Academics Archives — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

Did You Know? With Remote Classes, Universities Breach Student Privacy

Jul 9, 2020 · Megan Zogby · No Comments

As schools have moved online due to the coronavirus, they have partnered with proctoring services to monitor online exams and prevent cheating. Those services go by names such as Respondus LockDown, ProctorU, Proctorio, and Examity, among others. What gets overlooked as the contracts are signed, however, is student privacy. Forbes compared such proctoring measures to … Continue reading “Did You Know? With Remote Classes, Universities Breach Student Privacy “

The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change

Jul 8, 2020 · Jenna A. Robinson · No Comments

America’s system of education has failed in one of its most important goals: forming future generations of American citizens. This is particularly true in higher education, where students are encouraged to become “global citizens” instead of Americans. At many of our institutions of higher learning, character education has been replaced by moral relativism at the … Continue reading “The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change”

UNC-Chapel Hill Officially Teaches What to Think, Not How to Think

Jul 6, 2020 · Shannon Watkins · No Comments

When the University of North Carolina leadership and the state’s legislators capitulated to the frenzied mob that toppled a statue of a Confederate Army soldier at the entrance to the UNC-Chapel Hill Campus in 2018, they likely thought they were putting an unpleasant issue to rest. After all, the continual protests, riots, and confrontations over … Continue reading “UNC-Chapel Hill Officially Teaches What to Think, Not How to Think”

Covid-19 College Shutdowns: Making Professors More Empathetic

Jul 3, 2020 · Kathleen Bustamante · No Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an equalizer among parents of school-aged children across the United States. As Americans learn to juggle jobs, families, and their children’s education, this experience is revealing what “normal” looks like for many college students who have done the same long before the pandemic hit. In 2015, for example, my brother … Continue reading “Covid-19 College Shutdowns: Making Professors More Empathetic”

The Time Is Now: Abolish the Department of Education

Jul 1, 2020 · Walter E. Block · No Comments

There are now 15 United States federal executive departments. Here they are, in order of their dates of inception: State, 1789 Treasury, 1789 Interior, 1849 Agriculture, 1862 Justice, 1870 Commerce, 1903 Labor, 1913 Defense, 1947 Health and Human Services, 1953 Housing and Urban Development, 1965 Transportation, 1967 Energy, 1977 Education, 1979 Veterans Affairs, 1989 Homeland … Continue reading “The Time Is Now: Abolish the Department of Education”

Goldstein: Research Universities Have a Duty to Reopen

Jun 29, 2020 · Shannon Watkins · No Comments

Although colleges across the country plan to reopen for the fall semester, much is still unknown about how to best proceed. Leaders are grappling with how to best safeguard public health while attempting to re-establish some sense of normalcy on campus. Despite the uncertainties that lie ahead, a professor at the University of North Carolina … Continue reading “Goldstein: Research Universities Have a Duty to Reopen “

If We Jettison Standardized Testing, What’s Its Replacement?

Jun 26, 2020 · George Leef · No Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t kill the SAT, but will no doubt leave it in a badly weakened condition. Both the SAT (and its close competitor, the ACT) have had to cancel administration of their tests for the last few months and, according to this Washington Post story, universities have decided that they will make … Continue reading “If We Jettison Standardized Testing, What’s Its Replacement?”

Did You Know? What Makes Faculty Happy with Online Classes

Jun 25, 2020 · Nicole Divers · No Comments

The spring semester saw college campuses close and rush to remote instruction. With many schools planning to keep using remote classes in some form for the fall, their benefits need to be understood—as well as their costs. In a recent article published by Studies in Higher Education, Shelly Marasi, Brian Jones, and Janna M. Parker … Continue reading “Did You Know? What Makes Faculty Happy with Online Classes”

Why Do American Universities Lead the World in Scientific Research?

Jun 24, 2020 · John Staddon · No Comments

Miguel Urquiola is professor and chair of the department of economics at Columbia University. His special field is education and his book Markets, Minds, and Money: Why America Leads the World in University Research is about American higher education—its history, its relationship to higher education in Europe, and the trajectory it has followed from the … Continue reading “Why Do American Universities Lead the World in Scientific Research?”

Save the Humanities by Flipping the Curriculum

Jun 22, 2020 · Grattan Brown · No Comments

For more than two decades, professors have been “flipping” classrooms to move course material online and use classroom time for student-centered activity and more complex, collaborative thinking. This flip strikes me as a good analogy for a needed reform: Flipping some required humanities courses from the first half to the second half of a college … Continue reading “Save the Humanities by Flipping the Curriculum”