The American Association of Community Colleges is urging its members to weigh in on the Education Department's "gainful employment" proposal, warning that the draft rule could "negatively affect some certificate programs." In a letter sent to community-college leaders today, George R. Boggs, the association's president, acknowledged that the proposed rule—which would cut off federal aid to institutions whose students carry high debt-to-income ratios and have low loan-repayment rates—would have a "limited" impact on community colleges, but added: "Our goal in shaping these regulations is not just to ensure that community colleges remain eligible for federal aid, but also that clearing the bar will be simple and straightforward as possible." The letter suggests that colleges ask the department to clarify that the rule would not apply to one-year certificate programs that lead to associate ...

Non-tenure-track faculty members at Central Michigan University have voted for union representation by the American Federation of Teachers' Michigan unit, the Detroit Free Press reported. Mary Ann Freling, an English instructor who has been a key part of the unionization effort, said the union hopes to begin negotiating with university administrators soon on issues that include job security, health insurance, and salary.

The North Carolina attorney general's office will ask the state Supreme Court to review a lower court's opinion that campus police officers at Davidson College cannot be given arrest powers to enforce state law, the college said in a statement on its Web site. "Our Police Department continues to operate to ensure that our campus is safe and secure for our students and for the rest of our community," the college said. The ruling, issued on Tuesday by a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals, found that Davidson was a religious institution and that giving its officers power to enforce state law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Grand Canyon Education Inc., which owns Grand Canyon University, has settled a whistle-blower lawsuit over recruiter-pay practices for $5.2-million, The Arizona Republic reported. The Phoenix-based company said the settlement had been approved by the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, where the case was filed under seal in 2007. Formerly a nonprofit institution, the university was acquired by investors in 2004 and went public in 2008.

The incoming chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents system, whose hiring and compensation have been criticized by state lawmakers, has declined the $80,000 increase he was set to receive over the current chancellor's $305,000 salary, The Tennessean reported. John Morgan, who is now the state's deputy governor, is scheduled to take office as chancellor on September 30. He said in a letter to the board on Wednesday that the salary issue had become a "distraction" and was overshadowing more critical concerns for the 45-campus system. The pay raise was one of several concerns raised by state senators who are planning to hold hearings regarding the board's process in hiring Mr. Morgan.

The University System of Maryland has named Wallace D. Loh, who is now provost of the University of Iowa, as the next president of Maryland's flagship at College Park, The Washington Post reported. Mr. Loh will take office November 1, replacing C.D. (Dan) Mote, who is retiring after 12 years. Mr. Loh holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Yale. He has previously served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle University, vice chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and dean of the law school at the University of Washington.

The California Assembly approved a bill on Monday that would make foundations linked to public universities subject to the state's open-records law, the Associated Press reported. The bill, SB 330, specifically rejects a 2001 appellate court ruling, in a case involving Fresno State University, that the law could not be applied to auxiliary associations at the universities. The foundation at California State University-Stanislaus cited that ruling this year when it refused to disclose details of a speaking contract with Sarah Palin. The bill's author, State Sen. Leland Yee, has accused the universities of evading public scrutiny by shifting some responsibilities to their foundations. The bill returns to the State Senate for a procedural vote before heading to the governor's desk.

Nontraditional students in Arkansas who qualify for state scholarships but recently learned they would not receive awards are questioning the system's priorities, the Arkansas News Bureau reported. The lottery-financed scholarships go to graduating high-school seniors are first, and no limit is set on their awards. The Legislature set aside $41.5-million for traditional-age students already in college, and only $12-million for older students. More than 54,000 students in all categories applied for the scholarships this year, but only about 25,000 will receive awards, state officials said last week. Those whose applications were denied are on a waiting list for any funds that become available if other students decline their awards.

Postdoctoral researchers at the University of California have ratified their first contract with the institution, the United Auto Workers and the university jointly announced on Thursday. The five-year contract covers some 6,500 postdocs on 10 campuses, who make up about 10 percent of all such researchers in the United States. According to a summary on the union's Web site, the agreement calls for annual raises of at least 3 percent a year for postdocs who make less than $47,000 a year, and increases of 1.5 to 2 percent for those who make more.

Efforts to organize postdoctoral researchers have begun in a few other states, and labor scholars said the successful outcome in California could fuel those efforts. "I think there is a good chance this will go national," Richard J. Boris, director of the Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, at...

Louisiana lawmakers rejected a controversial salary package for the state's new interim commissioner of higher education today, leaving the interim chief a choice of renegotiating his pay or giving up the job, The Advocate, a newspaper in Baton Rouge, reported. Members of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget had criticized the pay package—$25,000 a month, plus $1,500 a month for housing and $600 for a car—as excessive, and voted 23 to 9 against it. They also chided the Louisiana Board of Regents, which hires the commissioner, for setting the salary without first getting the panel's approval, as required under a new law. The interim commissioner, Tom Layzell, said he was unsure what he would do next, but warned that the vote would reflect poorly on Louisiana.