Beckman calls it "Illini Time," insisting that if players are not 10 minutes early, then they're late. That goes for classes, practices, everything. more ›

Although DePaul is not the first school in the nation to make test score submission optional, it may be the largest private, non-profit university to do so. more ›

A proposal for a tuition increase at the University of Illinois is on the agenda at this morning's meeting of the University's Board of Trustees. The Board is looking at raising tuition 6.9 percent for the incoming freshman class. Last year, the Board raised tuition 9.5 percent and state law requires tuition to remain the same for an incoming class for four years. more ›

If you're still waiting to apply for financial aid for college, you might want to get yourself in gear because the deadline is this coming Friday--making it the earliest cut-off for state aid ever. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission informed school administrators on Saturday that the deadline to receive grants from the state's Monetary Award Program is also on Friday. more ›

Choosing the right college is an important yet difficult task, and it appears that some colleges are trying to make that decision somewhat easier: the University of Missouri has been courting students in and around the Chicago area at an alarming rate, and students are responding positively to Mizzou's active recruitment. Accordingly, Chicago is one of the largest "feeder cities" that has students attending the University of Missouri. For instance, applications to Mizzou from the Chicago area reached to about 3,000 applications last year and is pretty close to matching the number of applications the St. Louis area generated last year, which was around 4,700. more ›

Arm chair commissioners have been trying to figure out just how the Big Ten would split its twelve teams into two divisions, after the recent addition of Nebraska to the conference allowed for divisional alignments and a lucrative conference championship game to determine the league's guaranteed BCS bid. Yesterday, the Big Ten officially announced how they're splitting the divisions. more ›

Since the Big Ten announced it was considering expansion in December, there have been a lot of rumors and speculation but not much in the way of firm movement toward adding to the conference's roster of schools. That may change this week. Having originally laid out a 12-18 month plan toward expansion, Big Ten officlals acknowledged that they now plan to speed things up. Or, more accurately, the Big 12 is forcing them to speed things up. more ›

Earlier this year, lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn decided, in the midst of a state budget crisis, to cut funding for the MAP grants financial aid program, and fund only half of the $440 million program, just enough to get the quarter of Illinois' college students that rely on MAP through the first half of the school year. If lawmakers don't restore the funds during their fall session in Springfield this week, the 137,000 undergraduates could find their educations at risk. more ›

Classes are back in session, which gives us the perfect reason to tell you about Lamar Holley's newest album. Confessions of a College Student is an "autobiographical one-man pop-musical" according to its album cover. If Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman had ever reteamed for a followup to their 1970 masterpiece, and made a concept album about higher education, it might have sounded something like Holley's record. It has Newman's love of ragtime and bittersweet melody, and intertwined vocal arrangements like Nilsson. more ›

With the state feeling the financial crunch and reeling from that recent budget dust-up, we knew lots of folks we're going to suffer repercussions. One of the latest groups to feel the sting is a group of the state's college students who were denied financial aid. Why? Because they applied after the state's May 15 deadline, a deadline which, in the past, had been set much later. Then there's this, according to the Sun-Times: more ›

Last night's NCAA Championship game wasn't much of a battle, with North Carolina jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Holding a 55-34 halftime lead, the Tar Heals coasted through the second half to defeat the Michigan St. Spartans 89-72 at Ford Field in Detroit to win the school's fifth title. more ›

In a story posted on the Sun-Times site today, “Blagojevich was quite the college prankster,” the S-T has identified a number of college behaviors and misidentified them as “pranks”: more ›

Looks like the University of Chicago is going to join the ranks of Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Clark University and 27 other institutes of higher learning and will begin allowing coed dorm rooms starting next month. The U of C says the student-requested policy change "isn't aimed at romantic couples" but rather to allow BFFs of the opposite sex to share housing. Those in a relationship won't be forbidden to request to partner up in the dorm, however, nor do they need parental permission -- sure to thrill the moms and dads out there writing the big checks each semester. And don't even think about breaking up around midterms. more ›

It was home sweet home for the Blackhawks last night as they made their return home from the annual Circus Trip and beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. The win also stopped a three-game losing streak. Patrick Sharp gave the 'Hawks in early lead, scoring on a power play goal late in the first but Anaheim answered with two goals of their own in the second to take a 2-1 lead. The young Blackhawks team then showed what they're capable of, ripping of three goals in the game's final six minutes to grab a victory. Havlat, Toews, and Bolland all notched goals and Kris Versteeg had two assists in the third. Huet played a solid game in net, stopping 30 of 32 shot. After the game, Versteeg said, “This is a huge win. It’s good to come out on top against a team like Anaheim; it shows our character.” Chicago remains two points up on Nashville for second place in the division and travel to Detroit to take on the rival, first-place Red Wings on Saturday. more ›

