Debt Relief for All Former ITT Students
"The Education Department announced Tuesday that a total of $3.9 billion in student debt will be forgiven for all former ITT Technical Institute students. The department will also initiate a process to hold DeVry University, a for-profit that was found to falsely advertise job-placement rates, accountable to recoup $24 million to the department for borrower-defense claims." – Inside Higher Ed, 8/17/22
Student-Loan Forgiveness Is Bad Policy
"The White House is gearing up for another installment of its interminable debate over whether to forgive some student loans. ... There are numerous ways we could make repaying college loans less burdensome to those who took them out, such as programs that tie repayment to household income. But conservatives should avoid misplaced compassion. Holding a firm line against executive action to cancel student-loan debt is the politically popular and prudent stance to take." – The American Conservative, 8/17/22
State educational gag orders targeting colleges are on the rise, report finds
"State-level bills that seek to restrict topics colleges can teach, like race-related subjects, are on the rise this year compared to 2021, according to a new report from PEN America. The free speech nonprofit tracked 137 state bills this year and found nearly 40% of them target colleges and universities. This represents an uptick from last year, when state lawmakers introduced 54 bills, and 30% of them were aimed at higher education." – Higher Ed Dive, 8/17/22
Students lose access to books amid ‘state-sponsored purging of ideas’
"The start of the 2022-2023 school year will usher in a new era of education in some parts of America — one in which school librarians have less freedom to choose books and schoolchildren less ability to read books they find intriguing, experts say. In the past two years, six states have passed laws that mandate parental involvement in reviewing books, make it easier for parents to remove books or restrict the texts available at school, according to a tally kept by nonprofit EveryLibrary. Five states are considering similar legislation." – Washington Post, 8/17/22
A Better Way to Teach Law
"If you want to learn law and be a working lawyer in the United States, you have one option: earn a J.D. (Doctor of Laws) degree, which requires three years of study in law school. You’ll also need a four-year bachelor’s degree first. ... Is there an easier and less costly way to educate future lawyers? Well, maybe not easier, but certainly less complex, less costly, and much faster." – The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, 8/17/22
Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Take Over the University of Tennessee, Report Finds
"The National Association of Scholars (NAS) has released a new report examining the implementation of the Diversity Action Plans at the University of Tennessee (UT). The Anatomy of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Takeover: A Case Study of the University of Tennessee finds that the University of Tennessee’s series of plans further entrench the dominance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, espousing an ideology that makes narrow identity categories a central learning objective." – National Association of Scholars, 8/16/22
National Endowment for the Humanities Announces $31.5 Million in Grants
"The grants, which total $31.5 million and are the third round awarded this year, will support projects at museums, libraries, universities and historic sites in 45 states and Washington, D.C., as well as in Canada, England and the Netherlands." – New York Times, 8/16/22
College-shopping students have a new query: Is abortion legal there?
"Teenagers ponder many questions when they draw up college application lists. Should they go for rural or urban? Cold or warm? Big or small? Public or private? Pricey or affordable? Near home or far away? Now comes, suddenly, another variable. Abortion: Protected or banned?" – Washington Post, 8/16/22
COVID-19 Gutted College Attendance. Now, a Solid Labor Market Is Convincing More High School Grads To Skip It.
"While COVID-19 certainly played an outsized role in the drop in college attendance, with high school seniors wary of online school or unable to pay high tuition after their parents faced financial hardship, the pandemic doesn't tell the whole story. ... The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a bustling labor market, seems to be the main thrust behind why more and more students are skipping out on college." – Reason, 8/16/22
Price-fixing lawsuit against 568 Group of top-ranked universities can continue, judge rules
"A lawsuit accusing 17 wealthy universities of price fixing can continue, a federal judge said Monday, ruling against efforts by the top-ranked institutions to dismiss the case. The universities criticized evidence filed by plaintiffs — who were mostly students who have attended or are attending one of the institutions. But the institutions didn’t show the allegations are implausible, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly wrote in court documents." – Higher Ed Dive, 8/16/22
