Hundreds of students lay down to symbolize the "Death of Public Education," as they protest peacefully on the UCLA campus where University of California regents voted to raise student fees by 32 percent. (Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo)

By Frank James

Struggling to operate the nation's largest public university system as state lawmakers have failed to meet requested funding needs, the University of California Regents approved an overall 32 percent increase in fees that will be spread over the current and following academic years.

As they increased fees, the university system's overseers also set aside a third of the anticipated fee revenue for financial assistance.

University officials blamed state lawmakers for not fulfilling their obligations to properly fund the U of C system.

In a press release, U of C president Mark G. Yudof was quoted as saying:

"We can no longer tolerate fiscal uncertainty and continual cutting as we wait for Sacramento to navigate through this crisis," he said. "We will keep working hard with state political leaders to restore the university's funding to an appropriate level. In the meantime, however, we must act now to shore up our own finances if we are to preserve the quality and ensure the access that California expects from the world's premier public research university system.

"I know this is a painful day for university students and their families, but as I stand here today I can assure you this is our one best shot at preventing this recession from pulling down a great system toward mediocrity. In the long term, that would not be good for the students of today or tomorrow. And it would be devastating for California as a whole."

The U of C also explained how the increases will take effect:

The fee increases will be enacted in two stages: a mid-year fee increase for 2009-10, and fee increases for the 2010-11 academic year.

Continue reading "U of Cal. System Boosts Fees 32% To Fill Funding Shortfall" >

By Frank James

Critics of colleges and universities rising tuitions and fees have fresh ammunition today. A new College Board study reports that published in-state tuitions and fees at public four-year schools averaged $7,020 for the 2009-2010 academic year, 6.5 percent higher than the previous year.

Meanwhile, published tuition and fees at private, not-for-profit four-year colleges averaged $26,273 for the 2009-2010 academic year, up 4.4 percent.

The consumer price index for the 12 months ended Sept. 2009 was actually down 1.3 percent on an unadjusted basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see page 1.)

But here's a critically important piece of information. While the published price of a college education has grown significantly faster than the pace of inflation, the actual cost to students and their families has in many cases fallen because of financial aid and tax credits, according to the College Board. The College Board says average college costs is lower now than five years ago because of such assistance.

(Disclaimer: I'm on the board of my alma mater, Dickinson College, so I've been involved in conversations on these very issues.)

Continue reading "College Costs Outpace Inflation But Aid Blunts Impact" >

By Mark Memmott

More numbers from the Obama administration this morning on how many jobs it estimates have been "saved or created" so far by the $787 billion stimulus plan signed into law early this year:

250,000 "teaching or other education jobs" the Associated Press says.

Last week, the administration said that 30,000 jobs had been directly saved or created thanks to about $16 billion worth of contracts that are part of the $787 billion package.

Recovery.gov is the administration's official website for stimulus-related news.

By Mark Memmott

As the Associated Press writes, a "darker side" of Christopher Columbus and the effect of his voyages to what became known as the New World has emerged in recent years in U.S. classrooms.

On this Columbus Day, we've got a quick quiz about the man and his voyages to what he thought was the other side of the world. See how much you remember from elementary school (answers courtesy of the BBC's "historic figures" webpages):

Correction at 11:40 a.m. ET: A reader with sharper eyes than ours points out we made a mistake in question five. We've corrected the question in the quiz and apologize to those who knew better.

By Mark Memmott

Nobel Prizes are rolling out. The latest was today's Prize in Physics, to three scientists who pioneered fiber optics and the digital transmission of data. Tomorrow, the Chemistry Prize is due. Thursday, it's Literature.

As always, though, the most attention goes to the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced Friday morning.

Think you know a bit about the Peace Prize? Test your knowledge with these 10 questions. The answers are all at the Nobel website (don't peek until you're done with the quiz):

(For the record, the Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday.)

By Mark Memmott

So, President Barack Obama and his Education secretary believe U.S. kids need to spend more time in school.

A pop quiz would seem to be in order:

Check out the lengths of many other countries' school years here.

By Mark Memmott

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn "says he expects to receive the resignation of University of Illinois President Joseph White today," the Chicago Tribune reports. The governor says the resignation is voluntary.

As the Tribune writes:

Last week, U. of I. faculty and student leaders urged that White and Chancellor Richard Herman be replaced in the wake of a far-reaching admissions scandal. ...

The Chicago Tribune revealed in May that U. of I. had a shadow admissions system for well-connected students that allowed applicants sponsored by trustees, lawmakers and others to be admitted over more qualified students.

Here's a hint, kids. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

By Mark Memmott

These kinds of stories pop up every few months, it seems, and it's not fair to pick on kids from Oklahoma because similar findings could probably be produced in other states.

Still, the results of of a recent survey of students in four Oklahoma public high schools are stunning. KWTV reports that:

-- Only 23% could name the first president of the United States.

-- Only 10% knew how many justices there are on the Supreme Court.

-- 39% couldn't name the ocean along the east coast of the U.S.

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs commissioned the survey of 1,000 high schoolers. The questions came from the list used by U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services when it tests candidates for citizenship.

Think you could do better? The questions that the Oklahoma kids were asked follow. The answers are posted here.

-- What is the supreme law of the land?

-- What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?

