A Graduate’s Perspective: Thought Police Are Undermining Higher Education
During my time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I graduated this spring, many of my peers and professors seemed to genuinely care about the free…
Posts tagged with
“UNC”
Dear Secretary DeVos, Please Prioritize Financial Literacy
Congratulations, Secretary DeVos, on your recent appointment to lead the U.S. Department of Education. Now the real work begins. Your position requires you to prioritize competing educational ideas to promote…
No Lessons Learned: Campus Intolerance Intensifies in the Trump Era
At this year’s Association of American Colleges and Universities meeting, held in late January in San Francisco, a sense of misgiving filled the conference hall. Panelists raised, implicitly, the question…
Your Generosity Is Helping to Improve Higher Education
As each year comes to a close, I take some time to review what the Pope Center accomplished during the previous 52 weeks, to analyze what challenges we still face,…
The Higher Education Establishment’s Self-Interest Goes Unchecked—Again
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…
Should Universities Be “Sanctuaries” for Illegal Immigrants?
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…
Will We, at Last, Do Something About Accreditation?
Accreditation is supposed to act as a quality guarantee for colleges and universities, but it works very poorly. Students can and regularly do graduate from accredited schools without having learned…
Will the Surge of Support for Free Speech on Campus Do Any Good?
Last month, PEN America, the U.S. branch of an international organization, published a strong defense of free speech on college campuses. The nearly century-old group stands for the idea that…
UNC Leaders Should Keep a Closer Eye on Underperforming Degree Programs
An unlikely champion of more university oversight emerged at a recent University of North Carolina system Board of Governors (BOG) meeting. During a discussion about the board’s long-term strategic goals…
States Should Work to Ameliorate Bad Federal Student Loan Policies
Many experts believe that the United States is facing a student loan crisis. Total student loan debt now exceeds $1.3 billion—more than total credit card debt for the country. And…