Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. On Monday, the Supreme Court released a ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The 7-1 decision was indecisive, remanding the case for reconsideration in the lower courts and directing lower courts to use "strict scrutiny" in affirmative action cases. The result of the ruling is that schools will continue to be able to use diversity ...
House committee OKs ESEA reauthorization. On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved a proposed reauthorization to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by a vote of 23 to 16. The bill, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), introduced by Committee Chair John Kline (R-MN), would consolidate most federal funding into one block grant. The proposal would eliminate t...
A team of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will receive up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop nontoxic, biodegradable "surfactants" from fruit peels and algae and potentially bring the invention to market.
Surfactants are cleaning agents used in soaps, inks and other products to help them apply more easily to surfaces. Many surfactants ar...
ESEA reauthorization approved by committee. At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) markup on Tuesday, lawmakers considered the Senate Democrats' proposal, the Strengthening America's Schools Act, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A bill (S. 1094) introduced by Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) advanced by a party-line vote of 12-10 des...
The oldest U.S. states in median age are: Maine (43.5 years), Vermont (42.3 years) and New Hampshire (42 years), according to newly updated data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The three remaining New England states are up there too: Connecticut (40.5 years); Rhode Island (39.8 years) and Massachusetts (39.3 years).
Nationally, the median age was 37.4 years.
More than 43 million Americans are age ...
Student loan rates. The Senate rejected two proposals to extend low interest rates on student loans after they expire on July 1. Without legislation, interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the one-year fix put in place last summer. Movement to proceed with a Senate Democratic bill (S. 953) to extend the current 3.4% fixed interest rate for two additional years was reje...
WGBH Boston is creating a Higher Ed Desk to help enrich its award-winning radio, television and online stories with angles from Boston and New England's famed postsecondary education.
America’s largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, WGBH hired Vermont Public Radio's Kirk Carapezza as managing editor and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk.
The desk is supported through m...
The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved Valerie R. Roberson, currently vice president for academic affairs at Joliet Junior College in Illinois and former president of Olive-Harvey College, to be the 15th president of Roxbury Community College, effective July 22. A March report requested by trustees showed systematic lapses over the past decade by administrators at the college. Rober...
Wednesday is May 29 ... 5/29 ... and the folks behind 529 college savings plans are milking the connection for all it's worth.
The College Savings Plans Network (CSPN) and various states have declared May 29 National “529 College Savings Day” in recognition of the the tax-advantaged investment plans named for Section 529 of the tax code and designed specifically to save for higher edu...
STEM education. On Thursday, Rep. Bill Foster (R-IL) introduced the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act, cosponsored by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). The bill would su...
Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. On Monday, the Supreme Court released a ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The 7-1 decision was indecisive, remanding the case for reconsideration in the lower courts and directing lower courts to use "strict scrutiny" in affirmative action cases. The result of the ruling is that schools will continue to be able to use diversity ... 
House committee OKs ESEA reauthorization. On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved a proposed reauthorization to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by a vote of 23 to 16. The bill, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), introduced by Committee Chair John Kline (R-MN), would consolidate most federal funding into one block grant. The proposal would eliminate t... 
A team of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will receive up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop nontoxic, biodegradable "surfactants" from fruit peels and algae and potentially bring the invention to market.
Surfactants are cleaning agents used in soaps, inks and other products to help them apply more easily to surfaces. Many surfactants ar... 
WGBH Boston is creating a Higher Ed Desk to help enrich its award-winning radio, television and online stories with angles from Boston and New England's famed postsecondary education.
America’s largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, WGBH hired Vermont Public Radio's Kirk Carapezza as managing editor and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk.
The desk is supported through m... 
The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved Valerie R. Roberson, currently vice president for academic affairs at Joliet Junior College in Illinois and former president of Olive-Harvey College, to be the 15th president of Roxbury Community College, effective July 22. A March report requested by trustees showed systematic lapses over the past decade by administrators at the college. Rober... 
Wednesday is May 29 ... 5/29 ... and the folks behind 529 college savings plans are milking the connection for all it's worth.
The College Savings Plans Network (CSPN) and various states have declared May 29 National “529 College Savings Day” in recognition of the the tax-advantaged investment plans named for Section 529 of the tax code and designed specifically to save for higher edu...