University System News

USG VALUE:
www.coosavalleynews.com
http://www.coosavalleynews.com/np103225.htm
Georgia Colleges Have $14.1B Economic Impact
Tony Potts
An annual study of the University System of Georgia’s economic impact on the State records a 7.4 percent increase from fiscal year 2011 to 2012. In cash, that is a jump of $980 million, from $13.2 billion to a new high of $14.1 billion of direct and indirect spending fueling the regions served by the System’s 31 colleges and universities. To calculate the economic impact for FY12, the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business analyzed data collected between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. The first study in the series calculated the USG’s impact at $7.2 billion in FY1999. The latest $14.1 billion represents a $7.0 billion increase since FY 1999 or 98 percent growth in the system’s economic impact on Georgia’s communities. That gain far outstrips inflation, which was only 38 percent over this same time period.

www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/local_news/ECONOMY-071113-KK-hr#
College makes ample fiscal impact
By SARAH LUNDGREN
The ever-expanding College of Coastal Georgia has had an obvious impact, both socially and economically, on the community in recent years, and now the University System of Georgia has put a dollar value on it – about $84 million. The Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business says the college generated at least that much in economic impact in the 2012 fiscal year. That fiscal year, running from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, was just the college’s third year as a four-year baccalaureate institution.

www.ledger-enquirer.com
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/07/10/2577658/columbus-state-universitys-local.html
Columbus State University’s local impact tops $247 million, study finds
School created 2,620 jobs directly or indirectly, according to Selig Center analysis
By TONY ADAMS
Columbus State University’s economic impact on the local area is approaching a quarter of a billion dollars, according to a study of Georgia’s universities released Wednesday. The findings, compiled by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, show CSU pumping more than $247 million into the area. That includes salaries for the 740 employees on its University Avenue and downtown RiverPark campuses, as well as 1,880 jobs created through the school’s spending in the community. CSU President Tim Mescon, in a statement, said the annual study is useful to get a feel for the monetary value the university brings to the city. But he said it goes beyond that.

www.romenews-tribune.com
http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/23090571/article-GHC-Has-$123-Million-Dollar-Impact-on-Northwest-Georgia-?instance=home_news_lead
GHC Has $123 Million Dollar Impact on Northwest Georgia
by Georgia Highlands College press release
The annual study analyzing the economic impact of the University System of Georgia and its 31 institutions on the state has been released by the USG. The results reflect a $123,669,913 positive economic impact in Northwest Georgia due to the presence of Georgia Highlands College. That number represents both the initial spending by GHC and its students and the change in regional output based on that spending.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/07/gru-generated-nearly-2b-economic.html
GRU generated nearly $2B economic impact in 2012
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Augusta-based Georgia Regents University has a nearly $2 billion economic impact on the local economy, according to a recent report. A study released by the Selig Center for Economic Growth reported that Georgia Health Sciences and Augusta State universities, now Georgia Regents University, pumped $1.8 billion into the local economy and generated a combined 19,192 jobs in fiscal year 2012. This is up $780 million from 2011, when the two universities reported a combined impact of $1.02 billion… When compared to its peers, GRU placed third in total impact behind the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech with impacts of $2.6 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.

www.thecoastalsource.com
http://www.thecoastalsource.com/2013/07/10/ga-southern-university-a-huge-economic-boost-for-statesboro/
Georgia Southern a huge economic boost for Statesboro
This information provided in a Georgia Southern University News Release.
By WJCL Staff
STATESBORO, Ga. – The annual survey on the economic impact of the University System of Georgia (USG) reveals Georgia Southern University had a $524 million economic impact on Statesboro and the Bulloch County area and accounted for more than 6,500 jobs in fiscal year (FY) 2012. “Despite the tough economic times we faced in the last several years, Georgia Southern continues to grow, provide a high quality education and generate jobs for so many people,” explained Brooks Keel, Ph.D., president of Georgia Southern.

