Fifteen years ago, the Australian state of Queensland was famous more for its beaches than for its brain power. Fellow Australians thought of Queenslanders as miners, farmers, or surfers, not as professors or scientists. When Queensland announced in 1998 that it was planning to become a "Smart State," or a knowledge economy, locals…

This article reports that academic researchers are optimistic that President Barack Obama's approach to science heralds a new era of support for their work. When Mr. Obama named his top science and technology advisers only weeks after being elected, many scientists celebrated. After eight years of an administration that many academics believed…

Government support for higher education has received more attention lately. The recent debate over the inclusion of colleges in the stimulus package put two aspects of higher education in the spotlight: the importance of attending college, and the role of higher education as an enormous economic driver. In this article, the author looks at the…

New regulations for the Family Rights and Privacy Act (Ferpa), which governs the privacy of student records, become effective this month. Announced by the Department of Education in December 2008, the regulations empower colleges to act appropriately and decisively to protect the health and safety of students and others. They also signify a new…

The downturn in the economy has coincided with enrollment increases at many community colleges. However, although enrollment at two-year institutions is up, several states have trimmed--or even chopped--appropriations for higher education. Florida, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have each cut financing for 2009 by at least 5 percent,…

This article looks at how the financial crisis has affected people in different areas of higher education. Matthew V. Filipic, senior vice president for business and fiscal affairs and treasurer at Wright State University, is forceful in arguing that the university must consider students when setting budget priorities. These are uneasy times at…

The new economic-stimulus law includes more than $29-billion in provisions directed at making college more affordable in the next two years. That includes $13.9-billion budgeted over 10 years for education-tax-credit changes in 2009 and 2010, $15-billion in additional Pell Grant support, and $200-million for the Federal Work-Study program. But…

Over the past year, members of Congress have poked around the well-fed belly of intercollegiate athletics, questioning whether college sports deserves its tax-exempt status. Myles Brand, the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), has led the countercharge against the government, repeatedly defending the educational value…

President Obama has embraced an audacious ambition--to renew America's status as the world leader in college attainment. That goal is daunting, and it leads many people to conclude that they should focus federal investments on four-year colleges. If individuals want to realize the president's goal, that would be a terrible mistake. Located in…

As large as Finland is small, as rich in natural resources as Finland is not, bordered by smaller, peaceable nations to the north and south and large oceans to the east and west, nobody has ever come to America and forced its people to rename and reorganize their colleges and universities--or, for that matter, to do anything else. Americans are…

As state tax revenues plummet, some lawmakers and higher-education leaders are once again looking at loosening the bonds between state governments and public colleges to save money and give colleges the freedom to bolster their bottom lines in new ways. Over the past two decades, college officials have often lamented the growing need to secure…

This article reports on Education Secretary Margaret Spellings' attempt to convince colleges that they risk painful government interventions if they do not improve the quality of their programs and help more students evaluate and afford them. As the Bush administration nears an end, Ms. Spellings tries to persuade colleges to adopt the measures…

The University of Massachusetts has announced that it will offer 40 online courses to students in China in the spring of 2009, but there are some hurdles to overcome. The program has not officially been approved by China's Ministry of Education, and college officials who have been through the ministry-approval process say UMass and other colleges…

Budget seasons have been less uncertain at the University System of Maryland, where leaders have taken a different approach: voluntarily paring back costs. Their efforts are paying off, in more ways than one. The cost-savings plan, dubbed the Effectiveness and Efficiency Initiative, begun in 2004, has saved $94-million so far at the 11-campus…

Australia has been stunningly successful in its ability to recruit foreign students. An estimated 250,000 of them study at Australia's 39 universities and their offshore programs. That's an estimated 6 percent of the world market. This article reports that even as Australia has gained admiration overseas for its recruiting successes, university…