Volume 59, Issue 19: January 18, 2013

News

Colleges Seek 'Noncognitive' Measures of Applicants

With grades and test scores presenting a limited view of applicants' potential, admissions officers are looking for new tools to gauge students' noncognitive skills.
Chinese Summer Schools Sell Quick American Credits

The private programs have allowed Chinese students to transfer credit back to the U.S. colleges where they're enrolled, but American officials have started taking a closer...
Female Philosophers Shake Up Their Field

Despite the advent of feminist philosophy decades ago, the discipline is more male-dominated than any other in the humanities. Some women are trying to change that.
Law Deans Confront a 'New Normal' as Schools Adjust to Job-Market Changes

Meeting over the weekend, law-school leaders discussed dwindling applicant pools, staff cuts, and how to serve students' needs better.
Lumina Foundation Adopts New Tactics to Reach College-Completion Goal

In a new four-year plan, the group seeks to further its goal of increasing the proportion of Americans who hold a degree to 60 percent by 2025.
Staying On, Florida Chief Signals an Alliance With the Governor

J. Bernard Machen will postpone his retirement and take one last shot at making the University of Florida a "top 10" public institution.
Colleges Ponder Students' Calls for Divestment in Fossil Fuels

While at least two institutions have changed their policies, most are holding back because of fears about harming their returns.
Private-College Presidents Urge a Commitment to Need-Based Aid

A draft pledge unveiled at a weekend meeting reflects concern that using merit aid to compete for top students hurts those who can least afford to attend.
Bottom Line: Declines in Tuition Revenue Leave Many Colleges Financially Squeezed

A survey by Moody’s Investors Service shows that median net tuition per student will grow more slowly than it did last year.
Wave of Diverse College Applicants Will Rise Rapidly

Minority students will account for nearly half of public high-school graduates by 2020, says a report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
IRS Says Colleges Must Be 'Reasonable' When Calculating Adjuncts' Hours

Preparation time, not just hours in the classroom, should be counted, the agency says in a proposed rule. Eligibility for health benefits is at stake.
It's Time to Tell the Big Story, Says New President of American Historical Association

"We need to try and claim a little bit bigger piece of the space in the public square," declares Kenneth Pomeranz, a China scholar at the University of Chicago.
New 'Right to Work' Laws Could Hobble Faculty Unions

A look at faculty groups in states that already have such laws shows, however, that collective bargaining can survive.
Wired Campus: Coursera Announces Details for Selling Certificates and Verifying Identities

“Keystroke biometrics”—analyzing a user’s typing pattern and rhythm—will be a key part of the MOOC provider’s validation process.
Wired Campus: eCornell Offers a MOOC That Steers Students to a Paid Follow-Up

Students who finish the free course, in hospitality marketing, can enroll in a second, for-credit course and earn a certificate. The follow-up course costs $1,200.
The 'Alt-Ac' Track: Careers Without Tenure

It came up again and again at this year's meeting that graduate education needs to be updated to prepare students for the labor realities they'll face.
After More Than 44 Years, America's Longest-Serving College President Finds His Work Still Unfinished

Norman C. Francis, who began leading Xavier University of Louisiana in 1968, has not lost his energy for his job.
Decades of Teaching End With One Last Crowd-Drawing Lecture

The Rev. James V. Schall's students at Georgetown asked if he could teach one more time before he retired. More than 700 people showed up.
Former Dallas Mayor to Lead Kaplan; U. of Miami Gets Its First Chief Compliance Officer

Tom Leppert became president of the Washington Post Company's higher-education subsidiary. Read about that and other job-related news.

The Chronicle Review

The Delights of Disgust

Revulsion can be a many-splendored thing. Recent books on it by philosophers are missing some of its nifty, nasty nuances.
Sex in the Muslim City

A savvy, eye-opening new book investigates intimacy in the Arab world.
Making Math Pop

Tales of biographical and intellectual adventure inspire all kinds of students. Mathematicians are no exception.
When Bad Things Happen to Untenured People

Calculating the "appropriate" tenure-clock extension in cases like the illness and death of a child is next to impossible, but it's worth trying.
Shelf Life

Forget the e-book buzz. Print is back.
An Anthropologist Goes Indie

Independent films and their relentless social critique have found an observer in Sherry Ortner.

Commentary

How Facebook Can Ruin Study Abroad

Cellphones and social media protect students from culture shock, and that's a loss.
A Law-School Lesson, Learned the Hard Way

If law schools cannot clean up their marketing act, then authorities may take well-deserved action against their administrators.
Letter: A Better Placement Test Helps a Math Department in Multiple Ways

“Improvement of the placement-exam structure needs to be recognized as a characteristic of a good university.”