College sports are a gigantic entertainment business that have nothing to do with the missions of the schools. Frequently, the highest-paid employee of a school is the football or basketball … Continue reading “How College Sports Turned into a Corrupt Mega-Business”
North Carolina public universities are more than just institutions of higher learning. They are each small cities of young adults with Olympic-level athletic franchises, massive dining and fitness clubs, and … Continue reading “The Ever-growing Costs of Mandatory Student Fees”
National discussions of college athletics routinely emphasize race. That emphasis, however, is unfortunate because it diverts attention from issues that affect all student-athletes. Also, discussions of race in college sports … Continue reading “Race-Centered Narratives Obscure the Problems of College Sports”
At a time when only 41 percent of college students graduate in four years—and only 56 percent in five years—colleges and universities across the country are phasing out the only … Continue reading “GPA or SAT? Two Measures Are Better Than One “
As we move into 2020, it is important to assess where we are with the uniquely American phenomenon of elite, commercialized college sports. Often, what is claimed about college sports … Continue reading “A Path Forward for Reforming College Sports”
As college textbook prices have increased 88 percent since 2006, education reformers wonder how universities can make books more affordable. One simple thing they could do is to stop selling … Continue reading “Textbook Math: Students Avoid High Campus Prices, Buy Books Online”
To reach far-flung towns, private planes can be indispensable. The University of North Carolina system, for instance, has an air fleet to shuttle doctors around the state. UNC Air Operations … Continue reading “Sky-High Athletics: UNC Spends $125,000 on Private Planes for Recruiting”
College admissions standards are meant to determine whether a student is academically prepared to succeed at college. Colleges also have Minimum Admissions Requirements (MARs) and Minimum Course Requirements (MCRs), which … Continue reading “Did You Know? Student-Athletes Can Be Admitted to UNC Schools Despite Low Academic Success”
Fans in the Carolinas are crazy about college sports. Six schools in the Carolinas boast membership in the “Power Five” Atlantic Coast or Southeastern Conferences, and they often perform quite … Continue reading “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Spends the Most on Athletics of All?”
Jenna A. Robinson, President Jacques Barzun’s magnum opus, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, has been a revelation—of my own inadequate history education. As the title says, … Continue reading “What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology”