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…
Why We Need the Liberal Arts
John Agresto’s splendid new book, The Death of Learning, is not nearly as depressing as its title might lead one to expect. On the contrary, it is an exhilarating read and,…
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…
The State of AI-Chatbot Detection
On April 4 of this year, the academic-services firm Turnitin activated a software designed to catch a certain kind of student plagiarist. As has been widely discussed on the Martin…
The Strange World of “Citational Justice”
The latest fresh hell is citational justice. Which is quotas for footnotes. Now we’re supposed to track the group identity of the authors we cite and make sure there are…
Undoing “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” Requires Alumni Effort
An historic battle is waging over the future of higher education in the U.S. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. The presenting issues are critical social justice theory and freedom…
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…
The True Story of UNC-Chapel Hill’s New School
Last month, UNC-Chapel Hill faculty penned an open letter airing criticism of both the North Carolina General Assembly and the UNC Board of Trustees. Among their complaints was the allegation…
A Collegiate Renaissance?
Intelligent observers of American higher education know that colleges generally are in great trouble: falling enrollments, declining public and political support, often dubious outcomes, and excessive tuition and other costs.…
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…