Princeton Review released its college rankings yesterday, and some Illinois schools have a lot to be happy about. Others....not so much. The results are from student surveys, so you have no one to blame but the kids at your alma mater. more ›

Local colleges are closed today following separate written threats of violence. Malcolm X College canceled classes today and evacuated its campus, and St. Xavier University cleared its campus over the weekend after threats were scrawled in a dorm bathroom. more ›

Countdown to Smoke-Out 2008! In case you forgot, or were outside smoking when someone shared the news, come January 1 there will be no more smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, casinos, dorms, stadiums and anywhere else that is inside, aside from personal homes and cars. more ›

It seems like the press is finally catching on that Governor Blagojevich doesn't like to venture into the public eye very much (except for Blackhawks games), where reporters might have a chance to ask him some questions about the spate of federal investigations, the inaction of the state legislature, or the recent indictment of his former chief fundraiser. An Associated Press story from yesterday outlines several "feel good" photo ops that most politicians would flock to but that Blago readily avoids. more ›

If you need further evidence that cultural awareness is increasingly non-existent among the general populace, look no further than college blog Campus Squeeze. Following on the heels of its list of the 20 most beautiful college campuses, the site recently weighed in on what they deemed the 20 ugliest campuses in the country. While the prison-style buildings of Drexel University and the utilitarian blocks at Rochester Institute of Technology certainly didn't look appealing, we... more ›

Chicagoist knew there'd be plenty of surprises during Sunday's college football Bowl Championship Series selections, given the losses by the two top-ranked team on Saturday and then general tumult among the top ranked teams all season long. Among the biggest surprises was the Rose Bowl's selection of the Fighting Illini to play against the USC Trojans on New Year's Day. The Illini did knock off Wisconsin when they were ranked fifth, and they handed Ohio... more ›

Train update: "Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco said five people were in serious to critical condition and at least 30 people suffered less serious injuries. That number could rise to 50, he said." The NTSB is investigating. Storm watch this weekend. Cold, icy, rainy, blerg. RIP, Evel Knievel. America's Legendary Daredevil was 69. Check it out: local steampunk wedding. Congrats! Here's our favorite part of this Freakonomics interview with Sin in the Second City author Karen... more ›

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a... more ›

Lots to rock about over the next few days, from Modest Mouse at the Congress, to Bob Pollard at the Metro, to our beloved Hall & Oates at the UIC Pavilion, but DDaN's gonna keep it live and local this week. more ›

Looks like some of the Columbia College dancers had a leeeetle trouble in the parade. more ›

Old-school local newscasters Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson will be teaching a class in broadcast journalism at Columbia College. The duo co-anchored the WBBM 10pm news in the 70s and 80s, but now Jacobson is retired and Kurtis is busy hosting crime shows on A&E. They'll recreate the magic just for the month of January, (when Columbia has its intensive -study J-session) but we're convinced the legendary team will realize--after all these years!--that they... more ›

Ah, it's like shootin' fish in a barrel over at Chicagoist EOYW headquarters. We know how passionate you guys can get about these things, so we'll cut right to the chase: more ›

This week's listings kick off this evening at Merchandise Mart with "Chill: an International Wine & Culinary Event" sponsored by Luxehome and Wine Spectator. Proceeds from the event benefit the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The event runs from 5 - 8 p.m. Chicago Professionals for Youth is committed to improving the lives of local underprivileged youth through literacy and mentoring programs, college preparation, job training and career skills assistance. Saturday they're hosting... more ›

Here at the Chicagoist offices, several reality shows are popular among the staff, but our devotion for the majority of programs pales in comparison to our love for the crème de la crème, Project Runway. Bravo's hit show returned last night for its fourth season of designing, measuring, catwalking strutting and drama, with two Chicagoans vying for the chance to take it home at New York City Fashion Week. The first episode was the usual... more ›

The Reeling Film Festival is in its last days, but there's still time to catch what's sure to be one of the most fascinating movies in the program. Quearborn & Perversion, a new documentary by Columbia College alum Ron Pajak, tells stories of lesbian/gay Chicago life spanning the years 1924-1974. It's surely a beautiful irony of history: what is today the epicenter of the Viagra Triangle was, in the 50's, the epicenter of gay life;... more ›

Many Wicker Park commuters are feeling a little less caffeinated these days since Half & Half (under the Damen Blue Line stop) closed up shop. Owner Debbie Sharpe told Metromix that the quality of the building is to blame. The good news is Sharpe also owns the Goddess and Grocer down the street, and Half & Half's delicious commuter sandwiches and pastries will be available for purchase there. LTH commentors prophecy its space may become... more ›