10 Books We Want Under the Tree in 2022
One of my favorite projects at the Martin Center is the cultivation of our higher-education library. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I vastly prefer to read books printed on paper instead…
Higher-Ed Philanthropy Survived the Pandemic
Philanthropic giving to educational institutions amounts to billions of dollars every year. Notably, the education sector has long been second only to the “religion” sector in the amount of money…
Mending, Not Ending, Remedial Classes
A high-school diploma should be a default signal that the holder is prepared to embark on her or his college journey. In an ideal world, a country that spends a…
An American Law School, Then and Now
50 years ago, I was a first-year student at the University of Texas School of Law. Then, it occupied about the same place in the hierarchy of American law schools…
Why the Left Relies on Statistical Illiteracy
In September 2022, three researchers published the provocatively titled article, “Do Introductory Courses Disproportionately Drive Minoritized Students Out of STEM Pathways?” That article got loads of social media publicity for…
Don’t Hide the Discount Rate
Colleges’ tuition costs are easy enough to find, but not every student pays list price. Education experts agree that data about so-called discount rates could be an invaluable tool for…
I Judged Student-Loan Borrowers … Until I Became One
Student loans have been at the forefront of higher-education policy discussions for quite some time. The recent actions taken by the Biden Administration on student-loan forgiveness have made the issue…
Everyone Hates Remedial Classes
Remedial classes have been standard practice at community colleges since about the 1980s. The original intent of these not-for-credit courses was to protect underperforming students from failing actual college classes.…
Challenging the Academic Publisher Oligopoly
Here’s a business plan: Sell a product that … some of the world’s most highly educated scholars, working at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, invest thousands of hours…
Time to Rethink University Accreditation
Many people believe that if a college or university is accredited, that’s the equivalent of a guarantee of quality. Just as the seal of approval from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) tells…