The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 24 October 2012.
University of Sydney receives US$21 million donation
The co-founder of WorleyParsons, an Australian engineering services firm, has donated US$21 million to the University of Sydney. The funds will be put towards a project leadership center, reports The Brisbane Times. John Grill, an alumnus of the university, is worth an estimated US$804 million.
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill moves to eliminate gender-specific terms
In a bid to be more inclusive, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill has moved to remove the word ‘freshman’ from official university documents, as part of a push to eliminate gender-specific terminology. The policy has actually been in force since 2009, but has recently come into the spotlight as the result of a report by US journalist John Stossel.
US university costs continue to rise
Out-of-state tuition at US public universities has increased by 4.2% over the past year, Yahoo News reports. Fees at private not-for-profit universities have increased by the same percentage. With room and board taken into account, the average cost for students at the former stands at US$30,911, and US$39,618 for those at the latter.
University of Texas administrator aims to meet every student
Gage Paine, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Texas, has made it her goal to meet all 50,000 students studying in the UT system. She is utilizing social media to connect with those she cannot meet face-to-face, reports The Daily Texan.
Indian minister sets target of 30% enrollment in higher education by 2020
Kapil Sibal, the Indian Minister of Human Resource Development, has announced that he wants to get 30% of India’s university age population into higher education by 2020, reports The Times of India, with the current figure standing at 19%. Private institutions, he announced, will play a key role in reaching this target.