Twigmore » usa today

Colleges Offering More and More ‘Green’ Majors And Minors

Peter Baer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:57:16 +0000

A good USA Today article on green studies programs filling up fast. Nationwide, more than 100 majors, minors or certificates were created this year in energy and sustainability-focused programs at colleges, says the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. That’s up from just three programs added in 2005. “There’s a great perception that there’s a sweet spot with energy to do good and do well, and it appears to be the place of job growth,” says Rob Melnick, executive dean of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. It’ll be interesting to see where this trend leads.

Schools Having Trouble Getting Federal Stimulus Funds

Peter Baer — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:02:30 +0000

We’ve written several times about the the administration’s commitment to invest stimulus money in the public school system. This USA Today article says there are some big problems with the effort. One example cited is the bond program and how it’s not working in North Carolina where only $2.3 billion of the $11 billion in bonds available this year have been sold as of last week.

Four teachers named U.S. Professors of the Year

Peter Baer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:39 +0000

USA Today piece on the four 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year, who are being recognized today by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “These are not people who are simply standing in front of a classroom and lecturing to students,” says Rae Goldsmith, vice president of advancement resources for CASE. “These are all people who are letting the students participate in their own learning process, engaging students in research.” With all the negative press about the education system, it’s nice to see some positive stories as well.

Student engagement: It’s different at every institution

Peter Baer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:07:26 +0000

Interesting USA Today article on student engagement and what it looks like. Indiana University researchers, who administer the National Survey of Student Engagement, looked at the performance of 443 schools that participate in USA TODAY’s database of NSSE schools to find schools whose scores suggest they do a good job of engaging different kinds of students based on a number of different factors. The article shows examples of what some of these schools are doing.

Report: States using stimulus to replace, not boost school aid

Peter Baer — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:01:50 +0000

Interesting USA Today article on how states are using money from the stimulus package to plug budget holes instead of adding to total aid for schools.