When the global financial crisis hit Dubai, many of the Indian expatriate families whose children went to university there sent them back home. But while sons were leaving, daughters were staying. How better to attract the attention of female prospective students than with a young Bollywood actor? Ranbir Kapoor visited University of Wollongong in…

What is a college degree truly worth? That is the question that a new report seeks to answer. And it does so by distilling college into a number, expressed in dollars. "The Earning Power of Graduates From Tennessee's Colleges and Universities" is the latest effort to precisely quantify the value of a degree. It identifies the payoff that…

For 12 hours at Arizona State University, a sold-out crowd of 3,000 people gave a group of famous scientists a pop-star welcome, cheering their remarks and lining up for autographs after a day full of discussion about black holes, string theory, and evolutionary biology. At a time when program cuts and faculty layoffs dominate the headlines of…

Western Michigan University is building an innovative program to make welcome those students who were raised in foster care and to help them earn their diplomas without having to shoplift or trespass over the holidays. Many of the students have comfortable apartments on the campus, and a hall was kept open over the holiday break for dorm residents…

More U.S. college students are enrolling in power- and energy-engineering courses, but the increase is not enough to meet the need, says a new report by the IEEE, the professional association of electrical engineers. About 45% of engineers at electric utilities are expected to retire or leave their jobs within five years, creating as many as…

A new institute at Dillard University promises to enliven scholarly research on the cultural and social history of the foods of the African diaspora. To be started next spring with $1-million from the late singer Ray Charles, the Institute for the Study of Culinary Cultures will oversee research, academic courses, public programs, and an annual…

As the number of American students studying overseas increases, it will be difficult for colleges to establish or find enough adequate programs with challenging curricula. Students desire ever more remote locations, and colleges are being pushed to support the extremely adventurous. With more students studying abroad, and amid heightened fears…

The important contributions that community colleges make to American society are well known and documented, but many people may not be aware of the huge influence that community colleges are having overseas. The U.S. model of the two-year college with a vocational emphasis is being exported, and foreign institutions that focus on career education…

This article reports that the facilities arms race in college sports has a new frontier: academic-services buildings. Over the past decade, a dozen major college programs have built stand-alone academic centers, most of them for the exclusive use of athletes. At least seven more colleges are planning new buildings or major renovations in coming…

Yielding to pressure from Congress and grant recipients, the U.S. Education Department has agreed to abandon a controversial evaluation of the Upward Bound (UB) college-preparation program. The study, which began last year, was designed to measure whether Upward Bound would have a bigger impact on college-going rates if it were refocused on…

Explores how even mundane conflicts on campuses can lead to ugly situations and costly lawsuits; but with conflict-resolution consultants and internal programs, colleges are trying to head off trouble before it does serious damage. (EV)

Kenton B. Pauls, director of enrollment services at the University of North Dakota, knew that high-school students frequently send one another text messages, so in 2006 he decided to incorporate text-messaging lingo into the viewbook the university sends to prospective students. Its cover had read, "You belong at the University of North…

Discusses why, while some called it the college of the future and others said it would be a flash in the pan, distance education has proved to be a worthwhile investment for many colleges and companies. (EV)

Describes how students flock to the classics department at Macalester College in Minnesota, drawn by archaeological projects and a new approach to studying antiquity. (EV)

Describes how professional dancers looking ahead to other careers can earn a B.A. in a St. Mary's College of California program tailored to their demanding schedules--Liberal Education for Arts Professionals (LEAP). (EV)