John O'Connor is the Miami-based education reporter for StateImpact Florida. John previously covered politics, the budget and taxes for The (Columbia, S.C) State. He is a graduate of Allegheny College and the University of Maryland.
Courtesy of Christine Capozziello / University Press
Gabi Alecksinko, a senior Intercultural Communications major at FAU, posted an eviction notice on a student's door at the Indian River Tower dormitory of the Boca Raton campus March 30.
A Jewish community group wants some answers from Florida Atlantic University leadership after a Palestinian student group posted mock eviction notices on dorm doors last month.
The Anti-Defamation League said the notices were “intimidating” and “hostile” to supporters of Israel, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The FAU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine put eviction notices on about 200 dorm room doors. The notices said residents had three days to pack up their things a leave — and were meant to draw attention to home demolitions in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Graduation day at Northwest Florida State College.
So you’ve got a list of colleges offering scholarships, grants and all kinds of other perks and you’re trying to figure out the best deal?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has set up a new website to help college-bound students and their parents estimate just how much that degree will cost — and how much debt will remain when classes are finished.
The site also gives you an estimate how long it will take to pay off that debt based on the average starting salary for U.S. college graduates ($617 per month for 10 years!).
The average student attending the University of Florida, for instance, could expect a roughly $10,500 bill for tuition, room and board, books and supplies and other expenses after grants and scholarships are applied to a total cost of $19,257.
The University of Miami has the highest professor pay in the state, according to Chronicle of Higher Education data.
The University of Miami has the highest-paid professors among Florida’s universities and colleges, according to data complied by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Hurricane instructors are paid an average of $140,800 for the 2011-2012 school year.
More interesting is the number two school on the list: The University of South Florida Polytechnic. Professors at the Lakeland school earn $124,400 on average, or $17,200 more than the average professor at the flagship Tampa campus.
University of South Florida at St. Petersburg professors also earn more than their colleagues at the Tampa campus.
Nova Southeastern University, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida round out the top five average salaries.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, is a co-sponsor of a bill increasing oversight of GI Bill funds.
For-profit colleges and universities are swarming military veterans seeking more education after serving in Afghanistan, Iraq or some other location, NPR reports.
Te reason is simple: Veterans have access to college money though the GI Bill.
Many of the vets wind up on phone and email lists by seeking information through website which seem like they are connected to the GI Bill program:
Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is working on a new version of the DREAM Act.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is quietly working on a new version of the DREAM Act to allow young undocumented immigrants a chance to stay in the U.S. legally while seeking citizenship, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The bill is a political tightrope for Rubio — widely regarded as a potential vice presidential pick because of Florida’s crucial role in deciding the electoral college.
Rubio told the Tampa Bay Times his version would require those eligible to wait in line, but stay in the country legally while doing so. Critics say the proposal falls short of what’s needed:
But the WSJ essay from Nick Gillespie argues that by objective measures, kids are safer and better-behaved than when he was in school. Anti-bullying rules, he argues, can treat minor slights the same as major offenses.
Monroe County schools superintendent Jesus Jara passes along a timely reminder as Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test season approaches: Lower FCAT scores do not mean students are learning less.
The state has raised minimum standards on the FCAT, which means more students are likely to fail to achieve a passing score and require remediation. School grades are likely to fall.
But that’s because the state is raising standards, Jara writes, and schools and students will adjust:
Florida ranks 8th on a charter school advocacy group's ranking of state laws.
Florida ranks eighth in the nation for laws which promote innovation, equal funding and ease of expansion of charter schools, according to a ranking from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Education Reform.
That moves Florida up two places from last year’s report as the Sunshine State improved its score slightly.
Among the short-comings in the CER rankings? Florida does not allow enough independent groups to authorize charter schools, most of which must be approved by local school districts. That puts schools districts in the position of approving schools they may see as competition for public funding.
Earlier this week we wrote about a Lumina Foundation study that showed Florida was not producing enough college graduates to meet the projected job market needs by 2018. The report warns that those without college education will likely find it more difficult to find work.
Readers chimed in, with many noting that a college degree is no guarantee for employment either.
But Hecht, and his colleagues from the Gators College Access Network, say they have to oppose a bill Machen supports which would allow the University of Florida and Florida State University to set their own tuition at market rates.
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