www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/51460/
GSU, E. Ga. State have $600M economic impact
From staff reports
Georgia Southern University and East Georgia State College continue to be important drivers of the economy in the region, according an annual survey on the economic impact of University System of Georgia institutions released Wednesday. The survey reveals that Georgia Southern had a $524 million economic impact on Statesboro and Bulloch County, and accounted for more than 6,500 jobs in fiscal 2012. … East Georgia State College, with campuses in Swainsboro and Statesboro and a new one opening in a few weeks in Augusta, was credited with a $70 million impact to the local area. The school is responsible for 858 total jobs.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-07-10/ugas-economic-impact-local-economy-topped-21-billion-2012
UGA’s economic impact on local economy topped $2.1 billion in 2012
UGA NEWS SERVICE
Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s economic impact on the Athens-area economy topped $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2012, and the school’s operations accounted for more than 22,000 jobs. According to a recent study by the UGA Selig Center for Economic Growth that looked at the impact of all 35 University System of Georgia institutions, UGA’s economic impact on the local economy-which includes Clarke, Oconee, Madison, Oglethorpe, Jackson, Barrow, Walton and Gwinnett counties-was $2.161 billion, an increase of more than 5 percent from fiscal 2011. For university system schools, UGA’s impact was second in the state only to Georgia Tech.

Related article:
www.bizjournals.com
UGA’s economic impact bigger in 2012
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/07/10/ugas-economic-impact-bigger-in-2012.html

www.publicuniversityhonors.com

UGA Center Is Incubator for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

UGA Center Is Incubator for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
by Honorsadmin
The track record of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) at the University of Georgia makes the center a model of “high-impact” practices that allow students of exceptional promise to engage in faculty-mentored research almost from the day they arrive at the Athens campus.

USG NEWS:
www.mdjonline.com
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/23083567/article-Road-projects-near-universities-up-for-vote?instance=home_top_bullets
Road projects near universities up for vote
by Rachel Miller
MARIETTA — Tonight the City Council could approve two road projects totaling $14.5 million if the Marietta University Enhancement District is adopted as part of a plan to create a green technology corridor. The detailed plan for the southeast corner of Marietta that houses Life University and Southern Polytechnic State University along Cobb Parkway and South Marietta Parkway is a city-led effort to improve the roads and sidewalks for the higher-education area.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-07-10/widesread-google-outage-hits-uga-other-spots-south
Widesread Google outage hits UGA, other spots in South
By LEE SHEARER
University of Georgia computer users had trouble on Wednesday using Google, but the problem extended far beyond the campus. “Network Engineering has confirmed and is investigating reports of slow or failed connections to some websites. Currently this issue appears to be related to Google and sites that access Google services,” according to a systems status report posted by UGA’s Enterprise Information Technology Services. But by 11 a.m., Google reported the problem was fixed, whatever it was, according to CNN. The Google glitch seemed to be mainly in the Southeast, according to reports on CNN and other news sites. …Georgia Tech had this to say: “Apparently #Google is down for some users. May we suggest manual usage of encyclopedia or visiting a library to look up answers?”

www.thenationalstudent.com
http://www.thenationalstudent.com/Features/2013-07-11/Top_10_Unusual_University_Degrees.html
Top 10 Unusual University Degrees
by Chris Marks
6. BS in Turfgrass Management | The University of Georgia (US)
For those who love sports or stadiums, this degree could take you back to your grassroots. From chemistry, to horticulture, to irrigation systems, complicated courses go into mastering such a simple thing.

www.oconeeenterprise.com
http://www.oconeeenterprise.com/articles/2013/07/10/news/doc51ddd83cb08f8889514238.txt
Oconee alum wins Peachtree Road Race contest
by Michael Prochaska
For a little over a month, University of West Georgia graduate Justin Dunbar had to keep the secret that he had come out victorious in the state’s most recognized T-shirt design competition, but nothing could prepare him for the tens of thousands of Peachtree Road Race participants who wore his self-sketched apparel after the race.

