An American Law School, Then and Now
50 years ago, I was a first-year student at the University of Texas School of Law. Then, it occupied about the same place in the hierarchy of American law schools…
Which Majors Do Students Most Regret, and Why?
Former students regretting the choices they made during college isn’t a new phenomenon. Perhaps they wish they’d attended a different school, taken out fewer student loans, or considered their school’s…
Administrators Have Seized the Ivory Tower
The “ivory tower” has long been the lens through which American popular culture views higher education. The phrase conjures up images of seminar rooms and high-minded ideas debated at a…
Yes, an Academic Free-Speech Conference Needed Protection from the Mob
Jumping to conclusions is sometimes a big mistake. I recently became puzzled and mildly infuriated when I read that Stanford University was going to have a conference on freedom of…
Happy Thanksgiving!
Why the Left Relies on Statistical Illiteracy
In September 2022, three researchers published the provocatively titled article, “Do Introductory Courses Disproportionately Drive Minoritized Students Out of STEM Pathways?” That article got loads of social media publicity for…
Don’t Hide the Discount Rate
Colleges’ tuition costs are easy enough to find, but not every student pays list price. Education experts agree that data about so-called discount rates could be an invaluable tool for…
I Judged Student-Loan Borrowers … Until I Became One
Student loans have been at the forefront of higher-education policy discussions for quite some time. The recent actions taken by the Biden Administration on student-loan forgiveness have made the issue…
Challenging the Academic Publisher Oligopoly
Here’s a business plan: Sell a product that … some of the world’s most highly educated scholars, working at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, invest thousands of hours…
At NC State, a STEM Department Considers Diversity Statements
The increasing use of “diversity statements” in hiring and faculty evaluation has provoked considerable concern from free-speech advocates and defenders of academic freedom. An American Enterprise Institute study last November…