Recently in Higher Education Category

Source: John Quinterno, Dēmos, March 2012

From the summary:
This report examines how state disinvestment in public higher education over the past two decades has shifted costs to students and their families. Such disinvestment has occurred alongside rapidly rising enrollments and demographic shifts that are yielding more economically, racially, and ethnically diverse student bodies. As a result students and their families now pay--or borrow--a lot more for a college degree or are getting priced out of an education that has become a requirement for getting a decent job and entering the middle class.

This study traces trends in the size and composition of the young adult population and analyzes patterns in state support for public higher education over the past two decades. Trends in tuition and financial aid are also examined and policy recommendations are presented for ways to renew America's commitment to nurturing a strong and inclusive middle class through investments in public higher education.

Key highlights of the report include:
State Investment in Higher Education
- A review of financial data from 1990 onwards suggests that a structural change in state support for higher education is underway.

- While state spending on higher education increased by $10.5 billion in absolute terms from 1990 to 2010, in relative terms, state funding for higher education declined. Real funding per public full-time equivalent student dropped by 26.1 percent from 1990-1991 to 2009-2010.

- Over the past 20 years there has been a breakdown in the historical funding pattern of recessionary cuts and expansionary rebounds. The length of time for higher education funding to recover following recessions has lengthened for every downturn since 1979 with early evidence suggesting that the recovery from the Great Recession will be no different.

Challenges for Students, Families, and States
- The steady escalation in college prices has occurred alongside stagnant incomes for most American households. Median household income in the United States in 2010 was just 2.1 percent higher than in 1990.
See also:
Simple Math: Cuts to Higher Education Lead to Rise in Student Debt
Source: Viany Orozco, Dēmos, Policy Shop blog, April 19, 2012
- Wall Street-Inflated Student Debt Bubble Hits $1 Trillion; Debtors Rally for Relief / The collective weight of American student debt is a drag not just on those paying the debt, but on our entire economy
Source: Sarah Jaffe, Alternet, April 24, 2012
- I Went to School for This?
Source: Catherine Ruetschlin, American Prospect, April 25, 2012

Source: College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), Press Release, March 26, 2012

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) recently released findings from its 2011-12 Mid-Level Administrative & Professional Salary Survey. The overall median base salary increase for mid-level administrative jobs in colleges and universities in 2011 was 2.0%. In 2010, it was 1.3%. Similar to findings from CUPA-HR's other salary surveys, the median increase for public institutions was 1.4%, while the median increase for private institutions was 2.2%. This year's findings reflect the salaries of 193,248 job incumbents in public and private institutions nationwide.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers [CPI-U] in 2011 was 3.2% higher than in 2010. Therefore, the median salary increase of 2.0% was less than inflation for all institutions combined, and also for privates and publics when looked at separately.
Related:
Mid-Level Administrative Pay Up 2%
Source: Scott Jaschik, inside Higher Ed, March 26, 2012
(includes chart)

Source: Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman, American Council on Education, 2012

This report is based on the authors' book, Why Does College Cost So Much? and explores an economic framework for the forces driving college tuition.

Source: Laura G. Knapp, et. al., National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2012280, March 2012

From the abstract:
This First Look report presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2011 data collection. This collection included five components: Student Financial Aid for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for the 2009-10 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2010; Graduation Rates within 150 percent of normal program completion time for full-time, first-time degree/ certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in 2004 at 4-year institutions or in 2007 at less-than-4-year institutions; Graduation Rates within 200 percent of normal program completion time for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students beginning college in 2002 at 4-year institutions or in 2006 at less-than-4-year institutions; and Finance for fiscal year 2010.

Source: Kevin Kiley, Inside Higher Ed, April 10, 2012

Burdened by aging campuses, several years of backlogged maintenance projects, increased competition for students (and the tuition revenue that comes with them), and little hope that states are going to fund the construction they need, either through appropriations or by issuing their own debt, public colleges and universities are likely to issue their own debt to finance the renovation of their facilities -- a change that moves public institutions closer to their private counterparts, could change what institutions build and repair, and could pass more costs on to students....

...For institutions that can take on more debt -- those that have low debt loads or are growing enrollments and revenues, typically flagship universities -- the financing change will have little impact on their bottom lines. They might have less money to spend on other priorities, but most expect revenues to keep pace with the amount of debt they're assuming.

