As political polarization is growing, colleges must figure out how to ensure that political discussions on campus are constructive. For that to happen, schools need to take the lead in promoting a positive climate for political discussion. For campus leaders who would like to do so but don’t know where to start, they can turn … Continue reading “Did You Know? What Colleges Can Do to Defend Free Expression”
In the spring of 2019, three professors at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill conducted a study to understand free speech and constructive dialogue on campus. The study invited UNC students to complete a survey and attend focus group interviews with members of three different politically involved student organizations. From the data, professors Jennifer Larson, … Continue reading “Did You Know? At UNC-Chapel Hill, About 19% of Liberals and 3% of Moderates and Conservatives Would Block Controversial Speaker”
Private colleges that compete with public schools are scrambling to find a way to keep attracting students. To do so, freezing or lowering tuition rates have grown in popularity to bring in cost-conscious young people. Colleges such as St John’s in Maryland and New Mexico, Wells College in New York, and Utica College in New … Continue reading “Did You Know? As Tuition Goes Up, Some Colleges Freeze or Cut Prices”
As students are pushed to attend college more than ever before, many of them are beginning to push back. Many students struggle with that predetermined outcome of their lives and have become more open to other options such as vocational education or trade schools. For people with some college or an associate degree, the unemployment … Continue reading “Did You Know? Trade Schools Showing Strong Enrollment Growth”
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education was founded in 1999 by University of Pennsylvania professor Alan Charles Kors and Boston civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate. One of the country’s strongest advocates for Constitutional rights on college campuses, FIRE focuses on freedom of speech and expression; religious liberty and freedom of association; freedom of conscience; … Continue reading “Did You Know? The States Doing the Most to Protect Student Rights”
As college textbook prices have increased 88 percent since 2006, education reformers wonder how universities can make books more affordable. One simple thing they could do is to stop selling textbooks with absurdly high mark-ups, the difference between the cost incurred by the bookstore for textbooks and the price at which they’re sold. While some … Continue reading “Textbook Math: Students Avoid High Campus Prices, Buy Books Online”
New improvements in the College Scorecard data from the U.S. Department of Education have shown some of the specifics for how well degrees pay off. With those improvements, the public can see the median debt totals as well as the median earnings after a graduate’s first year in the labor force. Since 2008, for instance, … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Law Schools That Pay Off for Graduates”
Among presidential candidates, many campaign platforms have a plan to lower college costs. There’s no question that college costs have increased, but textbook prices have seen the sharpest increase—88 percent since 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Textbook companies work the same as any other large corporation: They strive to maximize their profits. … Continue reading “Did You Know? College Textbook Prices Have Increased 88% Since 2006”
“Opportunity zones,” defined by a 2017 law, are poor areas targeted by the federal government for economic investment. In a study by the Brookings Institution, researchers discovered that money intended for economically struggling areas was funneled to college towns instead. Though college towns have many unemployed, poor adults—known as students—they don’t tend to be economically … Continue reading “Did You Know? An Anti-Poverty Program Sent Funds to 33 Well-Off College Towns”