The Furor Over Student Loan Forgiveness
Once again, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has kicked the hornet’s nest, this time by changing the rules for deciding if a student will be relieved of his or her obligation…
Does the Bennett Hypothesis Still Matter?
It’s been 30 years since then-Education Secretary William J. Bennett took to the pages of The New York Times to chide colleges for their “greedy” behavior. He decried the negative effect…
If There’s a College Affordability Crisis, What Should We Do About It?
In last year’s campaign for the presidency, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tried to attract votes with promises of free college. In the British elections earlier this year, one reason…
The Good and the Bad for Higher Ed in the Republican Tax Proposal
On November 2, House Republican leaders unveiled their tax reform plan. A number of its provisions affect higher education. While this is only a proposal, it’s worth looking into those…
Copying Australia’s Student Loan System Won’t Save American Higher Ed
The American student loan system is a mess, weighing down more than 40 million borrowers with $1.3 trillion of debt. As a result, analysts and journalists in search of alternative…
NC State Hoops Players’ Palatial New Digs Send the Wrong Message
Athletes need a good night’s sleep to maximize their performance. But that doesn’t explain why NC State’s proposed new dormitory for basketball players will cost roughly four times as much…
Should All University Property Be Tax-Exempt?
Connecticut legislators made headlines last year when they introduced a bill to tax revenue-generating college and university property. The bill was crafted to help New Haven, where Yale University is…
An Innovative Guide Through the Higher Ed Landscape
Increasingly, the old model of earning a college degree by simply choosing a school, paying cash to cover room, board, and tuition, and graduating within four years (with summers off)…
Public Universities as Commercial Landlords: Where Do We Draw the Line?
Late last year, NC State University purchased two small office buildings on Oberlin Road, near the university’s East campus, for the price of $3.1 million. Their location, situated between NC…
How Not to Recover from a Crisis, Mizzou Edition
The University of Missouri, where I teach and which I dearly love, is in crisis. Freshman enrollment at the university’s Columbia campus (Mizzou) is down by a whopping 35% from…