Higher Education News

Glimpses of life in academe from around the world.

It has enabled the university to attract more black and Hispanic graduate students, and has helped them succeed.

New research suggests an effective solution to the problem of "undermatching," in which the students rarely enroll in or even apply to selective colleges.

A vote of no confidence in the president highlights a simmering controversy about the future of the liberal arts in a competitive higher-education marketplace.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says its database of more than 90,000 complaints now includes complaints about federal and private student loans.

Spring is here, college finals are looming, commencement speakers are being announced, and before long, a new group of college graduates will need to start thinking about paying back their student loans. Earlier this week, the Department of Education announced new tools that will help recent college grads better understand their loan debt and stay on track in repayment.

These two new features include a Complete Counseling Web page and a new Repayment Estimator that lets the borrower easily compare monthly payment options under the seven repayment plans available. Both tools are part of the Obama Administration’s ongoing effort to help students and families make informed and sound financial decisions throughout each step as they pursue their higher education goals.

During his State of the Union address in February, President Obama unveiled the new College Scorecard to help empower students and families with more transparent information about college costs and outcomes. The Scorecard provides clear, concise information on cost, graduation rates, loan default rates and the amount families borrowed for every degree-granting institution in the country. The College Scorecard, along with the resources from Federal Student Aid, will help students take the right steps, financially and academically, to achieve their college degree.

As many know, managing loans can often be confusing and overwhelming for college students, and we want to ensure that graduates have access to tools that will help them successfully navigate this process. We encourage federal student loan borrowers to log in at StudentLoans.gov to take advantage of these new resources today!

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Kelsey Donohue is a senior at Marist College (N.Y.), and an intern in ED’s Office of Communications and Outreach

Our work at the US Department of Education aims to make sure that students throughout this country have the education that they deserve – an education that will give every student a genuine opportunity to join a thriving middle class. A crucial part of that work is supporting, elevating and strengthening the teaching profession.

As often as I can, I spend time talking with teachers about their experience of their work, and of change efforts to improve student outcomes. (We have an important effort, called the RESPECT Project, dedicated to make sure that teacher voices consistently informed policy and program efforts here at the Department of Education.)  Lately, we have begun bringing a video camera to the conversation, and teachers have been generous in letting us capture these conversations so others can see them.

Recently, I visited Rogers Heights Elementary School in Bladensburg, Maryland, near Washington, DC. Rogers Heights’ students bring the diversity typical of so many urban communities; its student body is 97% minority, and 89% qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. Half the students have limited proficiency in English.

I was really struck by how smart, committed and passionate the teachers were. We had an intense, honest, sometimes difficult conversation, and I left inspired. The kids at Rogers are in great hands.

I invited teachers to take on any topic they wanted to, and they took on some important and even difficult ones: the pace of reform, the need for arts education, the impact of early learning, and testing. These conversations with teachers help us get smarter about change in education in this country. I hope you’ll take a look; we’ve posted an 8 minute excerpt along with the full video of the hour-long conversation.

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Arne Duncan is the U.S. Secretary of Education 

Before she became a candidate, Judith R. Shapiro was on the search committee to find a new leader for the foundation, which supports education in the liberal arts.

The legislation finances the federal government for the rest of a fiscal year already six months old.

All my life, I have been aware of the impact that violence – and especially gun violence – has on children, families and communities. Young men who I got to know in pickup basketball games in Chicago – just kids, as I was myself back then – were buried far, far before their time, killed in moments of senseless stupidity.

Early on a recent morning, I visited Hart Middle School in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC, literally on the way from home to my office. I simply asked the students to tell me their experiences, and they bravely and honestly did – even with a video camera in the room. They talked about the family members they have lost – every single one of them knows someone who has been shot. They talked about their fears that an unspeakable tragedy like Newtown could happen at their own school, and their doubts they would survive to live a full lifetime. And they talked about the senselessness of the violence—people getting shot over a pair of shoes.

These are kids who deserve the best. They’re trying to do all the right things, and they deserve more than we adults have done for them. It’s our job to create a climate where they can grow and learn free from fear, and as you will hear, we are far from succeeding at our task. We need to do better.

It’s impossible to witness the conversation without being moved. I hope you’ll watch, and think about what it means for our communities. We have posted an 4 minute excerpt along with the full video of the hour-long conversation. Please watch.

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Arne Duncan is U.S. Secretary of Education

The case is the second before the court involving affirmative action in higher education. The other challenges a race-conscious admissions policy in Texas.

On the last Wednesday of each month, Federal Student Aid (@FAFSA) hosts #AskFAFSA Office Hours, a live Q&A session on Twitter during which students tweet questions to the @FAFSA team and receive live answers from the experts. Each month, #AskFAFSA Office Hours focuses on a different topic related to financial aid. Past topics have included financial literacy, Back-to-School, and FAFSA Completion.

This month, Federal Student Aid has partnered with New Futuro to host our first bilingual #AskFAFSA Office Hours! The topic: Why FAFSA? Why Now?

Starting now, students and parents are invited to tweet their questions to us in English or Spanish using the hashtag #AskFAFSA. On March 27 at 5 p.m., you can follow the conversation live as our experts provide answers to your questions!* Not able to make the live chat? We’ll post a summary of the Q&A on our Storify page following the event.

*Answers will be provided by @FAFSA in English and @NewFuturo in Spanish.

Investigators have subpoenaed the records to help determine if a key former Education Department official, Robert Shireman, broke federal ethics laws.

The Obama administration lifted a ban on educational travel to Cuba two years ago but had not given licenses for study-abroad groups.

Smaller private colleges with many Pell Grant-eligible students want more help for those students and better measures of what the institutions are achieving.

Four business professors delivered lectures before a group of students who would determine which one deserved a sizable award.

The discounts that colleges give applicants for good grades are coming under criticism. But cutting such merit aid won't necessarily mean more money for need-based aid.

Critics say the confidentiality rule is the latest in a series of efforts to limit public access to government-sponsored research.

Notre Dame de Namur University, in California, saw significant advantages in acknowledging reality. The move has paid off.