On Wednesday, Wellesley College will launch an online calculator intended to determine the real cost of attending the Massachusetts liberal arts college, The New York Times reported. Economix, a Times blog, hailed Wellesley's calculator as the simplest of its kind, asking families for very little information to make a calculation. Harvard University, the College Board and other institutions offer similar online resources, but ask families for more information. While Wellesley's calculator does not count student loans or work-study wages as part of predicted family contributions, its simplicity may help to clear up misconceptions surrounding the cost of attending elite colleges. The calculator specifically estimates the cost of attending Wellesley, but that number is a good estimate for attending similar liberal arts schools, The Times reported. The Wellesley student body already includes a higher percentage of low-income students, but the calculator may help this percentage rise.
Allegations that historically white sororities at the University of Alabama denied membership to black students based on their race are not particularly surprising to those who study diversity in the Greek System, Inside Higher Ed reported. Although many colleges and universities do not collect statistics on the racial diversity of on-campus Greek houses, experts interviewed by Inside Higher Ed said that practices like those revealed at Alabama occur fairly frequently across the country. The University's student newspaper, the Crimson White, published an article revealing racist practices among sororities and has garnered national attention and sparked campus protests by students and faculty. University President Judy Bonner has ordered sorority chapter leaders to initiate a rush system that allows the acceptance of members who have not gone through the entire rush process, according to Inside Higher Ed.
An op-ed about the life and death of Duquesne University adjunct faculty member Margaret Mary Vojtko has initiated conversations about working conditions for adjunct faculty, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The op-ed, authored by Daniel Kovalik, the senior associate general counsel of the United Steelworkers Union, revealed that Vojtko lived in extremely poor conditions even while supplementing her teaching salary with a night job at a restaurant. Vojtko, who was 83, passed away on Sept. 1 following 25 years at the university. Kovalik's article more broadly criticized the university's treatment of adjunct professors, although Duquesne officials have criticized Kovalik for exploiting Vojtko's death and mischaracterizing her living situation, The Chronicle reports. National advocacy groups have widely discussed the article, with some taking to Twitter to show their solidarity with Vojtko. Lindsay Ellis, a reporter for The Dartmouth, authored The Chronicle's article on Vojtko's death.
