Many colleges assign “common readings” to incoming students as an intellectual experience outside the classroom to set the bar for the academic rigor that professors expect of students. This tradition … Continue reading “Common Reading Programs: Political Fluff for Freshmen”
Faculty pay can vary greatly across universities and even within the same university system. Among University of North Carolina schools, the type of institution can matter as much as a … Continue reading “The High Price of Faculty and Administrative Salaries in the UNC System”
College meal plans can help students avoid buying groceries and cooking for themselves—but they can also cost thousands of dollars each semester. In the University of North Carolina system, some … Continue reading “UNC System Schools Profiting Off Unused Student Meals”
As March Madness hits and the public’s attention is on college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, few spectators know just how much the public subsidizes college sports. Within the University of North … Continue reading “March Madness Means Skyhigh Athletics Spending”
A long-time practice for many private universities has been to require most freshmen and sophomores to live in campus residence halls. State-supported public universities, too, have copied their private counterparts … Continue reading “Colleges Should Stop Forcing Students to Live On-Campus”
As public institutions funded by taxpayers, state colleges and universities are limited in the kinds of commercial activity in which they can participate. This is particularly so when it comes … Continue reading “University Foundations: A Convenient Way to Bypass Oversight”
National surveys have consistently found that businesses have difficulty finding employees with the right skills. Even among college graduates searching for work, employers have found them lacking employable skills. Research … Continue reading “The Skills Gap: Employers Expect More Than What College Grads Offer”
When universities institute things such as “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings,” they often justify doing so in the name of protecting students’ mental health. Critics, on the other hand, argue … Continue reading “The “Snowflake” Generation: Real or Imagined?”
With college football season upon us, this is a good time to consider again the allure that fielding winning teams in the big-money sports (football and basketball) has for many … Continue reading “College Sports: Isn’t it Time to De-escalate the Arms Race?”