Yahoo! News: Education News

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• How rating colleges can challenge students
• E-Cigarettes and Hookahs Rise in Teen Popularity
• Colleges Skeptical of Obama's Proposed Ratings
• 3 Pa. students shot; suspect calls it retaliation
• Tuition freeze proposed for University of California undergrads

How rating colleges can challenge students Posted: 14 Nov 2013 02:16 PM PST This month, the Obama administration kicked off a nationwide listening tour. Its purpose to find ways to rate colleges on a number of measures, especially their "value" to students. The goal is to "shake up" higher education so it better serves low-income students. Another is to push the United States to have the world's highest percentage of college graduates by 2020.

E-Cigarettes and Hookahs Rise in Teen Popularity Posted: 14 Nov 2013 10:08 AM PST Unconventional tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and hookahs are becoming more popular among U.S. teens, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2012, 1.1 percent of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes, up from 0.6 percent in 2011. Among high school students, e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 2.8 percent, and hookah use increased from 4.1 percent to 5.4 percent over the same period. The reason for the rise is not known, but it could be due to an increase in marketing and availability of electronic cigarettes and hookahs, as well as the perception that the products are "safer" than cigarettes, the CDC said.

Colleges Skeptical of Obama's Proposed Ratings Posted: 14 Nov 2013 07:51 AM PST Department of Education officials solicited feedback on President Obama's proposed college ratings system today during an all-day open forum at George Mason University in Virginia. No concerned parents or curious students took the mic during the morning session of the forum to give their input on a system intended to help them make a more informed college choice. Instead, representatives from universities, community colleges, professional associations and nonprofit organizations voiced their concerns, criticism and suggestions. While the general consensus was that more information for the consumer - the student - is good, many used their allotted time to express skepticism of the ratings' ability to reflect and benefit a college-going population that includes adult learners, transfer students and part-time students attending two-year, four-year and online institutions.

3 Pa. students shot; suspect calls it retaliation Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:18 PM PST PITTSBURGH (AP) — Three Pittsburgh high school students heading to their vehicle after classes ended were shot Wednesday, and another student was charged and told police he was retaliating for being beaten during a drug-related robbery last month at school, police said.

Tuition freeze proposed for University of California undergrads Posted: 13 Nov 2013 06:14 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - The new president of the University of California proposed freezing the cost of undergraduate tuition for another year to allow for an overhaul of how to pay for higher education in the state. Janet Napolitano, the former U.S. homeland security chief, announced the proposal on Wednesday, just six weeks after taking over the 10-campus University of California system, saying it would give administrators time to create a tuition system that would be less of a burden on families. California has kept undergraduate tuition steady for the past two years, as politicians wrangled over state funding and families continued to struggle in the recovering economy. "Tuition goes right to the heart of accessibility and affordability, two of the university's guiding stars," Napolitano said in remarks to regents in San Francisco.

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