Topic: Academics

Did You Know? Some UNC Student-Athletes Don’t Meet Minimum Admission Requirements

Sep 2, 2021 · · Comments Off on Did You Know? Some UNC Student-Athletes Don’t Meet Minimum Admission Requirements

Some student-athletes at UNC schools get admitted despite not meeting the minimum admission requirements. The university system counts these students as “exceptions.”  The system’s universal minimum admission requirements—which are the same for athletes and non-athletes—have undergone some recent changes. In March 2020, the board of governors voted to temporarily change the minimum requirements (as a … Continue reading “Did You Know? Some UNC Student-Athletes Don’t Meet Minimum Admission Requirements”

Academic Freedom and Tenure: It’s More Complicated Than People Think

Aug 30, 2021 · · Comments Off on Academic Freedom and Tenure: It’s More Complicated Than People Think

This essay is based on a talk given by Professor Munger at a Martin Center luncheon on July 15, 2021. What is academic freedom, and who has it? The question is raised by the recent controversy sparked by a process that is usually boring and bureaucratic: an academic tenure case. Nikole Hannah-Jones, Hussman School of … Continue reading “Academic Freedom and Tenure: It’s More Complicated Than People Think”

Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory

Aug 25, 2021 · · Comments Off on Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory

Over the past several months, critical race theory (CRT) has become one of the most divisive topics in higher education and in America’s political dialogue. Mainstream liberals have framed the issue as simply a matter of teaching accurate history. In their eyes, teaching CRT in the classroom is equivalent to teaching that slavery existed, Black … Continue reading “Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory”

A Perennial Question: What Makes a Good College Teacher?

Aug 20, 2021 · · Comments Off on A Perennial Question: What Makes a Good College Teacher?

Each generation returns the same complaints: college teachers drone, college teachers lack creativity and spark, nay, they often lack even rudimentary pedagogical awareness. And since the ascendance of what William James coined the “PhD Octopus” of credentialism and narrowed specialization, far too many see their work with students as an impediment to their research. Look … Continue reading “A Perennial Question: What Makes a Good College Teacher?”

Renewing the University: A Pro/Con of Proposals

Aug 16, 2021 · · Comments Off on Renewing the University: A Pro/Con of Proposals

Conservative thinkers are mostly united on the need for reforming the American college system, but they’re divided on how to do it. It can be hard to pin down, exactly, what is to be done, as the Martin Center has previously reported.  So it may be worthwhile to step back and look at what proposals … Continue reading “Renewing the University: A Pro/Con of Proposals”

An Innovative Solution to the Failures of Peer Review

Aug 13, 2021 · · Comments Off on An Innovative Solution to the Failures of Peer Review

Academics are growing wary of the peer review process amid mounting evidence that it is compromised by ideological biases and that it does not effectively or reliably ensure the quality of published research. Further, it is increasingly evident that the academic publishing industry’s primary reason for being is not to disseminate new knowledge to the … Continue reading “An Innovative Solution to the Failures of Peer Review”

Did you Know? A Comprehensive “1776 Curriculum” is Released

Aug 12, 2021 · · Comments Off on Did you Know? A Comprehensive “1776 Curriculum” is Released

Hillsdale College has published a gigantic collection of reading materials and curriculum of nearly 2,500 pages, which it has termed the 1776 curriculum collection. It is available and free for anyone to access. The curriculum, which includes primary source documents on the nation’s founding, can be used for a number of purposes: as a resource … Continue reading “Did you Know? A Comprehensive “1776 Curriculum” is Released”

Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools

Aug 11, 2021 · · Comments Off on Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools

Law schools in the U.S. used to be run by no-nonsense individuals who, whatever their personal politics, thought that their institutions existed to teach students about the law, not to engage in advocacy or speculation. That began to change in the 1980s, as some younger law professors started to push into previously forbidden terrain, introducing … Continue reading “Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools”

Academic Freedom Doesn’t Shield Universities From Oversight

Aug 4, 2021 · · Comments Off on Academic Freedom Doesn’t Shield Universities From Oversight

State legislatures are taking up higher education reform. Sometimes higher education reform consists of attempts to regulate what happens on college campuses, such as laws that prohibit universities from requiring students to believe the tenets of critical race theory. Sometimes, as occurred recently in Idaho, state legislatures cut budgets or impose tuition freezes on universities taken … Continue reading “Academic Freedom Doesn’t Shield Universities From Oversight”

Is Our Obsession with College Fueling a Mental Health Crisis?

Aug 2, 2021 · · Comments Off on Is Our Obsession with College Fueling a Mental Health Crisis?

Long before Covid, mental health experts declared a different sort of pandemic—a precipitous decline in mental health on college campuses. One 2019 survey by the American College Health Association found that over the course of a year, 55.9 percent of students reported feeling hopelessness, 65.6 percent reported feeling very lonely, 70.8 percent reported feeling very … Continue reading “Is Our Obsession with College Fueling a Mental Health Crisis?”