UB Buzz

Yeshiva Freezes Tuition

Yeshiva University (N.Y.) lost an estimated 8 percent of its $1.2 billion endowment in the Bernard Madoff scandal (and, like fellow higher ed institutions, is feeling the economic crunch), but the Jewish institution has decided to not raise undergraduate tuition for the 2009-2010 academic year. Additionally, it will increase the amount of scholarship support it awards annually.

A media release from the university cites the decision is based on concern over the growing challenges that both Yeshiva and current and prospective students are facing.

“Like much of the educational world, we are experiencing some painful belt tightening,” states President Richard Joel. “Despite the fact that many universities are raising tuition, we’re mindful of the unique pressures on our undergraduate parents... as a result, we must do everything we can in these challenging times to make our unique undergraduate experience affordable and accessible.”

Yeshiva's base undergraduate tuition will remain at $31,594 for the upcoming academic year, while room and board fees will increase by $250 per semester. A new supplemental scholarship program, providing a 50 percent reduction in tuition for students in their fourth year on campus, has been instituted.   

Madoff had many connections at Yeshiva, as a board trustee and chairman of the board for the Sy Syms School of Business. He is no longer connected to the university.

The Behind the News section in February's University Business magazine features a brief on the scandal and lists other institutions who are financially feeling its brunt. Read more about it here.

Selling Institutional Assets

Those who have been following the controversial decision by Brandeis University (Mass.) leaders to close the institution's art museum and sell the collection -- valued at $350 million -- due to financial challenges should take a look at the May 2008 cover story of University Business. "Art Appreciation" explores the many considerations that go into such a difficult decision and how open communication can help get the reasoning behind it across.

I suspect we'll be seeing more similar happenings at colleges and universities across the country, as finances get tighter and the core missions of institutions are threatened.

Beyond HotPot Mac & Cheese

Review copies of interesting books that are off-topic for the magazine, but still fun to look at, are sometimes sent to the office.
"The Healthy College Cookbook" (Storey Publishing, 2009; 304 pp.; $14.95) falls into this category because it is aimed at students, who aren't our readers. But that didn't stop me from flipping through the pages. It might also be good for helping dining hall directors to keep the competition in mind when making up the weekly menu, or make a good addition to a care package.
The book offers "quick, cheap, and easy recipes by college students for college students" ranging from a boiled egg to chicken with artichokes. (Although, really, beef stew in 40 minutes? I don't think so. Sure it might be cooked, but stew has to simmer for hours to be good.) The types of tips you would expect to find in a beginner cookbook about shopping and cooking definitions are also included.
The press release says this is an update of a book originally published in 1998 which was created by three Williams College (Mass) students. This heritage is apparent in the Chicken Pesto Pasta recipe, which the explanation says is good, even though it came from rival Amherst.
At the risk of sounding bitter, when I went to college in the early 90s, we were only allowed to have hotpots in our dorm rooms (although there are recipes included for that situation), so many of these recipes would have been out of reach.
However, considering all the wonderful amenities I learned about when helping review the Dorms of Distinction entries, today's college students are well positioned to use this book when they don't feel like going to the cafeteria.

Still More On How They Are Celebrating

Gabriel Welsch from Juniata College comments:

Juniata College, too, is opening an auditorium with a live view, as well as re-broadcasting the inauguration tonight for any who may have missed it during the day. We also have students reporting and blogging from the inauguration as part of a politics class taught here by Professor Dennis Plane. The blogs are here: http://www.juniata.edu/life/blogs/wp/conventions/

What else is going on at college and universities to mark this historic day? Let us know.

How They Are Celebrating

Barack Obama will be sworn in as our country's 44th president today, and it's no exaggeration to say that the world is watching. From our friends at Morrison & Tyson Communications comes this snapshot of how colleges and universities around the country are observing this historic day:

SMITH COLLEGE (MA)
Smith is opening a large auditorium to broadcast the event for members of the college community who would like to gather together and share the moment with colleagues and friends.
Also, Smith wanted to create a virtual event, and has set up the means by which alumnae, students, faculty and staff can provide real-time reaction to the Inauguration from wherever they are -- whether at the Inauguration, their homes around the world, or at work.  The responses will arrive by a number of electronic channels (Facebook, Twitter, e-mail) but all them -- text and photos -- will be posted on Smith's Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Northampton-MA/Smith-College/33342046512

