Where did that inane St. Olaf phrase come from?December 9, 2011 4:57 AMBy Alex FriedrichWhen I visited St. Olaf College last week, I wanted to find out what the expression “Um! Yah! Yah!” meant. No luck. The folks I spoke to really didn’t know. Then I found the 2005 St. Olaf magazine article above on the Web. Its explanation: The rouser, it turns out, is actually based upon the…
How fairly is differential tuition being carried out in Minnesota?December 9, 2011 3:51 AMBy Alex Friedrich“I think it’s all part of the puzzle. Universities have to find out ways to fund their programs, and (differential tuition is) part of it. But from a student’s perspective it can be difficult to continue to watch your tuition increase.” — St. Cloud State student leader Amanda Bardonner to the St. Cloud Times on…
University of Minnesota is ninth-largest public university for undergradsDecember 9, 2011 2:29 AMBy Alex FriedrichYou can read the original U.S. News & World Report article here.
Notes in the Margins: Dead Week, citizenship and the no-sense debt boycottDecember 9, 2011 2:18 AMBy Alex FriedrichAt Va. Tech, gunfire is amplified into unshakable curse of the Hokie How could it be possible that on this beautiful campus tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place prepared with an alert system, lockdown plan and evacuation routes, blood could spill once more? (The Washington Post) Can Washington fix what ails American higher ed? At…
Play3min 29secAnoka-Hennepin says policy change offers clarification; some critics not so sureDecember 8, 2011 5:39 PMBy Tom WeberAfter months of criticsm, the Anoka-Hennepin school board will take the first steps on Monday towards abolishing a controversial sexual orientation policy.
Play4min 40secAnoka-Hennepin reconsiders sexual orientation policyDecember 8, 2011 10:30 AMBy Tom Weber and Elizabeth DunbarMinnesota's largest school district is considering changes to its neutrality policy on sexual orientation, a stance that critics contend has left gay and lesbian students without protection.
Video: If National Geographic visited MacalesterDecember 8, 2011 8:17 AMBy Alex FriedrichA colleague of mine (a Mac alumnus) just sent this to me. He says it’s making the rounds of the Mac circles. It profiles the creature discipulus macalestri. Fun stuff.
Is class choice fueling the very problems that anger Occupiers?December 8, 2011 6:04 AMBy Alex FriedrichIn the podcast I just posted, Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni explains why she thinks students should have less choice in their college classes: “When we look at college and university curricula today, what we find is they are pretty much “anything goes.” … (Students) are being asked to…
Podcast: What the Occupy movement means to higher edDecember 8, 2011 5:15 AMBy Alex FriedrichIf you haven’t noticed already, American RadioWorks (our documentary arm) has been producing a lot of stuff on higher education this year. Here’s a piece on Occupy Wall Street and college: The Occupy Wall Street movement is spreading to college campuses, where students are protesting rising tuition costs and poor job prospects in today’s economy.…
The University of Minnesota's four year grad rates are upDecember 8, 2011 4:42 AMBy Tim PostThe number of University of Minnesota students who get their diplomas in four years is on the rise. The four year graduation rate at the U’s Twin Cities campus is now 54 percent, four points higher than last year. A decade ago the number was below 30 percent. The U’s dean of undergraduate education, Bob…