“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 … Continue reading “Did You Know? An Anti-Poverty Program Sent Funds to 33 Well-Off College Towns”
Higher education has already become an important issue in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primary race. It should receive considerable attention in the first primary date, scheduled for October 13 on CNN. In general, Democrats have been more specific and more vocal about their higher education plans than the Republicans. This is nothing new; higher education has long been a favored interest group and source of power for Democrats.
About one-third of all freshmen are enrolled each year in a remedial class. Yet current remedial methods are not very effective. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a mere 17 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial reading and 27 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial math go on to earn a bachelor’s degree. A 2010 study says that only half of the students required to attend remedial classes even complete remediation.
Back in the early 1990s, while I was in the middle of a long business career, I recall reading that the University of Pennsylvania had decided to add an unusual essay requirement for their undergraduate applicants. Specifically, the students were asked to submit “Page 217” of their 300-page autobiography. Remember now, these budding autobiographers were all of 17 years old.
Speaking at NC State, Freeman Hrabowski shared his thoughts on how schools can spur academic and cultural innovation.
How should a university prepare for a changing economic and financial environment?
RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Education has appointed a commission that will engage in what U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings termed a “national dialogue” about the role of higher education in the 21st century. The 18-member Commission on the Future of Higher Education, including professors, university presidents, business leaders and government officials, will release a report next year.
Spellings said she hopes the commission will not only find ways to improve higher education but also ways for higher education to meet the needs of an increasingly global economy. The commission is expected to release its recommendations to the public in August.