SAINT MICHAEL'S COLLEGE (VT)
Saint Michael's is linking its celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the Inauguration of Barack Obama as president.  The week's events culminate January 20 with a community viewing of the Inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States on a 15-foot television screen in McCarthy Arts Center and another in the Hoehl Welcome Center.
Additional events include the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, "A Living Dream: The Civil Rights Movement's Impact on Americans' Social Justice Beliefs and the Election of Barack Obama as President of the United States," with featured speaker Dr. Manning Marable, and a panel discussion on National & Global Impact of an Obama Presidency.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
U.Va. is suspending classes between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. (2 p.m. classes will meet) on January 20th, and the Inauguration will be broadcast in the John Paul Jones arena, on the Jumbotron.
"The coming together of a nation at the same time every four years for presidential inaugurations  as dictated by the Constitution for noon on Jan. 20  is an educational moment that binds us as a nation and a people," Arthur Garson Jr., executive vice president and provost, wrote in an e-mail to the U.Va. community.

CLARK UNIVERSITY (MA)
Several Clark students will be in Washington for the Inauguration, four having received fellowships to attend a seminar "New Presidential Administration and the Media's Impact on American Politics." A semi-formal Inaugural Ball will be held at Clark University in Worcester (for all members of the Colleges of the Worcester Consortium, too), on Friday, January 23.
Clark's Difficult Dialogues symposium  Where Do We Go from Here: Race in the Era of Obama will begin with a public screening and discussion about Obama's 2008 "A More Perfect Union" speech on race and the American experience.  In commemoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the symposium will revisit Obama?s speech as a catalyst for conversation.  How have issues of race changed, or remained the same, since Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech?  What does this moment mean for our collective American experience, especially in the context of Dr. King's legacy?
The Inauguration will screen live in several different venues on the Clark campus--in the Dining Hall, Dana Commons, and in the new Academic Commons at Goddard Library.

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY (VA)
Washington and Lee has arranged for live telecast of the Inauguration to be shown throughout the Elrod Commons, including both the Stackhouse Theatre and the primary dining hall (The Marketplace) where a big screen is being installed.  In addition, students have chartered a bus to Washington that will leave early Tuesday morning.  A member of that traveling party will be providing live reports that will be the basis for a blog on the W&L Web site throughout the day.

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE (MA)
Hampshire College will screen the Inauguration in its Main Lecture Hall for all on campus to gather and watch who would like to, and has invited the local community as well.

OBERLIN COLLEGE (OH)
Up on the balcony of Statuary Hall in what used to be the Old Senate Chamber, overlooking the Washington glitterati gathered for the traditional bi-partisan inaugural luncheon—this one in honor of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, on Tuesday, January 20—will be Professor of Violin Marilyn McDonald and Professor of Recorder and Baroque Flute Michael Lynn. They are members of a small chamber ensemble that has the distinct honor of presenting a program of music for the historic event.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Among the viewing parties:  One residence hall will have a room of capacity 300 open for viewing the Inauguration.  They're hoping to attract not just Washingtonians but a significant number of international students, as the event is co-sponsored by FIUTS (Foundation for International Understanding Through Students).

BATES COLLEGE (ME)
At Bates College, in addition to covering Inauguration-related activities on campus, the Office of Communications and Media Relations will go online to publish contributions of text, still photos and video from Bates people who attend the Inauguration in person.  The idea is build a sense of community and shared ideas among Bates people around the nucleus of this exciting and transformational event.  These materials will be published at the college's new group-conversation site, Bates Connect: http://www.batesconnect.net/group/inauguration2009.

EARLHAM COLLEGE (IN)
Indiana hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since 1964.  That's 44 years ago; twice the lifetime of most of today's college students.  The Office of Student Activities and the Office of the President are hosting a party in Earlham's student union to coincide with Obama's noon swearing-in ceremony.  All-American picnic fare (hot dogs, lemonade, and the like) will be served as students watch the ceremonies on a jumbo projection television.
In addition, plenty of Earlham College letterhead will be available for students to write letters to President Obama.

Studying Transfers

Colleges and universities are increasingly recruiting transfer students and learning more about best practices to recruit and graduate these students. The University of North Texas, home to the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, will host its seventh annual conference Jan. 21 to 23.

