Harvard University signed an agreement with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that formally re-established a Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps on its campus on Friday, The Harvard Crimson reported. The program will be recognized with the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy projected to occur this summer. The University has also begun talks of opening more ROTC programs with other branches of the military. A formal ROTC unit will not be established on Harvard's campus until more student interest is generated, during which time the current 20 Harvard cadets will continue to train at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard's decision is expected to influence other colleges and universities. Columbia University and Yale University officials are already engaging in discussion with the military about reinstating ROTC on their campuses, according to The Crimson.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, R-Wisc., announced his intention to split the University of Wisconsin, Madison from the rest of the state's higher education system last week, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Madison campus will have more autonomy and its own governing board, becoming exempt from many regulations that the University found cumbersome, according to Walker's proposal. The University will also have the ability to set its own tuition and decide where to direct revenue. Instead of being classified as a state entity, Madison will be considered a "public authority," The Chronicle reported. Walker also disclosed the possibility of splitting the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee from the state system in the future, according to The Chronicle.
College and university presidents revealed their opinions about the current economic downturn's effects on institutions of higher learning and their respective university's responses to these effects, in an inaugural survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed and released on Friday. Leaders from public institutions said their biggest challenges to be budget shortfalls and declining state support, Inside Higher Ed reported. Private non-profit institutions were most concerned about the rising competitiveness between colleges over students and increasing tuition rates. To offset these financial worries, many colleges and universities are implementing administrative cuts, including laying off administrators, boosting student fees and cutting programs. Some presidents have voiced concerns that universities and colleges are enacting solutions that will not be effective in the long term and neglect to confront deeper, but still unsustainable, problems such as fixed costs. The presidents who participated in the survey also reported that, if political repercussions were not a concern, they would solve their financial problems by focusing on employment policies, including altering tenure policies, Inside Higher Ed reported.
