The US colleges are struggling with soaring tuition costs as state support is unable to keep up with enrollment growth, and college officials are becoming more creative in finding ways to reduce expenses. Higher education institutions are increasingly outsourcing non-academic activities, collaborating with other institutions to share goods and…

This article describes the latest advancement in the development of prosthetic arms. Bionic researchers are making significant advances in creating more agile prosthetics that users can control via their own nervous system. The bionic arm, which is still under development, can not only execute complex, thought-controlled movements, but also can…

According to surveys, most of the people in the world say that religion is very important in their lives. Many would say that without it, their lives would be meaningless. It is tempting just to take them at their word, to declare that nothing more is to be said-- and to tiptoe away. Who would want to interfere with whatever it is that gives their…

Two-year institutions in the US realize that traditional avenues of financial support, namely government funds, are no longer enough to sustain their operations, and acknowledge that in order to compete and survive, private fund raising from individuals is a necessity. There is little data available regarding how much community colleges raise, but…

In this article, the author discusses the findings of the study entitled, "The Coming Crisis in Citizenship: Higher Education's Failure to Teach America's History and Institutions," by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a Delaware think tank. In the study, a 60-question, multiple-choice test was administered to 14,000 freshmen and seniors at…

In this article, the author introduces the Beijing Contemporary Music Institute where more than 3,000 undergraduates study music and dance. In a country where most music departments and conservatories are dedicated to teaching classical Chinese and Western music, the institute is breaking new ground. The college, which opened in 1993 with just 100…

The College of Europe, in Bruges, Belgium, is a small, elite graduate institution, the world's oldest and best known in the field of European studies, that trains the future leaders of the European Union (EU). The college is known as the premier training ground for officials of the European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, and of…

A key part of the compensation package for some college and university presidents is money that they do not receive in their paychecks. Formally known as deferred compensation, such payments can take many forms, including supplemental retirement pay, severance pay, or even bonuses. With large institutions leading the way, deferred compensation has…

Critics of the George W. Bush administration dismiss the export of democracy as a rationale derived as an afterthought for the invasion of Iraq, and argue that democracy cannot be promoted at gunpoint. Impressive arguments can be made in support of democracy promotion or in opposition to it. It would be perilous to dismiss out of hand democracy's…

In the not-so-distant past, an employment agreement between a university president and a governing board was often nothing more than a handshake. Today, formal contracts are requirements for presidents, with boards and presidents typically relying on lawyers to extensively document terms of employment, salary and benefits, and, perhaps most…

RateMyProfessors.com helps students rank their professors using a five-point rating scale in three areas, namely, helpfulness, clarity, and easiness. A college professor finds himself addicted to the site, which is rather low on substance and rates professors with a smiley face to indicate "good quality" and a red hot chili pepper to indicate the…

The US Census Bureau reveals that although there are more than 41.3 million Latinos in the US as on 2004--about 14 percent of the population, only a very small percentage of them attend the country's elite colleges. A large part of the problem is that, like most of the nation, elite colleges and universities have little awareness of the…

In this article, the author explores the reasons why students engage in plagiarism. Students perceive plagiarism to be standard practice at their college. They believe that any means to a good grade are legitimate. He further asserts that students plagiarize in ways that are extremely easy to catch. They cut and paste without thinking to cover…

Notwithstanding the outcome of the recent election, in one respect, the last few decades mark a breakthrough era for conservative intellectuals. Their visibility has soared. Thirty years ago, the only place to find conservatives on television was Firing Line, William F. Buckley's urbane talk show. Today they appear on Meet the Press and 60…

A report on the history job market reveals an increase in the number of faculty jobs advertised in the history association's magazine, "Perspectives" in 2005 even as the number of people earning doctorates in history is falling. However, historians are only cautiously optimistic about the healthier job prospects, and feel the trend may be…