Daily Higher Education News: 15 January 2013

The TopUniversities.com guide to the latest higher education news from around the world, on 15 January 2013.

University of Vermont bans on-campus sales of bottled water

The University of Vermont has banned the sale of bottled water on its Burlington campus, instead offering stations, remodeled for the purpose, at which students can refill bottles. The move follows a similar one by the town of Concord, Massachusetts, which came into force at the beginning of the year. The ban is based on sustainable principles as well as convenience, reports The Inquisitr.

UK recruiters focus attention on handful of elite universities

A study by High Fliers Research has found that the UK’s top 100 graduate employers largely target graduates of 20 of the country’s elite universities, reports The Telegraph. The most popular university with employers was the University of Warwick, followed by the University of Nottingham and the University of Manchester. The study also showed a fall in entry-level graduate level jobs overall in 2012, although it is predicted this will improve in 2013.

Lynn University moves to replace textbooks with iPads

From fall 2013, Lynn University in Florida will require all students to purchase iPad minis containing course materials, reports Inside Higher Ed. The move is part of a long term drive to integrate technology into the university’s core curriculum which all students at Lynn study. The devices will cost US$475, which is roughly half the price of equivalent print versions of the course materials, and can be kept by the students.

Author of A Beautiful Mind sues Columbia University

Sylvia Nasar, author of the novel A Beautiful Mind – a film adaptation of which was made in 2001, starring Russell Crowe – is suing Columbia University for nearly US$1 million which she says the institution owes her. Nasar, who works at the university as a professor of business journalism, claims that the university has not paid her an endowment grant she won since September 1998, reports Yahoo News.

MOOC provider Udacity to partner San Jose State University

Udacity, a provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs – free online classes from prominent academics), has announced a partnership with Californian institution San Jose State University. The deal will see the Silicon Valley-based company offering low cost for-credit remedial and introductory courses at the university. The courses will be designed in collaboration with professors at the university, reports The New York Times. This is the first time such a deal has been struck up, though Colorado State University-Global Campus gives credit to students sitting a proctored exam (at a cost of US$89) for Udacity’s ‘Introduction to Computer Science: Building a Search Engine’ course.