Topic: Innovation

‘Baby Bonds’ Would Skyrocket College Costs, Bilk Taxpayers for Billions

Jul 3, 2019 · · No Comments on ‘Baby Bonds’ Would Skyrocket College Costs, Bilk Taxpayers for Billions

For too many politicians and presidential hopefuls, a free college education is a cure-all for inequality in America—so long as the federal government can pour enough money into it. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), for instance, has opted to make “baby bonds” the centerpiece of his campaign. Under this policy, fleshed out in … Continue reading “‘Baby Bonds’ Would Skyrocket College Costs, Bilk Taxpayers for Billions”

Reforming Higher Education: A Reading List

Jun 28, 2019 · · No Comments on Reforming Higher Education: A Reading List

As more students have headed to college and a degree is seen as a way to shape students as workers and as citizens, higher education’s mission has become more important. Its leaders, and their personal beliefs, have become more contentious, too. In recent months, many conservative thinkers have publicly debated how to reform higher education—or, … Continue reading “Reforming Higher Education: A Reading List”

Repairing Academia’s Crisis of Meaning

Jun 5, 2019 · · No Comments on Repairing Academia’s Crisis of Meaning

Traditionally, higher education introduced students to life’s most fundamental questions: “What is good?”; “What is true?”; “Do our lives have meaning beyond the material?”; and so on. The focus used to be on developing the whole person: To lift students morally and ethically, to pique their curiosity in all things, and to instill, as Cardinal … Continue reading “Repairing Academia’s Crisis of Meaning”

Politicized Art Schools Are Losing Students to the Atelier Movement

May 22, 2019 · · No Comments on Politicized Art Schools Are Losing Students to the Atelier Movement

A series of disasters face art colleges and the art departments of American universities. Their campuses are closing, their freshmen numbers are dwindling, and their graduates are struggling. Getting more students into an art program is a hard sell. To restore their appeal, art schools would do well to de-politicize their programs and focus on … Continue reading “Politicized Art Schools Are Losing Students to the Atelier Movement”

College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution

May 1, 2019 · · No Comments on College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution

Freshman composition occupies a unique position in a college curriculum. It is the only class required of about 90 percent of enrollees whose diverse aptitudes and prior writing experience present a challenge for instructors every semester. In Why They Can’t Write, instructor John Warner of the College of Charleston proposes a course he says will … Continue reading “College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution”

A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training

Apr 26, 2019 · · No Comments on A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training

When students graduate high school, they know about the benefits of a college degree but not career training. Students who get some career and technical education (CTE) in high school can develop job skills and prepare for their future career without a college degree. How states design their CTE programs, however, determines how useful this … Continue reading “A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training”

The Keys to Getting a Startup Job in College

Apr 17, 2019 · · No Comments on The Keys to Getting a Startup Job in College

Most people go to college to get a job. Recreation is an added benefit on top of getting a job. Education comes second to recreation in terms of hours spent studying. That is the great secret of a college education. It’s the secret everybody within the walls of the university knows but isn’t allowed to … Continue reading “The Keys to Getting a Startup Job in College”

Improving Student Outcomes by Consolidating the University System of Georgia

Apr 12, 2019 · · No Comments on Improving Student Outcomes by Consolidating the University System of Georgia

As the cost of college creeps up and more small colleges close, consolidation has become a lifeline of last resort. To survive, dozens of small institutions have either merged or have been absorbed into larger ones. That way, the threat (usually financial) disappears and students are assured the larger institution is stable. But these mergers … Continue reading “Improving Student Outcomes by Consolidating the University System of Georgia”

The Radical Experimental College in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Apr 8, 2019 · · No Comments on The Radical Experimental College in the Blue Ridge Mountains

North Carolina is widely respected for institutions such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, both research-intensive and high-prestige schools. But it’s less known for a radically experimental college that was tucked away in the Appalachian mountains more than half a century ago. Just east of Asheville, Black Mountain College … Continue reading “The Radical Experimental College in the Blue Ridge Mountains”

UNC System Schools Profiting Off Unused Student Meals

Apr 1, 2019 · · No Comments on UNC System Schools Profiting Off Unused Student Meals

College meal plans can help students avoid buying groceries and cooking for themselves—but they can also cost thousands of dollars each semester. In the University of North Carolina system, some students get a relative bargain, but others pay 60 percent more with fewer spending options. Even though some UNC campuses take in hundreds of thousands … Continue reading “UNC System Schools Profiting Off Unused Student Meals”