July 2007 - Posts

• Nacubo notebook: Business officers lament toll of student-loan scandal, as one of them describes federal inquiry

  A college in Vermont that is one of 900 that the U.S. Department of Education has identified as relying on one lender to provide almost all of its student loans has been told to prepare for a three-day visit by department officials, the institution's... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• A close call in the Senate has colleges concerned about the next antipiracy move in Congress

  Higher-education officials were caught off guard last week by a Senate proposal that would have turned some colleges into file-sharing police. Although the measure was withdrawn, institutions now wonder if the House will take a similar approach to computer... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Senate committee to consider bill to increase openness about terms of private loans

  Lenders would be required to provide prospective borrowers with detailed information about the terms and conditions of the private loans they offer, under legislation that will be taken up by the U.S. Senate banking committee today. (for subscribers)... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Cambridge U. Press seeks to destroy all copies of book on terrorism to settle libel lawsuit by Saudi businessman

  Cambridge University Press has promised to pulp all unsold copies of a 2006 book on terrorism and to ask university libraries worldwide to remove the book from their shelves. The publisher took those actions in response to a libel claim filed in England... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Grade-school teachers are largely satisfied with their jobs, federal survey finds

  More than 90 percent of long-term teachers at American grade schools are satisfied with their job, and their profession has below-average rates of career transfer, a U.S. Education Department survey has concluded. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• U. of California at Davis receives $100-million grant to start new nursing school

  The University of California at Davis will establish a new nursing school with a $100-million donation from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, university officials announced on Tuesday. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Colleges need to know more about their hedge funds, and the funds are disclosing more, business officers are told

  Business officers of colleges that invest in hedge funds are struggling to determine the value of the notoriously secret portfolios, and the funds are gradually yielding to investors' requests, said speakers at the annual meeting of the National Association... Posted Jul 30 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Business officers get advice on guarding against fraud and on "going green" frugally

  College business officers may not expect to find embezzlers or bribe takers on their campuses, but it can happen, as they learned on Monday from one vice president for finance. Precautions were advised. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 30 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• University will pay $5.3-million to settle whistle-blower's lawsuit over incentive payments to recruiters

  A university in Indiana has agreed to pay $5.3-million to settle a whistle-blower's complaint that it offered improper incentives to student recruiters, it announced on Monday. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 30 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Audio interview: North Carolina State University's partnerships at home and abroad

  James L. Oblinger, chancellor of North Carolina State University, talks about relationship-building with corporations and about his recent trips to India and China. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 30 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Petition protests British union's proposed boycott of Israeli academics

  A Pennsylvania-based organization that campaigns for peace in the Middle East says it has drawn more than 10,000 signatures to an online petition organized in response to a move by Britain's main faculty union to consider an academic boycott of Israeli... Posted Jul 30 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Corporate sponsors, with their prizes and parties, are still welcome at college business-officers' meeting

  Corporate-sponsored giveaways and parties are still abundant at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, in contrast to the paltry fare at a recent meeting of student-loan administrators. (for subscribers... Posted Jul 29 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Speakers talk of the downside of radical cuts in tuition, and of the future of the 403(b) plan

  Some attendees at Nacubo's annual meeting heard a lament from an official at one college that now regrets having slashed its tuition by 42 percent. They also heard about the new rules on 403(b) retirement plans from an IRS official. (for subscribers)... Posted Jul 29 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Provisional settlement reached in "Lott v. Levitt" defamation lawsuit

  John R. Lott Jr.'s defamation lawsuit against a fellow economist, Steven D. Levitt, has provisionally been settled — but it may yet roar back to life. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 29 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News

• Bond-rating agency credits Virginia Tech's response to shooting spree by affirming high rating

  Moody's Investors Service affirmed the high bond rating of Virginia Tech last week, in part because of how well the university has managed the aftermath of the mass shooting on its campus nearly four months ago. (for subscribers) Read More... Posted Jul 29 2007, 07:00 PM by Chronicle.com - Today's News