The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has recently opened an investigation into whether some four-year liberal arts colleges are accepting lesser qualified male applicants while rejecting better qualified female applicants to maintain a gender balance on their campuses.
After months of negotiations and stalled efforts on both sides, Mercer's Faculty Association and administration have negotiated a contract for faculty. The key areas of the agreement are the teachers' salaries, medical costs and tenure experience requirements.
Mercer will be offering classes over the winter break for the first time this December and January. Almost 30 courses will be offered, both on campus and online, giving students a way to brush up on core skills or accelerate their path to a degree by fitting in a few extra credits.
A large portion of new students entering Mercer every semester are placed into foundations level reading, writing or math courses by scoring below a state-mandated percentage on the Accuplacer placement tests. This year the number has grown, as state-mandated "cut scores" have been raised.