Moral bankruptcy is undermining higher education
Moral bankruptcy is undermining higher education
Wisconsin won’t admit it, but its new egalitarian policy leads to grading quotas
In July, I wrote about the pressure that University of Wisconsin officials have been exerting on the faculty for greater “equity” on campus.
Doubts about the integrity of Confucius Institutes lead to mounting criticism
What are the limits of the partnerships that a public institution of higher education may form? A growing number of critics, including university officials and faculty, argue that accepting funding and academic influence from the communist Chinese government crosses a line.
Why the Pope Center has an internship program (hint: it’s not just for the cheap labor)
Why the Pope Center has an internship program (hint: it’s not just for the cheap labor)
5 things American colleges and universities get right
On the whole, U.S. colleges and universities don’t get everything right. They’re overpriced, operationally hidebound, and ideologically stagnant. But American higher education does some things very well—well enough that students from around the world still choose to come to the United States to get advanced degrees.
Can remediation succeed at the college level?
About one-third of all freshmen are enrolled each year in a remedial class. Yet current remedial methods are not very effective. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a mere 17 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial reading and 27 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial math go on to earn a bachelor’s degree. A 2010 study says that only half of the students required to attend remedial classes even complete remediation.
6 things we’re thankful for in higher education
It is Thanksgiving week, and six Pope Center staff members express thanks for some things that happened this year in higher education.
UNC-Chapel Hill goes after binge drinking, but the real enemy may be date rape
In 2012, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman with a blood level of alcohol nearly three times the legal limit was found dead. Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, saw this as indicative of a nationwide problem—one he has been working to address since then.
Campus civility declines as attention turns to groups, not individuals
I recall vividly in the early 1980s spending fifteen minutes walking two hundred yards with my older faculty mentor from our offices to Davidson’s post office. Along the way, he greeted or was greeted by Davidson students, staff, other faculty, and townspeople. For each there was a hearty “good morning” or a “you are looking so well,” or to an advisee, “how is your calculus class going?”
Leisure studies: an academic field based on a utopian mistake?
With most academic fields, we know what they are about. Political science teaches about political systems and their workings; philosophy about how people have thought on questions such as ethics; literature courses have students read and contemplate worthwhile books.