August 2006 - Posts

• Education Department mined hundreds of students' records as part of FBI antiterrorist operation

  The U.S. Education Department has given the Federal Bureau of Investigation information on hundreds of students who applied for financial aid over the past five years as part of the federal government's antiterrorism investigations following the attacks... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Report blames college practices for limiting access of minority and low-income students

  Federal agencies, state governments, and especially institutions of higher education are driving students who are from low-income families or are members of minority groups away from colleges and universities, according to a study released on Thursday... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Brief intervention improves achievement of students subject to negative stereotyping, study finds

  In a striking experiment about stereotypes and academic achievement, African-American seventh graders performed better in school months after they were asked to spend 15 minutes thinking about their identity and values. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• N.Y. state senator plans to hold hearing on standardized-testing industry

  Kenneth P. LaValle, a powerful New York State senator who earlier this summer locked horns with the College Board over a report on an SAT-scoring snafu, plans to hold a public hearing on the standardized-testing industry in late September. (for subscribers... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• U. of Illinois denies reported deal to hand Chief Illiniwek over to alumni group

  The fierce battle over Chief Illiniwek -- an honored American Indian symbol or the racist mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, depending on whom you ask -- flared up again on Thursday, over rumors that the university would transfer... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• State Digest: Conflicts over stem-cell research in Massachusetts, and other news from the states

  Lawmakers in Massachusetts are moving to reverse state restrictions on stem-cell research. Indiana University System doesn't have to make public documents about the firing of a basketball coach, a state court rules. For details, and more news from the... Posted Aug 31 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• NIH proposes centralized database of human genetic data to advance health research

  To hasten the flow of genetic information among scientists, the National Institutes of Health plans to develop a repository that would collect and collate human genetic data, but in a way that would protect the privacy of people who participate in genetic... Posted Aug 30 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Chronicle readers

  Charles Miller, chairman of the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education, took questions from Chronicle readers in a live, online chat on Wednesday about the panel's final report, its goals, its priorities, and its outlook on issues such as... Posted Aug 30 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• College-sports group urges colleges to use e-mail survey to comply with Title IX

  Using e-mail surveys to gauge the interest of both male and female students in participating in varsity athletics will protect colleges from sex-discrimination lawsuits, according to the College Sports Council, an advocacy group for men's sports. (for... Posted Aug 30 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Retired professor who ignited hate-speech furor in Australia denies having apologized

  A retired academic in Australia who offended Sudanese refugees with a letter published last year demanded this week that a newspaper apologize for publishing an apology in his name. The statement's headline and editing, he says, distorted his stance.... Posted Aug 30 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• U. of Michigan adds books digitized by Google to online catalog, but limits use of some

  As it works with Google to scan nearly all the books on its shelves, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor has decided not to make full-text versions of copyrighted books available online, even to on-campus users. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Aug 30 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• College Board reports largest drop in SAT scores in more than 30 years

  The average combined scores on the SAT's mathematics and critical-reading sections for the high-school graduating class of 2006 declined by seven points from the previous year, the College Board announced on Tuesday. Officials attributed the decline to... Posted Aug 29 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Draft guidelines would update rules for research on patients unable to give informed consent

  The Food and Drug Administration has published new draft guidelines for clinical research on patients who are unconscious or otherwise unable to give their consent to be treated with unproven medical procedures or drugs. (for subscribers) Read More..... Posted Aug 29 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Public-college graduates accrue almost as much student-loan debt as private-college peers, report says

  Students who attend public universities and state colleges graduate with nearly as much student-loan debt as those at private colleges on average, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Project on Student Debt. (for subscribers) Read More..... Posted Aug 29 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Member of federal panel on higher education is tapped for key post at Education Department

  Sara Martinez Tucker, a member of the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education, was nominated by President Bush on Tuesday to take over the No. 3 position at the U.S. Department of Education. She is president and chief executive officer of... Posted Aug 29 2006, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News