Notes in the Margins: Textbooks, deferrals and pepper spray

CSU to trade ad campaign for cheaper textbooks The odd new role for CSU administrators - promoting a textbook company's products over the next three years - turns out to be the university's perhaps innovative way of addressing one of higher education's most vexing problems: sky-high textbook prices. In exchange for putting the name "Cengage" in front of textbook consumers at the nation's largest university system, the company will rent its electronic textbooks for 60 percent off the hard-copy price - about a 10 percent drop from what students are now charged for temporary access to e-books. (San Francisco Chronicle via University Business)

Colleges deferring more students With growing numbers of seniors applying for "early action" from colleges, more are being deferred. (USA Today)

UC Davis officials sued over pepper spraying Nineteen students and alumni file a federal lawsuit alleging that their free speech and assembly rights were violated in the Occupy-related incident. Three months after being pepper sprayed or allegedly roughed up by UC Davis campus police during an Occupy demonstration, 19 students and alumni Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit claiming that their free speech and assembly rights were violated in the controversial incident.

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(Los Angeles Times)

Law School Rankings Too Powerful, Writers Say Law schools need to take more responsibility instead of blaming others for their current woes. (U.S. News & World Report)

5 Things President Obama's 2013 Budget Does For Higher Education Obama's plan for higher education would focus on new financial incentives for colleges and universities that are able to keep their costs down, and add more funding for research grants. He is also asking for billions of dollars to go toward training programs in community colleges, including help for schools for that are able to help graduates secure internships and jobs in their field. However, the president would cut-off for-profit colleges from this type of funding. (The Huffington Post)

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