Yes, the College Bubble Will Deflate
For the entire existence of the James G. Martin Center, we have been arguing that, due to governmental policies, higher education has been badly oversold. That is, many students have…
Articles by George Leef
Bad Legal Education Puts America in Jeopardy
It is worrisome that “progressive” activism has managed to infiltrate so much of American higher education, but wildly politicized sociology and English departments can do us only marginal damage. Few…
Is Standardized Testing Good or Bad?
Should colleges and universities—especially those regarded as elite—use the scores students earned on standardized tests in making admissions decisions? That has been a heated subject of debate for several decades.…
No More Qualified Immunity for Administrators
Courts have repeatedly ruled that colleges and universities violate the First Amendment rights of professors when they retaliate against them for having said things administrators dislike. Nevertheless, such cases continue…
Is Higher Education Inevitably Stuck in the Past?
A common refrain among observers of American higher education is that it changes at a glacial pace—if even that fast. The structure of our colleges and universities serves largely to…
How Academic Elites Are Undoing Centuries of Progress
Professor John Ellis has been a critic of our higher-education system for many years. His book The Breakdown of Higher Education (which I reviewed here) masterfully analyzed the perverse trends…
The Clash Between Academic Freedom and Antisemitism
Academics who cherish free speech have been pushed into a corner by the rapid rise of anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric and action on our campuses. The concept of free speech…
Do We Need to Abolish Grading?
Many generations of young Americans have learned in school under the grading system. We took tests in subjects and would find out how well we had done when the instructor…
A Medical Professor Learns That Dissent About Diversity Won’t Be Tolerated
In the good old days of American education, professors could speak their minds freely. Disagreements would often result, with others disputing the case that the speaker had made. The solid…
Harvard’s Former President Responds to Attacks on Elite Colleges
Derek Bok has served as president of Harvard twice, from 1971 to 1991 and again from 2006-07. He has written much about higher education and is by no means a…