The University of Vermont will stop selling bottled water by early 2013 after a student-led movement to increase sustainability on campus, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. UVM has joined a small but steadily increasing number of colleges and universities that have elected to stop bottled water sales in favor of constructing bottle-filling stations, according to The Chronicle. The university will not renew its contract with Coca-Cola, which sells about 1.1 million bottled beverages at UVM each year. Coca-Cola previously had exclusive rights to sell bottled drinks on campus, but campus venues will now select beverages through "national contracts and local connections" that pay greater attention to environmental and social concerns, according to The Chronicle. UVM will lose about $500,000 in financial aid, athletic and general program funds as a result of ending its contract with Coca-Cola, according to The Chronicle.
On Friday, Kiplinger, a personal finance magazine, removed Claremont McKenna College from its "Best Values in Private Colleges" ranking for 2011-2012, The New York Times reported. Kiplinger is the first publication to alter its ratings following Claremont McKenna's announcement that the college had submitted falsified SAT scores for the past six years. Claremont McKenna, previously ranked as the 18th best private liberal arts college by value, was dropped from the list to avoid misleading Kiplinger's readers, according to a statement by the magazine. Academic competitiveness made up 25 percent of Kiplinger's ranking, with test scores factoring highly in the measurement, The Times reported. U.S. News & World Report, which will investigate any potential changes to its rankings due to the inflated SAT scores and will release updated information on The Times' "The Choice" blog, will not revise its previously published college rankings, according to The Times.
With budgets at institutions of higher education declining, some colleges and universities are selling naming rights to bathrooms, Inside Higher Ed reported. One such institution, Dixie State College of Utah was unable to complete construction on its St. George Musical Theater after failing to reach its fundraising goal, in order to help close the gap, Dixie State placed individual bathroom stalls in the planned building up for sale as namesakes for $2,000, according to Inside Higher Ed. At Harvard Law School, the recently opened Falik Men's Room was named after William Falik, who donated $100,000 to his alma mater to create a public interest fellowship. At the University of Pennsylvania, a donor funded a bathroom renovation in the campus library. His one request was that the walls had to be lined with plaques that read, "The relief you are now experiencing is made possible by a gift from Michael Zinman," according to Inside Higher Ed.