RESEARCH:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/07/inflammation-may-be-key-to.html
UGA: Inflammation may be key to obesity-related disease
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
If current trends continue, roughly 42 percent of the people in the U.S. will be obese by the year 2030, according to the Trust for America’s Health. As obesity rates climb to unprecedented levels, an equally dramatic increase in new cases of obesity-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and arthritis is expected. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia are testing new treatments they hope will one day stem the tide of obesity and the potentially life-threatening illnesses that accompany it.

www.technologyreview.com
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516461/next-in-wearable-computing-a-device-for-dogs/
Next in Wearable Computing: A Device for Dogs
As Google Glass gains momentum, companies and researchers are trying to decide what will be the next big breakthrough in wearable technology.
By Rachel Metz
We’re just starting to see the early adopters of wearable computing wandering the streets gazing through Google’s head-worn computer or staring down at their Pebble smart watch. But a slew of researchers are already hard at work figuring out what will come next. Among the more outlandish ideas these researchers are experimenting with: sensors embedded in clothing and teeth, and—oh yes—a wearable computer designed just for dogs. After languishing in research labs for years, wearable computing is suddenly a hot topic in technology circles. The introduction of technologies such as the Pebble watch, fitness-tracking devices like Jawbone’s Up, and Google Glass, which is currently available to developers and is slated for public release next year, have ignited demand for more wearable gadgets… And wearable tech needn’t be just for people. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, visiting associate professor Melody Jackson, professor and Google Glass technical lead Thad Starner, and research scientist Clint Zeagler are working on a system called FIDO, which stands for “facilitating interactions for dogs with occupations.”

www.usatodayeducate.com
http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/career/your-career-theres-an-app-for-that
Your career: There’s an app for that
By Billie Streufert
There seems to be an app for everything these days. Your career is no exception. Whether it’s selecting a major or finding a job, many apps may give you a professional advantage. The best part is, they don’t cost a fortune. In fact, all of the apps listed below are free or available for less than a dollar… Developing your career: Many campus career centers, such as Georgia Tech, have designed their own apps that provide information to help you select a career, write a resume and prepare for interviews. Contact your campus career center to identify specific resources that exist for you.

www.gigaom.com
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/10/how-will-the-mobile-vortex-reshape-your-business-meet-gigaom-in-atlanta-july-17th/
How will the mobile vortex reshape your business? Meet GigaOM in Atlanta July 17th
by Phil Hendrix, immr and GigaOM Research analyst
Two months ago GigaOM CEO Paul Walborsky visited Atlanta to meet with leading tech companies and startups in a place far from Silicon Valley. The meetings confirmed the view that Atlanta enterprises and startups are at the forefront of innovation in mobile, infosec (information security) and health tech, among others. Intrigued by what he saw, Paul committed to having GigaOM host and facilitate a series of meetups in Atlanta, and the first, on mobile innovation, will be held Wednesday July 17th from 6-9pm (register here) at Club Opera… The city also benefits from a vibrant cast of supporters and enthusiasts, led by organizations such as TAG (Technology Association of Georgia) as well as a bevy of accelerators, including ATV (Atlanta Tech Village), ATDC, and Flashpoint (which employs a discipline known as “startup engineering”). In partnership with Cisco and Georgia Tech, AT&T recently announced that it will open its fourth “foundry” in Atlanta, focusing on connected devices. And recognizing the unique concentration of talent and investment in the area, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has launched a significant initiative to bring additional mobile innovators to Atlanta.

