Education

Can a computer program craft passable prose — something readers can't distinguish from human-authored stuff? How about poetry, or dance mixes? New contests pose those challenges.

The number of charter schools that are suing the Baltimore City Public Schools is increasing and some parents need to make a choice between two big options: district vs. charter.

The University of Vermont banned the sale of bottled water on its campus in 2013 to cut down on single-use bottles in the waste stream. But the number of plastic, single-use bottles being shipped to campus went up, and students ended up using more single-use bottles and drinking less healthy beverages out of them. Now the university is trying to figure out how to balance sustainability and nutrition in on-campus beverage sales.

For the first time, Illinois football will have a Mandarin play-by-play and color team calling the game for streaming in China. The University of Illinois has a huge number of Chinese students, and the activity has been getting the community more involved in campus culture.

As campuses crack down on sexual assaults, some have said the rights of the accused have been trampled. Recently, courts have slammed some schools for systems they say are stacked against the accused.

They're defying the rules that girls shouldn't get a higher education. But there are obstacles ahead, from pressure to marry young to the lack of slots in the country's universities.