Harvard University will offer early retirement packages to staff members over the age of 55 who have worked at the university for more than 10 years, The Harvard Crimson reported on Tuesday. The plan, similar to a program announced by Dartmouth in December, will allow the university cut costs in order to avoid potential layoffs, The Crimson reported. The plan will first be implemented at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Dental School. The program will expand in March to the university's other schools. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Smith told The Crimson that the university is planning similar retirement incentives for faculty. Harvard hopes the plan will help compensate for a 22-percent drop in its endowment over a four-month period, The Crimson reported. Harvard undertook a similar early retirement program during the 1991 economic recession.
Tufts University's Education Policy Committee will vote next month on a proposal to limit the number of credits students can complete using Advanced Placement courses, Inside Higher Ed reported on Wednesday. The university proposes to restrict each student to five potential credits gained prior to matriculation. The University currently places no limit on the number of credits students can use. Many Tufts faculty members question whether AP courses reflect college-level work, sociology professor and chair of the Policy Committee James Ennis told Inside Higher Ed. Some students have argued that the five-credit limit is arbitrary, and have proposed instead that the university should establish a minimum score students need to earn credit.
Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum may close because of the school's financial difficulties, according to The Boston Globe. Museum director Michael Rush held a town meeting with students, professors and members of the local community to discuss how to avoid closure. Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz had previously announced that the museum would be shut down, later saying that it will be closed to the general public but may remain open for academic use, according to The Globe. A small number of the museum's pieces may be sold to raise money for the university, Reinharz said. The museum contains works by Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol.
