The “adjunctification” phenomenon is a familiar concern to most recent Ph.D. graduates, as well as a recurring criticism of perceived trends in faculty employment. One professor recently wrote that it was a professional “shame.” This issue seems to have hit a boiling point in the past few years, with a multitude of articles and reports … Continue reading “Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise”
Going through the college process makes no sense. First, kids guess where they might want to go, then pay to apply, wait to hear, and, if accepted, fill out financial aid forms, wait, and eventually learn what it will cost. That’s a poor process for buying something that costs between $100,000 and $300,000. My daughter’s … Continue reading “21st Century College Admissions: Bidding for Brains”
Recently, a bill was introduced in the North Carolina legislature that would shift control of the state’s apprenticeship program from the department of commerce to the community college system. The goal is to streamline the program and make it more aligned with some of the community colleges’ workforce development initiatives. The program, “ApprenticeshipNC,” has been … Continue reading “North Carolina’s Apprenticeship Program Offers Big Potential at Small Cost”
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has signaled that she might be a force for good when it comes to scaling back Obama-era Title IX expansion. This would be a welcome change. Such regulatory buildup has raised higher education costs and allowed the federal government to encroach more and more into areas such as campus … Continue reading “Secretary DeVos Could End Title IX Overreach on Campus”
Recently, several states have adopted policies that ostensibly make college education free to their residents, but with strings attached to this benefit. The most famous program is undoubtedly New York’s. Under the “Excelsior Scholarships” plan recently signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, state residents who come from families with annual incomes under $125,000 won’t … Continue reading “Attaching Strings to “Free” College Education Makes No Sense”
Dual enrollment programs, which allow high school students to take college courses for college credit, have been getting some bad publicity lately. In 2013, the popular college watchdog site Minding the Campus reported problems with instructor qualifications. More recently, an article here on the Martin Center site questioned the way dual enrollment programs are administered … Continue reading “Let’s Not Throw the Dual Enrollment Baby Out with the Bathwater”
University foundations are at the forefront of schools’ fundraising, event planning, and publicity efforts. But the details of how these foundations operate—such as where they get their money and what it pays for—often are hidden from public view. Many foundations are allowed to take advantage of their private non-profit status despite being considerably entangled with … Continue reading “How to Make University Foundations More Transparent”
The United States got along nicely for its first 176 years without any federal legislation on higher education. (A good reason why there was no such legislation is the absence of any authority for it in the Constitution, but that’s not a point I want to go into here.) In 1965, however, Congress passed and … Continue reading “If We Can’t Repeal the Higher Education Act, Let’s Improve It”
Each year, roughly 1.4 million high school students take college courses. This is made possible by dual enrollment programs, which give those students opportunities to earn credits and work toward a college degree or technical vocation. Over 70 percent of courses are offered by community colleges. Such programs were praised recently by the Department of … Continue reading “Concerns Raised Over NC’s Dual Enrollment Program and Possible Community College Misconduct”
The Ideologues Genius of Burke! forgive the pen seduced/ by specious wonders – William Wordsworth Conservatives today seem to be pretty good at winning elections. They also seem to be pretty good at spreading their ideas; there are more conservative think tanks, student groups, campus centers, policy organizations, and media outlets than ever before. And … Continue reading “Beyond Ideology: Poetry and the Conservative Mind”