In an effort to curb Western influence, China's leaders have reportedly banned the discussion of seven subjects in university classrooms, including press freedom, universal values, and the historical mistakes of the Chinese Communist Party. read more >

The scandals roiling Washington over the past two weeks involve troubling government behavior that had been hidden—the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department's surveillance of the Associated Press, among others. Largely overlooked amid the histrionics has been a shocker hiding in plain sight. Last week, the Obama administration moved to dramatically undermine students' and faculty rights at colleges across the country. read more >

Wisconsin teaching assistants held a "grade-in"—preparing lessons as they occupied the administration building—to draw attention to their vital work and fight their falling wages. Average take-home pay is just $9,500 a year. Photo: Michael Billeaux. We occupied Bascom Hall (the central administration building) to grade papers, hold office hours, prepare lessons, and analyze data—just like we do for hundreds of courses and projects on campus every day—and draw attention to our economic insecurity. read more >

For Many Public-College Presidents, Homes Don't Count in Pay Packages read more >

The American Association of University Professors has sharply criticized New York University’s treatment of faculty members on its campus in Florence, Italy, declaring that adjunct professors there saw abrupt pay cuts and three longtime studio-arts professors were terminated, allegedly for trying to help form a faculty union. read more >

The California Federation of Teachers and its affiliate representing faculty members at the City College of San Francisco have filed a complaint with the accreditor of that state's community colleges, accusing that organization of having conflicts of interest and of violating federal and state laws. read more >

Tenured and tenure-track faculty members at Montana State University at Bozeman have taken the unusual step of scrapping their collective-bargaining unit, marking a major setback for the union that organizes instructors at that state's public colleges. read more >

Last month the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at New York University passed a vote of no confidence in the university’s president, John Sexton. read more >

In Hoover, Ala., ProctorU employees monitor students taking tests online. The American Council on Education has recommended that colleges provide credit for several MOOCs proctored by the company. read more >

Earlier this year Capella University and the new College for America began enrolling hundreds of students in academic programs without courses, teaching professors, grades, deadlines or credit hour requirements, but with a path to genuine college credit. read more >

After months of wooing and under close scrutiny, edX was rejected this week by Amherst College amid faculty concerns about the online course provider's business plans and impact on student learning... read more >

The gap in what students are expected to know between high school and college is often thought to be vast. A newly released survey quantifies just how wide it is. read more >

A national labor union that has made strides in organizing adjunct instructors in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs is starting a similar regional campaign in Boston and is planning one in Los Angeles, too... read more >

To make it easier for students to earn college credits in online courses, government regulation of such classes should be streamlined across state boundaries and better consumer protection rules enacted, a national commission said Thursday... read more >

An unusual new study of the effects of faculty unionization on public universities—rather than on just faculty members themselves—reaches the controversial conclusion that such institutions generally become more efficient and effective when their professors form collective-bargaining units. read more >

Michigan’s public institutions scrambled to approve new faculty contracts before March 28, when the state’s right-to-work law goes into effect. In the rush to ratify a contract two years in the making, faculty members at Grand Rapids Community College have accepted a deal that freezes their pay for two years and grants raises based on their performance only. read more >

A system developed by a joint venture between Harvard and M.I.T. uses artificial intelligence to assess student papers and short written answers, freeing instructors for other tasks. Could this be the beginning of online assessment tools for something other than multiple choice tests? read more >

Another report has concluded that the financial model for higher education is broken. The difference this time is that the report calls on both state lawmakers and campuses to share in the burden of fixing the problems. read more >

Lacking formal bargaining rights, the Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association waged a campaign of escalating direct action in fall 2012, after a dean tried to cancel a benefit. Their "campaign of annoyance" was soon successful. Photo: MGAA. read more >

As states prepare their budgets for the coming year, they face the challenge of reinvesting in public higher education systems after years of damaging cuts. read more >