Kirk is a reporter for the NPR member station in Boston, WGBH, where he covers higher education. Kirk has reported for Wisconsin Public Radio in Madison, Wis., and Vermont Public Radio in Montpelier, Vt. He's been a writer and producer at WBUR in Boston; a teacher and coach at Nativity Preparatory School in New Bedford, Mass.; a Fenway Park tour guide; and a tourist abroad. When he's not reporting or editing stories on campus, you can find him posting K's on the Wall at Fenway.
Student loans can be ‘simple’ and ‘automatic.’ Other countries offer lessons to the US.
In the US, interest on student loans started accruing again on Sept. 1. Soon, more than 40 million borrowers will have to resume their payments. The US is an outlier when it comes to high tuition and the debts that students take on.
Analysts: In the face of a high-skilled labor shortage, the US needs to rely more on immigrants
US educators step up to help displaced Ukrainians continue their studies
'Hidden discrimination': California university joins national trend to protect against caste bias on campus
Echoing WWII rescue efforts, ethnic Russian researchers in the US support Ukrainian scholars
Colleges brace for steep drop in international enrollment this fall
Nearly 90% of colleges expect international enrollment to decrease next semester due to the pandemic.
US researchers on edge as foreign funding comes under increased scrutiny
A clash has cropped up between the academic mission of sharing knowledge and national security.
International students hoping for work training visas face long delays, denials
Across the country, international students are facing difficulties in obtaining a work permit that allow them to get training in their field of study. College administrators and immigration experts say visa delays and denials can have repercussions for American higher education and critical industries such as the health field.
A public college in California makes strides in recruiting, graduating Latino students
As California implemented a ban on using race in college admissions 10 years ago, University of California, Irvine started aggressively recruiting talented students in Latino communities. Since then, the percentage of Latino students on-campus tripled.
As decision nears in Harvard affirmative action case, another legal fight brews in California
In the next few months, a decision is expected in a case involving Harvard University and alleged discrimination against Asian American student applicants. But the University of California system is also facing a similar lawsuit — with allegations that administrators are considering race in admissions even though California bans the practice. A scandal is also raising larger questions about merit in college admissions and who has unfair advantage.
Colleges and universities are pushing to expand Asian American studies
Students at Williams College in Massachusetts are joining other institutions to demand Asian American Studies programs. It is a push, some scholars say, that is about advancing other programs, too, including African American and Latino academic programs.
On a Texas college campus, conservative Latinos explain their opposition to DACA
Most Latinos in the US, about 90 percent, support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. But in Texas and especially in cities that are the closest to the US-Mexico Border, about 24 percent say they would want to end the Obama-era program that provides work permits and deportation protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought the US illegally as children.
How Trump's rhetoric could cost colleges billions in lost tuition revenue
Walk up and down Commonwealth Avenue on the Boston University campus, and it's easy to see and hear the presence of international students. The largest percentage of foreign students — here and nationwide — come from China. So when President Donald Trump sounds off, college administrators get anxious.
With Indian higher-ed crowded, one university tries to move to the US
Amity University loses bid to expand into Boston, but will move into the New York market.
Asian American groups claim top Ivy League schools practice racial discrimination
Are Ivy League schools showing bias against Asian Americans?