Reforms We’re Cheering For in 2023
Each January, the staff of the Martin Center share our higher-ed-reform dreams for the coming year. Will all of our wishes come true? Probably not. Nevertheless, we offer them here…
Articles
Articles
Student Loan Debt and Earnings at North Carolina Universities
From Student Loan Debt and Earnings at North Carolina Universities: Numerous degree programs throughout the UNC System equip students with the requisite knowledge and skills for meaningful careers that generate…
How Diversity Conceals More Than It Reveals
Offices with titles such as “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” have become common in business, government, and universities. Employees are sometimes required to take courses in diversity training, and, in some…
Solving the “Problem” of Sex-Segregation by Academic Major
Our society is headed toward the dystopian future we were warned about in works of literature such as The Giver by Lois Lowry and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. People…
Wanted: A Successful Collegiate Rent-Seeker
Economists call someone who gets paid more than necessary to produce a good or service a “rent-seeker.” Arguably the preeminent rent-seeker in higher education, Terry Hartle, announced his retirement recently…
Can UNC-System Schools Afford to Show Taxpayers the Money?
Some North Carolina residents may not be aware of just how many of their tax dollars go to support the UNC System. Given the massive support provided by the state…
10 Books We Want Under the Tree in 2022
One of my favorite projects at the Martin Center is the cultivation of our higher-education library. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I vastly prefer to read books printed on paper instead…
Is UNC Playing Selectivity Games?
Enrollment declines have finally come to North Carolina. In the past decade, universities across the country began to see declining undergraduate enrollments, first in the Northeast and the Midwest, then…
You Say You Want a Revolution
American higher education has changed drastically over the last half-century or so. It used to be that relatively few people thought postsecondary education was necessary; for those who did, college…
UNC-System Employees Really Love Democrats
While North Carolina is often considered a “purple state,” the composition of UNC-System campaign contributions is anything but bipartisan. OpenSecrets data indicate that campaign contributions to Democrats among UNC-System employees…