higher ed

A new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers provides a broad overview of student loan-debt in the United States and yields some potentially surprising conclusions: while the $1.3 trillion in total student-loan debt in the U.S. may seem like a staggering amount, the authors of Investing in Higher Education: Benefits, Challenges, and the State of Student Loan Debt contend that this is helping, not hurting the nation’s economy. The authors posit that college is best viewed as an investment that typically yields a high return, even with the high upfront costs.

In an effort to advance entrepreneurship among their student bodies and grow their regional entrepreneurship ecosystems, six historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will receive up to $24,000 in support services as part of a new program from the Delta Regional Authority. Funds from the HBCU Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative will primarily be used for universities to work with partners to identify entrepreneurial resources within the regional system, categorize strengths and weaknesses, and to strategically build around opportunities. Additionally, the selected schools will each host a two-day technical assistance and rapid acceleration workshop that seeks to teach student entrepreneurs about the types of skills and resources needed to launch and scale businesses. Student entrepreneurs will then pitch their ideas for a chance to be selected to present at Founders Weekend, where finalists will receive mentorship with successful minority entrepreneurs, business model development, and other services.

Attracting and retaining talented workers is a critical element in a technology-based economy.  In the U.S., a major source of this talent comes from international students, many of whom stay in the United States to work after graduation – especially in STEM industries. New research from economists at the University of California at Santa Barbara examines why international students may choose to study in the U.S., as well as what compels them to either remain in the country or go elsewhere after earning their degrees.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announced plans to invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in the state, and to ensure the Hoosier State plays a leading role in solving 21st century challenges, while supporting Indiana’s long-term economic growth, job creation and talent attraction.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released its Strategic Framework for Investments in Graduate Education for FY 2016-FY 2020 that addresses NSF’s goals in supporting graduate education and formulates a set of strategic objectives to meet those goals by 2020. The three goals outlined by NSF include:

The University System of Maryland (USM) recently announced a $25 million fund to invest in USM-affiliated companies or startups created by students, faculty and recent graduates.  Companies already based in USM research parks or university incubators are also eligible for funding.

In 2012, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released Engage to Excel – a five point strategy to increase the STEM pipeline by an additional one million workers. To achieve this goal of one million additional STEM workers, PCAST highlighted the importance of freshman research experiences for STEM students.

In addition to several new moonshot R&D initiatives and other joint research efforts, several universities recently have announced public-private partnerships that will build multi-million dollar, world-class R&D facilities.

As the 2015-2016 academic calendar comes to an end, several universities announced large financial contributions from foundations to address large societal issues including cancer and a variety of neurological disorders.  These large-scale initiatives will be undertaken at universities in California, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

As the 2015-2016 academic year comes to a close, universities and their industry partners have announced several new university-industry partnerships to leverage university research capabilities to address industry needs. Fortune 500 companies including IBM, Rolls-Royce, and several pharma companies have agreed to commit millions of dollars to support these partnerships targeted at increasing the pace of scientific discovery as well as training the next generation of STEM professionals.