Welcome to the DailyDose of Higher Education from BreakDrink.com. This is the Tuesday, October 2nd edition and I’m Shawn Brackett bringing you today’s news in colleges and universities.
Our first story tonight comes from Canada:
“Concordia University Updates Its Severance Policies, Eliminates ‘Golden Handshakes’”
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Concordia+adopts+severance+policies/7315100/story.html [story]
After paying over $4 million in severance packages to departed administrators in the past three years, including two presidents, Concordia University in Montreal has significantly changed its policies. Quebec fined Concordia $2 million for such practices, commonly known as “golden handshakes.” The Board of Governors for Concordia, acting on recommendations from an outside consulting group, has limited severance packages to the lesser of two years’ pay or the remainder of the five-year contract for presidents. In addition, the board created new guidelines for a “transparent” performance evaluation of senior administrators.
Moving to the Middle East,
“International Organizations Reach Out to Give Syrian Scholars Safe Harbor”
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2012092809004697 [story]
Syrian students and scholars have a few more paths to safety thanks to work by the Institute for International Education, the European Union, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. In response to the continued violence in Syria, all three organizations have pledged millions of dollars in support for at-risk Syrian academics. The program, called a “brain save” by organizers, include financial aid, visa processing, and research support at colleges and universities around the world. A long-term goal of the initiative is the eventual return of the students and scholars once the situation in Syria is stable.
Returning to the United States,
“Ohio State University Phases in Second-Year Live On Requirement”
Ohio State University plans to grow its housing inventory to 14,000 spaces by 2016 as a part of a new initiative to increase student persistence rates and academic achievement. Starting in the 2013-2014 academic year, a pilot group of 1,000 second-year students will receive a $2,000 stipend from the institution to support an internship, research, or other endeavors. Ohio State’s move to require all second-year students to live on-campus is a part of a broader trend to reconnect faculty with students outside of the classroom–a connection that began with Oxford in the thirteenth century and emerged significantly altered after the massification of higher education in the mid-twentieth century.
“Op-Ed: European Higher Education Needs to Focus on Teaching Quality”
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120925142658630 [op-ed]
Lastly tonight, an opinion piece from the European Commissioner for Education and the former President of Ireland on why Europe needs to focus on teaching quality–not just research quality.
That’s it for today–make tomorrow a good one. Join us on Thursday for the Daily Dose by Sue Caulfield!
