A study conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education this month found that Congress's 2008 budget included a record number of noncompetitive earmarks for colleges and universities. Two-thirds of the federal dollars spent went to scientific research. Earmarks are not awarded competitively but are instead designated by legislators for specific projects. This means they have little power to encourage competition or the efficient use of resources, according to university representatives speaking to Congress. This increase in earmarks has occurred as the budgets of The National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation have declined and as Congress has reduced a proposed increase in spending for competitive grants. Analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education suggests that Congress spent more money on earmarks in 2008 than was needed to fund the proposed increase in competitive grants.
Many states are drastically over-reporting the number of students who graduate from high school, the New York Times reported Monday. The federal No Child Left Behind Act stipulates that states improve their rates of graduation or face school closures, but NCLB does not mandate a uniform method of determining drop-out rates, leaving each state to set its own standards. This has led to statistical disparities between states, such as New Mexico's decision to only take into account students who dropped out in their senior year of high school when calculating graduation statistics. On the other hand, California and Mississippi report graduation percentages in the 80s, while their internal studies indicate that actual rates are in the 60s. In December 2005, all states agreed to standardize their methods of calculating graduation rates, but so far only 15 have implemented the new system.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings last spring, several higher education institutions have implemented outdoor sirens as an effective, low-tech way of warning students of an emergency, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The sirens are an alternative to other ways of spreading emergency information, such as mass cell-phone messages or e-mails that may not reach all students, particularly athletes or students in class. Emergency sirens, originally developed for military bases and industrial sites, are powerful enough to be heard across a large campus, but are also somewhat expensive, costing in the range of $100,000 or more. The sirens can be programmed to carry a wide range of possible messages or to direct students to check their phones or computers for more detailed information. So far at least a dozen campuses, including Virginia Tech, the University of Iowa, and Washington State University, have installed siren warning systems.