-- What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

-- How many justices are there on the Supreme Court?

-- Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

-- What ocean is on the east coast of the United States?

-- What are the two major political parities in the United States?

-- We elect a U.S. senator for how many years?

-- Who was the first president of the United States?

-- Who is in charge of the executive branch?

By Mark Memmott

President Barack Obama today spoke to school students across the nation -- with an address that ignited some controversy because critics say it could be used to spread the president's political message.

You can judge for yourself whether that's true, because Obama's as-prepared-for-delivery text is posted here.

The address, from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., was webcast at WhiteHouse.gov and C-SPAN.org. We put the video player in this post as well. It's the first box below. And underneath that in the second box, we "live-blogged" as he spoke. Just click the "play" button and our updates should flow in automatically. You can add your thoughts in the player's "comment" field if you wish. We'll publish as many as we can.

By Mark Memmott

Manufactured controversy or genuine issue of concern?

As you've probably heard by now, plans for President Barack Obama to address school students across the nation next Tuesday have sparked calls by some parents and school administrators not to show the speech.

The issue: Some Obama critics say he could use the address to promote his political agenda. Or, as conservative blogger/commentator Michelle Malkin fears, teachers might take the opportunity to push the president's agenda.

Katie Connolly at Newsweek's The Gaggle, though, writes that "if a speech by the president of the United States isn't a legitimate pedagogical device, then I'm not sure what is."

The White House says there's nothing political about Obama's planned address.

"I think it's really unfortunate that politics has been brought into this," White House deputy policy director Heather Higginbottom said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's simply a plea to students to really take their learning seriously. Find out what they're good at. Set goals. And take the school year seriously."

Let's gauge opinion on this:

By David Gura

In recent years, several reporters have written books about preferential treatment in college admissions. At many American universities, the children of well-connected alumni have an advantage. Likewise, students who play sports -- or the oboe, famously -- may have a better shot than those who don't.

NPR's Cheryl Corley, based in Chicago, reports on a movement at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to change the way the admissions office works. "An independent panel confirmed the school kept a 'clout list' of politically connected students, and some who didn't meet admissions standards were admitted," she says. Faculty leaders have called for the removal of Joseph White, the university's president, and Richard Herman, its chancellor.

The governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, hasn't minced words. In his estimation, it is "the worst university scandal we have ever had in the state of Illinois."

According to Corley, "faculty leaders say the concept of clout, influencing admissions, isn't unique to the University of Illinois, but its scope grew at the school in recent years." Quinn has reconfigured the school's board of trustees. In September, they will oversee a review of all university administrators.

By Mark Memmott

Eleven-year-old Damon Weaver landed his interview with President Barack Obama on Thursday.

The Florida student journalist, who covered Obama's inauguration and had been pushing for months to land a sit-down with the president, focused on education when he went one-on-one with the commander-in-chief. They had a pretty amusing back-and-forth about school lunches and Damon's love of mangoes.

And, when Damon said he's noticed Obama gets "bullied a lot," the president answered that he tries "to be understanding that sometimes people are going to be mad about things." Damon asked if Obama was bullied in school, and the president said he wasn't. "I was pretty big for my age," Obama added.

The president also said he used to be able to dunk a basketball, but can't do it anymore. And he would be glad to take on Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade -- though he admitted, jokingly, that Wade is "a little bit better" at basketball.

Here's the interview:

By Mark Memmott

There are many stories from across the country about how school systems are putting the money they're getting from the federal economic stimulus package to use.

The Indianapolis Star says "hundreds of jobs have been saved" at schools in the Hoosier state. From South Carolina, the Aiken Standard reports that the school system in its city "has used federal stimulus funds directed at low-income schools and special education programs to create 41 reading intervention specialist positions." In Grand Junction, Colo., says The Daily Sentinel, "an $80,000 grant provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help local middle schools and high schools provide additional services for homeless students.

But as NPR's Claudio Sanchez reported on Morning Edition, much of the federal money intended for schools "is still sitting in state coffers -- despite long lists of unmet needs in many school districts." Here's his report:

Niranjan Shah. (M. Spencer Green / AP Photo)

By Frank James

The scandal at University of Illinois, one of the nation's top research universities, involving well-connected applicants being jumped ahead of others, claimed its highest-profile official yet, with the chairman of the board of trustees announcing he was stepping down.

Niranjan Shah, chairman and chief executive of Globetrotters Engineering Corp., had come under scrutiny for his own personal interventions on behalf of family members and others. In one case, the university created a $115,000 a year post for his future son-in-law after Shah lobbied for it.

In another, as the Chicago Tribune reports, Shah pressed the university to admit an Indian student whose eligibility was questioned by other university officials.

As the ChiTrib reports:

In March 2008, Shah pushed for a student to be admitted to the rigorous MBA program, even though Chancellor Richard Herman warned that school officials "had serious concerns about his ability to handle the academics" and the student's GPA was "below what is admissible." Admissions officers were never able to confirm whether the student had attended an accredited college.

"May be [sic] he can be on probation during first year," Shah suggested.

E-mails show that when Shah pressed for a decision before he visited the student's family in India, the business school relented and offered the applicant a spot.

NPR's Cheryl Corley had the following report on "All Things Considered."

Continue reading "U of Illinois Trustees Chair Resigns Amid Scandal" >