www.41nbc.com
http://www.41nbc.com/news/local-news/25373-inland-port-could-be-middle-georgia-s-new-economic-engine
Inland Port Could Be Middle Georgia’s New ‘Economic Engine’
Written by Jasmine Williams
Officials are calling Cordele’s inland port the connector job creator of Middle Georgia. The port in Savannah is one the busiest in the country and the direct rail connect to Cordele is an attempt to bring some of the coastal money inland. “We’ve been working on this for a while now,” said Bruce Drennan, the Cordele-Crisp County Industrial Development Council Director… The Georgia Institute of Technology conducted a feasibility study about the possibilities of an inland port in Cordele. According to the study, in the next five years, nearly 5,000 jobs will head to the Middle Georgia region, all as a result of the port. Drennan say he’s been contacted by distribution centers and food processing companies looking to move this way.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2013-07-11/opinion-congress-president-need-fix-student-loan-rates#.Ud60wOCTpGM
Opinion: Congress, president need to fix student loan rates
The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday: Showing indifference to an entire generation, Congress took off for its summer break without addressing student loans. As a result, interest rates on new Stafford loans doubled last week, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. This is the second year in a row that Congress has failed to respond to the nation’s higher-education lending problem. Last year, members decided to put off the job of setting a reasonable student borrowing rate until this year. Supposedly to ensure that they would act, interest rates were set to double if nothing was done. Well, nothing was done — except more harm to students already struggling with a collective $1.1 trillion in debt.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/07/11/essay-calls-alternative-massive-online-learning
A Plea for ‘Close Learning’
By Scott L. Newstok
What an exciting year for distance learning! Cutting-edge communication systems allowed colleges to escape the tired confines of face-to-face education. Bold new technologies made it possible for thousands of geographically dispersed students to enroll in world-class courses. Innovative assessment mechanisms let professors supervise their pupils remotely.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54561/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=61ed044f5737401281901a458d146cb1&elqCampaignId=33
Increasing Diversity in the Post-Fisher Era
By Richard A. Cherwitz
Recent data gathered by the Council of Graduate Schools and other educational organizations document the fact that, while progress has been made, African-Americans and Hispanics remain significantly underrepresented among recipients of doctoral degrees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the two groups comprise over 33 percent of all U.S. citizens in the age range of Ph.D. candidates but only 14 percent of those earning doctorates. What is perhaps most disturbing about this data is the obvious implication: without more persons of color earning advanced degrees, there will remain an inadequate supply of underrepresented minority faculty, perpetuating a lack of diversity across college campuses. To say we are caught in a vicious cycle is a gross understatement.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/07/10/for-black-students-college-degrees-are-separate-and-unequal/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
For Black Students, College Degrees Are Separate and Unequal
By Noliwe M. Rooks
Amid the loudly conflicting and competing claims of victory last month when the U.S. Supreme Court punted its affirmative-action decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin back to the lower courts, I heard at least three main positions: applause because affirmative action remains unchanged for now; calls to replace race-based affirmative action with a class-based version; and, finally, a soothing message about how black students are already succeeding in higher education, followed by a question—do we really still need affirmative action?

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jul/11/rare-day-education-when-we-can-say-somethings-work/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
A rare day in education when we can say something’s working
Several recent high-profile reports give rise to a seldom-heard statement in the education community: Something’s working. The preferred narrative today — especially in state legislatures — is that public education is hopelessly broken, and the only recourse is to provide parents with escape routes through vouchers or private school tax credits, which Georgia has done. Many members of the Georgia General Assembly have been on a public education death watch for years. Another common theme is that raising the performance of low-income children is a near-impossible goal, that the burdens of poverty are too onerous and beyond the reach of any reform efforts.

www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/10/teach-for-america-critics-gathering-to-organize-resistance/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet by Valerie Strauss
Teach For America critics gathering to organize resistance
Teach For America alumni and students of corps members who are critical of TFA are holding this weekend what amounts to the first national assembly aimed at organizing resistance to the organization that is popular with school reformers. The anti-TFA assembly is part of the Free Minds, Free People national conference starting Thursday in Chicago and hosted by the Education for Liberation Network, which promotes the use of education to promote social justice. …Teach for America was started more than 20 years ago to recruit new college graduates from elite universities, give them five weeks of summer training and then place them in some of America’s neediest urban and rural schools as teachers (under the assumption that five weeks is enough to turn out an effective teacher). TFA is not looking for young people who want to be teachers, but rather, people it believes will have “important” jobs later in life who can advocate for public education. That’s why TFA recruits are asked to give only a two-year commitment to teaching.

