Post-Election Post-Mortems Begin …

The Boston think tank MassINC will present "What just happened?" First impressions of the 2010 election results" with panelists Alison King of New England Cable News, Scot Lehigh of the Boston Globe and Steven Koczela of MassINC Polling Group, on Friday, Nov. 5, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. To register, click here.****The New England Council (NEC) will sponso...

For-Profit Colleges: Futile Degrees or Fruitful Employment?

For-profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University offer an alternative to traditional two-year and four-year non-profit institutions by focusing, if their rhetoric is to be believed, on learning “relevant material you can apply immediately to your workplace.” With the rise in unemployment and the difficulties college grads are experiencing securing jobs, for-p...

UConn Economics Professor to Speak at Eastern

Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) will  host a lecture by University of Connecticut economics professor Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m., in the J. Eugene Smith Library.The lecture is part of the David T. Chase Free Enterprise Institute's Distinguished Lecture Series and is open to the public.Carstensen has ...

Rosalynn Carter to Speak at Regis College, Promote Her New Book on Mental Health

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will speak at the Regis College Fine Arts Center in Weston, Mass., on Monday, Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. Carter will be promoting her new book, Within Our Reach, which addresses a mental health system that, Carter says, "continues to fail those in need" despite recent scientific breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses. Carter will sign copies of the boo...

All Aboard at Gateway: CC to Lay Track with Associate Degree in Railroad Engineering Technology

Gateway Community College (GCC) looks to go full speed ahead this spring with a new associate degree in railroad engineering technology (RET), the first of its kind offered by an institution of higher education in the Northeast.Metro-North Commuter Railroad approached GCC more than a year ago to find ways to enhance the education of current Metro-North employees who are eligible for tuition assist...

Foundations Should Bring Equity to Education, National Report Says

Only a small fraction of the billions of dollars that foundations grant annually for education goes toward the specific needs of lower-income and vulnerable students, according to a study by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog.The committee's new report Confronting Systemic Inequity in Education calls on foundations to address the root cause...

Report Shines Light on 21st Century Skills Needed for Success

The Rennie Center released A New Era of Education Reform: Preparing All Students for Success in College, Career and Life which calls attention to the need for 21st century skills in today’s classrooms.The report, funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, summarizes a survey of Massachusetts district and school leaders coupled with their opinions on the importance of 21st century skills....

NE Campuses Wearing Green on 2011 College Sustainability Report Card

The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 is out today, revealing the profiles of 322 schools and their sustainability policies. The fifth edition of the report by the Sustainable Endowments Institute assesses 52 indicators, ranging from green initiatives to recycling programs, and uses an A to F letter-grading system to evaluate different colleges and universities nationwide.Some New England ca...

Average Student Loan Debt Grows by 6%; NE Hit Especially Hard

Average student loan debt grew to an average of $24,000 per student in the Class of 2009, up 6% over the Class of 2008, according to the latest national report from The Project on Student Debt.The report is especially worrisome for New England where all six states have higher student debts levels than the national average. New Hampshire had the second highest debt load in the nation behind Washing...

Colleges Consider Freezing Charges

Do you feel a chill? Recently, the trustees of the Connecticut State University System decided not to raise tuition and fees. This decision marks the first time in a decade that tuition and fees have not increased within the four-school system.“It would be awesome. It is kind of expensive enough now,” says Sara Perran, a student at Central Connecticut State University.Connecticut is no...