The UNC Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance voted on Wednesday to freeze tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that’s affecting many North Carolina families. The full board will approve the decision at its May meeting. Prior to the pandemic, the … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC Schools Will (Likely) Not Raise Tuition This Year”
Before COVID-19, universities were already beginning to experience an enrollment decline, mostly fueled by demographic changes. The current crisis will raise existential questions for small and mid-tier institutions. Only universities with massive endowments and highly competitive admissions will escape the effects of the coming enrollment cliff. Special coronavirus relief funding from state and federal governments … Continue reading “Higher Education After COVID-19”
Most of the wealthiest universities in the country have accepted money from the CARES Act, meant to help university students weather the economic consequences of COVID-19 and state shut-downs. The money is part of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Education reformer Micah Merrick has been tracking CARES Act money that was allocated to universities … Continue reading “UPDATED: Did You Know? Few Rich Colleges Turning Down COVID-19 Relief Money”
Here at the Martin Center, we often criticize university research. Rightly so. We have noted that academic journals are too expensive. We’ve argued that the publishing process itself is incoherent and slow. And that the peer review process fails to adequately vet new research. We’ve shown that the funding process for scientific research often leads … Continue reading “University Researchers Search for Solutions to Coronavirus Pandemic”
Too many North Carolina students leave their universities with too much debt and a degree that won’t pay off. A new tool released in January by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) reveals which programs give students the most (and least) return on their investment. The tool uses data from the College Scorecard as well … Continue reading “Did You Know? The UNC Degrees That Don’t Pay Off”
On March 31, the Martin Center filed an amicus brief urging the Arizona Supreme Court to hold that the Constitution’s mandate that “the instruction furnished shall be as nearly free as possible” is a justiciable question. The Martin Center argued that sustained increases are incompatible with the provision in Arizona’s Constitution that “the instruction furnished … Continue reading “State of Arizona v. Arizona Board of Regents Amicus Curiae Brief”
College athletics is big business. And head coaches of successful teams have the salaries to prove it, particularly in football and men’s basketball. Although sports are canceled, for now, it’s worth taking a look at spending on coaches’ salaries. Across the UNC system, the average pay of head coaches varies widely. The table below shows … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Highest Coaching Salaries in the UNC System”
In the fall of 2018, the trustees of Washington and Lee University voted to paper over parts of the university’s history. On the recommendations of Washington and Lee’s “Commission on Institutional History and Community,” the board voted to close off the Recumbent Statue of Robert E. Lee in the university chapel that bears his name … Continue reading “Social Justice Revisionism Comes for Washington and Lee”
The University of North Carolina system boasts a diverse set of institutions. There are many ways in which the 16 schools differ: size, geography, research intensity, curriculum, and student characteristics. They also differ in terms of students’ family income. As part of the Opportunity Insights project at Harvard University, Raj Chetty and a team of … Continue reading “Did You Know? Parental Income Across UNC Schools”
Each year, thousands of young people leave college with significant student debt. Most of those who choose the right majors, graduate on time, and find solid employment pay off their loans with little difficulty. But students who never graduate, who choose the wrong majors, who take extra time to get a degree, or who can’t … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Struggle to Repay Student Loans”