On Campus Blog

UMN food-ag-natural-resources dean to step down
I don’t often post on the comings and goings of deans, but since it’s the U and it’s ag, I will. (One might also remember Allen Levine’s statement to MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill during the “Troubled Waters” agricultural documentary flap.) Here’s the U’s press release: University of Minnesota CFANS dean will step down in August Allen…
Some tuition and fee highlights of the University of Minnesota’s upcoming budget
Tomorrow University of Minnesota officials will take public comment on the U’s operating budget for the coming year. I’ll have more details soon, but U officials are clearly proud of their two-year tuition freeze, funding for which President Eric Kaler had made a main part of his plea to the legislature. CFO Richard Pfutzenreuter (FITZ-en-rider)…
Trade Schools Offer Hope for Rural Migrants in China While newly minted university graduates face a tight job market, skilled vocational school graduates are in high demand. (The New York Times) How are we doing higher education internationalisation?  When we talk about measuring the value of internationalisation, whose internationalisation are we talking about? (University World News)…
Why you soon won’t see as many old buildings on MnSCU campuses anymore
Demolishing new buildings appears to be a new cost-cutting strategy at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. CFO Laura King told trustees this morning she had a “very aggressive strategy” for demolition to address the “surplus of space” that MnSCU has on various campuses. Up till now, MnSCU has demolished buildings only as…
Minnesota’s public colleges and universities are preparing to ask the state next year for about 14 percent less than in recent years for campus construction and renovation. The amount, almost $228 million, makes up most of MnSCU’s $287 million capital program. More than half would go to new construction, and a little less than 40…
Why are so few MnSCU folks visiting Germany?
European ideas on vocational education have become a point of discussion over the past few years here in Minnesota and the rest of the United States. Federal education officials are toning down their push for a four-year degree and instead have begun emphasizing the need for two-year degrees, certificates and other forms of postsecondary education…
The Rutgers athletic director, a school’s core values and our national crisis of morality The university’s latest hire has led to more public criticism from donors, politicians and the media. (The Washington Post) Filling India’s Huge Need for Vocational Training Millions of young people are seeking hands-on instruction in market-friendly skills. Private academies offering short, practical courses are…
Here’s a shot of Hamline University I recently found on Twitter — taken by undergraduate student Khanh Truong. I’m no softie — but we’ve gotta enjoy these images while we can.
What happened to the two-year degree as a solution to the Great Recession?
Over on the NewsCut blog, MPR’s Paul Tosto discusses an element that he finds disturbing in the 3-year graduation rate trends, as laid out in a report by Minnesota Compass. He expected grad rates to be higher for the flood of students and laid-off workers seeking shelter from the Great Recession: Many were dislocated by…
Chat: How the Minnesota Office of Higher Education sees student debt here
I was out in the field most of yesterday, so didn’t get a chance to post this little chat that Tricia Grimes had with MPR’s Marianne Combs on The Daily Circuit. According to Grimes, the pattern of student debt in Minnesota — students here borrow more than those in other states but default less frequently…