The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on Friday in response to the implementation of new rules regarding enrollment and recruiting, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The Association is challenging new regulations instituted by the Obama administration that attempt to expand state control over "distance education," reduce misrepresentation on the part of institutions in their recruiting practices and sever the link between increased enrollment and compensation of college officials, according to the Chronicle. The Association called on Education Secretary Arne Duncan to repeal the regulations within a week, threatening to file an injunction which will freeze the application of the new rules against the Department after that time. The call for the repeal was based on the argument that these policies are unconstitutional and were developed without appropriate due process, The Chronicle reported.
States have cut spending on higher education by 0.7 percent over the past year, Inside Higher Ed reported Monday. State spending totaled over $79 billion last year, but enrollment and demand for financial aid have increased at many public institutions over the last two years, causing the state allocated funds to decline, according to Inside Higher Ed. Funding from the state for these institutions has fallen by almost 2 percent over that same period, as the $2.5 billion in federal government stimulus funds have been exhausted. The decrease is not a nation-wide trend, according to James Palmer, the study's director and a professor of educational administration at Illinois State University. While 32 states showed a decline in state support for higher education institutions, 16 states reported an increase and two reported no change. The number of states using stimulus funding for higher education has decreased overall, falling from 43 last year to 30 this year, according to the study.
Approximately 70 faculty members from various public colleges met in California this weekend to create the framework for a national campaign promoting the role of professors in determining the future of public education, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Sunday. Organizations at the conference included representatives from the California Faculty Association, the America n Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. Lillian Taiz, California State University faculty union president, said the meeting's participants agreed that "the voices of people in the trenches must be heard," according to The Chronicle. The California Faculty Association spearheaded the campaign last fall by enlisting faculty groups to draft a document outlining principles such as diversity of curricula and "academic freedom" that the organizations consider vital to higher education. Groups present at the meeting will circulate the document among their higher education colleagues, The Chronicle reported.
