academic excellence Archives — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

How Common Core Damages Students’ College Readiness

Mar 10, 2017 · Joy Pullmann · 16 Comments

As Massachusetts was considering signing on to a national curriculum and testing plan called Common Core, one of its lead writers gave a presentation to its state board of education. Even Common Core advocate Professor Jason Zimba agreed this national program would prepare students “for the colleges most kids go to, but not for the … Continue reading “How Common Core Damages Students’ College Readiness”

Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great Sep 19, 2018
In recent years, the media has given us dire warnings about the “crisis of the humanities.” In article after article, one reads about falling enrollments in college English departments and funding cuts. Inside Higher Ed, a popular website that covers higher education, reports that English majors have declined 20 percent since 2012. History programs have … Continue reading “Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great”
Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools Sep 12, 2018
Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice … Continue reading “Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools”
Fixing the Divide Between the Public and Higher Ed Sep 10, 2018
The partnership between America and its colleges and universities is broken. Americans are disappointed with higher education. A majority of Americans (57 percent) now say higher education fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend, according to the Pew Research Center. Universities are equally disappointed with the students … Continue reading “Fixing the Divide Between the Public and Higher Ed”

Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics Sep 21, 2018
Kentuckians were forced to consider potential problems with intercollegiate athletics when both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky were implicated in the recent FBI probe into possibly corrupt and fraudulent recruiting practices in college basketball. Amid the outrage, politicians raised the possibility of serious reforms, such as expanding the oversight of Boards … Continue reading “Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics”
Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great Sep 19, 2018
In recent years, the media has given us dire warnings about the “crisis of the humanities.” In article after article, one reads about falling enrollments in college English departments and funding cuts. Inside Higher Ed, a popular website that covers higher education, reports that English majors have declined 20 percent since 2012. History programs have … Continue reading “Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great”
A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech Sep 17, 2018
Colleges are using a new tool with the frightening potential to shut down open dialogue. They go by the benign-sounding name of “bias response teams.” Bias response teams monitor what students and faculty say. They encourage students to report, often anonymously, comments or behavior that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened, even if the speech … Continue reading “A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech”