The chopping block

U. of Nevada at Reno Proposes More Cuts in Degrees, Programs, and Jobs (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     The University of Nevada at Reno proposed a new round of budget cuts today that would close, reduce, or reorganize programs and services, and eliminate 225 positions, 150 of which are currently filled. Academic areas that would be closed include the School of Social Work and related degrees, the degree major in French, and degrees in theater and dance. Library and information-technology services would be reduced. The cuts would save $26-million, the university said—just under half the $59-million in reductions it expects will be needed by July 2012.

Famed state writing program on federal chopping block (California Report)

     After decades of federal support, an acclaimed writing program that began at UC Berkeley 36 years ago faces a difficult future due to budget cuts agreed to by Congress and the Obama administration.
     The $25 million elimination of federal funds to the National Writing Project, which trains teachers to be more effective writing instructors, is part of the $4 billion budget-cutting compromise reached last week to prevent a federal government shutdown.
. . .
     …The National Writing Project began as the Bay Area Writing Project in 1974. It has since expanded to 17 sites across California, and to more than 200 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Its centerpiece is a four-week intensive summer program training 3,300 teachers each year to be more effective writing instructors. The network of teachers trained by the project since its inception now exceeds 70,000.
. . .
     Washington said that research shows [PDF] that students taught by writing project teachers do better on writing tests than those taught by teachers who had not gone through the training.
     Reversing Congress' and President Obama's action will be tough. The Obama administration is under pressure to make tens of billions in additional cuts, rather than reinstating those it has already made. In fact, late last week the administration agreed to another $6.5 billion in cuts….

Religion Financed With Student Fees (Inside Higher Ed)

     The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the University of Wisconsin at Madison of a federal appeals court ruling that could require many public colleges and universities to permit the use of student fee money to pay for explicitly religious activities, including those involving prayer.
     A coalition of higher education groups backed Madison in the case and urged the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing without success that the lower court's decision intruded on reasonable university rules designed to protect the separation of church and state. By rejecting the appeal, the Supreme Court does not endorse the lower court's ruling, but ensures that it remains in effect in the states covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit – Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
. . .
     Ada Meloy, general counsel for the American Council on Education, said she was "disappointed" that the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal. She said she continues to believe that the appeals court decision was incorrect, even if it is "now the law of the land" in the Seventh Circuit. Meloy said that public colleges and universities in that region would probably come up with a range of ways to comply with the ruling.
     She added that the ruling "is not binding in areas other than the Seventh Circuit."