Educate the Educators!
North Carolina schools have a serious literacy problem; most likely, that means it has a teacher education problem. The University of North Carolina system is exploring ways to correct the…
Professors Fight to Save Free Speech on Campus and Academic Freedom in Arkansas
In March 2018, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees adopted new rules that fatally undermine academic freedom. We authored this piece for the Martin Center explaining the damage the…
Did You Know? More Than 50 Colleges Have Embraced Free Speech Protections
The Chicago Statement, or the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression, is a 2014 statement defining the University of Chicago’s stance on freedom of speech. The statement set…
A Much-Needed Satire of College Has Arrived
Inane occurrences on college campuses tend to parachute into national news headlines every week or two. Those glimpses, however, cannot do justice to the reality of the collegiate atmosphere. To…
Exposing the Moral Flaws in Our Higher Education System
Many if not most professors and higher education leaders enjoy pontificating about their high-minded ideals in contrast with the grubby, self-interested world outside of academia. What few people have done…
Common Reading Programs: Political Fluff for Freshmen
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…
Reforming Higher Education: A Reading List
As more students have headed to college and a degree is seen as a way to shape students as workers and as citizens, higher education’s mission has become more important.…
Did You Know? For UNC System Sports, Students Must Foot the Bill
Public universities in North Carolina can’t fund their athletic budgets from only ticket and merchandise sales; they must use subsidies to foot the rest of the bill. Sometimes the extra…
Attacking the For-profit Sector Helps Neither Students Nor Taxpayers
The federal government currently holds around $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loans—up from “only” $500 million in 2007. Undoubtedly, the federal government—and taxpayers—have an enormous stake in higher education and…
North Carolina Colleges Shouldn’t Confuse Cafeteria-Style Curriculum with Strong Liberal Arts
There are a lot of good reasons to question the value of a traditional college degree. Tuition costs have been rising at a rate that’s almost eight times faster than…