Dear Higher Ed, Employers Are Talking
Dear Higher Ed, For as long as I’ve worked in education, whether in teaching, policy, or now higher education journalism, there has been a long distance between what employers want…
The AI Economy Still Needs Beginners
At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, computer science student Jaylen Carroll found an unexpected connection between artificial intelligence (AI) and horticulture. Drawing on his academic interests, he helped develop a…
Higher Ed Is Still Muddling Through AI
It has been nearly four years since OpenAI announced ChatGPT in November of 2022, and most universities continue to muddle along with their AI efforts. Many are treating it as…
College in Three Years? States Are Giving It a Try.
For generations, earning a bachelor’s degree has meant spending four years in college and paying for four years of tuition and housing. But as those costs continue to rise (exponentially),…
STEM Needs Civics, Too
Last month, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the charter for a new Institute for Technology and Civic Leadership at Georgia Tech. The Institute could be the…
A PhD Built for the Real World
In late July, the White House and National Science Foundation announced in the right-leaning tech publication, Pirate Wires, that, beginning this fall, they would be establishing a $47 million program…
The University Against Its Own Curriculum
In future histories of higher education, the current moment may be called the “Great Confusion.” At present, no one really knows why universities exist. Various ideas about the university’s purpose…
The Next UNC? Bucknell’s Late Arrival to the Civil Discourse Trend.
Higher education is trying to remedy political polarization using campus democracy and dialogue initiatives. When Bucknell University announced its new Initiative for Dialogue & Democracy, administrators pitched the effort as…
Two Cheers for the Great Books
Recently, Luke Burgis, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Catholic University of America, posed a provocative question: “What is the strongest argument from the political Right AGAINST Great Books programs?” In my view,…
Michigan Reconnect Is Pulling Community Colleges Off Mission
Community colleges play a specific role not only within our educational ecosystem, but also that of the communities that they serve. They are community colleges, after all. Before the community…