Education News
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/many-georgia-students-failed-to-meet-state-standar/nYmNF/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Many Georgia students failed to meet state standards on end-of-course test for new Algebra course
BY WAYNE WASHINGTON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Georgia students performed poorly on the end-of-course test tied to a new, tougher Algebra course, highlighting the challenges resulting from the state’s move to raise academic standards. A large majority — 63 percent — of students who took the end-of-course test in coordinate Algebra this past spring failed to meet the state standard, according to results released Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Education. Students in metro Atlanta also had difficulty with the test, which accounted for 20 percent of their grade. Ten of the 15 school districts in the metro area had failure rates above 50 percent, including Clayton County (77.9 percent), Atlanta Public Schools (77 percent) and DeKalb County (74.3 percent).

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/no-action-on-student-loan-rates-adds-to-confusion/nYmLg/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
No action on student loan rates adds to confusion
BY LAURA DIAMOND AND DANIEL MALLOY – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
The U.S. Senate failed to agree on a student loan bill Wednesday, leaving the federally subsidized Stafford loan interest rate to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent and keeping students in limbo awaiting Congress’ next move. Most Senate Democrats backed a bill Wednesday to extend the lower rate for another year, but they failed to reach a 60-vote threshold to move forward against a filibuster. The result of the impasse, for now, is the higher interest rate for new federally subsidized Stafford loans. That means more than 7 million students in the upcoming school year are projected to pay an average of about $1,000 more per loan, according to federal estimates.

Related articles:
www.nytimes.com
Rift Among Democrats Stalls Effort to Reverse Rise in College Loan Rates

www.diverseeducation.com
Senate Fails to Keep Student Loan Rates Low
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54569/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=61ed044f5737401281901a458d146cb1&elqCampaignId=33

www.ajc.com
Back to negotiations after student loan plan fails
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/education/senate-to-try-again-on-student-loan-vote/nYkb4/

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/10/senators-reach-long-term-deal-student-loan-interest-rates
Senators Reach Loan Deal
By Libby A. Nelson
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators reached a deal late Wednesday night on a long-term change to interest rates on all new federal student loans — an agreement that had remained elusive for months, even as pressure mounted when the rates on some new loans doubled last week. The agreement would tie the interest rate on new student loans to market conditions, a change that both the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans sought this year. Rates, based on the yield on 10-year Treasury bills, would vary from year to year, but be fixed over the life of the loan.

www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/sequestration-cuts-research_n_3576030.html
Sequestration Cuts To Research ‘Like A Slowly Growing Cancer’
Sam Stein
WASHINGTON — Research leaders at some of the top American universities have held an annual gathering in Washington the last four years to discuss science, technology, and how federal policies have hampered or fostered both. As they sat down Wednesday for this year’s gathering, the consensus was that times have never been darker. Federal budget sequestration is threatening the science and technology community in existential ways, officials at the “All Things Research 2013” event said. And the longer Congress takes to find a fix, the more damaging the setback will be. “It is like a slowly growing cancer,” said Steven Warren, vice chancellor for research at University of Kansas. “It is going to do a lot of destruction over time.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/11/research-officers-warn-long-term-effects-sequestration#ixzz2YjxhoxDH
‘Slow-Growing Cancer’
By Libby A. Nelson
WASHINGTON — When Steven Warren, the vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas, sought on Wednesday to describe the effects of several months of across-the-board federal budget cuts on scientific research, it was perhaps inevitable that he chose a scientific metaphor. On campus, he said, sequestration is “a slow-growing cancer.” The budget cuts went into effect in March, after Congress failed to reach a long-term deal on deficit reduction. They affect a wide range of domestic spending, including money for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and other agencies that funnel research dollars to faculty and students at universities nationwide.

