The Collegiate War Against Merit
A story in Inside Higher Ed last week revealed that two more Ivy League schools, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, have stopped publishing “dean’s lists” that recognize high levels…
Articles
Articles
Proposed UNC-System Testing Policy Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Tomorrow, the UNC Board of Governors’ Committee on Educational Planning will be asked to vote on a proposed revision to its “Policy on Minimum Eligibility Requirements for Undergraduate Admission for…
What’s UNC Teaching These Days?
If I, a graduating senior, were to give one piece of advice to an incoming UNC student, it would be to research prospective classes diligently. Search online for syllabi, survey…
Policy Brief: It’s Time for More States to Sack SACS
Getting and keeping accreditation is critical for almost all colleges in the United States. Accreditation is third-party validation that a college meets minimum standards. Not only is institutional accreditation required…
The Emptiness of College Rankings
Inputs are out, and outcomes are in. So goes the current thinking about the methodology used to create college rankings. The publications that tell us which colleges are best, next…
Don’t Scrap the Textbooks Yet
In August 2023, West Texas A&M University announced that it will stop requiring students to purchase textbooks in order to offset the soaring costs of higher education. Instead, the university…
USC Says “Goodbye, 2U”
The University of Southern California has 50 years of experience in distance education. USC’s initiative began in the Viterbi School of Engineering as an industry partnership with Los Angeles-based aerospace…
Understanding the Duke Price-Fixing Settlement
For decades, university tuition has risen, while educational outcomes have fallen. The list of reasons is long. Now we can add unlawful price-fixing to that list, at least for the…
Against Scholar-Activism
The rise of political orthodoxy on campus is often cited as one of the key reasons for reforming universities. But if there is a rise of orthodoxy, what does this…
Why Is the College-Completion Rate Stagnating?
A college education is often touted as absolutely necessary if one is to achieve the American dream. Yet college-completion rates have stagnated in recent years. Given that enrollment rates have…