Is Faculty Accountability Lacking at UNC Wilmington?

Feb 19, 2018 · Lou Buttino · No Comments

In my 45 years of teaching I have never filed an academic complaint against another faculty member—nor has one ever been filed against me. I have long believed that this demonstrates the overwhelming integrity of the teaching profession. But in 2012, as a professor and former chair in film studies at the University of North … Continue reading “Is Faculty Accountability Lacking at UNC Wilmington?”

Faculty Senate Shrugged

Aug 5, 2016 · Jason Fertig · 3 Comments

Politics is on many people’s minds this year, so this is a good time to write about that topic. But the politics I’m thinking about does not involve the presidency. Rather, I’m thinking about the politics of shared governance in higher education—specifically, the relationship between university senates and their administrations. While shared governance sounds like … Continue reading “Faculty Senate Shrugged”

The Success of Community College ‘Non-Completers’ Oct 14, 2019
A sense of urgency has taken hold of higher education leaders nationwide. Reports of declining community college graduation rates and the lack of skilled workers have led policymakers and college leaders to sound the alarm and vow to do whatever it takes to lower the high rate of “dropouts” and equip students to meet the … Continue reading “The Success of Community College ‘Non-Completers’”
The Ministry of Love: Ongoing Gender Partisanship in the Department of Education Oct 11, 2019
Orwell’s famous dystopia 1984 is often cited as a parable about the banality of administrative evil. The ever-vigilant bureaucrats of Oceania position themselves not only on the Left side of history, but also at its end. To err from their ideology is treason. The citizens of Oceania live in a state of self-imposed hypnosis where … Continue reading “The Ministry of Love: Ongoing Gender Partisanship in the Department of Education”
Without Financial Transparency, Colleges Mislabel Research Spending as Instructional Oct 7, 2019
Public colleges spend public money, but college officials are reluctant to make information about their budgets easy to understand. That aversion to transparency makes it easier to pass non-instructional expenses along to students. Many experts have discussed the problem. But without transparency, it can be hard to show just how much so-called instruction is actually … Continue reading “Without Financial Transparency, Colleges Mislabel Research Spending as Instructional”

The Success of Community College ‘Non-Completers’ Oct 14, 2019
A sense of urgency has taken hold of higher education leaders nationwide. Reports of declining community college graduation rates and the lack of skilled workers have led policymakers and college leaders to sound the alarm and vow to do whatever it takes to lower the high rate of “dropouts” and equip students to meet the … Continue reading “The Success of Community College ‘Non-Completers’”
The Ministry of Love: Ongoing Gender Partisanship in the Department of Education Oct 11, 2019
Orwell’s famous dystopia 1984 is often cited as a parable about the banality of administrative evil. The ever-vigilant bureaucrats of Oceania position themselves not only on the Left side of history, but also at its end. To err from their ideology is treason. The citizens of Oceania live in a state of self-imposed hypnosis where … Continue reading “The Ministry of Love: Ongoing Gender Partisanship in the Department of Education”
Did You Know? Student-Athletes Can Be Admitted to UNC Schools Despite Low Academic Success Oct 10, 2019
College admissions standards are meant to determine whether a student is academically prepared to succeed at college. Colleges also have Minimum Admissions Requirements (MARs) and Minimum Course Requirements (MCRs), which are set floors that a would-be student’s test scores, GPA, and completed high school courses can’t fall below for admittance. In the UNC system, those … Continue reading “Did You Know? Student-Athletes Can Be Admitted to UNC Schools Despite Low Academic Success”