In a setback for organized labor that could have been much worse, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that certain government-funded employees cannot be required to pay fees to the public sector unions that represent them, a decision that could hurt some unions financially. read more >

The giant grant maker, known for its opacity, is studying its strategy for saving the humanities read more >

Their new deal makes gains on pay and on a raft of social justice issues--including class size, child care, parental leave, breastfeeding stations, opportunities for undocumented students, and all-gender bathrooms. Here's how they did it. read more >

Portland dignitaries hailed the new $300 million Collaborative Life Sciences Building that opened in the South Waterfront on Thursday as one that will dramatically change medical education and the neighborhood for the better. read more >

Can better evaluation make a difference? read more >

The Council meets every Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m. All bargaining unit members are welcome to attend Executive Council meetings. read more >

Nearly 70 institutions are collaborating to better assess learning outcomes as part of a new initiative called the Multi-State Collaborative to Advance Learning Outcomes Assessment. read more >

The Obama administration now can claim partial credit for the demise of one of the largest for-profit college chains. And both critics and supporters of the sector expect the federal scrutiny to continue. read more >

We have a problem with how we define and value the many ways in which faculty members engage with the public read more >

"If students learn that adjunct faculty are earning less than the minimum wage while the university president earns a million dollars, that practical lesson may trump the other values the institution promotes," writes AAUP past president Cary Nelson. read more >

Google announced on Tuesday that it would give Carnegie Mellon $300,000 in each of the next two years through the Google Focused Research Award program. Google can fund the research for a third year at the same price if it chooses. read more >

Two bills passed by the Oregon Legislature last year violate both the United States and Oregon constitutions on several counts, according to the first two briefs filed in a case challenging Senate Bills 822 and 861 before the Oregon Supreme Court. read more >

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a community college employee who testified about an Alabama legislator's no-show job had First Amendment protection when he did so. The ruling allows the employee -- whose job was subsequently eliminated -- to pursue a claim that he lost his position in retaliation for his testimony. read more >

Talk of a faculty strike was everywhere. Posters of an impending strike were taped to walls in the restrooms and on the entrance doors to various buildings, and in other unauthorized locations. Something was about to happen. The posturing was over and the message from professors was clear. Pay us a decent and livable wage, with better contract security, or we will strike. read more >

The state Board of Higher Education on Friday appointed Roy Saigo as interim president of Southern Oregon University, the Ashland-based school that’s cutting academic programs because of budget woes. read more >

In the rush to online education, faculty members have been signing contracts that abrogate the ownership of their classes, erode their collective interests, and threaten the quality of higher education. No standard (let alone best) practice has yet emerged, and faculty members are largely in the dark about what is at stake. read more >

Conversations about what we need to know about higher education, both to rate college and university performance and to provide information to prospective students and their parents, leave one word largely unspoken: faculty. read more >

The First Amendment protects government employees from retaliation for giving truthful testimony that was not part of their job responsibilities, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Thursday. read more >

Gov. John Kitzhaber proudly wrote of PEBB’s success in controlling costs while offering new options that transform the way healthcare is delivered, aligning the health plan for public employees closer to Oregon’s managed care revolution for Medicaid. read more >

Southern Oregon president leaves for Washington job. Southern Oregon University President Mary Cullinan announced Monday she is leaving June 30 to become president of Eastern Washington University. read more >