Duke to ban all smoking on campus by 2020
The program will be rolled out over two years and will expand access to treatment and support services for all members of the Duke community.
HIGHER EDUCATION
'So much bigger than me': UNC system's new president talks election, future
Rising senior at North Carolina Central University Bettylenah Njaramba will be sworn as the president of The University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments this Friday. The organization represents all 17 UNC-system campuses. Njaramba plans to make the organization's motives more transparent, increase student's voices in impacting policy and better the lines of communication between its board of governors and campuses.
Are state college admissions becoming more competitive?
Public university systems in states like California and North Carolina are rejecting students that would have been accepted in prior years.
Duke protest sparks student interest, no response from administration
A group of student activists at Duke protested at an alumni reunion event on Saturday. Now they're waiting for administration to respond.
Progressive policy brief questions tax law future, higher education funding
Kathleen Thomas, a tax law professor at the UNC School of Law, said there is definitely a potential for a loss in higher education funding, especially since the federal government is projected to lose $1.5 trillion in revenue.
Faced with rising costs, more families turn to community college
Enrollment rates at community colleges have doubled or tripled in the last decade as middle-class families respond to rising costs of higher education. UNC has therefore seen an increase in accepting transfer students — up 8 percent since 2014. There are certainly pros and cons to the transfer process, as several UNC students like senior Sarah Calire noted. “Some people will make their sly comments like, ‘Oh, it’s so easy to go to community college and transfer in,’” Calire said. “But I just brush those off because I know my truth, and I know I worked hard.”
UNC system happenings for April 16, 2018
The new president of the UNC-system student body president, elected Wednesday, is Bettylenah Njaramba, a junior at N.C. Central University. Drugs were found in an ECU fraternity house Tuesday after a long investigation. UNC-system President Margaret Spellings spoke about education reform and investment at the Reagan Institute’s Summit on Education in Washington. "I think people are exhausted with education reform or feel like it's not possible to close the achievement gap," Spellings said. "So I think the boulder is drifting back down the hill because of a lack of urgency around the imperative of closing the achievement gap."
DOJ to investigate early decision admissions policies at some universities
The Department of Justice is investigating some universities' admissions practices. This investigation is trying to determine where or not these schools violated antitrust laws by sharing lists of students, accepted under early decision programs. But experts are debating the prevalence of this practice.
Recent data legislation could revitalize the way students evaluate colleges
The College Transparency Act would establish a student-level data network within the National Center for Education Statistics, that will give students multi-faceted data about the schools they are considering. The bill will also increase the amount of time spent on collecting and reporting the data.
UNC goes to Washington: Graduates reflect on their paths to politics
Politicians like N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper and U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., were involved in a variety of campus extracurriculars during their undergraduate careers at UNC, which set them on their political careers. “There’s no set pathway to get into any career, but especially with politics it’s so liquid to get to that point,” UNC sophomore Serena Singh said. Singh, who was recently elected co-chairperson of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Outreach Committee in the Undergraduate Executive Branch, said having political role models is beneficial because it shows you don’t have to go to law school to go into politics.
After longest occupation in Howard history, admin meets student demands
Starting March 29, hundreds of students occupied Howard’s administration building for seven days in a protest spurred by a string of administrative malpractices — most recently the misuse of financial aid funds. A group at Howard called HU Resist organized the protests and released a list of nine demands for Howard's administration. Following the cessation of the protest, the group said in a tweet that, through negotiations, the group was able to accomplish university-wide changes.
UNC-W selected for partnership with exchange program with university in China
UNC-Wilmington is expecting about 100 students from Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences in China to participate in its new dual degree program starting in 2018.
New bill could increase Pell Grant eligibility for Dreamers, decrease debt
A bill was introduced in the Senate last month that would increase debt-free higher education opportunities.
How can we rethink STEM classes to better engage students?
Studies have shown that students respond better to interactive teaching styles, but STEM classes are primarily taught through lectures. Some professors are developing strategies for more active learning, moving towards evidence based teaching strategies.
Pell Grant recipients win big with new spending bill
The bill will increase spending for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and the Federal Work-Study Program, among other increases.
BOG approves $95,000 bonus for President Spelling
The UNC-System Board of Governors voted in favor of giving President Spellings a bonus.
Mount Holyoke College makes headlines for gender inclusion policies on campus
A new policy advises educators to refer to the student body as "Mount Holyoke students" rather than "Mount Holyoke women" and to use gender-neutral language whenever possible.
Why do women and college graduates tend to lean toward the Democratic Party?
A new Pew study said a majority of all voters with at least a four-year college degree now identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, the highest share since 1992.
Spellings' State of the University Address tour begins alongside self-evaluation
UNC-system President Margaret Spellings plans to visit eight campuses across the state in the upcoming weeks.
UNC-system schools follow national wave of Greek Life crackdowns
Schools in the UNC system have cracked down on fraternities for violating student codes of conduct after a series of deaths at fraternities in 2017.
