Articles

Articles

Oct 13, 2006 ·

UNC governors discuss system-wide study

When Jim Phillips took over as UNC Board of Governors chairman this summer, one of his top priorities was to conduct a study detailing what North Carolina citizens want from their university system. On Thursday some of the initial planning for the study began to take shape.

Board members spent the afternoon discussing the structure of the study, designed to answer the question “What do the people of North Carolina need from their university, for the state to be successful in the 21st century?” Eva Klein and Associates, a consulting firm based in Great Falls, Virginia, along with Gottlieb and Associates of Washington, D.C., presented it during the work session, which was held in conjunction the October Board of Governors meeting.

Oct 12, 2006 ·

Some Further Questions about Diversity

Will a diverse college campus – where “diverse” means that there is at least a “critical mass” of students and faculty members who are regarded as being members of certain “underrepresented” groups – lead to better results than if the school did not make any effort at being “diverse?” In my previous Clarion Call essay, I looked at the argument that diversity is beneficial because it causes people to better relate to one another. I didn’t find that argument very persuasive. What I want to do here is to examine some other arguments that have been advanced as justifying the hiring and admission preferences that are integral to the diversity movement.

Globalization

The first argument is that diversity helps prepare American students for the diverse and increasingly globalized world they will live and work in. A “diverse” campus is therefore good preparation for the future. A college that failed to give its students that preparation would be remiss, wouldn’t it?

Oct 5, 2006 ·

Some Questions about Diversity

The Pope Center’s 2006 conference, set for October 14 will focus on the much-discussed topic of diversity in higher education. Coincidentally, The Chronicle of Higher Education recently devoted an entire 40 page section to diversity, packed with articles on diversity and advertisements by schools large and small touting their commitment to diversity. A reader with no familiarity with American higher education would probably conclude that having more “diversity” is an unquestioned good – that one would no more ask if it’s beneficial to have more diversity than one would ask it’s beneficial to have better health. Not once in the entire section (and very rarely in anything written about higher education) is there a hint of skepticism about the diversity movement.

There is something odd about the insistent adulation of diversity. Individuals don’t usually tell themselves, “I’d be better off with more diversity in my life. I’m going to listen to all the different kinds of music available, not just the stuff I’ve been enjoying. I’m also going to have more diversity in my diet, eating many kinds of food I don’t normally eat.” Of course, we sometimes choose to try something new – a country-western fan could tune into a Met broadcast because a friend said that she might enjoy the music in The Marriage of Figaro – but that isn’t the same as a determination that a more diverse array of music would necessarily be better.

Sep 28, 2006 ·

Just What Do Students Learn?

Getting a college education is frequently touted as the passport to a prosperous and successful life. Americans are apt to believe that college coursework does a great job of building up “human capital,” without which young people will be limited to menial “burger flipping” kinds of work.

It is becoming increasingly plain, however, that many college students don’t gain much at all when it comes to skills and knowledge that count in the job market. College grads who read and write poorly, can’t do elementary math problems, and wind up in low-paying jobs they could have done while in high school are a sad fact of life.

Sep 27, 2006 ·

Teaching History: North Carolina Central does well in a generally poor field

Getting a college education is frequently touted as the passport to a prosperous and successful life. Americans are apt to believe that college coursework does a great job of building up “human capital,” without which young people will be limited to menial “burger flipping” kinds of work.

It is becoming increasingly plain, however, that many college students don’t gain much at all when it comes to skills and knowledge that count in the job market. College grads who read and write poorly, can’t do elementary math problems, and wind up in low-paying jobs they could have done while in high school are a sad fact of life.

But even if students are not learning a lot that helps them in their careers, surely they are at least learning the kinds of things that will make them good citizens. In decades gone by, most people did not go to college in order to become employable, but rather to expand their horizons. The traditional college curriculum was far more geared toward creating good citizens than good employees.

Sep 26, 2006 ·

Spellings makes recommendations for higher education’s future

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced Tuesday proposals to reform higher education that would increase need-based financial aid and create a national database to provide more information to families.

The speech, delivered at the National Press Club, was the most anticipated in Spellings’ tenure and comes at the culmination of a year-long process examining the future of higher education in the nation. The process began in Charlotte last year when Spellings announced the formation of a national committee to look at how higher education can improve. Last week, commissioners, including former Gov. James Hunt, submitted their final report, titled, “A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education.”

Even though Spellings stated that she did not “envision or want a national system of higher education,” it’s clear that many of the programs that she desires would ultimately increase the federal government’s role in higher education.

Sep 25, 2006 ·

Efforts to get conservative speakers at UNC-CH bearing fruit

CHAPEL HILL — Despite the rude reception given former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and other conservative speakers at UNC-Chapel Hill recently, there are indications that the effort to get conservative voices on campus is making progress.

One liberal student even complained in a local paper recently that the star power of conservative speakers now outshines liberal speakers.

Leftist and liberal students on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus have kept up their tradition of heckling, disrupting, and walking out of speeches given by conservatives, most recently when Ashcroft appeared on campus last month.

Sep 21, 2006 ·

Higher Education Conference at UNC Promotes “Inclusion”

CHAPEL HILL – Last week, 150 higher education and business leaders converged on UNC-Chapel Hill for a conference on two favorite topics of the higher education establishment – access and affordability.

In a conference dubbed as “Politics of Inclusion: Higher Education at a Crossroads,” one thing was obvious – the event was highly scripted. Attendance at the conference was by invitation only and mostly included people who agreed with the premise of the conference, that the U.S. needs to improve access to college so as to include a wider cross-section of America’s youth. Rather than an examination of that view, it was essentially a pep rally for that view.

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser delivered the keynote address to open the conference. Moeser’s speech sounded much like the stump speeches of former Senator John Edwards in that he said that there are “two North Carolinas” – one wealthy and well connected, the other poor and desperate – and how higher education can help to improve the lives of low-income families. To reach that goal, Moeser advocated an increase in need-based financial aid and said leaders must push an agenda of access and affordability to political leaders.

Sep 14, 2006 ·

Textbook prices add costs to students

UNC-Chapel Hill freshman Austin Fowler spent about $500 this semester on textbooks. His classmate Andrew Wein spent about $400.

“On top of that, Student Stores didn’t have a CD I needed,” Wein said. “They only had used copies, which don’t work because they are made so that they can only be activated once.”

Students like Fowler and Wein are experiencing a growing national problem. A 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office found that “college textbook prices have risen at double the rate of inflation for the last two decades.”

Sep 7, 2006 ·

Higher Education has been Oversold

It was just this time of year – the beginning of a new academic year – in 1980, when it first occurred to me that higher education in America had been oversold.

I was new to the college teaching ranks and didn’t know just what to expect from students. A few days earlier, I had handed out copies of a chapter from a book that I wanted the students to read and be prepared to discuss. It was an 8-page assignment.

Once the class began and I asked some questions about the assignment, it became evident that few (if any) of the students had done the reading — or if they had read it, they hadn’t bothered to make sure they understood it. After several tries at jump starting a discussion, one student put up his hand and I eagerly called on him.

He said, “Couldn’t you, you know, just tell us the main point?”