If Appalachian State University wants to tout its openness, it should be more inclined to have a free and open exchange of ideas.

A “suspicious device” discovered in an Appalachian State University campus building Monday was not a bomb, say campus and town police officials.

Students at Western Carolina University are using multimedia to depict the effects of budget cuts on students — and the trend is catching on throughout the state.

Moving away from home is always an adjustment for freshmen. But some students have to go one step further: moving into a study lounge or even an off-campus hotel. Schools across the country have recently had problems with student enrollment growing faster than the school’s ability to house them.

North Carolina law states that alcoholic beverages cannot be sold in student facilities on the UNC- system campus. But two public universities in Western North Carolina have found loopholes. On select nights at Appalachian State University hundreds of students gather at Legends, an on-campus venue, to listen to music and drink beer.

Universities in western North Carolina are stepping up efforts to help their counties weather the drought - an increasingly imperative collaboration as dry conditions worsen.

Large operations like those at Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University require a conscious effort to avoid draining town resources.

When the 17 UNC-system campuses were asked to respond by May with their plans to complete the goal that system President Erskine Bowles gave them in December, some campus task forces didn't think it would be possible to complete that goal.

Like a true businessman, UNC-system President Erskine Bowles knows how to delegate.

The high cost of textbooks led three UNC-system schools to use campuswide book rental systems, but two of those universities are considering an end to the policy.

The death of a senior at Appalachian State University last week dealt another blow to an already-grieving campus that has experienced three deaths in the past three weeks.