Stephen Handel, senior director of Community College Initiatives for the College Board, will be the keynote speaker on Jan. 22 on “Community Colleges, Four-Year Institutions, and the Transfer Student: Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” Thursday also will include an address  by Marc Cutright, associate professor of higher education at UNT, will give an address on the state of transfer student research. Lori Varlotta, vice president for student affairs at Sacramento State University, will be the keynote speaker on Friday, discussing how to use the College Portrait, a template that allows universities to increase their level of transparency, including student success and learning outcomes, as an informational and recruitment tool for transfer students. 

Pre-conference workshops will cover advising transfer students, how schools can improve the transfer process, cultivating faculty relationships to foster successful transfer programs, orientation and transition issues, and transfer research.

Registration is still available; click here for more information.

Green Hot Water

Green as in environmentally friendly, that is.
As American colleges and universities continue their efforts to save both money and the environment, they should take a peek at a new idea in Canada.
Administrators at the University of Waterloo have retrofit some student housing units with Power-Pipe Drain Water Heat Recovery systems from Renewability Energy.
The system uses waste water to preheat fresh water before the fresh water passes through a traditional water heater. In case that sounds icky, don't worry, the heat exchange is achieved through a double walled pipe construction that ensures the waters don't mix. You can watch a promo video on YouTube explaining the technology here.
The company says the system can result in up to a 9 percent energy savings.
In the effort to squeeze a much "green" technology onto campus as possible, hot water could be the next frontier.

Making Decisions

Three web exclusives accompanying the January 2009 issue of University Business weigh in on varying topics of discussion, from addressing social networking, to implementing new IRS 403(b) regulations, to enhancing productivity in the procurement department.

They, too, offer suggestions on how to approach them. All articles can be accessed here. 

Is Higher Education Approaching the Perfect Storm?
In his piece, SciQuest's President and CEO Stephen Wiehe cites, to date, less than two percent of more than 4,000 higher ed institutions are implementing a more strategic approach to procurement. He offers four steps administrators can take to change that notion.

Social Networking and the .edu Experience: It's Time They Meet
Lance Merker, president and CEO of OmniUpdate, discusses what higher ed administrators can do with their .edus (websites, that is) to incorporate a primary aspect of social networking: building relationships with prospective students.

Single vs. Multi-Vendor --The Critical Decision in 403(b)
David Ray weighs in on a decision resulting from the new IRS 403(b) regulations created for not-for-profit plan sponsors: how many active service provider relationships do they want to have. He is vice president and national practice leader for not-for-profit and public sector markets for Diversified Investment Advisors, an investment advisory firm.

"Freshmen Focus" Overnight

Going along with the trend of colleges communicating with younger and younger students, officials at Siena Heights University (Mich.) are reaching out to high school freshmen through an innovative overnight program. Planned for next week, January 21 and 22, the program, called "Freshmen Focus: What Is College All About?", will involve 70 students from Lenawee Intermediate School District's Hudson High School as well as their chaperones.

In a time where students are beginning the college search process as early as junior high school, SHU Assistant Director of Admissions Sarah Baker Korth says Hudson ninth-graders who attend will get an early preview of college life. The students will get a taste of the academic, cultural, social, and emotional aspects of being a college student.

On the first day, participating students will attend a specially designed class, look at career options, and visit with current college students, faculty, and staff. Other activities include attending a women’s varsity basketball game, completing a campus scavenger hunt, and playing games in the student union. A separate program being planned to help educate the parents of high school students on the college process.

Baker Korth notes that there will be measures in place to track attitudinal changes in the ninth-graders before, during, and after their campus experience. Students will also be surveyed, and that information recorded for assessment purposes.

With the high percentage of first-generation college students in Lenawee County, it especially makes sense that SHU would embark on this type of program.

 

List Fatigue

The Princeton Review has teamed with USA Today to present its 2009 list of "Best Value Colleges" in an interactive, online format (here), which might prove useful to families conducting a college search. (However, although the ranking criteria used includes some academic factors such as class size, it doesn't seem to address student success after graduation, a factor some people might argue is the ultimate indicator of degree value.)
The problem comes when you start cross-referencing the various college lists available.
You see, Swarthmore College (Pa.) and the University of Virginia, the #1 private and public schools on the list, are also considered "Red Light" schools by FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, meaning they have codes that restrict speech protected by the First Amendment.
Maybe this is another example of the importance of finding the right "fit" when choosing a college. Because having to choose between saving money or keeping your mouth shut is no choice at all.