Two recent lawsuits against Owens Community College allege that the Ohio institution misrepresented its nursing program as accredited when in fact that status was revoked last summer by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. Nearly 90 students have joined in the class actions, which accuse the college of violating the state's consumer-sales-practices act, as well as breach of contract, fraud, and negligence, among other things, according to The Blade, a newspaper in Toledo.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools cannot consistently ensure the quality of academic programs it reviews without clearly defining what constitutes a credit hour, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education's inspector general. The accrediting organization, which assesses colleges in 11 states, responded that the variety of experiential, online, and distance courses that institutions now offer makes it impossible to define a single, common standard for credit hours. "The traditionally accepted definitions of semester credit hours and quarter credit hours based almost exclusively on seat time can no longer be applied to half of the credits now being awarded by our higher-education institutions," the association wrote in answer to the report.

State budgets may not fully recover from the economic recession for 10 years, according to a joint report released Thursday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers. "States will continue to struggle over the next decade because of the combination of the length and depth of this economic downturn, the projected slow recovery, and the overhang of unmet needs," said Raymond C. Scheppach, executive director of the governors' association, in a statement accompanying the report.

A settlement appears near in a 2006 lawsuit filed against the University of Georgia by John Soloski, a former dean of its Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, according to The Red and Black, an independent student newspaper. Mr. Soloski sued the university after he was accused of sexual harassment by a female co-worker in 2005 and resigned his position as dean. A federal district judge ruled last winter that the university had abused its discretion in investigating the incident and that Mr. Soloski's remarks were not enough to have created a hostile work environment. The terms of the settlement are not yet known, but the case was dismissed "with prejudice" on November 5 by the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, closing the case unless either party chooses to reopen it within 60 days, The Red and Black reported.

The National Governors Association is urging states to measure student achievement more thoroughly in order to improve academic performance, ensure that tax dollars are being used wisely, and foster economic growth. An issue brief, released today by the bipartisan group, which represents the nation's chief state executives, calls on states to go beyond federal reporting requirements for graduation rates, for instance, and include degree attainment by part-time students and those who transfer among community colleges.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh plans to ask the city council to approve a 1-percent tax on college tuition to help close the municipality's $15-million budget shortfall, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The mayor argues that the colleges, though tax-exempt, still use city services paid for with tax dollars. A proposal earlier this year to tax full-time college students in Providence, R.I., died in the state legislature.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia, a Democrat, announced today that he would take a part-time teaching position at the University of Richmond after his term ends, in January. Mr. Kaine, who was barred from seeking re-election by term limits, will teach courses in the university's School of Law, where he taught previously, and in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act, enacted by Congress in 2008, adds more than 30 new kinds of information that colleges must disclose publicly, including a net-price calculator, a missing-persons notification policy, student-retention rates, and voter-registration forms. A new report from the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, a voluntary organization of higher-education experts and federal officials, lays out suggestions to help colleges display the new required information in a way that is consistent across institutions and easily accessible to the public.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission has ruled that state residents should not be able to enroll in an online degree program in community-college administration offered by the University of Maryland University College, reports The Sun, a newspaper in Baltimore. Morgan State University, a historically black college, opposed the program on the grounds that it could violate civil-rights laws. In response, Donald N. Langenberg, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland, has called the commission's decision "insane," comparing it to restrictions that the Soviet Union once placed on citizens' access to information.

Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois signed a law on Sunday giving him the authority to reallocate state money to pay for more than $200-million in need-based student-aid grants that legislators had earlier trimmed from the budget, according to the Chicago Tribune. The increased funds for the Monetary Assistance Program are expected to provide scholarships to more than 130,000 low-income students in the state.