From yet another Ivy League institution reviving standardized test requirements to staff cuts at a private college in Minnesota, here are the top-line figures from some of our biggest stories of the week.
By the numbers
24%
The share of Cornell University undergraduate applicants who submitted standardized test scores for the fall 2023 semester. The Ivy League institution announced it would return to requiring test scores for the fall 2026 application cycle, citing concerns that prospective students withheld scores that would have helped their applications.
$10.5M
The expected budget shortfall that the University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota, expects to face in fiscal 2025. The Catholic institution said it will cut 26 staff positions and leave 30 unfilled amid “headwinds affecting all of higher education.”
9%
The approximate rate of return a bachelor’s degree provides to college graduates, according to new research. It also found that the lifetime rate of return for a college education varied significantly based on graduates' majors.
$59K
The new threshold for overtime pay eligibility that the U.S. Department of Labor will enact on Jan. 1, 2025. More immediately, the threshold will rise from the current $35,568 to $43,888 beginning this July 1. The agency said millions of workers will become eligible for overtime wages under the expansion.
$177M
The size of the budget deficit faced by the University of Arizona. The institution's interim chief financial officer announced measures to reduce the gap by $110 million and said the institution is on track to have a balanced budget by fiscal 2026.
