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The Dartmouth
July 11, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Daily Debriefing

United States Department of Education officials did not participate in illegal lobbying when they urged higher education leaders to openly endorse legislation to revamp student loan programs in 2009, according to a report filed by the department's inspector general, Inside Higher Ed reported. The investigation was conducted in response to accusations made by Republicans in Congress that department leaders violated federal law during their interactions with college officials regarding the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This act, which passed in March 2010, expanded the criteria for the lender-based guaranteed student loan program and increased financing for the federal Pell Grant Program, Inside Higher Ed reported. Republican leaders attempting to block the act's passage said that it represented a government takeover of the student loan program, according to the article.

Financial incentives may lead to improved academic performance, according to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Researchers randomly treated several hundred students at an anonymous Canadian university by providing them with a monetary reward in exchange for satisfactory grades. These students performed better than their peers who did not receive any money, although the "overall program effects on achievement were modest," according to the report. Participants earned $100 for each class in which they scored at least 70 percent, and an additional $20 for each percentage point above 70. Second-year male students experienced the greatest improvement when given a cash reward, according to the study. This study contributes to an increasing number of research projects that assess the effectiveness of performance-based scholarships, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

Schools have adopted iPads as educational tools in an increasing number of school districts across the nation, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. iPads help teachers present subjects such as math and geography in a more interactive fashion, according to educators in favor of their use, The Times reported. Critics of iPad use in schools, however, argue that they are an unnecessary extravagance as districts across the country strive to implement far-reaching budget cuts. The iPads currently being used in a pilot program in Long Island, N.Y., cost $750 apiece, and are used to correspond with teachers, save homework assignments and create digital portfolios of students' work, according toThe Times. Despite these uncertainties, many educators applaud the new tool because it is an easy way to bring technology into the classroom "without changing the classroom atmosphere," Alex Curtis, headmaster of the Morristown-Beard School in New Jersey, told The Times.