The Chronicle of Higher Education

‘A Voice Out There to Raise Up Our Concern as International Students’

By Karin Fischer

When Danilo Tchoupe arrived to study in the United States from Cameroon five years ago, no one showed up to greet him at the airport. Alone in a strange country, on New Year’s Eve, he eventually had to find his own way to the Kansas community college where he was to enroll, more than an hour’s drive away….

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http://chronicle.com/article/A-Cameroonian-Sets-Up-a-Group/139441/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Veterans Affairs Dept. Needs to Improve Management of GI Benefits, Report Says

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should do more to improve the management of its Post-9/11 GI Bill Program, which provides benefits to veterans who pursue a higher education, by cutting down on payment delays, working with colleges to give veterans more information about their financial-aid options, and taking advantage of outcomes data.…

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http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/veterans-affairs-dept-needs-to-improve-management-of-gi-benefits-gao-says/60759?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Obama Pledges Veto for House GOP Bill on Student-Loan Interest Rates

President Obama promised on Wednesday to veto legislation, currently pending in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, that would prevent interest rates from doubling on some federal student loans by switching to a market-based formula for setting the rates….

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http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/obama-pledges-veto-for-house-gop-bill-on-student-loan-interest-rates/60757?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 3:00am

By Scott McLemee

Standing in line at the drugstore a couple of weeks ago, I spied on the magazine rack nearby this month’s issue of National Geographic – conspicuous as one of the few titles without a celebrity on the cover. Instead it showed a photograph of an infant beneath a headline saying “This Baby Will Live to Be 120.”…

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/05/22/review-ted-anton-longevity-seekers-science-business-and-fountain-youth

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 3:00am

An amendment approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee during the mark-up of the comprehensive immigration reform bill would allow undocumented students who entered the U.S. under age 16 and who are granted registered provisional immigrant status under the DREAM Act to qualify for federal loans and federal work-study. Immigrant farm workers with blue card status would also qualify.

The amendment, which passed on a voice vote, was proposed by Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii. The committee approved the immigration bill in its entirety in a 13-5 vote on Tuesday, sending it to the Senate floor.

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/22/senate-panel-approves-dream-related-amendment-immigration-bill

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 4:24am

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday revived a bias lawsuit against Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge that had been dismissed by a lower court. In the case, a woman passed over as police chief said she was denied the position of police chief based on illegal gender bias, and was retaliated against for raising complaints about her treatment. The appeals court said that there was sufficient evidence for a full trial on the case. For example, the court noted that her application received no response and that a man got the job, even though a college degree was a requirement for the position, she had bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and the man lacked a college degree. While LSU offered non-discriminatory reasons for her dismissal, the appeals court said that the evidence in its entirety was sufficient for the case to go forward.

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/22/appeals-court-revives-bias-suit-against-lsu

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 3:00am

NAFSA: Association of International Educators has issued an update to its members regarding new procedures in place to verify Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) status at border checkpoints. NAFSA reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has upgraded databases available to Customs and Border Protection officials in order to flag F, M and J visa-holders whose SEVIS status has been canceled, completed or terminated, thus eliminating the need for students and scholars whose status remains active to be routinely referred to secondary inspection points, as was the practice under an interim policy put in place following the Boston Marathon bombings….

http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/05/22/homeland-security-updates-systems-address-visa-issues

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 3:00am

By Libby A. Nelson

WASHINGTON — Since the Education Department changed its underwriting standards for loans to students’ parents in 2011, 400,000 parents have been denied the loans. The denials have fallen disproportionately on historically black colleges and universities, whose leaders pleaded with the Obama administration Tuesday to reconsider the policy….

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/22/education-department-hears-comments-plus-loans-gainful-employment-and-profit

Inside Higher Education

May 22, 2013 – 3:00am

By Paul Fain

The idea of creating a second tier of tuition for California’s community colleges is as resilient as it is controversial.

For the third time in recent years, a state lawmaker has introduced a bill to allow over-enrolled community colleges to charge more for certain courses. This time one chamber of the state’s legislature passed the bill….

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/22/controversial-two-tier-tuition-proposal-back-california

The Chronicle of Higher Education

How a Little Data Can Solve One of Higher Education’s Biggest Problems

By Jeffrey Selingo

Last fall, Shaun Fowler started his sophomore year at Georgia State University still owing $500 on his tuition bill. The finance major from Atlanta had only a few days of classes before the university would be forced to kick him out for nonpayment. Then Fowler would become yet another stain on the reputation of large urban public colleges with stubbornly low graduation rates. Only about half the students at Georgia State graduate within six years.

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http://chronicle.com/article/How-a-Little-Data-Can-Solve/139347/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en