Since 2015, the University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors (BOG) has endured one controversy after another, beginning with protests over decisions to close three “academic centers” for being overly political and to replace Democrat Thomas Ross as the system president with Republican Margaret Spellings. Some of the problems have been of the board’s … Continue reading “Heavy Is the Head that Wears the Crown”
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently released a report decrying the politicization of public higher education governance, entitled The New Order: How the Nation’s Partisan Divisions Consumed Public-College Boards and Warped Higher Education. The report says more about the tunnel vision that pervades the liberal media and academic establishment than it does about the real … Continue reading “America Wants Its Public Colleges Back and The Chronicle Isn’t Happy About It”
It has been a very strange year. Three weeks ago I opened my email to find an unsolicited email from a lawyer, asking if I needed help. Odd, I thought, since I couldn’t remember getting any traffic citations recently. When I opened it, I discovered it was from lawyers at the Foundation for Individual Rights … Continue reading “Of Academic Freedom and False Alarms”
In 2014, the UNC Board of Governors voted to “place a 15 percent cap on the amount of tuition revenue that can be applied to need-based student financial aid.” After the announcement, parents were surprised to learn that they were “subsidizing those who qualify for aid.” Since then, the Board has been required to provide … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC System Funds Financial Aid with Tuition Revenue”
The UNC Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance voted on Wednesday to freeze tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that’s affecting many North Carolina families. The full board will approve the decision at its May meeting. Prior to the pandemic, the … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC Schools Will (Likely) Not Raise Tuition This Year”
It is a common saying that one should “never let a crisis go to waste.” Last week, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors exemplified this principle when they met last-minute to discuss changing admissions standards. For months, members of the UNC Board of Governors have been contemplating a drastic change for admissions—one that … Continue reading “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: UNC BOG Hastily Enacts New Admissions Policy”
The coronavirus pandemic has injected uncertainty into nearly every aspect of society—and higher education is no exception. As North Carolina’s leaders grapple with the challenges posed by curbing the virus’ spread, dramatic policy decisions are being made on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. The following is a summary of what higher education leaders in … Continue reading “How North Carolina Colleges Are Responding to COVID-19”
North Carolina public universities are more than just institutions of higher learning. They are each small cities of young adults with Olympic-level athletic franchises, massive dining and fitness clubs, and special interest hobby communities supported by extensive human and physical infrastructure. To fund the many perks and benefits of university life, schools charge extra fees … Continue reading “The Ever-growing Costs of Mandatory Student Fees”
It’s been a couple of months since Randy Ramsey became the chairman of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. Since his appointment in October, Ramsey’s tenure has been enveloped in the ongoing saga surrounding the Silent Sam monument. But even though the monument consumes headlines, many other important issues go before the … Continue reading “A New Chapter in UNC Board Governance”
Social justice education—which teaches young people to view the world through the lens of oppression and demands unquestioning conformity—pervades nearly every nook and cranny of higher education: the administration, general education requirements, extracurriculars, university mission statements, and academic departments. On December 6, the National Association of Scholars (NAS) co-sponsored an event with the Martin Center … Continue reading “Loosening Social Justice’s Iron Grip on Academia”