As colleges and universities across the nation grapple with cuts to education budgets and shrinking endowments, one group bears the responsibility of keeping the student community informed: student journalists.
The Budget Crunch Forum is a new community hub for student journalists focused on the budget cuts in higher education and their implications for students. The forum will help journalists train each other in best practices on covering these complicated issues. From public records requests to covering protests on the ground, we will help journalists equip themselves to dig up the heart of the story quickly and accurately. By collaborating, we can reach new heights of balanced and in-depth reporting.
The project will combine conference calls, an online forum, an archive of useful statistics, and a timeline of articles to help journalists contextualize budget cuts at their school within the larger national trend.
NSNS is looking for interested students to give presentations on conference calls, help compile information on national budget cuts trends, and join the Student Steering Committee.
How to get involved
There are tons of ways you can help make the Budget Crunch Forum a great resource.
Here are a few:
- Sign up for our news feed
- Research budget cuts to Higher Ed in your state
- Submit stories and story ideas to info@nsns.org
- Give a presentation about one of your skills—like getting interviews with the Board of Regents, or covering protests on the ground
- Join the Student Steering Committee
- Tell your Editor in Chief about the project
For more information, email info@nsns.org, or call (312) 291-0360 x236.
