'U.S. News' Sizes Up Online-Degree Programs, Without Specifying Which Is No. 1 Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education U.S. News & World Report has published its first-ever guide to online degree programs—but distance-education leaders looking to trumpet their high rankings may find it more difficult to brag about how they placed than do their colleagues at residential institutions. Pulling for Better E-Textbook Prices Source: Inside Higher Ed Universities have started banding together to negotiate favorable contracts with software vendors. With new effort, a group of them aims to exercise similar leverage with publishers on behalf of students. University Presidents Return to the Classroom Source: Washington Post More college and university presidents are teaching classes at their institutions, leading courses that range in topics from constitutional law to freshman orientation to "real-world" life lessons. With NSF Support, Research Moves Into Science Labs of 2-Year Colleges Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education A $3.35-million grant from the National Science foundation will enable Mr. Hewlett’s project team to run workshops for 16 community colleges nationwide. The grant will pay for their supplies, equipment, faculty and curriculum development, and stipends for student research assistants. The goal is to give students of biology in community colleges the chance to do research on open-ended, real-world questions with no predetermined answers – and experience all the rewards and frustrations that come with that work.
