This week, masks are allowed in Arizona, schools prepare for remote learning after Thanksgiving, UC Berkeley says goodbye to the GRE, students demand reform to fraternities, and Duke and UVA share big financial news.
A judge in Arizona ruled that the current ban on public school mask mandates is unconstitutional and now public schools across the state – including universities – are free to require masks on their campuses.
Some colleges have already decided to switch to virtual instruction after the Thanksgiving break. Despite some early announcements, with vaccines readily available and vaccine mandates at many colleges, the number of schools switching to full-time remote instruction remains quite low (knock on wood…we don’t want to jinx it!).
In grad school news, UC Berkeley announced that it would be eliminating the GRE requirement for all but 13 of its 125 graduate programs, given “significant race, gender and socioeconomic disparities.” The decision to not require GRE scores was first put into place during the pandemic. But is it forever? The dean of the Graduate Division said, “We are looking forward to developing better assessments and improving our holistic approach to graduate admissions.” Stay tuned…
Students at the University of Maryland and Northwestern University have been protesting fraternities on campus that have been accused of committing sexual assault and drugging fellow students. The protests are part of ongoing action to reform Greek Life at the two institutions.
Duke announced that its endowment had a 55.9% return for fiscal year 2020-2021. The endowment is now valued at $12.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the University of Virginia is the recipient of a $50 million donation for a state-of-the-art performing arts center. That calls for a standing ovation!
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