Yahoo! News: Education News

---

• President to Crack Down on Campus Rapes Where Colleges Have Failed
• Colleges Balk at Obama's Strict Rating Plan
• Study: A High Rank for Colleges Can Increase Applications
• Obama fails miserably in quest to provide ‘education that doesn’t break the bank’

President to Crack Down on Campus Rapes Where Colleges Have Failed Posted: 23 Jan 2014 04:22 PM PST When I was in college, "rape" was the sort of four-letter word that was rarely spoken, despite protests and antirape marches such as "Take Back the Night." Women I knew had experienced the trauma of sexual assault on campus, but many never reported the incidents, afraid of being targeted by their assailant or having their claims dismissed by the school. President Barack Obama cited a report this week that although 1 in 5 students are sexually assaulted, only 12 percent of them notify authorities. The occasion was the signing of his memorandum to form the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. Obama's vocal concern broke the long-held code of silence, and by calling sexual assault "simply unacceptable," he has renewed hope for college activists and campus rape prevention groups, including those who have turned to 1972's federal education anti–sex discrimination law, Title IX, to file complaints against universities.

Colleges Balk at Obama's Strict Rating Plan Posted: 23 Jan 2014 09:46 AM PST Barack Obama's plan to tie federal higher education funding to a new school ratings system is not winning over fans among college provosts. Under Obama's plan, the Department of Education would create a highly sophisticated matrix to rate colleges before the 2015 school year based on such measures as tuition, student debt, the subsequent earnings of graduates, and the percentage of lower-income students who graduate. Only 12 percent of provosts agreed or strongly agreed that their institutions' strength would be reflected in the ratings, and only 9 percent of provosts agreed that their weaknesses would be represented, Inside Higher Ed reports. The poll found that provosts believe their institutions are taking appropriate steps to help their students land good jobs, and are helping students minimize their debt load.

Study: A High Rank for Colleges Can Increase Applications Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:17 AM PST A new academic study found the number of applications received by a college and the academic competitiveness and geographic diversity of the ensuing incoming freshman class are directly affected by changes in the annual Best Colleges rankings published by U.S. News and World Report and the various quality-of-life reputation rankings done by the Princeton Review. How Changing Reputations Alter Demand for Selective U.S. Colleges." The study's authors Randall Reback, from Barnard College and Columbia University and Molly Alter, of New York University, examined annual rankings from the two publishers using data and rankings starting with classes that enrolled in fall 1993 through 2008. "There is strong evidence that changes in colleges' quality-of-life and academic reputations affect both the number of applications that colleges receive and the characteristics of their next incoming classes of students," said Reback in a release. It's the latest in a rapidly expanding body of academic literature that takes a scholarly, analytical approach to the study of academic rankings and their impact on higher education and the broader society.

Obama fails miserably in quest to provide ‘education that doesn’t break the bank’ Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:39 PM PST As a candidate and for the duration of his administration, President Barack Obama has persistently insisted that affordable higher education is among his top priorities. Even today at his "grassroots" website, Organizing for Action (Barackobama.com), Obama lists affordable educations as the second of six principles for "securing the American dream and strengthening the middle class." Specifically, the president seeks to provide "a quality education that doesn't break the bank" and to "rein in the cost of college for families by rewarding quality schools that make higher education affordable." According to the College Board, the average cost for tuition, room and board at four-year colleges and universities has increased 28 percent during Obama's presidency. The average cost of tuition, room and board at private four-year colleges and universities has increased 27.89 percent — from $31,993 during the 2008-2009 academic year to $40,917 this year.

You are subscribed to email updates from Education News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610