The Numbers Are in: Are Graduate Degree Programs Worth It?

Mar 28, 2022 · · Comments Off on The Numbers Are in: Are Graduate Degree Programs Worth It?

Preston Cooper, a researcher at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity studying the economics of higher education, recently published a wide-ranging analysis of almost 14,000 U.S. graduate degree programs. In his investigation―which used a similar methodology to a related study he conducted on the value of undergraduate degrees―Cooper calculated the return on investment (ROI) … Continue reading “The Numbers Are in: Are Graduate Degree Programs Worth It?”

Leaving the Blight of Higher Education: Part II–Farewell, Faculty

Jan 8, 2021 · · Comments Off on Leaving the Blight of Higher Education: Part II–Farewell, Faculty

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part essay; part I can be read here. The previous essay dealt with the moral decline of the student body in higher education—one of the motives behind my recent retirement after three decades of teaching college English. When I began teaching, most of the English faculty members, … Continue reading “Leaving the Blight of Higher Education: Part II–Farewell, Faculty”

No, the World Doesn’t Need More Humanities PhDs

Aug 10, 2018 · · Comments Off on No, the World Doesn’t Need More Humanities PhDs

In May, The Chronicle of Higher Education asked four academics from across the country to weigh in on the “adjunct crisis.” The results were predictable, with most of the blame directed at the usual suspects: bean-counting administrators, complacent, tenured faculty members, tight-fisted state legislators, and, of course, those evil Republicans. Solutions generally involved pressuring colleges and universities to fork … Continue reading “No, the World Doesn’t Need More Humanities PhDs”

Master’s Degrees in Janitorial Science?

Jan 17, 2018 · · Comments Off on Master’s Degrees in Janitorial Science?

There has been mounting evidence that the financial payoff from the traditional bachelor’s degree is declining, particularly for men. For example, Census Bureau data suggest that, from 2005 to 2016, the average earnings differential for male workers holding bachelor’s degrees compared with those holding high school diplomas fell from $39,440 to $37,653 (in 2016 dollars)—at … Continue reading “Master’s Degrees in Janitorial Science?”

Automatic Pay Raises for Teachers Create Perverse Incentives in Graduate Education

Jul 15, 2016 · · Comments Off on Automatic Pay Raises for Teachers Create Perverse Incentives in Graduate Education

In 2013, North Carolina stopped giving automatic pay raises to public school teachers who earn master’s degrees. In the legislature, the debate focused on teachers and whether graduate degrees make them better at their jobs. There is little reason to believe so, as this and other studies show. Overlooked in this discussion is the predatory … Continue reading “Automatic Pay Raises for Teachers Create Perverse Incentives in Graduate Education”