Colleges and universities send out a barrage of online recruitment materials, but because of the high stakes environment for both schools and potential students, overwhelmed families are checking the data against their instincts by taking the low-tech route: the guided, on-foot campus tour. And colleges like Temple are devoting money and expertise to ensure that when those families show up, the visit is a close-the-deal experience.

Profits on Merck & Co.'s top seller, Singulair, are expected to fall dramatically next year when the company's patent expires, prompting the New Jersey-based company to announce its lay off of more than 13,000 employees by 2015. Albert Wertheimer, a professor of pharmacy at Temple, said many companies are laying off workers as big blockbuster drugs lose patent protection in the next few years. "What that means is within six months, there'll be 10 or 12 or 15 companies making a generic version of those products," he said.

If your child is preparing to leave the nest for college, perhaps they don't need as much as you think. Michael Scales, associate vice president of student affairs at Temple, says pre-planning is key.

At universities across Tokyo, executives struggling to meet a government demand for 15-percent cuts in electricity use have set classroom temperatures at a muggy 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). Many have ended classes early to avoid sweltering summer months and some have changed their dress codes. At Temple University, Japan Campus, for example, professors have been told to avoid ties and jackets, but to use "common sense" — "in keeping with the fact that you represent an institution of higher education in Japan," said Dean Bruce Stronach.