An estimated 39 percent of undergraduates enrolled at the University of California system this fall are from low-income families, an increase of eight percentage points from two years ago and the largest percentage in the university's history. The estimate is based on the number of Pell Grant recipients, 70,000, enrolled in the university system. A 2008 analysis by The Chronicle found that the share of low-income students on the flagship campuses of the 39 best-endowed public universities was 18 percent.

The annual College Destinations Index compiled by the American Institute for Economic Research has released its list of best college towns. No. 1 on the list among metro areas is San Francisco, followed by New York, Washington, and Boston. The index considers 222 metropolitan areas with student populations of 15,000 or more to find the 75 "best towns and cities" and ranks the areas based on 12 factors, such as cost of living and diversity. San Jose, Calif., topped the list of midsize college towns, and Boulder, Colo., ranked first among small college towns.

The Tennessee Senate plans to hold hearings over the controversial decision earlier this month by the state's Board of Regents to name an aide to the governor as its new chancellor. In order to hire John Morgan, the board dropped a requirement that applicants have a doctorate degree. Mr. Morgan’s highest degree is a bachelor’s from Austin Peay State University. Some lawmakers are also questioning an $80,000 raise Mr. Morgan received.

The number of college students with a serious mental illness is rising, according to study presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, which is meeting this week in San Diego. The finding comes from an analysis of 3,265 college students who used campus counseling services at a mid-sized private university between September 1997 and August 2009. In 1998, 93 percent of the students seeking counseling were diagnosed with one mental disorder, compared to 96 percent of students in 2009. The percentage of students with moderate to severe depression rose from 34 percent to 41 percent, while the number of students on psychiatric medications increased from 11 percent to 24 percent.

The novelist Frederick Barthelme is leaving his post as director of the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. But why he's leaving is in dispute. Mr. Barthelme told The Hattiesburg American that he wanted to stay another three years as part of a phased retirement. But to his surprise his contract was not renewed for 2010-11. Denise von Herrmann, dean of the college that oversees the writing center, said all phased retirements had been ended in order to protect tenured and tenure-track positions in the face of $1.21-million in cuts.

Toyota allegedly retaliated against Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and one of its professors after he was among the first to suggest that electronics problems had caused the acceleration that required the Japanese automaker to recall millions of vehicles. Electronic messages obtained by the Associated Press show that two Toyota employees resigned from an advisory board for the university's auto-technology program, the company withdrew offers to finance two spring-break internships, and the automaker made its displeasure about David Gilbert's research known to officials at the university.

The University of Southern California filed an appeal on Friday with the National Collegiate Athletic Association asking that some of the stiff penalties placed on the university this month be reduced. In a statement, the university said that it had asked that the postseason ban on football be reduced from two years to one, and the loss of scholarships from 30 to 15.

At least 30 percent of some 2,600 employees who were part of a systemwide unionization drive at the University of Alaska have turned in authorization cards for a vote, state officials confirmed on Friday. The employees are mostly office workers and remain the last large group of unorganized workers at the university. No date has been scheduled for a vote.

Hope College's Board of Trustees refused on Friday to remove a 1995 policy that condemns homosexual behavior and advocacy. A group of alumni and student groups had urged the board to change the policy after the college blocked an on-campus screening last year of Milk, a film about a gay San Francisco politician.

The University of North Carolina's Board of Governors has revised its policies for paying administrators on leave, The News & Observer reported. Chancellors in the system and the system's president will now get a six-month leave after they step down at a salary comparable to what other faculty members in their academic departments earn. They had been allowed a year of leave at the full administrative salary. Over five years the university system had paid 117 administrators on leave some $8-million.