But other public institutions aren't so lucky. Many can't issue cheap debt, either because they've run up against statutory limits or because their internal finances won't let them.
See also:
U.S. Higher Education Outlook Mixed in 2012
Source Moody's Investor Service, Industry Outlook, January 20, 2012

Source: Primary Research Group, March 2012
(subscription required)

From the summary:
This report presents data from 110 American academic libraries about the state of their strategic thinking on a myriad of issues including: use of eBooks and eBook readers, development of audio-visual resources, digitization of special collections, conference attendance and library staff training, views of open access, technology center development policies, use of clould computing and inventory tracking technologies and many other issues.

The report present detailed data on trends and spending plans in the following areas: capital spending, salaries/benefits and hiring, use of student labor, eBooks and traditional books, audio-video, journals and periodicals, online databases, library instructional technology, tablet computers and eBook readers, and many other areas. Data is broken out by size and type of academic library and for public and private institutions.

College libraries serving fewer than 1,000 students spent a mean of just $24,298 on information accessed online

63.27% of libraries in the sample say that salaries and benefits for their librarians have declined in real terms over the past year.

Over the next few years, 68.75% of libraries in the sample expect their resource allocation to keep pace with that of other departments in their college.

In 2012-2013, libraries in the sample expect to increase materials spending by a mean of 1.62%.

14.29% of 4-year college libraries and 15.63% of MA granting college libraries have received grant support from foundations.

60% of colleges in the sample with more than 10,000 students enrolled say that their capital budget has declined over the past two years.

Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), March 2012

State and local government financial commitment to higher education has increased substantially over the past twenty-five years. In 1986, state and local governments combined provided $31.4 billion in direct support for general operating expenses of public and independent higher education institutions. This investment increased to $47.8 billion in 1996, $77 billion in 2006, and $88.8 billion by 2008.

A recession beginning in 2008 dramatically reduced state revenue and ended the growth in state and local support achieved between 2004 and 2008. In response, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act approved February 17, 2009 provided funding to stabilize state support for education among other interventions to achieve economic recovery. With the approval of the Secretary of Education, funds allocated to the states by Congress could be used to supplement state and local funding for education in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

In 2011, 31 states provided ARRA funding to their higher education systems totaling $2.8 billion, helping to offset reductions in state and local support since 2008. State and local support in 2011 including ARRA funds totaled $87.5 billion, actually showing a 2.5 percent increase in funding for higher education over 2010 (although still below 2008 and 2009). The stability in support for higher education is an indicator that ARRA funding has served its purpose in minimizing the negative effects of the economic recession on higher education.

Source: Bob Sullivan, MSNBC, Red Tape blog, March 6, 2012

If you think privacy settings on your Facebook and Twitter accounts guarantee future employers or schools can't see your private posts, guess again.

Employers and colleges find the treasure-trove of personal information hiding behind password-protected accounts and privacy walls just too tempting, and some are demanding full access from job applicants and student athletes.

In Maryland, job seekers applying to the state's Department of Corrections have been asked during interviews to log into their accounts and let an interviewer watch while the potential employee clicks through wall posts, friends, photos and anything else that might be found behind the privacy wall.

Previously, applicants were asked to surrender their user name and password, but a complaint from the ACLU stopped that practice last year. While submitting to a Facebook review is voluntary, virtually all applicants agree to it out of a desire to score well in the interview, according Maryland ACLU legislative director Melissa Coretz Goemann....
See also:
- Can Interviewers Insist on 'Shoulder Surfing' Your Facebook Page?
Source: Martha C. White, Time, Moneyland, March 9, 2012
- Want A Job? Password, Please!
Source: Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland, February 18, 2012

Source: Tai Phan, Laura Hardesty, Jamie Hug, Cindy Sheckells, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2012365, December 2011

From the summary:
The Academic Libraries: 2010 First Look summarizes services, staff, collections, and expenditures of academic libraries in 2- and 4-year, degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
See also:
Supplemental tables

Source: Association of Research Libraries, 2012

Data on University & Library Total Expenditures (formerly known as the E&G Survey) are used to produce charts and tables showing what fractions of total university spending have gone towards the research library....

Since 2003, this information has not been gathered in a separate survey; instead IPEDS data regarding total university expenditures have been used with the Total Library Expenditures data from the ARL Statistics to produce charts and tables showing Total Library Expenditures as a Percentage of Total University Expenditures.

• Machine-Readable University & Library Expenditures Data, 1982-2009
• University & Library Expenditures, Annual Graph Data, 1966-2009
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1966-2009 (17 Universities)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (40 Universities)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures v. Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (Select Data)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (Canada v. US Public v. US Private)