Five higher ed-related stories that caught my eye this week:
- The rural higher-education crisis. Why are so few high school graduates from the rural U.S. going to college? And what does this mean for our country? “The reasons for this are as myriad as they are consequential, affecting everything from regional economic competitiveness to widening political division.”
- A slowdown in graduate education. Enrollment in graduate programs is growing, but at a slower rate. Why? A decline in students from abroad is one factor, but “there’s this counterbalancing” as more underrepresented minorities are pursuing graduate degrees. And market forces are at work.
- The scorecard returns. Remember the Obama administration’s College Scorecard? It’s back and includes a new feature feature that allows students to compare data from up to 10 institutions at once.
- “College” isn’t “higher education.” An interesting, albeit meandering, opinion piece by J.D. Tuccille on Reason.com. Bottom line: “Is there a partisan divide over the value of higher education? Who knows — nobody has really asked. But there’s a good chance that the old college and university delivery model for higher education is testing a lot of people’s patience, and that it’s time to try something new.”
- Virginia Tech’s new logo. Virginia Tech has unveiled a new logo and has dropped one of my favorite higher ed taglines. And yet they still call themselves the Hokies.
Higher Ed Marketing 