First CSU meeting in 3 months

Two of Chicago State University’s board committees meet tomorrow morning. We’ll be there to cover the action, which includes committee votes on 15 contracts, each worth at least $25,000. The regular board meeting is Sept. 23. Here are the committee meeting agendas.

Student government drama

UIC’s student government has punted again on whether its members should get paid – that was a big issue in last spring’s disputed elections. For now, pay remains ($2,500 for the president, $600 for committee chairs … can I get some of that?). Many newly elected student reps say pay should be axed so that money can go toward student groups and events instead.

Enrollment fallout

We wrote about the City Colleges’ enrollment spike a couple of weeks ago. Similar patterns are playing out at other community colleges across the nation. Many are reporting increases of 10 percent or more. At Boston’s Bunker Hill Community College, administrators added 40 new class sections at the last minute in response to soaring enrollment. Some, like the College of Southern Nevada, have so many prospective students that they’re having to turn some away. 

Textbook affordability?

Electronic textbooks were supposed to be one way to make books less expensive. Looks like McGraw-Hill figured out how to raise prices instead. Their new e-books can integrate lecture videos that a professor records and uploads, as well as present homework that gets automatically graded, a feature the company is betting many profs will use. For one title, the online e-book is $80; a bundle including a printed version is $178. Ouch.

Tangential…

Jim Tyree, the chairman of the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees, has put in an offer to buy the Sun-Times News Group for $25 million. That's $5 million for the assets of the main paper and 58 suburban papers, plus $20 million worth of the Sun-Times' debt. Trib has lots more.