 |
|
|
|||||
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for in an attempt to create clearer national standards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era.Trump directed the secretary of labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify the status of collegiate athletes through guidance or rules “that will maximize the educational benefits and opportunities provided by higher education institutions through athletics.” The order does not provide or suggest specifics on the controversial topic of college athlete employment.The move comes after months of speculation about whether Trump will establish a college sports commission to tackle some of the thorny issues facing what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. He instead issued an order intended to add some controls to “an out-of-control, rudderless system in which competing university donors engage in bidding wars for the best players, who can change teams each season.”“Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,” Trump’s order says. “It is common sense that college sports are not, and should not be, professional sports, and my administration will take action accordingly.”There has been a dramatic increase in money flowing into and around college athletics and a sense of chaos. Key court victories won by athletes angry that they were barred for decades from earning income based on their celebrity and from sharing in the billions of revenue they helped generate have gutted the amateurism model long at the heart of college sports.Facing a growing number of state laws undercutting its authority, the NCAA in July 2021 cleared the way for athletes to cash in with NIL deals with brands and sponsors deals now worth millions. That came mere days after a 9-0 decision from the Supreme Court that found the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits schools provide to their athletes because such limits violate antitrust law.The NCAA’s embrace of NIL deals set the stage for another massive change that took effect July 1: The ability of schools to begin paying millions of dollars to their own athletes, up to $20.5 million per school over the next year. The $2.8 billion House settlement shifts even more power to athletes, who have also won the ability to transfer from school to school without waiting to play.At Big Ten Conference football media days in Las Vegas, Purdue coach Barry Odom was asked about the Trump order.“We’ve gotten to the point where government is involved. Obviously, there’s belief it needs to be involved,” he said. “We’ll get it all worked out. The game’s been around for a hundred years and it’s going to be around 100 more.”The NCAA has been lobbying for several years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over this new landscape and avoid more crippling lawsuits but a handful of bills have gone nowhere in Congress. Trump’s order makes no mention of that, nor does it refer to any of the current bills in Congress aimed at addressing issues in college sports.NCAA President Charlie Baker and the nation’s largest conferences both issued statements saying there is a clear need for federal legislation.“The association appreciates the Trump administration’s focus on the life-changing opportunities college sports provides millions of young people and we look forward to working with student-athletes, a bipartisan coalition in Congress and the Trump administration,” said Baker, while the conferences said it was important to pass a law with national standards for athletes’ NIL rights as soon as possible.The 1,100 universities that comprise the NCAA have insisted for decades that athletes are students who cannot be considered anything like a school employee. Still, some coaches have recently suggested collective bargaining as a potential solution to the chaos they see.It is a complicated topic: Universities would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation and schools and conferences have insisted they will fight any such move in court. While private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state and it’s worth noting that virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions.Trump’s order also: Calls for adding or at least preserving athletic scholarships and roster spots for non-revenue sports, which are those outside football and basketball. The House settlement allows for unlimited scholarships but does impose roster limits, leading to a complicated set of decisions for each program at each school that include potential concerns about Title IX equity rules. Trump said “opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports must be preserved and, where possible, expanded.” Asks the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to “preserve college athletics through litigation” and other actions to protect the rights and interests of athletes a stance that could influence ongoing lawsuits filed by athletes over eligibility and other issues. Directs White House staff to work with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to protect the collegiate pipeline feeding Team USA. College sports programs produce around three-quarters of U.S. Olympians at a typical Summer Games, but some are on uncertain footing as schools begin sharing revenue with athletes and the lion’s share going to football and basketball. Will Weissert, Associated Press AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed.
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. stocks are hanging around their records on Friday and coasting toward the close of another winning week.The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.1% in early trading, coming off its latest all-time high, and is on track to finish its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was drifting around its record set the day before.Deckers, the company behind Ugg boots and Hoka shoes, jumped 16.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Its growth was particularly strong outside the United States, where revenue soared nearly 50%.Edwards Lifesciences rose 8% after likewise topping Wall Street’s expectations for profit in the latest quarter. It said it saw strength across all its product groups, and it expects profit for the full year to come in at the high end of the forecasted range it had given earlier.They helped offset drop of 8.8% for Intel, which fell after reporting a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts were looking for a profit. The struggling chipmaker also said it would cut thousands of jobs and eliminate other expenses as it tries to turn around its fortunes. Intel, which helped launch Silicon Valley as the U.S. technology hub, has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices while demand for artificial intelligence chips soars.The pressure is on companies to deliver solid growth in profits after their stock prices rallied to record after record in recent weeks. Wall Street has zoomed higher on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. Trump has recently announced deals with Japan and the Philippines, and the next big deadline is looming on Friday, Aug. 1.Besides potential trade talks, next week will also feature a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Trump again on Thursday lobbied the Fed to cut rates, which he has implied could save the U.S. government money on its debt repayments.Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though, has continued to insist he wants to wait for more data about how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. Lower interest rates can help goose the economy, but they can also give inflation more fuel.Lower rates also may not lower the U.S. government’s costs to borrow money, if the bond market feels they could send inflation higher in the future. In that case, lower short-term rates brought by the Fed could actually have the opposite effect and raise the interest rates that Washington must pay to borrow money over the long term.The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates.In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following Trump’s latest attempt to push Powell to cut interest rates. Trump also seemed to back off on threats to fire the Fed’s chair.“To do that is a big move, and I don’t think that’s necessary,” Trump said. “I just want to see one thing happen, very simple: Interest rates come down.”If Trump fired Powell, he’d risk freaking out financial markets by raising the possibility of a less independent Fed, one unable to make the unpopular choices that are necessary to keep the economy healthy.The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.42% from 4.43% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, held steady at 3.91%.In stock markets abroad, indexes slipped across much of Europe and Asia.Stocks fell 1.1% in Hong Kong and 0.3% in Shanghai. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he will meet with Chinese officials in Sweden next week to work toward a trade deal with Beijing ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline. Trump has said a China trip “is not too distant” as trade tensions ease. AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed. Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
College admissions are at a critical juncture. Enrollment patterns are changing, with the enrollment cliff now in full view. AI is transforming how students apply to college and how schools evaluate their potential. Additionally, institutions are navigating a complex maze of funding and policy requirementsand, at times, increased political pressures. Amid these challenges, many higher education institutions are realizing that traditional recruitment playbooks no longer cut it. This year, admissions leaders are rethinking how to attract, evaluate, and support students, while answering a fundamental question: How do we demonstrate the value of a college degree in a world that keeps questioning its worth? These seismic shifts were made clear in a new report by the company I cofounded, Acuity Insights. Our survey of admissions leaders across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia found that admissions teams are under greater pressure to not only react to changes but actively rebuild for the future. From revamping how they assess applicants to retooling how they build lasting, student-centered strategies, schools need to lay the groundwork for long-term resilience and success. Enrollment, policy, and technology changes are keeping admissions leaders on their toes Lets start with the elephant in the room: Enrollment is down, and its only expected to get worse. With the demographic cliff expected to hit in earnest by fall 2025, admissions leaders are bracing for an even steeper drop in high school graduates entering the pipeline. Its no surprise that 41% of admissions leaders cited competition from other institutions as their top challenge, followed closely by 36% who pointed to the declining interest in traditional college education. These concerns have sparked a new focus on student retention and career readiness; schools need to not only get students in the door, but also support their students success all the way to graduation. Layered on top of enrollment concerns are significant policy shifts. Nearly half (46%) of U.S. admissions leaders say they feel fully prepared to navigate changes in financial aid, affirmative action, and DEI policies. However, a near equal percentage (45%) only feel moderately prepared for these changes, which will require updates in admissions criteria and renewed efforts around compliance. At the same time, todays applicants are evolving just as rapidly. Digitally native students are bringing AI into the admissions process. Our fall 2024 survey of 1,000 recent higher education applicants found that 35% used AI tools like ChatGPT during the application process (and thats just the ones who were willing to admit it). Its no surprise that 78% of admissions leaders are concerned about how AI might compromise the authenticity and integrity of student submissions, especially as generative tools become more sophisticated and harder to detect. These combined shifts demand a careful balancing act. Admissions teams must weigh innovation with integrity, speed with substance, and institutional competitiveness with their core mission of educating and preparing students for success beyond graduation. 3 areas where admissions is adapting the most Its encouraging to see that many admissions leaders are rolling up their sleeves and making real changes to the admissions process. Here are three key areas in which were seeing admissions teams adapt their practices to todays landscape: 1. Increased reliance on AI AI isnt just transforming how students complete their college applications, its transforming how institutions evaluate and select applicants. In response, more than half (51%) of admissions leaders believe AI will significantly change the evaluation and selection process. AI is making it easier to maintain a more holistic review process without sacrificing efficiency. Half of admissions leaders said their teams are using AI to identify key noncognitive factors (such as leadership, resilience, and civic engagement), and 38% report using it to predict students’ success based on various academic and personal criteria. Beyond evaluation, AI is also being used to improve student communication and engagement, with 38% of leaders seeing value in its ability to provide more personalized support throughout the admissions journey. 2. Greater emphasis on the value of higher education With public skepticism on the rise, students and their families are carefully weighing the cost and career outcomes of a college degree. As a result, admissions teams are increasingly focused on proving value and communicating why a degree is still a worthwhile investment. According to our survey, 34% of schools are emphasizing career readiness and employability in their messaging. Another 33% are doubling down on experiential learning opportunities that give students real-world context for what theyre studying. Alumni success stories are also becoming a key tactic. Nearly a quarter of admissions teams are leveraging their graduates journeys to illustrate the long-term value of a degree, both professionally and personally. Demonstrating the tangible benefits of higher education doesnt just apply to attracting students, its also crucial in retaining them. With fewer students entering the pipeline, institutions simply cant afford to lose students midway through their programs. Thats why many schools are doubling down on highlighting academic support, advising, and career services that ensure students stay enrolled, engaged, and on track to graduate. Moving beyond traditional metrics Admissions teams are also rethinking what makes a student qualified. Standardized test scores are no longer the be-all and end-all: 57% of admissions leaders are placing greater emphasis on personal qualities and life experiences during application reviews, while 31% are expanding how they evaluate extracurriculars and community impact. This shift is part of a broader move away from rigid, one-size-fits-all admissions processes toward more holistic practices, where applicants life experiences and nonacademic skills are considered alongside academic knowledge. Instead of relying solely on standardized tests, personal essays, and GPAs, admissions teams are leveraging personalized and student-focused pathways that account for the unique backgrounds, personal achievements, and soft skills that applicants bring to the table. In todays complex world, qualities like leadership, civic engagement, and creative thinking can be just as predictive of a students potential as GPA or test scoresand its encouraging to see institutions’ amissions processes evolve to match. Rebuilding admissions for a new era This is a watershed moment for admissions. As enrollment declines, policy shifts, and technology evolves, institutions are being called on to reimagine their most fundamental processes. Ultimately, by embracing innovative technology, better demonstrating real-world value, and revamping admissions practices, institutions are working to rebuild trust in higher education and remind students why its still a powerful pathway forward. More than anything, these transformations reflect a bold commitment to progress and the long-term vitality of higher education. The institutions that adapt now will define what opportunity looks like for the next generation.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||