It’s no secret that university students, once known for their brash defense of unfettered free speech, have gone rather quiet on the issue. Campus surveys reveal that most college students self-censor to some degree and that certain ideas are now taboo on campus. A new report from Speech First, a membership association of students, parents, … Continue reading “Bias Response Teams Have No Place on N.C. Campuses”
Is higher education the highest priority for East Carolina University, or is the institution just pushing a political narrative? On August 19th, ECU held its 2022-23 faculty convocation, and the Martin Center was able to attend via livestream. The speeches and events that transpired were eye-opening and revealed much about the path ECU is encouraging … Continue reading “ECU Makes the Secret Hurt Visible”
Over the years, American universities and colleges have slowly drifted away from their central concerns, teaching and learning. This shift is perhaps best seen in the increased number of administrators in higher education and the exponential growth in the portion of institutions’ budgets dedicated to administrative salaries. The educational data service IPEDS categorizes administrators as … Continue reading “Administrative Bloat Harms Teaching and Learning”
Colleges and universities nationwide are quickly adopting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideologies, and the UNC System is no exception. In recent years, this has led to DEI-inspired task forces, departments, and hirings, and DEI has become embedded in all 16 of the schools’ strategic plans. For readers who are unfamiliar with the flaws of … Continue reading “Diversity-Office Funding Wastes UNC-System Resources”
As previously mentioned in this series, college sports are a big business. Businesses need managers, and, as such, colleges and universities have athletic directors. In college sports, the athletic director acts as the head manager of the entire athletics department. If a task is related to a sporting event or team, the athletic director is … Continue reading “UNC System Athletic Directors’ Salaries Tell Us What Universities Value”
College sports are a lifestyle for many people and an indispensable business opportunity for colleges and universities. Many UNC System schools are perhaps better known for their sports teams than for their academic offerings. Likewise, it can be common for students to make their college decisions based on athletics. After flirting with the benchmark during … Continue reading “UNC System Coaches’ Salaries: An Intentional Mystery?”
Chancellor salaries at public universities across the country are far higher than those for other public executives, out of step with faculty compensation, and unrelated to student success and university performance. A new program at UNC may help to address some of these concerns. In an article in Forbes, the economic historian Richard Vedder states … Continue reading “Are UNC System Chancellors Overpaid?”
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Education is encouraging colleges and universities to use their COVID-19 relief funds for student mental health programs? Over the past two years, there has been a major uptick of concern about mental health on college and university campuses, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing repercussions. … Continue reading “Did You Know? COVID-19 Relief Funds and Campus Mental Health”
Has Meredith College gone woke? When comparing the school’s history and original vision with its current happenings, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Founded in 1899, Meredith College–originally the Baptist Female University–opened as a female, Christian school, intent on academic excellence. The founders wished to provide female students access to the same quality of education … Continue reading “Meredith College Goes Woke?”
At the UNC system Board of Governors meeting on January 18, a new funding model was proposed, with some adjustments and feedback discussed at a follow-up meeting on February 23. Since the current funding model is outdated in many ways, a new system has been presented with the hope of encouraging educational quality rather than … Continue reading “Incentivizing Quality Education: UNC System Proposes New Funding Strategy”