Increasing teacher pay to improve teaching quality has grabbed media attention for months. But North Carolina’s General Assembly has been trying to figure out how to get better teachers into … Continue reading “Proposed Bills Could Improve Teacher Quality in the Tar Heel State”
On Valentine’s Day, The University of North Carolina System released “Leading on Literacy: Challenges and Opportunities in Teacher Preparation Across the University of North Carolina System.” For me, it was not love … Continue reading “Is the UNC System Serious about Teacher Training Reform?”
University of North Carolina system president Margaret Spellings recently outlined her plans for higher education to drive economic prosperity in the News & Observer. Her “Two North Carolinas” class rhetoric … Continue reading “We’re One People, Not ‘Two North Carolinas’”
The college diploma has long been regarded as the ticket to the good life. And most well-paid jobs require some kind of academic credential. But academia is not the only … Continue reading “Easing the Transition from Soldier to Scholar”
The University of North Carolina was founded with an excellent governance structure—with one glaring flaw that allows power to be concentrated in the General Administration rather than dispersed between the … Continue reading “The UNC Board of Governors Needs Its Own Staff”
Since 2010, the UNC system’s Board of Governors has become somewhat more conservative and more interested in serious educational reforms. Members of the Board have professed interest in decreasing costs, … Continue reading “Five Questions to Ask Future UNC Board Members”
As higher education has become increasingly competitive in recent years, many colleges have had to find creative ways to maintain their enrollment figures and distinguish themselves in the market. For … Continue reading “Competition Is Helping to Bring Affordability, Efficiency Back to Higher Ed”
Recently, a legislative proposal aimed at improving graduation rates at the University of North Carolina system’s 16 institutions was nixed due to vehement opposition from university leaders. In its place … Continue reading “The Higher Education Establishment’s Self-Interest Goes Unchecked—Again”
On November 16, thousands of students at public and private universities across the country walked out of classes to protest the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. One of … Continue reading “Should Universities Be “Sanctuaries” for Illegal Immigrants?”
Recently I attended a meeting of a committee of the University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors that has a mission of “setting goals for economic impact.” Higher education’s … Continue reading “Educating for the Workplace: A Dilemma”