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In a development highlighting the enhanced India-US partnership in education and research, IIT Bombay and New York State University have joined hands to collaborate in the fields of science and engineering. The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) and the State University of New York Old Westbury announced Friday that they will partner in the development of new educational and research opportunities that would be offered on the Long Island, New York campus. A letter of intent was signed here by IIT Bombay Director Prof Shireesh Kedare and President of SUNY Old Westbury Dr Timothy E Sams in the presence of Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan. Under the partnership, the two institutions will begin work towards creating new academic offerings at all levels in science and engineering focused on emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, while also developing plans for collaborative research activities, SUNY Old Westbury said in a statement. Attending
At Harvard University, earning straight A's is about to get harder. Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it would limit the number of A grades awarded to undergraduates, adopting one of the most ambitious efforts by a major university to curb grade inflation. The decision was made by faculty vote earlier this month. The move comes after top grades became so common that some Harvard faculty argued they no longer reliably distinguished exceptional work. More than 60% of all grades awarded to undergraduates in recent years were in the A range, according to university data cited by faculty members who supported the measure. Harvard is not the first elite university to confront grade inflation. Princeton University adopted a policy in 2004 to limit A-range grades to 35% of those awarded, though it abandoned the system a decade later after criticism that it disadvantaged students in competition for jobs and graduate school admission. Nationally, grade-point ...
The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Education Department staffers who were slated to be laid off, saying their help is needed to tackle a mounting backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families. The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced lawsuits challenging layoffs in the agency's Office for Civil Rights, which investigates possible discrimination in the nation's schools and colleges. But in a Friday letter, department officials ordered the workers back to duty starting Dec. 15 to help clear civil rights cases. A department spokesperson confirmed the move, saying the government still hoped to lay off the staffers to shrink the size of the department. "The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers," Julie Hartman said in a statement. In the let
The Trump administration says its plan to dismantle the Education Department offers a fix for the nation's lagging academics a solution that could free schools from the strictures of federal influence. Yet to some school and state officials, the plan appears to add more bureaucracy, with no clear benefit for students who struggle with math or reading. Instead of being housed in a single agency, much of the Education Department's work will now be spread across four other federal departments. For President Donald Trump, it's a step toward fully closing the department and giving states more power over schooling. Yet many states say it will complicate their role as intermediaries between local schools and the federal government. The plan increases bureaucracy fivefold, Washington state's education chief said, undoubtedly creating confusion and duplicity for educators and families. His counterpart in California said the plan is clearly less efficient and invites disruption. Maryland's .
The number of international student arrivals in the US dropped by nearly a fifth in August as American universities started the new academic year, according to federal data. The dip is the latest sign of a hit to colleges' international enrolment as the Trump administration ratchets up scrutiny of foreign students. International visitors arriving to the US on student visas declined 19 per cent in August compared with the same month in 2024, according to the preliminary data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office. The numbers declined also in June and July but August is the summer month that typically sees the most international student arrivals 313,138 this year. As the federal government has clamped down on student visas, industry groups have warned of international enrolment declines that threaten school budgets and American colleges' standing in the world. While the full extent of the change remains to be seen, the new data suggests a turnaround in international ..