• Starting in 2015, when aspiring doctors take the MCAT® examination, they will need more than a solid basis in the natural sciences. Under changes approved today by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), they also will need an understanding of the psychology, sociology, and biology that provide the foundation for learning about the human and social components of health.   
  • When a beloved museum in upstate New York needed a new master plan for its sprawling campus, it turned to a potent resource to spark the brainstorm: students at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) School of Architecture.     
  • The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) has posted information on the CHEA Website on how higher education institutions are attending to and implementing effective practice in student learning outcomes. Effective Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes: CHEA Award Recipients highlights successful efforts by colleges and universities to gather information on student learning outcomes, use this information for quality assurance and institutional improvement and provide information to the public.   
  • According to the White House: The Administration is planning to add a new tool to the College Affordability and Transparency Center that would assist prospective students and their families in comparing colleges before they choose using key measures of college affordability and value. The purpose of the tool is to make it easier for students and their families to identify and choose high-quality, affordable colleges that provide good value.   
  • As digital education became commonplace and of strategic importance to the institution, the decision-making process for the selection and use of educational technologies became increasingly formal and centralized. The decisions moved from the very local level of instructors and individual departments, to education technology professionals working in centralized units. Rogue instructors still resist following the dictates of central services, by and large, but their capacity to use whatever application they wish has been curtailed. No where is this more obvious than in the process of selecting a learning management system - the long, involved, and bureaucratic process of committee’s, reports, focus groups and RFPs.   
  • Blackboard Inc. announced a major update for its flagship online learning platform with a new release incorporating a sleek, modern design that marks the platform’s biggest shift in look and feel in years. Service Pack 8 for Blackboard Learn ™ 9.1 also brings a number of feature enhancements that make it easier to navigate the system, take advantage of its powerful capabilities and complete common tasks more quickly.   
  • YouTube paired with Capella University not only to discuss education reform, but also to open up the discussion worldwide via live streaming. Hosted by Capella University, the keynote speech, delivered by Geoffrey Canada, was also streamed live on Capella’s Inspired Ideas Channel on YouTube.   
  • Washington D.C. – 2/2/2012, Education Sector Policy Director Kevin Carey testified at a hearing on innovations in college affordability conducted by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. “Over the past 10 years, public university tuition grew by an average of 5.6 percent above inflation every year,” Carey reminded the committee. “As a result, student loan debt is at an all-time high and access to college is threatened. Students and families can’t afford to pay these bills and, increasingly, neither can the American taxpayer. Annual federal financial aid to higher education has increased by over $100 billion in just the past decade.”   
  • The Gilfus Education Group recently released its annual list of top five trends in education innovation for 2012, which included the increased adoption of cloud technologies on college and university campuses. Appointment-Plus online scheduling program has experienced a significant increase in college and university system users who are turning to the leading online scheduler for a variety of booking needs.   
  • Commonfund ( www.commonfund.org ) and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) announce the final 2011 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE), the most comprehensive annual study of U.S. higher education endowment market values, performance, returns, asset allocation, etc. It includes results of individual schools nationwide and New York area schools.   

  • Two-thirds of all students now borrow and the average amount borrowed spiked 5 percent in the last year alone, to approximately $25,000, while one in 10 students borrow in excess of $40,000. Meanwhile, the national federal student loan cohort default rate rose for the fourth straight year and reached its highest mark since 1997. Default is just the tip of the iceberg...

      
  • Sallie Mae’s Tuition insurance is the first nationally available form of tuition protection that refunds up to 100% of the cost of attendance, learn more...   
  • Sallie Mae Insurance Services offers a valuable bundle of relevant benefits designed to help protect students and give greater peace of mind to their families.Learn More...   
  • The results from the experiments performed in MassBay's science labs in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, were published in the prestigious Journal of Biological Chemistry.   
  • Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned linguist, intellectual, and political activist, will be speaking at the University of Arizona on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall.   
  • First-of-Its-Kind Program, Leading in Foreign Markets, to be Held in April on Wharton School's Campus   
  • Nearly 4 million students live independently on campus and have inconsistent personal property and liability protection.   Learn how colleges are offering College Renters Insurance...   
  • MediciNova, Inc. and the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder disclosed a license agreement for the treatment of post-traumatic brain injury.   
  • The University of Maryland and Lunarline, Inc. will partner on cybersecurity education, research and technology development.   
  • School Specialty, Inc. (Nasdaq:SCHS) announced that Michael P. Lavelle has been appointed as its President and CEO effective today. He has also been appointed to the School Specialty, Inc. Board of Directors.