Business schools across the country are increasingly trying to incorporate skills relevant to running hedge funds into their curriculums, The New York Times reported. Several institutions in the New York area, including Yale University, New York University, Columbia University and Cornell University offer courses in hedge fund administration and operation. The classes are based on current events and emphasize the practical applications of economic theory. Some include student presentations of a mock hedge fund to a panel of experienced hedge fund employees.
A new Dartmouth Medical School study suggests that spinal fusion surgery, a common procedure used to treat the effects of slipped vertebrae, is not cost-effective, according to a DMS press release. The study is the "first to systematically track people's health care expenditures and health outcomes for these common and costly conditions," lead author Anna Tosteson, a DMS professor, said in the release. Rates of spinal fusion have increased by more than 250 percent in the last 15 years, now representing over one-third of all back surgeries in the United States.
Service members in Iraq now have the option to take college courses at United States military bases during their service, according to The Washington Post. The University of Maryland University College -- which has offered classes on military bases in Europe and Asia for more than 50 years -- became the first American college to offer classes in Iraq this past November, followed by a school from Texas, The Post reported. Seven UMUC professors and four staff members teach accelerated college classes, which include courses in American government, cultural anthropology and macroeconomics. UMUC is offering two-year, four-year and Master's degrees. Many service members had been taking courses online and were pleased to be able to attend classes in person and to interact with professors, according to The Post. Soldiers usually take one course at a time, with classes scheduled in the evenings after dinner or during the day on weekends to accommodate service members' schedules. Although the military base is protected, students bring both their rifles and their books to class.
