Hi I’m Julie Larsen and this is the BreakDrink Weekly Dose for the week of June 11th, 2012.
The Department of Education has released it’s now yearly report on the cost of colleges and universities around the country. Connecticut College has pushed Sarah Lawrence out of the number one spot, and some of the for-profit universities have more than doubled in price when it comes down to net cost for students. Public schools in Georgia, Arizona, and California were among those who saw the biggest percentage increase, citing a reduction in state funds as the reason for the large jump.
President Sullivan Leaves University of Virginia
In an announcement that shocked many members of the campus community, the Board of Visitors at the University of Virginia announced Monday that President Teresa Sullivan will be leaving her position after just two years on the job. In a quote by the chair of the board, the university felt that Sullivan “was insufficiently bold and adaptive to the many changes” coming to the campus. Sullivan took office in the midst of the recession and has faced an uphill battle during her tenure. The board is reporting that the agreement is mutual, and her last day will be August 15th.
Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCS) have 1.5 million students through platforms like Coursera, Udacity, and edX — the question now is will these programs be sustainable? Currently, all three ventures are sitting on large venture or endowment funding, but in the long term revenue streams will need to be developed. Ideas include charging students for certificates once “programs” and/or designated course work has been completed, and offering an employer/student matching program in which the organization will earn a small commission on each successful match.
Want to Publish? The HuffPost is Waiting
The ever ingenious Huffington Post is giving college and university students the opportunity to publish a portion of their senior thesis. The site says it, “offers students in colleges and universities around the world an opportunity to publish their work while keeping the rights to it.” Interested students can send in an 800-1000 word excerpt, head shot, and two sentence biography to complete their submission. Examples currently on the homepage discuss transmission of HIV through breast milk, a review of a dissertation on LOLCats, and a look at how Judy Blume plays into the socialization of girls.
If You Want it Done Right, Do it Yourself?
A group of students at Oberlin posted a video entitled “Stress @ Oberlin” as part of a class project. The college has worked with this particular video class for the past few years to create marketing videos for the college, but now folks wonder if the marketing department needs more influence. While marketing professionals are warning videos that show negative sides of a campus may be harmful, most students and Oberlin staff/faculty are not concerned. Watch the video for yourself at BreakDrink.com.
June is filled with heartwarming stories of students who braved the odds to either enroll in or graduate from a college or university. As a bonus, head over to BreakDrink.com and read the blog post for a few of our favorites so far.
