Can an honor code prevent cheating at Harvard?

Harvard University, whose motto “Veritas” means “truth,” has never had a student honor code in its nearly 400-year history – as far as it knows. But allegations against 125 students for improperly collaborating on a take-home final in the spring are leading to renewed consideration of the idea, the Associated Press reports. Though widely associated with college life, formal honor codes are hard to implement and fairly rare on American campuses. But some would argue they’re especially important at places like Harvard that are wellsprings of so many future leaders in government and business. Cheating and plagiarism are serious rule violations at Harvard, just like anywhere else. But Donald McCabe of Rutgers University, an expert on academic cheating, puts the number of schools that go beyond such rules with some sort of formal honor code at no more than about 100. Details vary, but the commonalities are a pledge signed – and largely enforced – by students not to cheat. Some require students also to report any cheating they witness…

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As new era begins at Penn State, challenges remain

The shriek of the final whistle in Penn State’s loss to Ohio University represented a milestone for the university as it struggles to move past the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal that has damaged it immeasurably over the past 10 months, the Associated Press reports. The first game under new coach Bill O’Brien began a new era for one of college football’s elite programs, and the Saturday defeat at the hands of an underdog showed the team may face a long season ahead following the overhaul of its coaching staff and the departure of several star players. Outside the stadium on Saturday the talk among tailgating fans was littered with the vocabulary of the Sandusky scandal – notably criticism of the NCAA sanctions, the Freeh report and the university’s board of trustees.

“We can’t move on until the board of trustees moves out,” said Georgia Verkuilen, a State College native who now lives in Belvidere, N.J. She was handing out lung cancer awareness ribbons with the initials of Joe Paterno, the longtime coach died of complications from the disease in January, two months after being summarily fired by the board…

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Obama still draws college students at UVA

The crowds may be smaller and the candidate grayer, but college towns are still proving to be President Barack Obama’s best shot at enthusiastic audiences, the Associated Press reports. More than 26,000 people combined showed up to hear the president speak during his three-state college town tour this week, which ended Wednesday with a rally near the University of Virginia. The crowds at the outdoor rallies have tilted younger, underscoring the Obama campaign’s efforts to target college students as they return to school and re-energize a constituency that was critical in propelling Obama to the White House…

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Calif lawmakers denounce anti-Semitism in colleges

An Assembly resolution urging California colleges and universities to squelch nascent anti-Semitism also encouraged educators to crack down on demonstrations against Israel, angering advocates for Muslim students, the Associated Press reports. With no debate, lawmakers on Tuesday approved a resolution that encourages university leaders to combat a wide array of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel actions.

“California schools need to recognize that anti-Semitism is still a very real issue on college campuses around the state — it did not disappear with the end of World War II,” said Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, R-Fresno, the resolution’s author.

Most of the incidents of anti-Semitism the resolution cited are related to the Israel-Palestine debate. These include instances of protesters comparing Israeli police to Nazis and urging support for Hamas……Read More

Higher education becomes Nevada campaign issue for Obama

Nevada students taking the ACT college entrance exam have a slight college readiness edge over the national average, the Associated Press reports. Whereas the national average score is 21.1, Nevada college entrants score on average 21.3. Affording a higher education is of great concern to voters in this presidential battleground state. President Barack Obama actively seeks out contact with college- and college-ready students in the Silver State. As noted by the New York Times, the president visited Reno’s Truckee Meadows Community College campaign rally yesterday and spoke to a Las Vegas high school audience at Canyon Springs High School today. The Obama campaign highlights that an enacted Republican budget would lead to severe cuts in education. Mr. Obama outlines that Mitt Romney’s best advice to college-bound students is little more than asking parents for loans — or finding the cheapest colleges to attend. Concurrently, the Obama campaign must take on the charge of the Romney campaign, which has painted college students as a “lost generation” heavily burdened by increasing tuition costs that the Obama administration has failed to curtail. Another talking point the Obama campaign must tackle is Nevada’s high unemployment rate, which affects recent college graduates with high student loan debts…

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Chicago City Colleges launches new careers program

City Colleges of Chicago is launching a “College to Careers” program to ready students for fast-growing fields, the Associated Press reports. The system announced nine new or enhanced degree programs Thursday. The programs prepare students for jobs in health care, transportation and related fields. The college system, city officials and industry leaders worked together for months to design the program, dubbed “C2C.” Courses range from a basic certificate in medical billing and coding to an advanced certificate in supply chain management…

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NJ governor signs university merger bill

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a major higher education reorganization bill on Wednesday, a hard-won political and policy victory that eluded two prior governors and is designed to create regional centers of academic excellence in South, Central and North Jersey, the Associated Press reports. Christie, a Republican, lauded the achievement with stops in Newark, New Brunswick and Camden, the three cities most affected by the legislation. The actual bill signing happened at Rutgers University’s main campus, with remarks and ceremonial signings in the North and South. Christie, 49, who is slated to give the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, planned to cap the day with a town hall-style event in Salem County. Christie said the bill “brings a new era to higher education in the state” by dissolving the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and shifting its assets to Rutgers and Rowan universities and enhancing the footprint of both schools…

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Largest minority on campuses

Hispanic population growth and improved high school completion rates helped Latino young people become the largest minority group on college campuses and a fourth of the public school population last year, according to a Pew Hispanic report released Monday, the Associated Press reports. The center’s analysis of Census data shows more than 2 million Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college last year, making up a record 16.5 percent share of enrollments in that age group at two-year and four-year universities. Simultaneously, for the first time, one fourth of the pre-K through 12th grade population was Latino, the center said. The Hispanic share of the public school population had been inching up as the enrollments of children in pre-K and kindergarten reached one quarter Hispanic over the past six years…

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NY prof suspended for Colorado shootings remark

A professor at the United States Merchant Marine Academy faces dismissal for joking about the Colorado movie theater shootings in front of his students, including one whose father was among the victims, the Associated Press reports. According to an internal personnel document obtained by the New York Times (http://nyti.ms/NCVm4f ), Gregory F. Sullivan was suspended from his tenured position as humanities instructor for telling his classroom before showing a documentary: “If someone with orange hair appears in the corner of the room, run for the exit.”

James Holmes, the suspect in the Aurora, Colo., mass shooting, has dyed his hair bright orange.

The professor had just turned down the lights to show the documentary and was preparing to step out for a few minutes when he made the remark. Shashi Kumar, the institution’s academic dean, called the joke “notoriously disgraceful conduct” and recommended that Sullivan be fired. The internal document said Sullivan was informed on Aug. 10 that he had 10 days to contest his dismissal……Read More

UT affirmative action policy is legal says Justice Department

The Obama administration on Monday threw its support behind the University of Texas’ use of race as a standard in its admissions policies, asking the Supreme Court not to interfere with the consideration of racial preferences in college admissions, the Associated Press reports. The Justice Department, in a court brief co-signed by several other government agencies, told the high court that a diverse college population was in the university’s – and the government’s – best interests. “The armed services and numerous federal agencies have concluded that well-qualified and diverse graduates are crucial to the fulfillment of their missions,” Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli said. The court brief was cosigned by lawyers from the departments of Defense, Education, Commerce, Labor and Health and Human Services…

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