The Daily Report Card: College Gifts, Evidence, And Creationism

In The Classroom Today

Gifts to Colleges Rose 8.2% in 2011, Survey Finds – Administration – The Chronicle of Higher Education After two lackluster years, donations to U.S. colleges and universities rose last year by a healthy 8.2 percent, to an estimated $30.3-billion, according to a report by the Council for Aid to Education. The total raised during the 2011 fiscal year, while economic news was mixed, comes close to the $31.6-billion brought in during 2008, the best year ever for giving to colleges. Adjusted for inflation, giving increased 4.8 percent. But the bad news—at least for most of higher education—is that 86 percent of the money went to just 25 percent of the institutions. And while those saw donations soar by 11.3 percent, the other three-quarters of institutions attracted 9.6 percent less money over all in 2011 than they had in 2010, the report says. (chronicle.com)

Evidence-based practices? | The Journal Gazette Ask state education officials why Indiana lags most others in offering early childhood education and they will tell you it’s a good thing, but we can’t afford it at this time. But money doesn’t seem to be a factor in requiring Indiana students to take at least one online course before graduating. That’s probably because the cost would be placed on already strapped school districts. Denis Ward, superintendent of Danville Community School Corp., said the requirement would mean laying off three classroom teachers to offer three online courses. (journalgazette.net)

Indiana’s “Dirty Little Secret”: Creationism in Schools Whenever we debate a church-state issue like religion in public schools or the use of sectarian prayers before government meetings, we must always remember there is a human face behind every one of these controversies. Someone’s rights are being violated. Someone is being treated like a second-class citizen. Someone is being singled out because of what he or she believes about theology. (opposingviews.com)