Colleges, University | featured news

American higher education is in the cross hairs of a heated national debate over the value and cost of a college degree. Yet in China, our fiercest global economic competitor, the popularity of American colleges and universities might be at an all-time high.

The Supreme Court cast doubt Tuesday on the future of affirmative action at the nation’s colleges and universities, agreeing to hear an appeal from a white student in Texas who seeks an end to "racial preferences" in college admissions.

Police arrested 17 Texas Christian University students, including four football players, today on drug charges on and around the campus after a six-month investigation, The Daily Skiff reports.

A research assistant was fatally burned when chemicals burst into flame. Her death three years ago has focused attention on safety issues. Felony charges have been filed against the University of California and a UCLA chemistry professor in connection with a laboratory fire that killed a staff research assistant three years ago. On Dec. 29, 2008, Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji, 23, was severely burned over nearly half of her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later.

Penn State's board of trustees vowed Friday to restore "public trust in the university" and created a special committee to investigate the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the campus and community.

Two University of Maryland students were burned Monday afternoon after an explosion sparked a small fire in a chemistry lab, authorities said.

Harvard University received the No. 1 spot on US News & World Report's 2012 rankings of top US academic research institutions, followed by Princeton University and Yale University.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on Monday a bill allowing illegal immigrants to receive privately funded scholarships to attend the state's public colleges and universities.

A federal indictment unsealed today charges a Cambridge man with computer intrusion, fraud and data theft in computer hacking incidents that targeted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and JSTOR, a not-for-profit archive of scientific journals and academic work.

The former president of the University of New Mexico has become the latest academic accused of helping run an online prostitution ring.