Penn in the News

Mark Gordon stumbled across the College Scorecard this past fall while searching online for information on college outcomes. Mr. Gordon, whose son, Zeb, is a senior in high school, realized it was the same consumer-information website that President Obama had been promoting. The Scorecard provided the kind of data that Mr. Gordon was looking for. "The schools are very expensive," he said. "Now is a time when you’re looking for a great education, but you also want to make sure you’re not overpaying for a brand that doesn’t necessarily bring with it any commensurate value."

Donald Trump has been quiet about higher education policy during his triumphant march through the Republican presidential primaries. That could be ending soon. Sam Clovis, the national co-chair and policy director of Trump's campaign, outlined for Inside Higher Ed the ideas that the presumptive GOP nominee is preparing to put forth. While final decisions have not been made on when the ideas will be formally unveiled, not to mention many details worked out, Clovis said the Trump campaign expects higher education to be a major issue in the fall general election.

In the annals of George Mason University’s history, few outsiders have claim to a role so prominent as Charles G. Koch. Indeed, one can scarcely separate the story of George Mason from that of Mr. Koch, a libertarian billionaire who, along with his brother, David H. Koch, has used his fortune to try to swing elections and to emancipate markets from regulation. The Koch brothers’ war of ideas expands far across academe, where programs aligned with their political interests curry philanthropic favor, but no institution has benefited as consistently from the Koch largess as George Mason.

Eric Hedin, the associate professor of astronomy and physics at Ball State University who was investigated in 2014 for allegedly teaching intelligent design, has earned tenure. That’s despite claims that he was proselytizing in a science class and the university’s strong affirmation of the scientific consensus around evolution in light of the allegations. Hedin declined comment on the promotion, and a university spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how, if at all, past concerns about Hedin’s teaching were resolved.

Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences joins a conversation about grit being a characteristic that successful people share.

As Texas prepares to become the ninth state to allow licensed holders to carry guns on campus, at least one question looms large for the University of Texas System's regents: Can faculty ban guns from their offices? Unable to settle this question Thursday, as well as the additional question of whether holders should be prohibited from keeping a bullet in the chamber of a semi-automatic weapon, the regents postponed any action until they meet again in July.

Armed with a blue and white megaphone and a poster featuring a female silhouette and the words "stop blaming victims," Kelsey Bourgeois was at the epicenter of a large protest late last month just off Brigham Young University’s campus. The crowd assembled with the goal of persuading the university to relax its strict honor code and to grant immunity to people who come forward about sexual assault. The cause is personal for Ms. Bourgeois. She was raised Mormon and is herself a sexual-assault survivor two times over.

Mauro Guillén of the Wharton School shares his views on the impeachment of Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff.

Graduate student Steve Jasinski of the School of Arts & Sciences is highlighted for identifying a new species of fossil dog.

Senator Jeff Flake came to work Tuesday with cups of pudding -- meant to look like dirt -- each complete with a couple of colorful gummy worms. “Getting ready to worm my way into the @SenatePress Gallery,” he tweeted. The cups, which the Arizona Republican handed out to journalists, came affixed with a sticker: “Studies that will make you squirm.”