Posts Categorized: Trends

Doing Good and Doing Well: Performance-Based Funding in Higher Ed

The New England Board of Higher Education released a policy brief that encourages states to tie a portion of higher education appropriations to institutional outcomes. Currently, New England states tend to apportion institutional funding based on enrollment levels—a practice that rewards quantity, but not necessarily student success and degree attainment. From President Obama to private fou...

Bleeding at NE Statehouses: The Latest on Budgets

The author, NEBHE consultant and former director of the Caucus of New England State Legislatures Carolyn Morwick, notes that this update on state budgets was accurate as of March 29, but events are changing rapidly in the six state capitals. Connecticut Biennial Budget Gov. Dan Malloy’s two-year $40 billion budget calls for $1.5 billion in new taxes, which includes hikes in the sales an...

Data Connection: State Work, Guns, Sports

In January, we revived the collection of facts and figures called "Data Connection" that we had published quarterly for nearly 20 years in the print editions of The New England Journal of Higher Education. The latest ... Change in Connecticut State University System (CSUS) "administrative and residual" staff, fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2011: -15% Connecticut State University System Change in C...

Faculty Raises Sluggish in Tough Economy

Median faculty pay did not increase this year at public colleges and universities, and inched up just 2% at private institutions, according to a study from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).The CUPA-HR’s annual National Faculty Salary Survey covers more than 800 four-year institutions nationwide and includes salary data from well over 200,000 f...

Delinquents: Student Borrowing Behavior

Students who left postsecondary institutions before earning a degree or certificate—and students who attended two-year and for-profit institutions—faced delinquency on their student loans at much higher rates than their peers, according to a new study released by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). Delinquency: The Untold Story of Student Loan Borrowing,...

Southeastern Massachusetts Conference to Explore College Readiness, Curriculum Alignment

More than 300 Southeastern Massachusetts secondary and postsecondary faculty and administrators are expected to discuss the high school-to-college transition and building a better-aligned P-20 curriculum at a conference on “Pathways to College Readiness and College Success,” to be held Wednesday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, Mass.At...

New England Colleges Respond to Japan Disaster

Following last week's 8.9 magnitude earthquake off Northeastern Japan, continuing aftershocks and a massive tsunami, colleges and universities are keeping a close eye on that part of the world. Below are some updates from New England institutions. Boston University's Daily Free Press reports BU students in Tokyo O.K. 19 Yale Students Safe in Tokyo, reports The New Haven Register WTNH says two C...

Ed Secy Duncan Urges States and Districts to Drive Achievement and Increase Grad Rates as they Trim

Citing the “new normal” and impending budget cuts, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged state leaders to boost student achievement despite dwindling resources."There is a right way and a wrong way to cut spending, and the most important guiding principle I can offer is to minimize the negative impact on students and seize this opportunity to redirect your spending priorities," Du...

Right This Way Please … Early Admissions Debate Rages On

In September 2006, Harvard made the decision to end early admissions. Early admissions takes on two forms: early action and early decision. What Harvard had in place was non-binding early action, meaning that a student applies before the regular deadline—in early November—and has until admissions decisions come back from other schools before deciding where to attend.Early decision, on ...

How College Students Spend Their Time: Sleep First, Class Later

Findings presented in the latest issue of Postsecondary Education Opportunity put a new twist on the adage “the harder you work, the luckier you get.” In fact, it may be true that the older you are, the harder you work.The latest issue of the data-rich newsletter published monthly by higher education analyst Thomas G. Mortenson and his colleagues explores “Time Use of Full-Time...