Higher education suffers from a multitude of flaws. University marketing departments habitually over-promise the benefits of their degree programs to unsuspecting high-school students. Mandatory “general education” classes extract sizable tuition … Continue reading “No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed”
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 … Continue reading “Administrative Bloat Harms Teaching and Learning”
Standardized educational tests do not perfectly measure student aptitude or achievement, and no one argues that they do. But they can differ from all other available measures in two respects: … Continue reading “The US Test Mess”
To the editor: Here is why faculty and faculty administrators make poor administrators that is not related to peer governance that shrinks from decisions. Very few are trained or self-trained … Continue reading “Why faculty members make poor administrators”
Academics sometimes have a bit of an unfortunate reputation of being big picture thinkers, with our heads in the clouds (or ivory tower) and disconnected from the realities of everyday … Continue reading “The Academic Bait-And-Switch: Do Professors Make Good Administrators?”
In my nearly 15 years as a higher education journalist and analyst, I have, unfortunately, witnessed too few victories for the reform movement. In that time, and certainly for several … Continue reading “Sheep No More: the Alumni Rise”
At Davidson College, the frog finally realized that it’s being slowly cooked alive. As the theory goes, if you put a frog into boiling water, it will immediately jump out, … Continue reading “On Boiling Frogs And Forked Tongues: Alumni Fight Back at Davidson”
An ill wind has buffeted higher education in the year of the plague. Workers have been laid off, the ranks of the professoriate have shrunk, and enrollment declines across the … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Higher Ed Bureaucracy Won the Pandemic”
In their recent Martin Center policy brief, Joy Pullmann and Sumantra Maitra get much right about the activist professor problem in academia. These professors are dominating the profession in a … Continue reading “College Reform: Build Lifeboats to Escape the Sinking Ship”
In March 2018, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees adopted new rules that fatally undermine academic freedom. We authored this piece for the Martin Center explaining the damage the … Continue reading “Professors Fight to Save Free Speech on Campus and Academic Freedom in Arkansas”