Colleges mine data to predict dropouts
Chronicle of Higher Education – May 28 (Subscription required)
…At the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, for example, students in a graduate course on data mining were asked to wade through years of raw data on incoming students and pick out factors that linked to retention using analytics software from SAS Institute Inc., a company that helped design the course. Among their findings: Freshmen who lived off the campus were more likely to drop out. University officials took the findings seriously and adopted a few policy changes as a result. For instance, the university began requiring first-year students to live on the campus…
The CSI death dogs: Sniffing out the truth behind the crime-scene canines
The Independent (United Kingdom) – May 28
…But how good are dogs at detecting a skeleton from which all the flesh has fallen away? The anthropologist Keith Jacobi of the University of Alabama has investigated this at a police-dog training facility, where human remains ranging from fresh to skeletonised have been buried (the remains were bequeathed by donors). In one study involving four dogs and their handlers, Jacobi says the dogs were able to detect remains at all stages of decomposition. Performance varied between dogs, but some could locate skeletonised remains buried in an area of 300ft by 150ft. “The few single human vertebrae I used in the study were well over 25 years old, and dry bone,” Jacobi says. “This made the discovery of one of these vertebrae, which we buried in dense woods 2ft deep, by a cadaver dog pretty remarkable.”…
National Merit Scholars named
Birmingham News – May 28
Sixty-four Alabama high school seniors, including 19 from Jefferson and Shelby counties, were named winners today of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities…University of Alabama: Carly A. Palmour, Oak Mountain High; Samantha R. Kirby, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School; Mitchell O. Hughes, Homewood High; Travis A. Midkiff, Hoover High; George R. Tankersley, Mountain Brook High; Jessica R. Duke, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School…
Sen. Sessions encourages vehicle researchers to persevere in their research
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 27
…Senator Jeff Sessions is at The University of Alabama speaking with vehicle researchers. Sessions spoke this afternoon about his experience on the Senate committee on energy and natural resources. He urged researchers to persevere in their efforts towards finding new energy solutions…
UA and UWA students take part in black belt action
WTOK (Meridian, Miss.) – May 27
…All are participants in the Black Belt Action Program. It is a collaborative effort between The University of Alabama and The University of West Alabama to promote college students doing community service…
Opinion: Tuscaloosa home to top-notch teams
Tuscaloosa News – May 28
Tuscaloosa this week has become the state’s powerhouse on the diamond as teams have emerged from all levels to compete for championships. The University of Alabama baseball team…got an at-large bid Monday to compete in the NCAA Tournament. It meets Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., on Friday at 6 p.m. The UA women’s softball team…superb 54-6 record earned the squad its fifth trip to the eight-team Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, where it meets Arizona State in a first-round game Thursday at 6 p.m. that will be televised live on ESPN…