AFT Higher Education, the division of the American Federation of Teachers that represents more than 200,000 college and university instructors, professional staff and graduate students released an interesting report on what they think needs to be done to help college students have educational success. The report, Student Success in Higher Education, comes in response to ongoing criticism of the higher education system that has largely excluded the voices of faculty in the conversations. The document is threaded with warnings that colleges and professors will be unable to educate more students -- and to give them a meaningfully substantive education -- unless public investment in student financial aid increases and state disinvestment in public higher education ceases. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have announced a set of thorough guidelines for how schools and colleges should respond to allegations of sexual assault. Among them are that institutions should consider such allegations under the "more likely than not" standard of evidence, rather than the stricter "clear and convincing" standard that some now use. The guidance comes in the form of a "Dear Colleague" letter from the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights designed to clarify existing Title IX regulations. The letter provides a detailed overview of institutions' existing responsibilities under Title IX when dealing with complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Registration has been steady for the visit of Dr. Rebecca Cox on April 15. There is still room for the 9:05 a.m. faculty session to be held in the John Gray Center. We are also hoping for a great turnout at the student session to be held in 206 Setzer Center at 12:30 p.m. The folks at the B&N Bookstore have informed me that they will have copies of Dr. Cox's book The College Fear Factor later this week. We will have book signing opportunities following both sessions.