The Ithacan

New survey looks to gauge undecided undergrads

By Kevin McCall • October 22, 2011

With a majority of undergraduate students starting out undecided on the major they want to pursue, institutions of higher education are always tweaking their exploratory programs to help students decide their career paths early on. But in addition to aptitude tests, which are usually administered to high school students as part of standardized testing measures,…

Grade nondisclosure having reverse effect for MBA students

By Kevin McCall • October 19, 2011

A former Cornell University student who still struggles with debt three years after his graduation spoke out against earning degrees in finance or management during Friday's Occupy Cornell protest. Business degrees, he said, encourage the economic disparities that surround the occupations around the country and create a myth that hard work automatically achieves success. But…

UNH reverses decision to keep energy drinks off the shelves

By Kevin McCall • October 2, 2011

The University of New Hampshire made national news this week when President Mark Huddleston reversed plans to remove energy drinks from on campus stores as part of an effort to achieve the institution's goal of becoming the nation's healthiest campus by 2020. The college's office of media relations issued a statement Monday that it would…

Do cost calculators add up to student tuition?

By Kevin McCall • October 1, 2011

Starting in approximately one month, all Title IV institutions that enroll full-time, first time or certificate seeking undergraduate students will be mandated to include a net price calculator as a resource for prospective students to determine how much they will have to pay for their education after federal or institutional grants. Put into effect into…

Grad school enrollment drops for first time since 2003

By Kevin McCall • September 23, 2011

The Council of Graduate Schools released a report earlier today which states that enrollment at graduate schools fell by 1.1 percent in fall 2010. This breaks a seven year trend which saw increases in first-time graduate students worldwide. In fall 2009, enrollment had gone up 5.5 percent from the previous year. But what is more…

RIT student’s project turned into Manchester Orchestra music video

By Kevin McCall • September 20, 2011

Most college students who stay up until the early hours of the morning finishing the assignment they have been putting off all week never realize their work could become a masterpiece. Rochester Institute of Technology senior Ben Disinger was no different. Disinger was working on a final project for his experimental film class in April…

Participation in U.S. News surveys down

By Kevin McCall • September 17, 2011

Whether you're a student, faculty or staff member, evaluations are a large part of your career as a higher education employee. But when it came time for U.S. News and World Report to draw rankings for colleges and universities this year, administrators were less likely to participate in the surveys than in years past. The…

Fortune 500 company and non-profit join to help Latinos get into college

By Kevin McCall • September 15, 2011

All State Insurance company has teamed up with the non-profit organization New Futuro in an initiative to help Latino students prepare for college. The move was announced in a press release earlier today. The Chicago-based startup will use profits from All State to donate close to $15,000 in scholarship money for Latino high school students…

Legislation to be introduced amid SUNY school protests

By Kevin McCall • September 13, 2011

In an effort to allocate more funds to student and academic programs, the State University of New York education system has proposed a plan for some of its 64 campuses to share presidents. The loudest uproar has arisen from the case of SUNY-Canton president Joe Kennedy, whom the SUNY system threatened to revoke an offer…

Student veterans more likely to commit suicide, study says

By Kevin McCall • September 11, 2011

With the United States still involved in two wars in the Middle East, more students are entering college as veterans. A recent study by the American Psychological Association reported that college veterans are six times more likely to kill themselves and 20 percent have planned to commit suicide. The survey included a total of 525…

Clickers give students remote control and challenge professors

By Kevin McCall • September 9, 2011

With many college classes overflowing with students, large universities are turning to clickers to help professors keep track of their students and help organizations run meetings more efficiently. According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education more than 1,000 colleges use the handheld devices produced by Turning Technologies, which resemble a television…

Connect, Rekindle, Donate

By Jacqueline Palochko • April 25, 2011

I have found the perfect solution for those alumni who say they won't give donations to the college because of a little thing called a mascot: Alumnidate.com.