Zealous DEI Programs Land a University in Court
For the last 20 years or so, many colleges and universities have embraced the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology by hiring administrators to promote it throughout the school. Although…
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Articles
UNC-System Schools and the “R1” Wars
Some North Carolina public universities hope to leverage revisions to higher education’s preeminent classification methodology to achieve game-changing status reserved presently for a small handful of state schools. If they…
George Mason’s Orwellian “Just Societies” Requirement
I recently discovered that George Mason University, where I teach, plans to adopt a “Just Societies” course requirement. “Students entering Mason in Fall 2024 or later will be required to take two Mason…
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…
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…