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University - Bloomington reveals that non-traditional college students (those over the age of 25) who continue their education past high school experience significant increases in earnings. According to the research findings, "those who enroll in postsecondary institutions when they are 25 years or older - earned $1,000 more in annual wages after attempting 25 to 36 college credit hours, compared to those who attempted fewer than 12 college credit hours." The IU researchers have also pointed out that the amount of wage increase is also dependent on a student's course of study. Those who pursue industrial arts and consumer service programs tend to experience the largest increase.
Courtesy of Indiana University.
Michigan Rep. John Conyers urges hearings on college sports.
After recent NCAA conference shakeups from Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Texas A&M at least one member of congress fed up. Michigan Rep. John Conyers is urging the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on antitrust in college sports. Conyers wants the committee examine other pressing issues in college sports as well. These include athletic scholarship limitations, the due process for athletes, the use of athletes' likenesses in NCAA video games without compensation, and the costs to injured student athletes.
Have a college news story that you think should be featured on This Week in College News? Send stories to content[at]studentadvisor.com.
By Sam Coren
StudentAdvisor.com Staff
It's Friday again and time for another edition of This Week in College News, a round up of the latest events and news stories happening in the world of America's colleges. This week? It's been a roller coaster for Wall Street and many industry sectors and their investors are reeling in the aftermath, including those involved in higher education. A recent update to Texas's law requiring college students to be vaccinated against bacterial meningitis has school's confused on how to execute the policy. Also, more students are taking to social networks in order to find their first college roommate.
Ready to dig deeper? Read on:
The Dow's massive dips this week had many curious about its affect on college operating budgets and the ability to distribute financial aid to students. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that despite a turbulent stock market this week, institutions that have large endowments are ready to weather the change. According to Richard A. Fass, the Vice President Planning at Pomona College, "financial aid is and remains our first priority. We have not made any changes to it, and we'd be unlikely to do so in the future."
However, for colleges that rely heavily on tuition over endowments for their operating costs, the schools may take a hit if the economic conditions don't improve. According to Roger Goodman, a partner at Yuba Group, a financial advisory and consulting firm that serves universities: "If we're worried about another recession and families' ability to pay, this could be just as much of a problem for tuition-dependent colleges, especially since a lot of them are already struggling with high discount rates."
A new Texas Law mandating all college students enrolled in public and private colleges to be vaccinated for bacterial meningitis has updated a previous one which only required students who lived on-campus to be vaccinated. While the new law comes to the relief of parents, students, and public health officials, the colleges are confused on how to execute this new policy. At Texas A&M, Scott McDonald, the assistant vice president for academic services indicated that the school hasn't yet determined how they will handle students who attend class if they have not been vaccinated or submitted the necessary paperwork to opt out.
Additionally the schools are concerned with how the new law will affect students currently enrolled who have not received the vaccination. "The administrative record-keeping and follow-up by people that is going to be required for those students who don’t comply — and there will be students who don’t comply — is very expensive,” according to Wanda Mercer, the associate vice chancellor for student affairs for the UT System.
In a recent piece on the Washington Post, reporter Jenna Johnson revealed that more students are finding their first college roommates online. Adam Gang, an incoming freshman at American University, explains," realistically, even the most personal roommate-matching service can’t match Facebook. You’re an accepted friend request away from knowing someone.” American University gives new students a questionnaire and then returns a list of possible matches. Students will then take the list and research their potential roommates on Facebook.
Photo: Anna Briggs
