December 17, 2013
Governor Releases 2014 Supplemental Budgets
Governor Jay Inslee released 2014 supplemental budgets, making changes to the current 2013-15 (FY14 & FY15) biennial operating and capital budgets. As a reminder, both chambers of the Legislature will propose their own supplemental budgets throughout this short 60-day session as they work towards compromise budgets. The supplemental operating budget would provide an additional $1 million…
December 10, 2013
Research Suggests MOOCs Primarily Serve the Well-Educated
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania recently surveyed students who had taken at least one of Penn’s twenty-four MOOCs and viewed at least one online video lecture. Findings from the responses of 34,779 students revealed that 80 percent of the MOOC-takers already had a 2- or 4-year degree and that 44 percent already had some graduate…
November 22, 2013
This Week in Higher Ed News
Student Exchanges Hit Record High. According to the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities and the number of American students studying abroad are at record highs. In 2012-13, 820,000 foreign students attended American higher ed institutions, a 55,000 increase (7.2 percent) from the previous…
November 20, 2013
Slight Decline in State Revenue Forecast
Today’s release of the November general fund state revenue forecast indicates that current biennial revenue is slightly down from September’s projection. The decline is largely due to a technical adjustment which resulted in a $41 million decrease of available funding this biennium, though collections for the current biennium are $16 million over prior projections. The net decrease…
November 13, 2013
Gainful Employment Regulations Anger For-Profits, Cheered by Consumer Advocates
Consumer advocates applauded the Department of Education’s second—and substantially more stringent—set of draft regulations for the “gainful employment” rule, released on Friday. They claim the metrics, which apply to vocational programs at for-profit institutions and community colleges, will better measure the program’s loan default and repayment rates. Programs that do not meet the Department of Education’s…
November 12, 2013
Special Session Concluded
Governor Inslee signed two bills into law Monday, November 11th, to encourage Boeing to build 777X planes in the Pacific Northwest. Both bills remained largely unchanged from their original form and neither included provisions for the University of Washington. Bill summaries are available here and here. While Boeing stands to benefit most from this bill…
November 7, 2013
Update: Special Legislative Session
Governor Jay Inslee called the Washington State Legislature back to Olympia beginning today, Thursday, November 7, 2013 to introduce and ultimately approve several bills aimed at Boeing production of a 777x plane and its carbon fiber wing. The Governor’s press conference is available on line, but a cursory read of the initial bills introduced today indicate…
November 1, 2013
Higher Ed News Roundup
UNC institution may cut physics, political science, history Elizabeth City State University, a historically black college in North Carolina, may discontinue its physics, political science, and history degree programs because they are considered “low productive.” Many higher education leaders are alarmed by this move, claiming that history education is fundamental to American higher education, particularly…
October 28, 2013
College Board also Releases “Education Pays 2013”
The College Board recently published “Education Pays 2013: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society,” which provides data on U.S. adults’ level of education and its impact on earnings, employment, health-related behaviors, reliance on public assistance programs, civic participation, and more. The goal of the report, the authors say, is to highlight the ways in…
College Board Releases 2013 Edition of “Trends in College Pricing”
The College Board released its 2013 edition of “Trends in College Pricing” on Tuesday. The report provides information on what colleges and universities are charging in 2013-14; how prices vary by state, region, and institution type; pricing trends over time; and net tuition and fees—what students and families actually pay after accounting for financial aid….