Sixty percent of colleges and universities that have determined the financial effects of the Affordable Care Act's implementation said the act will increase their costs, according to a survey released Monday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Of the 430 colleges and 23 higher-education systems surveyed, 27 percent said they increased the share of premium costs employees must pay this year, and 17 percent said they needed to increase the share employees pay for their dependents, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Some survey respondents said they plan to introduce financial incentives to encourage healthy behavior, a controversial move among professors. Beginning in 2015, the act will require organizations with over 50 employees to provide health insurance for those who work more than 30 hours per week.
Yale University president Peter Salovey has asked students, faculty and staff to compile a list of scenarios constituting "non-consensual sex" after Yale's semi-annual sexual misconduct report used that term instead of the word "rape," The New Haven Register reported. The university claims "non-consensual sex" refers to a wide range of behavior that might not be legally defined as rape. Yale students have created a Change.org petition, requesting the university to take a stronger stance against sexual misconduct, and some students have protested the penalties received by those found guilty of sexual misconduct, which include written reprimands instead of expulsion. The university was recently investigated for Title IX violations and was fined $155,000 by the Department of Education for Clery Act violations.
The Department of Justice has ended an investigation into college presidents' conversations about a potential agreement to limit tuition discounting and prevent institutions from changing or improving awards to individual students, Inside Higher Ed reported. College presidents said they do not like allocating money to students who can afford college without financial aid but must do so to help attract them to their institutions. They stated that although they hope to allocate a greater portion of their aid budgets to students who need financial aid to attend college, they will not eliminate non-need-based aid unless their peer institutions do as well. The Department of Justice investigated the colleges and universities under antitrust laws, and some institutions said they fear the investigation will hinder future financial aid discussions.