www.dadesentinel.com
http://www.dadesentinel.com/contentitem/348591/1338/chamber-speakers-focus-on-job-training
Chamber Speakers Focus On Job Training
By: Robin Ford Wallace, Reporter
James Cantrell, Ph.D., college and career education coordinator for Dade County Schools, was once again featured as lunch speaker by the Dade County Chamber of Commerce at its monthly luncheon on June 21 at the Depot Diner in Rising Fawn. Cantrell, who started at Dade County High School in the 2012/2013 school year, said that for next year he will be moved to the middle school but that his duties will remain the same, presiding over career-related curriculum in grades K-12. …James Gamel of Northwest Georgia Technical College also addressed the lunch crowd, and he also had something to say about the importance of vocational education. “Technical college is where the rubber meets the road,” he said. But what Gamel really wanted to talk about was the new, warmer relationship between Georgia vocational and academic colleges. His school now had 11 classes that will transfer with credit to state universities, he said. “That’s a big deal,” said Gamel. “This will save a student $2,000 to $4,000.” He briefly outlined “First Year Matters,” a new initiative targeting high school graduates offered by NGTC in partnership with the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Board of Regents universities.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Report-Sees-Strengths-and/140195/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Report Sees Strengths and Failings in America’s Career and Tech Education
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Washington
Career- and technical-education programs offered by employers and colleges in the United States are diverse and decentralized, and those traits, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, are both their strength and their failing. The United States has “an exceptionally rich” array of offerings in career and technical education, said Simon Field, a co-author of the report, “A Skills Beyond School Review of the United States.” The options in the United States for attending college part time, or as an adult or returning student, are also an advantage.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54557/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=61ed044f5737401281901a458d146cb1&elqCampaignId=33
Report: ‘Quality, Coherence, and Transparency’ Critical to U.S. Skills Attainment
By Ronald Roach
WASHINGTON — If the United States is to reinvigorate and sustain its global economic competitiveness, it must overcome challenges with American teenagers and high school graduates having weaker basic skills than their peers in other countries, a disorganized and confusing set of career education paths and options for young people and relatively high financial risks that students and their families can incur while investing in postsecondary education. A report, titled A Skills Beyond School Review of the United States, produced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identifies these three factors “as barriers to postsecondary attainment” in the U.S.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/11/blackboard-largest-provider-classroom-management-software-enters-mooc-fray#ixzz2Yk3VQgyG
Blackboard Goes MOOC
By Ry Rivard
LAS VEGAS — After a year watching the hype over massive open online courses and keeping its distance, Blackboard said Wednesday it would join in. The company, which is by far the largest provider of classroom management software to American colleges, said it would provide free MOOC hosting for its existing customers, which already use Blackboard for their for-credit courses. The company is also taking a dig at revenue-sharing agreements the main three MOOC providers — Coursera, edX and Udacity — are asking their partner universities to sign.

Related article:
www.chronicle.com
Blackboard Announces New MOOC Platform
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/blackboard-announces-new-mooc-platform/44687?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/10/investors-put-43-million-more-mooc-provider-coursera#ixzz2Yk3rR93I
Coursera Raises Millions
By Ry Rivard
Coursera, the largest provider of massive open online courses, has $43 million in new investment money, the company announced this week. One of Coursera’s co-founder, Daphne Koller, said the money will give the company a “sizable amount of runway” to expand its user base and continue developing its software platform. At least $10 million is meant to aide Coursera’s global expansion.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/11/princeton-grad-student-takes-humanities-crisis-decidedly-gendered-perspective#ixzz2Yk35t77G
The Gender Lens
By Colleen Flaherty
There’s no shortage of explanations for the so-called crisis in the humanities, and more have come to light since the publication of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ recent “Heart of the Matter” report on the topic.
But one higher education blogger’s unconventional explanation – that the humanities drain is more about women’s equality than a devaluation of the humanities – is gaining particular interest from longtime advocates of the humanities, as well as some criticism.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Humanities-Graduates-Play-Big/140187/
Humanities Graduates Play Big Role in British Economy, Study Finds
By Aisha Labi
As academics on both sides of the Atlantic fret over the fate of the humanities, a new report suggests that those who earned degrees in philosophy, literature, and related areas play a significant role in the British economy. University of Oxford graduates who majored in humanities subjects found jobs in professions, like finance, that drove national growth from the 1970s through the 1980s, according to the report, published on Thursday. The findings in the report, “Humanities Graduates and the British Economy: The Hidden Impact,” are based on an analysis of the employment history of 11,000 graduates who matriculated at the university from 1960 to 1989. …The report comes at a time when, in Britain as in the United States, the humanities have come under pressure to demonstrate their worth, as science and technology are increasingly seen as engines of economic growth.