How Community Colleges Can Avoid the “Cliff”
Community colleges were not doing too well in terms of enrollment before the pandemic; since then, things have gotten only worse, a few bright lights here and there notwithstanding. The…
Tuition Discount Rates Are Rising
The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) released its biennial tuition-discounting survey in April. The results indicate that increasing discounts may be the canary in the coal…
What Are “Stranded” Credits?
Thousands of current and recently graduated students across the UNC System—and millions around the country—are having future job and academic opportunities put on hold as a result of outstanding account…
What Online Learners Want
Earlier this year, the marketing firm Education Dynamics released its 12th annual Online College Students Report, which professes to identify “the demands and preferences of online college students today.” As…
NC State and the Great Land Grab
North Carolina State University’s campus is nestled in the heart of downtown Raleigh, but its physical footprint continues to grow and will eventually span from Hillsborough Street to U.S. Highway…
The Department of Education’s “Secret Shoppers”
Students around the country pay top dollar and take on mountains of debt to earn a degree. They hope doing so will pay dividends in the future. But some colleges…
Let’s Improve Student Engagement
Undergraduate student engagement is on the decline. That’s according to the publishing and research firm Wiley, which, in February, released a “State of the Student” survey indicating that student engagement…
Reading the N.C. Higher-Ed Budget
On April 3, the North Carolina House approved a proposed biennial budget, House Bill 259, which the Senate is now considering. The plan provides generous raises for state employees while…
Higher Education and the Law of Diminishing Returns, Part II
Recently, I argued in a Martin Center article that the fourth year of study for the bachelor’s degree is probably relatively unproductive and that enormous resources could be saved by…
Will UNC Libraries Toss Their Books?
If you’re of a certain vintage you might recall diminutive octogenarian Clara Peller barking the signature line on a Wendy’s commercial: “Where’s the beef?” And if you are in that…