Education News

MPR News keeps track of the latest education news in Minnesota so you can understand the events shaping the future of learning and how it impacts students at any level.

Stay informed about local education events, policies and more happening in schools and colleges across Minnesota.

UMN president agrees to outside review of clinical research practices
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler says he will form an outside panel to review how the U treats human subjects in clinical trials. His announcement followed a faculty resolution today requesting a review of the U’s practices. (See Item No. 10 on the second-to-last page above.) The panel is a response to the 2004 Read more →
I’ve been told that faculty and administration have just finished meeting over cuts proposed for the campus to solve a $5 million budget deficit. I’ll be on the horn with the president in a few minutes, but for now, here’s the announcement: Administrative proposal would eliminate projected deficit Posted on December 05, 2013 A plan Read more →
A Look At Controversial Mascots In Sports Many experts say using any human being as a mascot is demeaning regardless of the depiction, though communities at times have been reluctant to cede old traditions. In this list of mascots, five out of seven are collegiate. (The Huffington Post) Students swoon, faculty scowl: Emerson goes Burgundy Emmanuel Paraschos, Read more →
Senators to hold campus safety hearing Tuesday
A recent rash of assaults and robberies at the University of Minnesota has prompted a Senate hearing on campus safety. Higher education committee Chairwoman Terri Bonoff says she’s been hearing from worried parents for the past three weeks: “They’re saying in particular my daughter is going to the University of Minnesota, and we are really Read more →
Where does the MnSCU crew stand on the system’s new direction?
Last month, the Star Tribune editorial board praised the new direction taken by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system in its Charting the Future plan. It liked the system’s idea of having colleges stop competing so much and instead coordinate curricula and administrative functions to a degree not seen before, saying that by Read more →
Black colleges face uphill battle to survive These institutions are among the most vulnerable among universities and colleges of all types beset by financial woes. As a group they suffer disproportionately from small endowments, subpar facilities, and underprepared students. And with lower graduation rates on average, they would be particularly vulnerable under President Barack Obama’s proposal to financially punish colleges and universities Read more →
Teens from Asian nations dominated a global exam given to 15-year-olds, while U.S. students showed little improvement and failed to reach the top 20 in math, science or reading, according to test results released Tuesday.
Why is the U of M College of Design taking in so many foreign students?
When I reported recently on declining graduate-school enrollment at the University of Minnesota, I asked College of Design Dean Tom Fisher about another phenomena I’d found: big increases in the enrollment of foreign students. His school saw some of the biggest jumps at the U, posting a 209 percent increase over the past five years Read more →
Why is the number of agriculture teachers shrinking?
Minnesota Agriculture Education Leadership Council chief Sarah Dornink tells the Star Tribune that one of the big things making it hard to recruit and retain agriculture teachers — a declining resource in this state — is that agribusiness keeps luring them away: “When you graduate from college with debt, it’s hard to say no to a $55,000 salary, Read more →