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Based on a list recently published by the QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global career and education network, the United States offers more high-quality colleges and universities than any other country in the world, boasting 58 schools in the Top 200 and 6 in the Top 10.
The only nation to compete with the US’ big numbers was the United Kingdom, putting up a respectable 29 schools in the Top 200 and 4 in the Top 10. Educational institutes in Australia, Canada and Japan also ranked well with voters, with Israel making its first appearance at a respectable #93 (Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
The QS World University Rankings 2008, the fifth edition of the Times’ popular list, is compiled from the surveys of nearly 9,000 academics and employers. It focuses primarily on academic excellence, global reputation, staff-to-student ratios and current trends in business.
This year’s list seemed to spotlight technology-based institutions, with schools like Caltech, MIT and the ETH Zurich all climbing towards the top of the list. Experts believe that this rise may be due to a societal need for engineers and scientists, as well as an academic need for technology professionals in the classroom.
Topping the list for the fifth consecutive time is Harvard University, followed closely by Yale, Cambridge, Oxford, Caltech, Imperial College, UCL, University of Chicago, MIT and Columbia.
For other rankings on top US universities, check these resources:
Despite imminent back-to-school blues, students have something to celebrate this August. President Bush has signed to renew the Higher Education Act. The act, overwhelmingly supported by both the Senate and Congress, details spending for federal student aid for the next five years.
Bush reportedly signed the 1,000-plus page legislation "unceremoniously", according to Chronicle.com. The newly signed law decrees many new provisions for grant programs that benefit both students and educational institutions. Additionally, the document restricts the secretary of education from "dictating how colleges measure student learning for purposes of accreditation."
According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, distance education students may be in for an 'invasive' awakening.
A small portion of a 1,200-page Higher Education Act suggests that distance education providers must require spy cameras in students' homes.
Though the bill has not been voted on by Congress yet, few strong objections have been voiced.
In order to maintain the advantages of online education (taking classes anytime, anywhere), the bill outlines measures to decrease cheating. Some colleges have already embraced these efforts by reading students' fingerprints, installing Web cameras or recording keystrokes.
The proposed bill will certainly raise concerns regarding individual freedom versus institutions' ability to discourage and prevent cheating. We'd love to hear (read) your thoughts in the comment section below!
As the housing market slumps even further, government-sponored enterprises
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are helpless against their falling shares in the stock exchange. The national government has stepped in to help these two mortgage holders with plans to help provide them with new borrowing capacities to stay afloat. This means a potential rise in taxes, and the fear of some major banks being seized by the government, similar to the
recent IndyMac collapse. Many people are left with
questions as to what this means to the
currently sluggish economy as well as their personal finances.
Over the last decade, reports of abuse by teachers has increased. As many parents of children with
special education needs are sending their children to mainstream schools, many teachers are unsure of how to deal with erratic behavior. Instead of finding ways to calm these children down when they act up, they
restrain them. Is this abuse? Many parents think so.
In 2001, before the attacks of September 11, the nation was captivated by the disappearance of
Chandra Levy, a 24 year old grad student from California. Over the last year, reporters from the Washington Post have been investigating this seemingly cold case and have found new evidence that somehow slipped through the cracks of the
criminal justice system.
With
education one of the foremost topics of the current presidential campaign, one New Yorker is pushing for broad changes in America's education system. Randi Weingarten, who is running unopposed for the presidency of the
American Federation of Teachers, wants to see public schools becoming more available to students by offering dental, medical and counseling clinics as well as after school recreational activities, and tutoring programs.
More than 4,600 calls to poison control made in 2006 alone were regarding an overlooked, potentially deadly substance: caffeine. According to a report conducted by the University of Michigan, due to aggresive marketing strategies, more and more teenagers are consuming energy drinks, which are over-loaded with dangerous levels of caffeine. The result? ER waiting rooms filled with people suffering from uncontrollable
vomiting and excruiating headaches.
Heavy drinking during college years is not an uncommon event. Sadly, death due to binge drinking isn't too uncommon either. Jess Foellmi, a 20 year-old Winona State University student, died due to alcohol poisoning during a post-exam binge party. But Foellmi isn't the only one who has suffered from the affects of alcohol; according to the Associated Press, 157 college-aged students (18-23) drank themselves to death from 1999-2005. Can we stop this deadly habit?