A Critical Education Department Position Has Been Filled—and Filled Well
“Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors,” President Trump tweeted on June 5. “They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.” Fortunately for President Trump, many appointments don’t…
Assessment and Power in the University
Universities have been assessing students by grading their work since the Middle Ages. Sometimes students complained that the professor wasn’t fair, but nobody thought the system was fundamentally flawed. Then,…
The UNC Board of Governors Needs Its Own Staff
The University of North Carolina was founded with an excellent governance structure—with one glaring flaw that allows power to be concentrated in the General Administration rather than dispersed between the…
Senate Budget Is Prudent, Predictable (And That’s a Good Thing)
The budget released by the North Carolina Senate in early May sets a careful course for higher education. It includes modest increases over last year’s budget for both the University…
Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise
The “adjunctification” phenomenon is a familiar concern to most recent Ph.D. graduates, as well as a recurring criticism of perceived trends in faculty employment. One professor recently wrote that it…
21st Century College Admissions: Bidding for Brains
Going through the college process makes no sense. First, kids guess where they might want to go, then pay to apply, wait to hear, and, if accepted, fill out financial…
North Carolina’s Apprenticeship Program Offers Big Potential at Small Cost
Recently, a bill was introduced in the North Carolina legislature that would shift control of the state’s apprenticeship program from the department of commerce to the community college system. The…
Secretary DeVos Could End Title IX Overreach on Campus
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has signaled that she might be a force for good when it comes to scaling back Obama-era Title IX expansion. This would be a…
Attaching Strings to “Free” College Education Makes No Sense
Recently, several states have adopted policies that ostensibly make college education free to their residents, but with strings attached to this benefit. The most famous program is undoubtedly New York’s.…
Let’s Not Throw the Dual Enrollment Baby Out with the Bathwater
Dual enrollment programs, which allow high school students to take college courses for college credit, have been getting some bad publicity lately. In 2013, the popular college watchdog site Minding…